WORLD CUP STORIES: THE TRAGEDY OF ANDRES ESCOBAR

As passionately as we may feel about the World Cup, every once in a while we are solemnly reminded of how tragic the consequences can be if the implications of a match are taken beyond the events on the pitch.

The Colombian defender Andres Escobar represented his country at the 1990 and 1994 World Cups. On June 22 1994 Colombia lost their second group match to the USA and Escobar had the misfortune to score an own goal whilst intercepting a cross from the right. The result put Colombia out of the World Cup. Ten days later, on July 2, Escobar was shot dead outside a bar in the suburbs of Colombia's second biggest city, Medellin. The killer reportedly shouted the word "goal!" as he fired no fewer than twelve shots.

It is not sure whether the killing of Escobar was purely motivated by a desire to punish the own goal or whether there were other factors. Rumours have circulated that the murder was ordered by a gambling syndicate that had bet a lot of money on Colombia's involvement in the knock-out stages.

120,000 people attended the player's funeral. A teacher at a local elementary school - Humberto Munoz Castro - was found guilty of Escobar's murder in June 1995. Despite being given an initial prison sentence of 43 years for the murder, Munoz was released in 2005 to the uproar of many and outrage of the family.

Escobar was about to marry his girlfriend of five years when he was murdered, Pamela Cascardo. She still keeps his team shirts and medals. There was also talk of him penning a deal to move to the mighty AC Milan. He was known in his playing career as "The Gentleman of football". His life was tragically taken from him at the tender age of 27.

Andres Escobar's father passed away two years ago at the age of 77. It was said of him that he died of a grieving heart, never understanding why his son was murdered and not being able to speak of him. Too many questions remained unanswered in a case where justice was never done.

On the eve of South Africa 2010, where we all wait expectantly and with such anticipation to discover the fate of our teams, we would do well to temper the emotions that will accompany the triumphs and defeats with a perspective on the things in life that truly matter; which of course includes the preciousness of life itself.

GRAVEYARD OF DREAMS

Florence, 1934....Rio de Janeiro, 1950....Vina del Mar, 1962....Birmingham (UK) 1966....Mar del Plata, 1978....Madrid, 1982....Puebla, 1986....Verona, 1990....Foxborough, 1994....Lens, 1998.....Gwangju, 2002....Hanover, 2006.

What is the connection between these cities and the World Cup years?

These are the places over the years where the World Cup dreams of one nation have come to an end...Spain.

Perennial underachievers at international tournaments, Spain finally delivered in the European Championships two years ago, winning the competition in style.

They head to South Africa as rightful favourites to win what would be a first World Cup, and look to have all the ingredients in place for a successful campaign. When they play, they look like a well-oiled machine, and winning has become a habit.

Spain are in Group H and should win it, their three matches being against Switzerland, Honduras and Chile. If they do finish top they are likely to face a tough second round clash against the runners-up of Brazil's group, which contains North Korea, Ivory Coast and Portugal.

And if they don't win the tournament, which city will be the graveyard of their dreams in 2010?

COUNTRY FOCUS: ITALY

With four World Cup triumphs, Italy are the most successful European nation in the history of the tournament and are second only to five-times winners Brazil. They head to South Africa 2010 as defending Champions, and if the Azzurri successfully defend their crown they will emulate the acheivements of the Italian side that won the second and third World Cups in 1934 and 1938. Italy build their teams on defence and are traditionally very hard to beat, and don't expect it to be any different this time around. Few people fancied them to make an impact four years ago (myself excluded!) and not many are talking about them as potential winners this time either. Ignore them at your peril. In the five World Cups between Italy's last two triumphs - 1982 and 2006 - only France (1986) and South Korea (2002) have knocked them out of the tournament in open play, and the latter by virtue of a golden goal. From 1990 to 1998 they were knocked out on penalties. Marcelo Lippi answered the call to return as national coach following Italy's penalty exit to Spain at Euro 2008 in the quarter-finals, and he knows just what it takes to win the greatest Cup of them all. Italy have a unique opportunity this summer to become the first team ever to successfully defend their World Title twice, and in the process to join Brazil as five-time Champions.

World Cup Pedigree:

Italy won the first two World Cups they took part in. As hosts in 1934 they beat the USA, Spain, Austria and Czechoslovakia in a tournament that was used as a political tool by Mussolini to promote fascism. Four years later in France the Italians successfully defended their Title with victories over Norway, France, Brazil and Hungary.

Following the twelve-year gap due to the war a lean period followed for the Italians. They headed to Brazil in 1950 looking for a hat-trick of Titles. A crucial 3-2 defeat against Sweden in the group stages put paid to their hopes though, and in 1954 a play-off defeat against Switzerland again meant failure to get through to the knock-out phase.

Italy didn't even qualify for the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, and in 1962 again went out at the group stage following a defeat to the host nation Chile. Four years later in England they fell victim to one of the great World Cup shocks when defeat by North Korea in their final group game dumped them out. In 1970 Italy reached the Final but were outclassed by a fabulous Brazilian team who were dominating world football at the time. Four years later in Germany it was a familiar story; a key defeat against Poland yet again saw Italy fail to qualify for the latter stages.

In Argentina in 1978 the Italians did manage to get through to the second group stage, but lost 2-1 to Holland in the last match to miss out on a place in the Final. At Espana 82 Italy delivered their third World Cup in unlikely circumstances; a famous victory over Brazil in Barcelona was the launch-pad for Paulo Rossi to score six goals in three games and win the golden boot. Italy ruled the world following a 3-1 win over West Germany in the Final in Madrid.

Their reign as World Champions came to a tame end at Mexico 86 when France knocked them out with a 2-0 win in the second round. As host nation in 1990 the Italians bore a huge weight of expectation and reached the semi-finals without conceding a goal. They lost a penalty shootout against Argentina following a 1-1 draw, and this was the first of three consecutive World Cups in which they would lose in this manner. At USA 94 it was in the Final against Brazil and at France 98 it was in the quarter-final against the hosts. More heartache followed at Korea/Japan 2002 when South Korea beat them with a golden goal in the second round - evoking memories of what happened to them in 1966.

Italy arrived in Germany for the 2006 World Cup unfancied, but the heartache of recent years appeared to have injected some steel into the Italian psyche, and they progressed through to the semi-finals and a meeting with the host nation Germany. A famous 2-0 win set up a Final with France, who had a resurgent Zinedine Zidane in their side determined to end his career with a second World Cup triumph. But with the match locked at 1-1, the French captain was red-carded in the closing stages of extra-time and Italy went on to bury their penalty shootout hoodoo and secure a fourth World Cup.

Greatest Moment:

After three lame draws in their group matches at Espana 82 Italy appeared to have no chance of glory, but went on to beat Argentina, Brazil, Poland and West Germany to win their first World Cup of the modern era.

Biggest Heartbreak:

Roberto Baggio stood on the brink of greatness at USA 94 having carried Italy through to a Final against Brazil, but his penalty miss in the shootout dashed the dreams of a nation in the cruelest of circumstances.

At South Africa 2010 Italy will be competing in their seventeenth World Cup Finals.

CLASSIC WORLD CUP ENCOUNTERS

ITALIA 90, Semi-Final: Italy v Argentina

As host nation the Italians were under tremendous pressure to deliver on a night of huge drama in Naples. Diego Maradona stoked the pre-match fires by pleading with the Napolitan people to support him (his club side was Napoli) rather than their native Italy. On paper Italy had the armoury to see off the defending champions, but there was something about the way Argentina had bluffed their win through to the last four that cast a doubt in the back of the minds of many.

This was the clash between the last two winners of the World Cup; the Hosts v the Holders. Argentina had lost the tournament opener to Cameroon and consequently only just sneaked through their group in third place, meaning that they faced Brazil in their first knock-out match. They sneaked an extremely lucky 1-0 win with a late Claudio Caniggia goal, and only won their quarter-final against Yugoslavia on penalties, despite a potentially key spotkick miss by Maradona. The gods appeared to be smiling on the Albiceleste.

Italy had grown in stature as the tournament had progressed; they hadn't conceded a single goal in their five matches and Salvatore Schillaci was leading the line with four goals to date. He duly delivered again 17 minutes into the semi-final to calm home nerves, but Italy could not add a second goal and Caniggia equalized midway through the second half with a flicked header. The pendulum didn't swing however, and it was the Italians who pushed more to find a winning goal, coming close in the closing stages. Extra-time was typified by the inevitable fear of losing, and the emotional roller-coaster of the penalty shootout loomed large. With the scores tied at 3-3, Roberto Donadoni saw his kick saved by Goycochea, and the brave Maradona stepped up to banish the memory of his quarter-final miss and put Argentina ahead. Aldo Serena's next penalty was also saved by Goycochea, and the Italian dream of becoming the first country to win a fourth World Cup was over.

SELECTION HEADACHES

There's no denying it, we may be thirty days from the start of the tournament but South Africa 2010 is well and truly in full swing.

With squads being announced left, right and centre there is talking point after talking point arising from all corners of the globe and believe it or not there's the odd metatarsal raising it's ugly head, or toe as the case may be.

It seems that South Africa will be a World Cup that will make new international superstars rather than showcasing the ones we are already familiar with. Maradona kicked things off by giving Argentina fans something of a head scratcher as he left out not one, not two, but three big names in his provisional squad.

The legend has left the trio of Javier Zanetti, Fernando Gago and Esteban Cambiasso without a seat on the plane to South Africa. In an apparent catching trend Ronaldinho has been omitted by the Brazilians, Ruud van Nistelrooy overlooked by the Dutch, Luca Toni and Francesco Totti ignored by the Azzuri and Patrick Vieira left out of the France squad.

That crazy Raymond Domenech has also left out Arsenal's Samir Nasri and decided that Real Madrid's £30 million striker Karim Benzema is not one of the top eight French strikers with the twenty-two year old told to take a holiday somewhere other than South Africa this summer.

In other news, Mexico have named just five midfielders in a thirty man squad and New Zealand have selected two men who don't have clubs.

On the home front it's somewhat less surprising that there is no Michael Owen in the England squad and for injury reasons David Beckham has also missed out. However don't think Fabio Capello has it all that easy, since naming Rio Ferdinand the new England captain the Manchester United defender has struggled to string two games together while there are strong whispers that John Terry has done his metatarsal (that's a toe to us simpletons).

The first choice replacement is Tottenham Hotspur's Ledley King, a man who has such injury problems that he doesn't train for the Premier League outfit, but admittedly it doesn't seem to effect his performances on the pitch. King was an integral part of Spurs successful charge to fourth place this season and you'd bet your house on him to put his career on the line for the cause.

Other backups in the centre back position are the untried Michael Dawson, the uninspiring Matty Upson and the un-retired Jamie Carragher all of whom would have to string together an immediate understanding to give England some leadership at the back.

When is this tournament over? I've already got a headache.

SQUADS ANNOUNCED AS TOURNAMENT DRAWS CLOSER

A number of squads, be they preliminary, provisional or predictable have now be announced for this summer's World Cup, with the tournament just over thirty days away.

Today England manager Fabio Capello announced his thirty-strong provisional squad with many rumours circling around possible surprise inclusions. Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has come out of international retirement to answer the Italian's call while no less than six Tottenham players have made the first draft of the national squad.

Darren Bent is another player to perhaps unfairly be named as a 'surprise' inclusion, after all what more can a striker do to get in the England team if 24 league goals isn't enough? Other mild surprises were those of West Ham midfielder Scott Parker and the injured Gareth Barry who had been expected to miss out.

Capello will now scrutinise his thirty men over the coming weeks before the players are given their final chance to impress in the friendlies with Mexico and Japan at the end of May. He will then announce his final 23 man squad on June 1st, just ten days before the start of the tournament.

England aren't the only team to announce their squad however, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Ghana, Portugal, Nigeria, Spain and hosts South Africa are just a few of the nations to have named a squad in some capacity.

PLAYER FOCUS: GIANLUIGI BUFFON

In the world of international football, they don't come much more respected than Gianluigi Buffon.

The eternally brilliant Italian commands praise from all corners of the globe and even now in his thirty-second year he still gets linked to the biggest clubs in Europe, despite the inevitable price that would be required.

Rumours of a summer transfer to the Premier League seem to gather pace with every passing day and perhaps playing abroad is one of the few things left to accomplish for the veteran 'keeper.

Buffon's move from his first club, Parma, to Juventus in 2001, sent shockwaves around the footballing world when he made the switch for over £23 million, an amount that still remains the highest fee ever paid for a goalkeeper.

Perhaps even more impressive than his exemplary club record - UEFA Cup winner, Italian Cup winner and twice a Serie A winner - is his incredible international career. South Africa will be Buffon's fourth World Cup and the Italy legend has more than proven his ability on the big stage.

In Italy's victorious campaign at Germany 2006 Buffon kept five clean sheets in seven matches including a 453 minute streak without conceding. Buffon's form was influential in Italy's run to glory and he'll be hoping to provide the same stronghold this time around in South Africa.

Buffon reached the magical mark of one hundred caps for his country earlier this year and will be looking to add seven more to that total this summer.

TOP FIVE......ABIDING IMAGES OF THE WORLD CUP

This is very personal, and of course depends very much on age and how many World Cups we remember. I'm 38, and my 'live' World Cup memories go back to Spain in 1982. Three of my 'abiding images' come from these live memories, the other two are pre-82 and find their place in my list based on what I have seen and read myself, and heard from others. More difficult than deciding on what my top five memories were was deciding on the order in which to place them, as each in its own unique way says so much about the World Cup, and the ways that the drama that unfolds on the field of play reflects the scope of experience of human life. A tough task. Here's mine anyway, in ascending order.

5. Zidane's headbutt - 2006

The World Cup Final of 2006 between France and Italy was finally poised at 1-1 and extra-time was being played. The French, inspired by Zinedine Zidane, were starting to impose some authority on the game and boss the midfield. Then an unthinkable occurence in the 110th minute. Zidane, running back up field, suddenly turned back on himself to viciously headbutt Italian defender Marco Materazzi in the chest. The two players had been the two goalscorers, and a verbal exchange had taken place between them to prompt Zidane's extraordinary attack. A red card is shown, and France have lost their talisman at the most crucial of moments. The image of Zidane leaving the greatest football stage and disconsolately walking past the trophy, taking the hopes of a nation with him, is pure pathos.

4. Hurst's crossbar goal - 1966

England boss Al Ramsey had made the decision to play Geoff Hurst up front in the World Cup Final against West Germany owing to the questionable fitness of first-choice striker Jimmy Greaves. The rest is history. Hurst scored a hat-trick, but his crucial second goal in the eleventh minute of the first period of extra-time remains one of the most controversial moments in World Cup history. His shot hit the underside of the crossbar and appeared to bounce down on the line. The incident led to the referee consulting with his linesman, and to the dismay of the Germans the goal was given. Fourty four years later, and the reality is that the same thing could happen again this summer - technology still has no place in football.

3. Maradona's "Hand of God" and "Goal of the Century" - 1986

Surely the ultimate juxtaposition of football irony. Six minutes into the second-half of Argentina's quarter-final against England, Diego Maradona clearly punches the ball over Peter Shilton's head into the net with his left hand. Incredibly, the officials fail to spot the misdemeanour and the 'goal' stands. Maradona would later make his infamous and ambiguous claim that the the goal was scored by the "Hand of God". Four minutes later, Maradona picks up the ball in his own half and weaves his way up-field, leaving player after player in his wake to score what would later be voted the best goal of the century in a FIFA poll. One moment of cheating and another of pure genius by the same player, within a four-minute spell of World Cup madness, were enough to dump England out and send Argentina marching on towards their destiny with glory.

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2. Tardelli's celebration - 1982

Marco Tardelli scored the second Italian goal against West Germany in the 1982 World Cup Final in Madrid. It was the goal that effectively sealed triumph for his country as it gave Italy a 2-0 lead against a tired German side. After crashing his shot past Schumacher from the edge of the area he turned with a trance-like expression, shaking fists and mounting tears and set off on a run to the Italian bench. Such moments are the priviledge of so very few players, and Tardelli's show of passion will always be one of those lasting World Cup memories. Fabian Grosso's celebration four years ago after scoring in the last minute against Germany in the semi-final was strikingly similar.

1. Alberto's goal - 1970

My favourite team goal ever, and many will share the view. It was the ease with which the Brazilians stroked the ball around, there was a laziness to it that was arrogant, a self-belief in a collective ability that belonged to another world. No team in history could have lived with Brazil that day, the occasion was the World Cup Final of 1970, and Italy were the opponents who were crushed 4-1 in Mexico City. Carlos Alberto's goal was the last of the four, and the one that so gloriously epitomized everything about the Brazil team of the 1970 World Cup.

TRIVIA ANSWERS

See yesterday's post for questions.

Brazil. Although they have won the World Cup on five occasions, they didn't win it on the only occasion - 1950 - that they hosted the tournament. They have won the World Cup in Sweden (1958), Chile (1962), Mexico (1970), the USA (1994) and Japan (2002).

Franz Beckenbauer in 1974. Brazil had kept the previous trophy after their third World Cup triumph in Mexico four years earlier.

Eleven different countries have played in a World Cup Final - Uruguay, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Brazil, England, Holland, France and Sweden.

This was the second semi-final in Spain, 1982. After a 3-3 draw, West Germany beat France 5-4 on penalties to book a clash with Italy in Madrid.

Portugal and the Soviet Union. Both had lost their semi-finals by a 2-1 scoreline, to England and West Germany respectively. Portugal won the third-fourth place match by the same score.

Hungary hit double figures to win 10-1, but both nations failed to qualify for the second round, losing out to Belgium and Argentina who finished first and second in Group 3.

Red cards were first introduced in 1970, but no players were sent off in that tournament. Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be sent off in their opening group game against the hosts and eventual winners West Germany.

There was no World Cup Final in 1950. To decide the tournament there was a final group of four teams who all played each other. Uruguay beat Brazil in the final and decisive match.

Hristo Stoichkov of Bulgaria and Oleg Salenko of Russia. Bulgaria reached the semi-finals giving Stoichkov seven matches to bag his tally. The Russians didn't get out of their group, but Salenko notched an incredible five goals in a single game against Cameroon.

In 1982, when Italy, Poland, France and West Germany made up the last four.

WORLD CUP TRIVIA

Ten Questions On...

The World Cup - in general



1. Seven countries have won the World Cup. Which of the seven is the only one never to have won it on home soil?

2. Who was the first winning captain to lift the current World Cup Trophy?

3. How many different countries have appeared in a World Cup Final?

4. Which was the first World Cup match to be decided by a penalty shootout?

5. Who contested the third/fourth placed match in 1966?

6. In a group match between Hungary and El Salvador at the 1982 World Cup in Spain there were eleven goals scored. What was the result?

7. In which World Cup were red cards first introduced, and who was the first player to be shown one?

8. What was unique about the 1950 World Cup in terms of something that it didn't have?

9. Which two players shared the Golden Boot at USA 94 with six goals each?

10. All four semi-finalists in the last World Cup were European teams. When was the last time that happened?

AS ALWAYS, ANSWERS TOMORROW!