The Case For 1966 Being The Craziest World Cup

The Case For 1966 Being The Craziest World Cup
08:10, 16 Jun 2018

The 1966 World Cup, or at least the final, has been eulogised in England for over half a century. It was the pinnacle of English sporting achievement, played in the home of football, and for the very first time, it was all shown on colour TV.

For audiences at home and those on the terraces alike, the game’s greatest tournament of all came to life. So, it’s no coincidence that the commentary from the England’s 4-2 win over West Germany in the final – “they think it’s all over, it is now!” – has become immortalised.

However, elsewhere 1966 has not been forgotten, though its events are not reminisced with the same warm sense of nostalgia. The competition was ridden with controversy from the get-go, with several South American teams going home crying foul play. If a World Cup was to be judged on sheer drama, 1966 has to take the cake.

In terms of heroes and villains, there were plenty of both. Lev Yashin shone in goal for the Soviet Union, Eusebio won the Golden Boot for third-placed Portugal, who were making their tournament debut. And of course, Bobby Moore was valiant, earning himself a reputation as an unmatched tackler.  

As for villains, they were to be found both on and off the pitch. Months before the first ball had been kicked, the Jules Rimet trophy was stolen from its place in exhibition at Westminster Central Hall. Ransom demands followed and one man, Edward Betchley, was convicted for his part in the crime, which had prompted one of the biggest Scotland Yard investigations of all time. The cup was eventually discovered by a Border Collie named Pickles, who became a national celebrity.

The run-up was affected too, by the boycott of African nations. No World Cup before or since has been snubbed by an entire continent. A total of 31 countries were protesting FIFA’s decision that there would be just one place at the 16-team finals for a country from Africa, Asia or Oceania. The three winners of the African qualifying rounds would have to face a play-off against Asian opposition, when they believed they had already qualified on merit.

In 1963, FIFA had also readmitted South Africa, who had been suspended because of apartheid. The Confederation of African Football had exiled them first, but FIFA had been won over by a dubious promise that if they could take an all-white team to England in 1966, they would participate with an all-black XI in 1970.

Perhaps all that build-up set the tone for what was to prove a contentious tournament throughout. It’s a known fact that it is all the more difficult to win a World Cup outside a nation’s own continent, Brazil, Argentina, Spain and Germany the only teams to have done so - the latter two achieving the feat only in the last eight years. Interestingly, Brazil are the favourites at Russia 2018.

Yet, Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina might have argued that they had no chance of going all the way in 1966. Non-European teams complained that they were given inferior training facilities, some of which didn’t even have goalposts. Then there was the refereeing.

Pele took such a kicking in Brazil’s first game against Bulgaria that he had to miss their second match, which saw them lose 3-1 to Hungary. The Selecao lost 3-1 but had two goals disallowed, ultimately exiting at the group stage. One of the greatest players of all time left England with a bitter taste in his mouth, briefly falling out of love with the game.

In England’s group, Alf Ramsey’s men beat France 2-0 thanks to an offside goal and another that was scored while a French player was down injured, courtesy of Nobby Stiles. The hosts would be involved in more controversy in the quarter-final, which is referred to as “El robo del siglo” in Argentina: the robbery of the century. England won 1-0, but the Albiceleste had Antonio Rattín sent off for foul language and dissent, even though the referee could not understand what he had said in Spanish. The Boca Juniors star refused to leave the pitch, sat on the red carpet which was reserved for the Queen, and was eventually taken away by the police.

Here’s where the conspiracy theories began. The referee involved in that incident was German. In West Germany’s quarter-final with Uruguay, the referee, Jim Finney, was English. He dismissed Uruguay’s Horacio Troche for kicking Lothar Emmerich in the stomach. Fair enough. Troche slapped another German player on his way off for good measure. Héctor Silva was sent off for another foul five minutes later. At the final whistle, Julio Cortés articulated his disgust at those decisions by kicking the match official. In short, Uruguay lost it – but the theory was born that Latin American sides had been fixed out of the tournament, so that England and West Germany could reach the final.

The side who did their best to defy that Eurocentric narrative was North Korea, who like Portugal had never been to a World Cup before. In fact, they did not reach another until 2010. Their most glorious moment, and one of the biggest upsets of them all, came when they beat Italy 1-0 in Group 4, a result which helped them reach the last eight, where they lost 5-3 to the brilliance of Eusebio, who scored four. North Korea’s presence meant that national anthems weren’t played until the final, because the UK did not officially recognise the communist state and feared antagonising South Korea.  

Is it any wonder that a World Cup like that was decided, in part, by a goal that *probably* didn’t cross the line? Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters’ exploits have ensured that 1966 is remembered for all the best reasons in England, embedded in the national psyche and revered by many who aren’t old enough to have been born – but to look at the tournament in its entirety, it’s a pity that it’s only the final that is remembered so intricately.

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