The Hindu : Memories of the 1970 classic linger on

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 20, 2002

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Sport - Football

Memories of the 1970 classic linger on

GREAT MEN, GREAT MATCH, GREAT MEMORIES: The 1970 World Cup match between Brazil and England in Mexico is one of the most talked about encounters in the history of the competition. The presence of such great players as Pele and Bobby Moore (exchanging jerseys) added a genuine touch of class to the great occasion. — Allsport

SHIZUOKA June 19. One thing is often overlooked when fans of a certain age recall the 1970 World Cup — it was the first to be shown on television in colour.

And not just any old colour but rich vibrant colours, not quite true to life.

Colour television, outside the United States, was a technological breakthrough but one still in its infancy.

And so the yellow shirts of Brazil appeared more yellow on television than they were in real life and the grass of the Azteca, Guanajuato and Jalisco stadiums looked like lush meadows.

Today, the grass of the Jalisco still shimmers in football's collective memory as do those yellow shirts, as if the game between England and Brazil on June 7, 1970, is still being played in a permanent time-warp.

Thirty two years later, England is about to meet Brazil in a competitive match for the first time since that epic day when Jairzino scored the only goal, Banks made the greatest save and Bobby Moore tackled like no one before or since.

So strong are the images and so famous the incidents of the game that even England skipper David Beckham — who wasn't born until five years later — says he remembers it well.

``The image that sticks in my mind is Bobby Moore changing shirts with Pele at the end, two great players, two great moments.''

It was that sort of a match.

The game had been eagerly anticipated for six months since England, winner in 1966, and former champion Brazil were drawn to play each other in the first round of the tournament.

That is another crucial part of the jigsaw which makes up the bigger picture — the result was important, but not a matter of soccer life and death. England may have lost but it still went through to the quarterfinals along with Brazil.

Both teams had won their opening matches in the group, Brazil beating Czechoslovakia 4-1 and England starting the defence of its title with a 1-0 win over Romania.

The day before the match, Romania beat the Czechs 2-1, which meant that when the game kicked off Brazil, England and Romania all had two points under the system in use at the time.

Whoever won was almost certain to qualify and whoever lost would probably still go through by winning their remaining game, which is exactly what happened.

All about philosophy

not points

But this match was never really about points, it was about philosophies of play — European v Latin American; it was about past and present champions, players like Moore, Bobby Charlton, Pele and Rivelino, the pragmatic tactics of England coach Alf Ramsey, the World Cup love affair that Brazilian coach Mario Zagallo enjoyed with the tournament.

He had played in the Brazil teams that faced England in the 1958 and 1962 tournaments when Brazil won the Jules Rimet Cup. Now he was coach of the greatest team ever assembled.

The game, on a blazing hot afternoon, was played at such an advanced technical level that Charlton, playing in the 104th of his 106 England internationals, says it could still be used for coaching purposes.

He also says that the save Gordon Banks made from Pele after 10 minutes was the greatest he has ever seen.

Pele's famous header was the first great moment. Jairzinho whipped in a cross from the right and Pele leapt above England defender Tommy Wright at the far post and headed the ball down.

England defender Alan Mullery says ``he was screaming goal as soon as he headed it'' but from the other side of the goal came Banks, somehow covering the space between his left-hand and right-hand posts in a split second blur to scoop the ball — on the goalline — up and away over the bar for a corner.

Pele remembers: ``I still don't know how Gordon Banks got across his goal so fast for that miraculous save, I thought I was going to score.''

That set the tone for the match. England skipper Moore had the game of his career, timing his tackles to perfection. England had its chances and missed, most notably when Jeff Astle shot wide when an equaliser looked certain.

Brazil had its opportunities and scored the goal through Jairzinho that sealed victory. He went on to become the only player to score in every World Cup match including the final.

It was a goal similar to Brazil's fourth in the final scored by Carlos Alberto when it beat Italy 4-1 to clinch the World Cup.

Carlos Alberto recalled this week: ``It was almost the same situation, but I think Jairzinho's was better. We held the ball in to the last third of the pitch — Tostao beat Moore, he passed to Pele and then, without looking and knowing he was there, he turned it with his right foot to Jairzinho who scored.

``It is one of the games I will never forget — in my opinion the best game in the whole World Cup.

``I wish Brazil against England had been the final — the two best teams, a certain balance between them... but unfortunately we were in the same group. We don't see games like that now — but I hope we have a chance to see a good game on Friday.''

England qualified for the quarterfinals, led West Germany 2-0 before losing 3-2 and has never been close to being world champion since.

Friday's quarterfinal promises to be a good match, and who knows, could even be another classic. And one thing is certain: if it is still being shown in 30 years' time, the colours will be a lot closer to life than they were in 1970.

But ask anyone who loves soccer, the fact the colours weren't perfect just makes it stand out in our dreams even more. — Reuters

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