Random World Cup Facts

Bump (from 2005).

 

Sorry to correct, Eusebio played 390+ minutes at WC66 = 41.5min/goal

So at WC level, he was #3 in history: (players with less than 4,5games or 4,5 goals not counted)"

1- Sandor Kocsis WC54: 11goals/5games <= 39 mins per goal
2- Juste Fontaine WC58: 13goals/6games ~= 40.5mins per goal
3- Eusebio WC66: 9goals/6games = 41.5mins per goal
4- Gerd Muller WC70: 10goals/6games = 54.5Mins per goal
5- Pele WC58 : 6goals/4games = ~56mins per goal
6- Ronaldo WC2002: 8goals/7games = 69mins per goal

 

Since 4.5 games or 4.5 goals isn't exactly a round number, can you tell us exactly which player(s) is being excluded from the list? Otherwise, perhaps you can exclude players with fewer than 3 goals or 3 games, but 4.5?

 

What I meant was, between his first goal and his 9th goal, 334 minutes passed. So I was referencing that particular run, not the tournament "total" goals/minutes ratio. Same with Kocsis - he scored and played more, but I was comparing his particular run of 9 goals (from his first to his 9th) vs. Eusébio's.

I did have an error in the fact that from Kocsis' first to his 9th goal, only 244 minutes actually passed, making it an even harder to surmount record.

 

i see ...

 

I meant 4 to 5 gmaes and goals (depends which WC)! NOT 4 dot 5 ...
OK typical example is
Salenko WC94 with 6goals/3games (all group) and 5goals were scored in 1 game and 1 another!!
or Florian LAbert at WC62 4goals/3games but he scored 3goals in 1game ...and 1 another

 

Alright, thanks, but 4.5 still seems a strange cut off point. Since all the players in your list had at least 4 games, perhaps 4 games would be the cut off point? If that just puts a bunch names in the list that many would prefer to avoid, so be it. But it just looks like a cooked up list when you use 4.5 goals and 4.5 games as the cut off point!

 

Asamoah Gyan is the only player in WC history to miss 2 penalty kicks during the match. He hit the woodwork both times.

2006 vs CZE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=Dn9RA9KeTkg#t=1258

2010 vs URU: http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=IBDK-HEbIZs

It's also anecdotal how before missing the PK in 2006 vs the Czechs, he took it and netted before the referee whistled, but the ref did not allow it, giving him a yellow card, and having him retake it, resulting in the miss.

 

Yeah like I said depends on which WC. Before 80 4 games and 5golas. but after 80 5games and 4 goals

 

http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/...kicks-to-respect-wishes-of-late-mother-011613

 

Rep. and amazingly he had a third penalty he scored vs. australia. (not to mention one in the qf shootout) 3 in game pk attempts in I think 8 career world cup games, but who knows if that's a record of any kind.

 

Actually Gyan has taken 4 PKs during WC play, which is a record, shared with Eusébio, Rob Rensenbrink, and Gabriel Batistuta. Those 3, however, converted all of their 4 attempts. And yes, Gyan said he may never take another PK, out of respect to his late mother's wishes.

 

oh thats right, I forgot about the serbia game, I had a suspicion i was missing something

 

hee hee... talking about Gyan... I got a vid of him taking a penalty for Al Ain when I visited my folks in Al Ain a couple of weeks ago... a little different from the world cup, but he's still got the knack...

 

Gyan is the only player in WC history to have taken a pk in four different matches, as Eusebio, Batistuta and Resenbrink all had at least one match with multiple pk's.

 

According to Mister Chip, Franky Van der Elst (BEL) is the only player in WC history to wear 4 different shirt numbers
(3-6-7-8)

 

Interesting, did he play in each WC for Belgium?

Kempes and Fillol played for Argentina with a different number in three WCs:

WC74: Kempes #13, Fillol #12
WC78: Kempes #10, Fillol #5
WC82: Kempes #11, Fillol #7

Very strange to see a goalkeeper wearing #7 on his jersey.

 

As strange as seeing an outfield player wearing #1.

 

Some Argentinian coaches used to assign numbers alphabetically. So Ardiles=#1. The idea is that no one has the starting spot assured.

 

Yes, Van der Elst did play in each world cup - 1986 (4 games), 1990 (4), 1994 (4), 1998 (3). His teammate Enzo Scifo (who played in the same 4 tournaments as Van der Elst) is the only other Belgian player to have done it. Marc Wilmots was selected to 4 WCs, but only played in 3.


The country with the most players who appeared in 4 or more world cups, is Italy (Rivera, Bergomi, Buffon, Cannavaro).
Germany has 3 (Schnellinger, Seeler, Matthäus) - Klose could play in his 4th this summer.
Brazil has 3 (D. Santos, Pelé, Cafu).

 

Fixed

 

Top 10 single-tournament goalkeeper GA/90 ratio (minimum 180 minutes played)

Code:

Lorenzo Buffon, ITA ..... 1962 0.00
Pascal Züberbuller, SUI . 2006 0.00
Carlos Gallo, BRA ....... 1986 0.19
Peter Shilton, ENG ...... 1982 0.20
Eduardo, POR ............ 2010 0.25
Gianluigi Buffon, ITA ... 2006 0.26
Fabien Barthez, FRA ..... 1998 0.26
Walter Zenga, ITA ....... 1990 0.27
Iker Casillas, ESP ...... 2010 0.27
Gordon Banks, ENG ....... 1970 0.33
David Harvey, SCO ....... 1974 0.33
Jean-Marie Pfaff, BEL ... 1982 0.33
Thomas N'kono, CAM ...... 1982 0.33
Erik Thorstvedt, NOR .... 1994 0.33
Diego Benaglio, SUI ..... 2010 0.33

 

All right, 1962 World Cup historians, why did Lorenzo Buffon play Italy's first and last group-stage matches, but miss Italy's second group-stage match, which turned out to be the infamous Battle of Santiago? Cursory Internet searches have not yielded any answers.

 

That is kinda weird. Especially since he was the team captain.
Without looking it up maybe he had some sort of mystery Chilean illness or Family emergency?

 

I don't know Italian and the only articles I could find about the goalkeeper change were in Italian.
http://www.l-arcadinoe.com/it/2010/05/15/storia-nazionale-santiago-1962-seconda-parte/
http://archiviostorico.corriere.it/2002/giugno/01/Cile_Italia_piu_pugni_che_co_0_0206015076.shtml
So someone who's fluent can probably give better details, but here's how I was able to interpret it all.

Omar Sívori, whose hotel room was next to where coaches Giovanni Ferrari and Paolo Mazza were staying, was said to have heard a 'lively' conversation between the two co-managers and two journalists, Gualtiero Zanetti and the influential Gianni Brera, on which players should play in the anticipated physical encounter against Chile. In the end there were six changes made from the team that had drawn 0-0 with Germany: Out were Lorenzo Buffon, Giacomo Losi, Cesare Maldini, Luigi Radice, Gianni Rivera and Sivori, replaced by Carlo Mattrel, Mario David, Paride Tamburus, Francesco Janich, Bruno Mora (who took over as captain) and Humberto Maschio. In reference to the changes, Mazza told reporters, "Ci vuole gente da combattimento" ('We want fighters').
Something along those lines, anyway.