Introduction: Duncan Kuehn is a professional genealogist with over eight years of client experience. She has worked on several well-known projects, such as “Who Do You Think You Are?” and researching President Barack Obama’s ancestry. In this blog post, Duncan shows some of soccer’s most famous and infamous moments from previous World Cups, as reported in newspapers.
To celebrate this year’s exciting World Cup, let’s relive some of the most talked-about moments in World Cup history, as shown in old newspaper articles.
Even though it is known worldwide as the “Beautiful Game,” soccer unfortunately sometimes makes headlines because of violent incidents, cheating and other unsavory elements that make news around the globe.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct
There will always be some dirty soccer playing, like this year when Uruguay’s Luis Suarez bit Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini during the World Cup in Brazil. Similar behavior was seen when France’s Zinedine Zidane headbutted Italian defender Marco Materazzi in his career-ending game during the final of the 2006 World Cup in Germany.
Occasionally there are fights between players, such as during the 1990 World Cup in Italy when the Netherlands’ Frank RijKaard spat at Germany’s Rudi Voeller and the two had an altercation.
Cheating
Lamentably, there is even cheating in soccer sometimes. What he later called the “hand of God” goal by Diego Maradona is one example. It happened during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, when the Argentine forward illegally used his hand to score an infamous goal against England.
Injuries
Very rarely, there are horrific accidents like this year’s injury to Brazilian star Neymar da Silva Santos Jr., who was kneed in the back and suffered a broken vertebra—such incidents, of course, make it into the newspapers. Another accident happened during the 1982 World Cup in Spain, when Germany’s goalkeeper Toni Schumacher ran full speed into French defender Patrick Battiston, breaking his jaw, damaging vertebrae, and knocking out several teeth. The unfortunate Frenchman nearly died on the field due to “improper medical attention.”
Game Drama
There can be other drama with the players besides cheating or their hurting each other on the field. During the 1998 World Cup final in France, Brazil’s superstar Ronaldo was mysteriously missing from the team roster until just before the game with France. The rumor was that he had experienced a seizure in the locker room.
Soccer Winners & Losers
In addition to news about the soccer players, the World Cup results often make it into the headlines. For example, there are the shocking upsets—such as Brazil’s defeat to Uruguay during the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, and West Germany’s upset win over the powerful Hungarian team during the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.
Gunned Down by Gamblers?!
The most shocking event in World Cup history is of course the murder of Colombian defender Andres Escobar in 1994. He was gunned down by gamblers back home in Colombia just days after the Americans beat Colombia during the 1994 World Cup in the U.S. due to an accidental goal Escobar knocked into his own net.
Most of the time, the World Cup makes the news because of the exciting games, the fantastically athletic players, the cultural treats provided by the home country, and the rapturous reactions of the devoted fans. But occasionally, as this article has shown, there is a darker side to the World Cup—and that of course makes it into the newspapers.
Hope you enjoyed this year’s World Cup and that your team did well!
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