Random World Cup Facts

Top 10 career goalkeeper GA/90 ratio (minimum 2 tournaments played)

Code:

Gordon Banks, ENG ........ 0.43
Fabien Barthéz, FRA ...... 0.45
Anzor Kavazashvili, URSS . 0.47
István Ilku, HUN ......... 0.50
Oliver Kahn, GER ......... 0.50
Emerson Leão, BRA ........ 0.50
Justo Villar, PAR ........ 0.55
Peter Shilton, ENG ....... 0.56
Gianluca Pagliuca, ITA ... 0.61
Gianluigi Buffon, ITA .... 0.64

 

I know that Sivori apparently refused to play. I know that the Italians were aware that this was an extremely hostile situation. International football back then was just not as safe as it is now. So the Italians protected a fwe key players and kept out some of the more artistic ones in favor of the battlers.

 

Just dropping this great post here

 

One fact. Just once in the hole world cup history a team used 5 players who originally used the number 10 t-shirt in their clubs. It was Brazil in 1970. The 5 number 10 were: Pelé, Tostão, Gerson, Jairzinho and Rivelino.

 

FIFA World Cup Trophy was in Croatia yesterday (22. February).

Photos and videos:

http://gol.dnevnik.hr/clanak/nogome...tskog-prvenstva-stigao-u-zagreb---324584.html

http://www.24sata.hr/sport/novinar-24sata-stize-s-fifinim-peharom-u-coca-cola-avionu-354688

 

If you mean the only one to have five 10s as starters then you'd probably be correct. However, I'm certain that a few other countries in South America had five 10s as players. For instance, in 1994 Bolivia had Baldivieso, Etcheverry, Sanchez, Castillo and Ramos. Typically 2 or 3 played.

 

If Russia somehow win the World Cup this year, they will be the first nation to enter the following World Cup as both hosts AND defending champions

 

All-time table of the FIFA World Cup

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All-time_table_of_the_FIFA_World_Cup

 

All-time XI of players sent off during a WC match:

Pagliuca (ITA)
Marquez (MEX), Desailly (FRA), Ricardo Gomes (BRA)
Rikjaard (HOL), Rattin (ARG), Beckham (ENG), Zidane (FRA)
Maradona (ARG), Suarez (URU), Ronaldinho (BRA)

Is Zidane the only player to be sent off at two different WCs?

 

Rigobert Song was sent off in 1994 and 98.

 

No Rudi Voller?

 

yep the Song remained the same...

 

Maradona, Ronaldinho and Suarez are better players, you disagree?

@glennaldo_sf

 

hee hee definitely not on the first two... Suarez may technically be a better player but in terms of legacy and what they achieved at the world cup, Voller's CV is better: 8 world cup goals - 1 in the final, 2 world cup finals, 1 winners medal, champions league winner, etc....

 

Fair enough, we can place Voeller instead of Suarez (for now), I also would probably place Song ahead of Ricardo Gomes.

 

I would have Jozsef Bozsik and Nilton Santos (both sent off in the same match) on this team.

And now the super cool random fact:

Before opponents Jozsef Bozsik and Nilton Santos were both sent off at the same time in the Battle of Berne, a quarterfinal in 1954, the last 2 players to be sent off in a World Cup were opponents Arthur Machado and Jan Riha, both at the same time, in the Battle of Bordeaux, a quarterfinal in 1938.

 

May need to do a starting XI plus subs bench. Or a complete 23 player squad.
Others who have been sent off in World Cup play:
Garrincha
Eric Gerets
Gianfranco Zola
Thierry Henry
Claudio Caniggia
Francesco Totti
Miroslav Klose
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_World_Cup_red_cards

Has a coach ever been sent to the stands?

 

Cayetano Ré (PAR) was the first (and I believe the only) coach to be sent off at a WC.

 

Was that during the melee against Belgium in '86? I remember him running onto the pitch and pushing his players away from any confrontations. lol

 

That is correct.

 

Lol, Caniggia was sent off from the bench (2002), he wasn't even on the field when the ref expelled him, i think he didn't even show him the red card!

So it doesn't count. (?)

 

The first World Cup in which substitutions were allowed was Mexico 1970. The first ever substitution in a WC was made by Soviet coach Gavriil Kachalin, who had FW Anatoliy Puzach replace MF Viktor Serebryanikov at halftime on May 31, 1970 against Mexico, in the opening match at the Estadio Azteca.

 

Any idea on how many goalkeeper substitutions have been made over the years?
I don't mean when a goalkeeper gets a red card and an outfield player is subbed off to bring in another goalkeeper. I'm talking straight swaps: Goalkeeper subbed out, replaced by goalkeeper subbed in. (eg. Pumpido off because of injury replaced by Goycochea in 1990, Argentina v USSR)

 

Not sure there's any record, other than going through each match. Off the top of my head, Czechoslovkia subbed their keeper against England in 82.

Tried google for an answer and couldn't find anything. Did come across two other obscure facts though:

http://www.goalkeepersaredifferent.com/keeper/factframe.htm

The same site mentions that Zaire subbed their keeper for footballing reasons, not injury, against Yugoslavia.

 

According to the page below, 17 goalkeepers have been substituted out, but Alex Thepot should not be counted as he wasn't really subbbed out; he got injured and could not continue, being replaced between the posts by midfielder Augustin Chantrel, who was already on the pitch (1930 v Mexico). Based on that it would be 16:

Roberto Abbondanzieri
Stere Adamache
Khalil Azmi
Jean-Paul Bertrand-Demanes
Gianluigi Buffon
In-Young Choi
Nelson de Jesús Silva «DIDA»
Nasser Edine Drid
Mwamba Kazadi
Borislav Mikhailov
Nery Pumpido
Rüştü Reçber
José Pilar Reyes
Stanislav Seman
Piet Schrijvers
Justo Villar

http://worldcuptimemachine.com/Scor.../Scoreshelf_com_World_Cup_Statistics_gks.html