out of his position is replaced by another from his team, thus retaining the team’s intended organizational structure. In this fluid system, no player is fixed in his nominal role; anyone can be successively an attacker, a midfielder, and a defender.
Specifications For Soccer Balls
An International Football Association–approved ball must be:
• spherical;
• made of leather or other suitable material;
• of a circumference of not more than 28 inches (70 centimetres) and not less than 27 inches (68 centimetres);
• not more than 16 ounces (450 grams) in weight and not less than 14 ounces (410 grams) at the start of the match; and
• of a pressure equal to 0.6–1.1 atmospheres (8.5–5.6 pounds per square inch or 600–1100 grams per centimetres square) at sea level.
What was the Jules Rimet trophy?
The original World Cup trophy was called “Victory.” Designed by French sculptor Abel Lafleur, it stood 13.7 inches (35 centimetres) high and weighed approximately 8.4 pounds (3.8 kilograms). The statuette depicted Nike of Samothrace and was made of sterling silver and gold plate, with a blue base made of lapis lazuli. There was a gold plate on each of the four sides of the base, on which were engraved the name of the trophy as well as the names of the nine winners between 1930 and 1970. In 1946, it was renamed the Jules Rimet trophy in honour of the founder of the World Cup tournament.
World Cup Firsts
• First goal: Lucien Laurent (France) against Mexico, July 13, 1930.
• First penalty goal: Manuel Rocquetas Rosas (Mexico) against Argentina, July 19, 1930.
• First hat trick: Guillermo Stabile (Argentina) against Mexico, July 19, 1930.
• First player sent off: Mario de Las Casas (Peru) against Romania, July 14, 1930.
• First own goal: Ernst Loertscher (Switzerland) against West Germany, June 9, 1938.
Who was Pickles?
In 1966, the Jules Rimet Cup disappeared while on display at London’s Westminster while on display at London’s Westminster Central Hall, just a few months before the World Cup was due to take place in England. It was later found by a dog named Pickles, owned by a Thames river-barge worker named David Corbett, wrapped in newspaper under a garden hedge in south London. Pickles and Corbett received £3,000 reward and England went on to win the cup.
What was the first tied match in World Cup history?
That was when Italy and Spain came out 1–1 during the quarter-finals in Florence, Italy on May 31, 1934. The game was replayed on June 1 to a score of 1-0 for Italy, who eventually won the cup that year.
What was the first World Cup match with extra time?
The first World Cup match with extra time was played in Turin between Austria and France on May 27, 1934, to settle a 2–2 tie. Austria advanced to the quarter-finals.
What was the first World Cup final with extra time?
On June 10, 1934, Italy and Czechoslovakia played to a 1–1 tie in the World Cup final in Rome. Italy scored in extra time to win the cup.
Quickies
Did you know …
that Hector Castro, who scored Uruguay’s winning goal in the 1930 World Cup final, had only one hand?
By what unusual method did Chile qualify for the 1973 World Cup finals in a match against the USSR?
Quite simply, by kicking the ball into an undefended net. Earlier in the year, after a coup d’état by General Augusto Pinochet, thousands of supporters of Marxist Chilean President Allende had been executed in the National Stadium in Santiago. Out of protest, the USSR refused to play in the stadium and the match was held without Soviet players present. The Chilean players kicked off the game and scored into the empty Soviet net. Then the game was abandoned and awarded to Chile. As a result, Chile automatically qualified for the 1974 finals but were eliminated in the first round.
Why was Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas banned for life by FIFA?
On September 3, 1989, Brazil was leading 1–0 with 23 minutes left in a decisive World Cup qualifier against Chile at the Estádio do Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro. In an attempt to disqualify the match, the Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas pretended to have been hit and seriously injured by a flare thrown from the Brazilian crowd. The whole Chilean team walked off in protest, and the match was abandoned. Investigations by the Chilean Soccer Federation and FIFA concluded that he had faked the injury. FIFA awarded Brazil a 2–0 victory, banned Rojas from international play for life and banned Chile from the 1994 World Cup.
Quickies
Did you know …
that Mexico was banned from participating in the 1990 World Cup because they had deliberately fielded three over-age players in a FIFA international youth tournament?
What happened to the original Jules Rimet Cup?
If anyone knows, they aren’t telling. In 1983, the original Jules Rimet Cup was stolen from a display at the Brazilian Football Confederation headquarters in Rio de Janeiro, and it is believed that it was melted down by the thieves. The Brazilian Football Association, who had earned the right to keep the trophy in 1970 after having won it three times, ordered a replica from Eastman Kodak, who commissioned Wilhelm Geist and Son in Hanau, Germany, to recreate the trophy. Three Brazilians and an Argentine were arrested for the theft but released. Eventually they were tried and convicted in absentia.
The Four Countries That Have Hosted the World Cup Twice
• Mexico: 1938 and 1986
• Italy: 1934 and 1990
• France: 1938 and 1998
• Germany: 1974 (West Germany) and 2006 unified Germany)
Which teams competed in the first World Cup match?
France beat Mexico 4–1 in that match held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on July 13, 1930.
Why was Leonidas left out of the Brazilian team for the 1938 semifinal against Italy?
The Brazilian coach wanted to save Leonidas for the final. The decision not to field Leoni-das in the semifinal was obviously wrong because Brazil unexpectedly lost 2–1
