Great points by the way. Does anyone know any relatively accurate numbers for the '98 Word Cup final?
the real reason for east asia not being interested is that unlike 1998 and 2002, there was no brazil involved.
Someone answer this: Why exactly did George Best got sent-off vs Estudiantes in the Intercontinental Cup of 1968? I have heard a lot of myths about it but nothing concrete.
Nowhere near as bad as the Colombian player for WC 94 who was actually killed after scoring an own goal vs. the USA.
I am a serb and admire ex yu football, but one myth is, that Yugoslavia might have done big in WC 1994. The were drawn into qualifying group 5 in europe. Therein were Russia, a strong Greece, Hungary, Iceland and Luxemburg. It does not sound good, but might have been tricky for Yugoslavia. However, if they had made it instead of Greece or Russia, their groups would have been: Brazil, Sweden, Yugoslavia, Cameroon or Argentina, Bulgaria, Nigeria, Yugoslavia Both groups seem very tough to me, specially the argentine one. So, I doubt they would have made it even to the second stage.
Are you kidding that Yugoslav team had the bulk of Croatia 98 semi final side plus the Serbian Core of the Red Star 91 CL winning side. Including the great talent that was Savicevic who scored that great goal in the 94 CL final and was one of the best players in the world for a brief period of time (though injuries cut that short; the war did that for other careers on such a trajectory as well; Pancev). We are talking about a team that could have conceivably won the world cup (and certainly would have had a better overall squad than say Sweden or Bulgaria did); alot different from going out in the group stage and Greece and Russia were hardly 'strong', not in 1994 anyway.
Well, if you consider the croats to be part of the team it looks different. then a place in the semis might have been a sure thing. But I thought just of the serbian and montenegrin players as Bosnia and Macedonia had already split (at least halfway). So who would have stayed? Savicevic, Stojkovic + Pancev and emerging Savo Milosevic + Koacevic?, right and ? Like I said, I am serb myself.
Okay sorry right, I thought you meant if Yugoslavia didn't split up, my bad (as that's the only way they were legitimately going to compete in the early 90s anyway). I'd reckon though that any "Serbia + Montenegro" Yugoslav side would still do fairly well; I mean you made the second round in 1998 and certainly I have no reason to suspect with that side you couldn't have done well in 1994 - those are still players than what Sweden had after all (Especially Savicevic and Stojkovic).
What myths did you hear? Anything having to do with Best must be colorful. Basically there was a big fight near the end of the match, and both Best and Hugo Medina of Estudiantes were given a red card for mutual aggression.
Was the match that physical from one or both teams? Who started that scuffle? I heard everything from Best simply defending himself to Estudiantes actually hacking every Manchester player. I never really heard anything concrete besides those two points.
Does anyone remember how the European teams were divided for the draw in December 1993? You might be correct, but it may also be a mistake to assume Yugsolavia would have been in the same place as either Greece or Russia just because of their qualifying group. That was back when it was only 24 teams and it was still possible to have 3 European teams in the same group (see Group E), so I believe the European teams were divided into pots based on their world rankings and past performances. It's don't have the historical numbers in front of me but I'm certain (again, if the pots were seeded), Yugoslavia would have been well above Greece and (depending on if USSR results counted), Russia as well. In fact, it might not be out of the realm of possibility that Yugoslavia would have been the seeded team in Group F, dislodging Belgium. In short, while we will never know how Yugoslavia would have done in WC94, I do think it's incorrect to assume they would have been in Group B or Group D. And, moreover, while you can never predict all the knockout stage matches correctly--looking back at the 1994 rounds, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say Yugoslavia would have held its own with Sweden, Bulgaria, Romania, etc. Even Italy (which needed some luck to get by Nigeria and Spain). It's all hypothetical, but I could definitely have seen a Yugoslavia v. Brazil 1994 Final...
hell, i were in the munich state library to look up microfiches to gather information on pots for every wc and ec qualifier draw and final draws. hell of a work. so i know it. For the qualifiers: 1. Yugoslavia 2. Russia 3. Hungary 4. Greece 5. Iceland 6. Luxembourg For the Finals Top: USA, Brazil, Germany, Argentina, Italy, Belgium Pot1: Russia, Spain, Romania, Netherlands, Ireland, Bulgaria Pot2: Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, Bolivia, Colombia, Mexico Pot3: Switzerland, Norway, Greece, Sweden, Korea Rep., Saudi-Arabia Yugoslavia will for sure have been seeded in Pot1 as they reached the QF in 1990. For them, i think Bulgaria might have wandered into Pot3 instead of Greece. Russia`s replacement would have been without a change to the pots.
Is it so obvious that Yugoslavia would have been top seeded? I'm not sure if it was done for 1994, but they have had a tendency to seed based on performances from the two or three most recent World Cups as well as the FIFA ranking. The FIFA ranking was very new back then and may not have been used. But, even though Yugoslavia reached the quarters in 1990 and Belgium only made it to the round of 16, Belgium did better in 1986 with a 4th place finish and in 82 with a place in the second group phase. Yugoslavia missed out in 86 and were eliminated in the group stage in 82. So based on previous performances, I think Belgium would be above Yugoslavia. I'm not sure what the seeding criteria were, but I'm not convinced Yugoslavia would have been seeded ahead of Belgium.
Only in hindsight because they won the final and his memorable 2 headers. Otherwise it would of been Suker, Rivaldo, or Ariel Ortega (until that red card lol). That being said he's like Iniesta, the guy who scored in the final, with some amazing skills, that will be remembered forever, the head of an amazing midfield that had played together enough in club to be the spine of a world championship team.
Here's a MYTH: Salvadoran National Team at the 1982WC were told not to come home if they did not score at least one goal. They had accomplished that feat in the very first match (HUN 10:1). That's why they seemed to be celebrating so much when they scored it, despite being down 5:1.