Ze best of times
Brazil loses World Cup; bribes scandal in England; Blatter takes FIFA presidency
Posted: Thursday December 31, 1998 03:54 PM
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The French gave a skeptical public their first World Cup title in the last World Cup of this century AP |
LONDON, England (AP) -- France was expected to be a great host. It wasn't
supposed to beat Brazil and win the World Cup, too.
Zinedine Zidane, with his two goals, eclipsed Ronaldo as the
French outplayed the Brazilians 3-0 at the Stade de France to give
soccer a new and unexpected world champion.
It was a year when few things really went as expected.
Soccer in 1998 had all the big names dominating the headlines
but usually for the wrong reasons.
A doping scandal exploded in Italy's Serie A after a top coach
suggested some players were taking performance-enhancing
substances, and leading officials were put under investigation for
allegedly hiding the results of positive tests.
The World Cup gave Ronaldo the chance to prove why he's the best
player in the world. Yet, apparently hit by a mystery illness on
the day of the final, he was virtually anonymous during the match.
He also performed intermittently during the year for Inter Milan.
Heavily favored Brazil had so many stars at the World Cup that
coach Mario Zagallo couldn't make them play together. They got to
the final and fizzled out.
By contrast, the French gave a skeptical public their first
World Cup title and united a nation which wasn't sure it wanted the
competition in the first place.
In terms of performance, South Africa, Japan and Jamaica made
their World Cup debuts expecting to reflect advances on soccer back
home. Like some more familiar names, including the United States,
they all went home early and FIFA, hoping the late stages of the
competition would have a more worldwide look, saw it boil down to
Europe vs. South America once again.
Croatia, having made the finals in its first attempt,
surprisingly reached the final four, ousting powerhouse Germany 3-0
along the way, before losing to the French.
The surprises continued at club level.
Favored Juventus reached its third straight European Champions
Cup final but lost to Real Madrid, which won the title for the
seventh time but first since 1966.
Manchester United, once 12 points clear of rival Arsenal in the
English league, completely fell apart with manager Alex Ferguson
concentrating on the Champions Cup. The team won neither, and
Arsenal made United's misery even worse by winning the FA Cup, too,
to earn the prestigious double under respected French coach Arsene
Wenger.
Kaiserslautern won the German Bundesliga after gaining promotion
from the lower division the previous season and Lens won the French
league for the first time in its history.
Zidane (10) eclipsed Ronaldo with his two goals in France victory against Brazil AP | |
The FIFA presidency changed hands with Joao Havelange stepping
down after 24 years. There was a surprise here too because the job
went to its 62-year-old Swiss secretary-general Sepp Blatter, who
stepped into the race at the late stages. UEFA president Lennart
Johansson, who once believed himself the only candidate, was left
the loser.
Big business made an impact too.
Rupert Murdoch's BSkyB made a 623 million pound (US$1 billion)
bid for Manchester United, a move that prompted other companies to
prepare similar bids for clubs such as Newcastle and Arsenal. All
are on hold pending a decision by a government appointed body
whether the BSkyB bid breaches the rules of fair trading.
Faced by the threat of a breakaway Super League of Europe's major
clubs, UEFA decided to expand its Champions Cup and merge the UEFA
and Cup winners Cups into one. After hearing how much money that
would generate for them, the clubs pledged their loyalty.
The English Football Association was plunged into the biggest
scandal in its 135-year history in December over a 3.2 million
pound (US$5 million) loan to its Welsh counterpart.
The money was interpreted as a cash-for-votes deal because
English FA chairman Keith Wiseman wanted the Welsh to support him
in a FIFA-UEFA election. Though declaring innocence, chief
executive Graham Kelly quit. Wiseman refused to go, while the
scandal was considered a major blow to England's bid to stage the
2006 World Cup.
At least some things went according to plan.
A France-Brazil final in Paris was the ideal finale to a
colorful World Cup in which goal-chances thankfully outnumbered
even a huge increase in red and yellow cards. Referees were ordered
to expel defenders who fouled from behind and the move appeared to
work with more action in front of the goal.
While Real Madrid downed Juventus in the Champions Cup, Chelsea,
coached by Gianluca Vialli who stepped in after Ruud Gullit stunned
the club by quitting in February, beat probably the weakest ever
field to win the Cup Winners Cup.
Vialli's team edged Stuttgart 1-0 in the final in Goteborg,
Sweden, while Italy at least claimed the UEFA Cup final, with
Internazionale of Milan downing Lazio of Rome 3-0.
Brazil's Vasco da Gama won South America's Copa Libertadores,
beating Ecuador's Barcelona 2-0 and 2-1 in the two-leg final only
to lose 1-0 to Real Madrid in Tokyo in the Toyota Cup.
Despite the Americans losing all three games at the World Cup,
including a 2-1 disappointment to Iran in the most politically
charged match of the tournament, the United States regained some of
its pride later in the year. Two-time Major League Soccer champion
D.C. United upset Mexico's Toluca for the CONCACAF Champions Cup
and then stunned Brazil's Vasco da Gama in a two-game showdown for
the Interamerican Cup.
Of the coaches in the headlines, England's Glenn Hoddle was
ridiculed in the media for his use of a faith healer but at least
kept his job. Brazil dismissed Zagallo, Italy dropped Cesare
Maldini and Saudi Arabia got rid of Carlos Alberto Parreira even
before the first round of the World Cup was completed. Meanwhile,
Roma's Zdenek Zeman caused the doping furor in Italy by accusing
some players of taking performance-enhancing drugs.
England's Michael Owen was probably the best newcomer, becoming
his country's youngest goal scorer and then netting one of the best
goals of the World Cup with a solo dribble against Argentina.
Copyright 2003 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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