Footballbits and pieces

On 17 July 1994, Italy lost the World Cup Final in a penalty shootout to Brazil when their top scorer of the tournament, Roberto Baggio, sent his attempt over the bar.

Simply making it to the Final was a minor miracle for Italy, who opened their tournament campaign with a first-round loss to Ireland. And, as the fourth-best third place team in the group stages, they were the last team to qualify for the knockout rounds. Baggio, who had won the 1993 Ballon d’Or and FIFA World Player of the Year award for his UEFA Cup-winning season with Juventus, shined in the later rounds, scoring five goals–three of them match-winners (against Nigeria, Spain, and Bulgaria)–to take Italy to the final.

Baggio’s scoring streak dried up in the final, as it did for Brazil’s top scorer Romário (who was also on five goals for the tournament). With the match scoreless at the end of extra time, the teams went into penalty kicks to decide the winner. After four kicks each, Brazil were up 3-2 when Baggio stepped up to the spot.

It was his second penalty attempt of the tournament, as his match-winner against Nigeria had come from the spot in the 102nd minute. But this time, he fired the ball over the bar to end the match and give the trophy to Brazil.

He returned to the World Cup with Italy in 1998 to become the only Italian player to score in three different World Cups and his total of nine World Cup goals remains an Italian record.

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Are you going on holiday soon?
Somewhere hot?
Going to be spending quality time on the beach?

Well you’ll to need a nice beach towel to lie on, so why not get one in your clubs colours and show who you support wherever you are.

They’re not so bad for when you get out of the bath either!!

All these and more are available now at footballbits football souvenirs – the place to go for all your official football souvenir needs.

A 53 Goal Season: An amazing feat but would it have been possible in any other League or if he was playing for any other team?

During Real Madrid‘s 8-1 domination of Almeria on Saturday, Cristiano Ronaldo broke the record set for most goals in a Primera Division season set by Madrid player Hugo Sanchez in the 1989/90 season, and Athletic Bilbao legend Temlo Zarra in the 1959/60 season of 39 goals. His 40th La Liga goal of the season was a typical driving run through the midfield before slotting the ball into the bottom left hand corner from just outside the box – the type of goal we have become accustomed to from Ronaldo and his Barcelona counterpart Lionel Messi.

But as much as watching the world’s two best players fight it out for a golden boot race that is almost more interesting than the title race itself – it unfortunately shows the gaping hole between the English and Spanish Leagues. Barcelona and Real Madrid have been the two best clubs in the world this season containing the two best players in the globe. The players in these two teams and the football that they play gives many people the opinion that the Spanish La Liga is the best league in the world. But if these two giants of world football played in the Premier League we would most certainly not see the dominance that these clubs enjoy in their own country.

They would probably still win their titles but wouldn’t be scoring 6 goals every three games. The reason they can is because the other 18 teams in La Liga are so poor – which is the reality of the Spanish first division. You turn on the TV and if it’s Barcelona or Madrid you watch because you like watching absolute displays of football class and masses of goals. If its any other of the teams though, you look for something else.

The defences on every other team lay it on a plate for the big two’s dominance. Ronaldo’s record breaking goal was case and point. There were 5 defenders that ended up surrounding the winger but none of them affected his run in any way and gave him time to shoot. He would have been closed down much quicker if he was playing Stoke, Bolton or Newcastle and it probably wouldn’t have been a goal.

The league itself in Spain is no where near the quality of the Premier League. There is only two teams in the title race and Barcelona had pretty much won before the season had started. In England, there were 5 teams still in it in December. The rest of the teams in La Liga have one or two good players but the quality of football is much lower. 14th place Levante would get beaten by Blackburn, 14th in the Premier League, 5 out of the 7 days of the week. Same goes for pretty much every position below 2nd.

That’s the reason why the Premier League is much further ahead than La Liga. You get quality football in most games in England, not just when the top two are playing. Even Messi, gradually becoming the best player ever would struggle to score 35 goals let alone 40 that Ronaldo breezed his way to against Primera backlines.

But unfortunately, Barcelona will beat Manchester United at Wembley and it’s just another reason why people will say that La Liga is a better competition than the Premier League.

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FIFA’s decision to award the 2022 World Cup hosting rights to a tiny, Sheffield-sized, almost completely disinterested, sun-scorched, oil-rich desert atoll in the middle of the Persian Gulf was a sham – you know it, I know it, Sepp Blatter knows it.

Since the Sunday Times brought to light that, shock horror, the Qatar bid team (allegedly) bribed their way to securing the tournament, there has been worldwide clamour for the vote to be recast – a proposition that Blatter has refused to rule completely out of hand.

The Swiss meatball is quoted in the Telegraph as saying:

“This is an idea circulating already around the world which is alarming. But don’t ask me now yes or no, let us go step by step. It’s like we are in an ordinary court and in an ordinary court we cannot ask: ‘if, if, if’.”

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Spotted above the DW Stadium this afternoon, at around the time Grant’s Irons were spunking a 2-0 lead at Wigan.

The Latics went on to win 3-2 and send West Ham down to the Championship. Uncle Avram is Mister Relegation.

At least now Carlton Cole will get to play at the appropriate level.

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