Bibliography of the history of the world football cup Annotated

Of the history of the world football cup - Annotated Bibliography Example The first world cup was held in Uruguay in 1930. Since it was a turbulent period in international politics, many countries which initially planned to participate could not do so. Austria, for example was set to play the world cup, but it was annexed into Germany. The first trophy was called the Jules Rimet Cup. It was awarded to Brazil after they won the competition three times (the trophy was stolen in 1983 and has never been found since). Since 1930 the world cup has been held 19 times. Italy has won the competition four times, Germany thrice and Argentina twice. Brazil have won it a record 5 times. Spain, France, England and Uruguay have all won the world cup once. The 1974 Holland team is often cited as their best. Johan Cruyff, their star player, was one of the greatest in the history of football. He put into practice â€Å"Total Football†, which back then was a novel philosophy of playing football. This style is still practiced by some teams (notably, FC Barcelona). In 1978 the same core of players that impressed the world in 1974, put on a great show once again. That year they also showed the ability to threaten their opponents with some dangerous long shots, and this skill won them a lot of success. The 1978 team beat an excellent Austrian side by the decisive margin of 5-1, owing mainly to superb performances from their star wingers Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep. The author believes that performance was one of the finest he has ever seen at a world cup. Similarly in 1994 (in the US) they would have performed a lot better.... The 1974 Holland team is often cited as their best. Johan Cruyff, their star player, was one of the greatest in the history of football. He put into practice â€Å"Total Football†, which back then was a novel philosophy of playing football. This style is still practiced by some teams (notably, FC Barcelona). In 1978 the same core of players that impressed the world in 1974, put on a great show once again. That year they also showed the ability to threaten their opponents with some dangerous long shots, and this skill won them a lot of success. The 1978 team beat an excellent Austrian side by the decisive margin of 5-1, owing mainly to superb performances from their star wingers Rob Rensenbrink and Johnny Rep. The author believes that performance was one of the finest he has ever seen at a world cup. Clearly, the absence of Johan Cruyff from their side in Argentina contributed to their failure to win the cup. In 1988 they again failed to win in Italy. The author believes that h ad they used the services of the 37-year-old Arnold Muhren, the graceful, talented midfielder, their team would have performed a lot better. Similarly in 1994 (in the US) they would have performed a lot better (and might have come back from 2-0 down against Brazil) if their star player Ruud Gullit was part of the squad. It is worth noting that Brazil’s second goal was clearly the result of an offside, which the linesman failed to spot. However, the author feels, the most unfortunate incident in Holland’s world cup history was their elimination in the 1998 world cup in France. They had strikers like Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Kluvert. In midfield they had the likes of Edgar Davids, Ronald de Boer, Phillip Cocu and Wim Jonk. Ronald’s penalty