Another FIFA World Cup, the biggest sporting event in the history of the world. As I write this, the semifinalists have lined up. It is France vs Spain and England vs Argentina. I started watching World Cup football in the year 1986, when Diego Maradona took the football world by storm and scored the goal of the century.
My love for soccer was kept alive by the columns of Brian Glanville in the Sports Star. I can’t recall the name of the column but vaguely remember it to be Kicking Around, highly reminiscent of his allusive, anecdotal style. My favourite team has been Brazil. This was largely due to my Dad, who was a footballer himself. He told me stories about football, about Pele, Garrincha, Tostao, Rivelino, Zico, Socrates and others. We both of us liked and admired the free-flowing Brazilian style. Over the years, other styles like Total Football, transition football, defensive techniques and tiki-taka too have been played. But the beautiful game for me and my Dad was when the Brazilian forwards dribbled, caressed, feigned and controlled the ball, dissecting the opposite camp. In football, the goals are important. Of course, stopping the other teams from scoring goals is also important.
Spain won the World Cup in 2010 with their tiki-taka style of play. In 1990, Germany relied mostly on the long ball. In 1998, France powered themselves to the title with some powerful headers by Zinedine Zidane. All things said, football is a team sport, where scoring goals, assists and stopping goals are all equally important. This World Cup has thrown up some new heroes like Haaland, Bellingham, Balogun, Saibari, Yamal and others.
Over the years, I have watched some keenly contested World Cup matches: France vs Brazil 1986, Argentina vs England 1986, Argentina vs Germany 1986 final, France vs Croatia 2018 final, Mexico vs England 2026. The display of skills, the competitive spirit and contest is so intense that football matches generate more drama than a suspense thriller, especially when it goes to penalties. For the players, spectators and aficionados like me, football is not just a game. Football is religion, football is life, football is more than life.