A terrible
final
The final between Germany and Argentina
was undoubtedly the worst in the history of the World
Cup. Pedro Monzon became the first player in a World
Cup final to have a player sent off. He was later
joined by his team-mate Dezotti.
Germany won the game with a very controversial penalty in
the 85th minute. They deserved to win the competition but
the most memorable image was that of the Argentina players
surrounding the referee.
Change
Needed
The 1990 World Cup was the biggest tournament yet.
Unfortunately it was a very poor spectacle. Many teams
played very defensively. The average number of goals per
game was the lowest ever.
Some teams were prepared to defend for 120 minutes and then
try and win on penalties. Argentina reached the final
having only scored only five goals in seven games.
Some very ‘dirty’ play led to a then
record number of red cards. After the competition FIFA
began a campaign to encourage more open play.
One of the problems of the 1990 World Cup was the format.
16 teams qualified for the knockout competition: six group
winners, six second place finishers, and four best third
place finishers. This complicated arrangement did not
encourage attacking football.
The beautiful game was becoming ugly. Something needed to
change.