Chile was somewhat of a surprise host for the event, since the country recently had been devastated by an earthquake. But in the words of the president of the Chilean Football Federation, Carlos Dittborn, We must have the World Cup because we have nothing. The World Cup was theirs. Unfortunately, Dittborn died a month before the tournament began. Brazil was the defending champion and the favorite again. The team had nine players, including 21-year-old wonder Pele, returning from the 1958 championship team. . . . A record 56 countries signed up to compete for the World Cup. The games were quite violent, and after the first games, the disciplinary committee rounded up the referees in an emergency meeting in hopes of cleaning things up. One example of the unsportsmanlike play was the Italian team, which began to badmouth Chile and send scouts to other teams training camps. Italy-Chile was quite a matchup: physical play, fists and spit flying, a nose broken and two ejections. In the end, Italy lost and was eliminated. . . . England, known before the tournament as a high-scoring team with several superstars (defenseman Bobby Moore, all-time goal leader Bobby Charlton, great finisher Jimmy Greaves), struggled defensively but advanced to the quarterfinals against Brazil. . . . The unthinkable occurred for Brazil against Czechoslovakia. Pele pulled a muscle, but had to continue to play because substitutions werent allowed yet. Brazil struggled to a scoreless tie in that game. In its next game, Brazil was without Pele and found itself trailing 1-0 to Spain. However, Peles replacement, Amarildo, scored twice to lift the team into the second round. . . . In quarterfinal action, host Chile upset the Soviet Union 2-1, and the fans began to believe the home team could go all the way. Talk about superstition, the Chilean team ate spaghetti to get past Italy, Swiss cheese to beat Switzerland and drank vodka before eliminating Russia. In other quarterfinal action, Yugoslavia beat West Germany, the Czechs surprised Hungary and Brazil eliminated England. . . . The superstitious Chile team drank coffee, but it didnt help against Brazil in the semifinals. Chile lost 4-2. In the finals, Brazil won their second consecutive World Cup championship with a 3-1 win over the Czechs, who had again upset Yugoslavia. . . . Brazil established itself as the best in the world once again. Even without Pele, who didnt play a game after he was injured against the Czechs in their first meeting, Brazil shined. They got huge lifts from Amarildo and Garrincha, who played with a 104-degree fever in the final game. . . . Overall, this World Cup was criticized for low-scoring games and too much violence.

* * * Gladiators * * *

Soccer in the United States? Doesnt sound like a perfect match, but in 1994, the worlds biggest soccer event invaded America for the first time. One of FIFAs goals under president Joao Havelange was to expand the world scope of the sport. Bringing the World Cup to the United States naturally followed that policy, in hopes that interest in the game would finally catch on in the worlds greatest economic power. Another factor that didnt hurt Americas cause was the results from the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. More than 100,000 jammed in the Rose Bowl to watch a third-place game between Yugoslavia and Italy. If fans would come out for that . . . Italys pony-tailed Roberto Baggio had the World Cup as his stage in 1994. A year earlier, he had been named FIFA player of the year, and now he was expected to lead this Italian team to greatness. Italy struggled in the first round -- as it did in 1982, when it won its third World Cup -- but Baggio came alive in the elimination rounds. Baggio scored two goals to help Italy avoid an upset against Nigeria in the round of 16, scored in the game-winner in the 88th minute against Spain in the quarterfinals, and scored twice more in the semis against Bulgaria. . . . But if the 1994 tournament was the rise of Baggio, it was the fall of Diego Maradona. The Argentine star had been recalled to the national team to rescue it in the qualifying stages, and he showed some of his old brilliance in the first round. But after Argentinas second game, Maradona tested positive for a banned substance. He was banned from the rest of the tournament, ending a great World Cup legacy, and Argentina promptly lost its next two games. . . . One of the great surprises of the tournament was the play of the U.S. team, which advanced to the second round before losing to Brazil. In pool play, the U.S. had shocked Colombia, one of the favorites to win the tournament. But sadly, euphoria for the U.S. meant tragedy in Colombia. Andres Escobar, who had scored an own-goal in the U.S. game, was shot in Colombia in a dispute that may have been related to his mistake. . . . The championship featured Brazil and Italy, two nations chasing a record fourth world championship. Brazil had one of its most powerful teams ever, and its beautiful game was led by superstars Romario and Bebeto. But the Brazilian attack was countered by a strong Italian defense, and the game ended 0-0 and had to be decided by penalty kicks. The game came down to Baggio, who needed to convert his penalty kick to keep Italy alive. It sailed high, and Brazil had its tetra -- the fourth title.