REVENGE EXACTED IN AN UNINSPIRING FINAL
West Germany defeated Argentina in a final which experts would describe as “the worst, most tedious, bad-tempered” in the history of the World Cup.
It was a repeat of the previous edition final but with a change in script. West Germany was able to take revenge, but it was a final which experts would describe as “the worst, most tedious, badtempered” in the history of the World Cup. A final in which Diego Maradona was half crippled; in which Argentina’s dashing blond striker, Claudio Caniggia was suspended for a mere hand ball. Germans, despite looking uninspired, won through a penalty (which did not look genuine) but none watching the match would have complained, for such was the boredom.
After Holland’s brilliant win of the European championship two years earlier, its poor show in Italy was a big disappointment.
That victory was inspired by the dazzling trio of Marco Van Basten, Ruud Gullit and Frank Rijkaard. But in Italy, the highly intelligent Van Basten, a superb finisher, did not find favour with the team coach; Gullit, a destroyer, was down with a series of injuries, and Rijkaard had been brought in the face of opposition.
Host Italy was under pressure, but looked threatening from the start. Silvatore Schillaci grew in stature and finally became a household name and not surprisingly, he also became the top-scorer of the tournament.
Roberto Baggio was another to turn popular. But after promising so much, Italy, rather sadly, went down to Argentina on penalties in the semifinals after the teams were locked 1-1.
Argentina had recovered from a horrendous start, losing to the rising African team, Cameroon. The country from the ‘Dark Continent’ provided us with an insight about the talent in Africa. Omam Biyik and Roger Milla became two popular figures.
Nonetheless, Argentina took the defeat in its stride to reach the final, and Cameroon fell to England in the quarterfinals. Brazil
did not look a happy outfit, with its players appearing disgruntled. Nonetheless, it sailed through the preliminaries before meeting Argentina and crashing out. Brazil missed several scoring chances before Maradona provided a brilliant pass for Caniggia to give the finishing touch.
West Germany warmed up. It’s grand win over Holland in one of the best matches in the tournament, was just the boost it needed to get into top gear. It defeated Czechoslovakia in the quarterfinals, and then edged out England via penalties, in the semifinals.
On the other hand Argentina, stumbling, but holding on, had a lucky escape against Yugoslavia.
And then in the semifinals against Italy, once again, luck was to smile on the Argentines. Italy, without Baggio, still had Schillaci to give the side the lead. Then a goalkeeping blunder by Walter Zenga gave Argentina the reprieve.
In the final, Argentina’s sour, negative tactics did not make things any better. The absence of Caniggia left Argentina with one quality player short.
The poor physical condition of Maradona, too, contributed to the team’s downfall. Argentina had four players in the suspension list and two more followed. All told, it was a miserable outing for the Latin American side.
Referee Edgardo Codesal’s decision to award the West Germans a penalty when Rudi Voeller was brought down by Roberto
Sensini, was contested by Argentina.
And when Andreas Brehme promptly dispatched the penalty for the all important moment of the final, West Germany had won the World Cup.
Host — Italy
Teams — 24
Number of matches — 52
Goals scored — 115
Format — Group stage and knockouts
Winner — West Germany
Runner-up — Argentina
Top scorer — Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) — 6 goals Best player — Salvatore Schillaci (Italy) Best match — Cameroon vs England