Atlantica - 01.04.2006, Side 12

An estimated seven million football fans are preparing to descend upon Germany in a frenzied wave for this summer’s World Cup (June 9-July
9). So are an estimated 40,000 prostitutes. What’s this football tournament all about? Here are the facts.
The Beautiful
Game
URUGUAY hosted the first-ever World
Cup in 1930, which just happened to
coincide with the country’s 100-year
anniversary of independence. Uruguay
celebrated its independence in style,
winning the World Cup by defeating
Argentina 4-2.
THIRTEEN NATIONS participated
in the inaugural World Cup. Facing
the prospect of an arduous journey
across the Atlantic, only four European
nations competed: Belgium, France,
Yugoslavia and Romania. They set
sail from Villefranche-Sur-Mer on the
French Riviera on June 21, and after a
stopover in Rio de Janeiro to pick up
the Brazilian squad, the clubs arrived
in Montevideo on July 4.
EXACTLY WHAT OR WHO IS FIFA?
The acronym stands for Fédération
Internationale de Football Association
(International Federation of Football
Association). FIFA is the world’s gov-
erning body of football.
ODDS FAVOR FIVE-TIME CHAMPION
Brazil to claim this year’s World Cup. At
press time, for every $1 bet, a Brazilian
victory would pay out $3.
WHO SCORED the World Cup’s first
hat trick? There were two footballers.
Two players? Ah, yes, what would foot-
ball be without controversy? America’s
Bertram Patenaude had three goals
against Paraguay on 17 July 1930.
However, his second goal was origi-
nally ruled an own-goal, so some foot-
ball historians credit Guillermo Stabile
of Argentina with the first hat trick.
Stabile knocked in three against Mexico
on the 19th. FIFA, though, later gave
Patenaude credit for his second goal,
enabling the American to become an
answer to a trivia question.
THE WORLD CUP tournament has
been played every four years since
1930, except in 1942 and 1946 due to
WWII. While the conflict devastated
Europe, the then-Italian Vice President
of FIFA, Dr. Ottorino Barassi, apparently
hid the World Cup trophy in a shoebox
under his bed lest it fall into the hands
of occupying forces.
THE BEAUTY OF the World Cup is that
any one of the 32 nations has a shot
at lifting the trophy. Not really. In the
17 World Cup tournaments held, only
seven different nations have won.
Brazil has won five times, including the
2002 World Cup. Italy and Germany
each have three titles. Uruguay and
Argentina have won the Cup twice
while England and France have one
each.
THE OLDEST FOOTBALLER to score a
goal in the World Cup is Cameroonian
national Roger Milla, 42 years and 39
days, against Russia. At 17 years and
239 days, Brazilian Pele is the youngest
player to win a World Cup final, 1958.
He’s also the youngest player to ever
score in the World Cup.
THE FASTEST GOAL from kickoff was
scored in 11 seconds, by Turkey’s Hakan
Sükür against South Korea, 2002.
FIFA ESTIMATES that 33.4 billion peo-
ple watched some part of the 1998
World Cup, held in France. (It calcu-
lated this total by adding together the
audiences for all the games, including
those who watched bits and pieces
of matches on the news.) France’s 3-
0 defeat over Brazil in the ’98 World
Cup final sparked the biggest popular
celebrations in the French capital since
the liberation of Paris from the Nazis
in 1944.
WHILE SOME OFFICIALS insist the
number has been greatly overstated,
the German media reported that some
40,000 prostitutes would be working
this summer’s event. “German cities are
building mobile brothels and installing
a huge number of condom dispensers,”
reported the Sunday Herald. Andreas
Ruch of Munich’s central police told
the German newspaper that the
40,000 figure had been “plucked from
the air.” a
10 AT L A N T I CA
PHOTO BY PÁLL STEFÁNSSON
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