Walk the hallowed halls of FIFA World Cup™ history and relive some of the tournament's most memorable moments before watching the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ live on ESPN.
Just four minutes after the Hand
of God goal, Diego Maradona made
a 60-meter, 10-second dash toward
the English goal, passing four English
outfield players, dribbling around
the keeper, and slotting the ball into
the net for the win. To witness it
is jaw-droppingly sublime.
When the heavily favored Brazilian
hosts lost to the minnow Uruguay
in the 1950 final, they forgot to
give Uruguay the trophy. What's
more, the 200,000 fans sat in
"silence too difficult to bear" and
the national team refused to
ever wear white again.
There are few tricks employed quite so
often on the playground as the Cruyff Turn,
a devastatingly simple premise. It is, then,
testament to the abilities of Holland's
legendary Johan Cruyff that nobody
thought of it until he unleashed it upon the
world against Sweden, and the hapless
Gunnar Olsson, in Germany in 1974.
In the 1982 FIFA World Cup™ final,
striker Marco Tardelli's goal put
Italy ahead 2–0, and he proceeded
to sprint dementedly around the
pitch, clenched fists pumping, and
screaming in unadulterated delight.
It's one of the most iconic soccer
celebrations ever. One of raw
emotion, sheer ecstasy, and
pure awesomeness.
Lucien Laurent's name doesn't register with the majority of fans and he was hardly an influential player, but he's the Frenchman who enjoys a very special place in soccer folklore, having scored the very first goal of the FIFA World Cup™. Nice work, Lucien.
In the 51st minute of the 1986
Argentina–England quarterfinal,
5'5" Diego Maradona and England's
goalkeeper, 6'1" Peter Shilton, both
went up into the air to reach the ball.
Shilton should've been able to grab
it first. However, Maradona stuck
up his left hand and punched the
ball into England's net,
unbeknownst to the
referee.
During the 2006 final, Italy's Marco Materazzi said some unsavory
things to Zidane about his sister.
The French legend's response?
A legendary Glasgow kiss to
Materazzi's chest – the head-butt
seen around the world – which
sent Zidane out in style.
What happens when the best
left-back in the world at the time
(Roberto Carlos) decides to tie his
shoelaces instead of marking the
best striker in the world at the time
(Thierry Henry) on a free kick? Henry runs forward unmarked, scores,
Brazil loses. Interestingly, the latter
hasn't won an international
tournament since.
As an untested, unproven
18-year-old, Michael Owen sliced and
diced his way through the Argentine
defense, giving England a 2–1 lead in
the second round of France '98. And it
turned Owen into a global superstar.
A young David Beckham was sent
off for an uncharacteristically
petulant kick at Argentinean
captain Diego Simeone. Beckham
was vilified in the UK with fans
booing him everywhere he went,
essentially going from hero to
zero, then back to hero again.
Well done, Becks.