Those things about soccer you never wondered about

(Read at the issue of English Teaching Professional of May 2010)

1.- King Carol II of Romania, a keen football fan, personally selected the national team in the 1930 World Cup and asked their employees to allow each player three months’ leave on full pay.

2.- The Cameroon players were not allowed to wear sleeveless shirts in the 2002 final because FIFA rules say players must wear ‘shirts’. The Cameroon players’ sleeveless shirts were deemed to be ‘vests’.

3.- Ronaldo changed his hair style after Brazil beat England in the 2002 quarter finals to make him look different from his teammate Roberto Carlos. His wife had told him that their baby son had kissed the TV shouting Daddy!! whenever Carlos appeared on the screen.

 4.- The trophy was stolen before the 1966 final, while it was exhibited in London just before the final. It was hidden in a garden in South London and was found by Pickles, who was being walked by his owner, David Corbett.

5.- The 1966 opening match between Uruguay and England was  delayed because some of the English players had left their identity cards at the hotel. A police motorcyclist was sent to their hotel to retrieve them.

6.- India withdrew from the 1950 finals because they were not allowed to play in bare feet. Nowadays Indian players no longer play in bare feet but they have never had another chance to play in the World Cup final.

7.- Raimondo Orsi of Italy returned to the stadium the day after the 1934 final to demonstrate his goal-scoring technique to the press. He had scored the winning goal with an amazing swerving shot. Unfortunately he was unable to reproduce this shot for the cameras.

8.- The Italian captain Peppino Meazza felt embarrassed when he took a penalty kick in the 1938 final because his shorts fell off. Meazza’s shorts had been torn earlier in the game and did not survive the penalty kick. His teammates gathered around him until a new pair of shorts was produced.