Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, June 2, 1990 TAG: 9006020045
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: BARRY WILNER ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: ROME LENGTH: Long
Unless it's Brazil. Only one Western Hemisphere nation has won the World Cup when the tournament has been held in Europe - Brazil in 1958. No team has had a better chance to repeat that feat than the Brazilians have this year.
Italy and Brazil, the most dominant nations in international soccer history, with three world titles each, are the favorites as the World Cup begins Friday.
But a half-dozen other nations also should be factors. They include defending champion Argentina, led by the incomparable Diego Maradona, and European champion Holland, with two-time European Player of the Year Marco Van Basten.
"One hundred nations tried to qualify for the World Cup," said Sebastiao Lazaroni, Brazil's coach. "Only 24 of them succeeded. I do believe the best 24 teams are being presented.
"Teams such as Denmark, France and Portugal, good teams from the last World Cup, are left out of this competition, so this is going to be a World Cup which has united a few elite teams."
And a few outsiders, such as Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Costa Rica and the United States, which made the World Cup finals for the first time since 1950.
"Any of the teams in the World Cup has gone through a long, difficult process to qualify," said Bob Gansler, the U.S. coach. "They are all quality opponents."
No matter who wins the tournament, soccer will grab hold of this country - and 22 others - for the next month the way the World Series, Super Bowl and Final Four dominate sporting interests in the United States.
Only among Americans - most of whom consider soccer a foreign sport, even though it ranks high among U.S. youths as a participation sport - will there be only passing interest in what goes on in Rome, Milan, Florence and seven other Italian cities, plus Cagliari on the island of Sardinia and Palermo on the island of Sicily.
The tournament, which begins in Milan with Argentina facing Cameroon, features round-robin games in six groups of four teams, with 16 of the 24 advancing to the second round, when single-elimination play begins.
Just making it to Italy is worth more than $1 million per team. From this year's budgeted profits, each World Cup finalist can expect to get $464,000 per game, and each will play at least three times. FIFA, the international governing body for soccer, will disperse $48 million to the 24 teams.
Overall, FIFA expects to earn $164 million from the 14th World Cup, with the most revenue, about 40 percent, coming from sales of television broadcast rights. TNT cable has those rights in the United States and will carry 24 games live. Univision, which showed every game of the Cup four years ago with Spanish-speaking commentators, will televise 33 games.
Players from every team will earn bonuses for their performances in the tournament. Italian players, whose federation is one of the richest in the world, could receive as much as $400,000. West Germany's players will share 60 percent of all World Cup-related contracts signed by the federation. Some estimates put that total at nearly $300,000, but others say it will be about $118,000.
American players, after a squabble with the U.S. Soccer Federation over contracts, will get bonuses from profits from exhibition games this spring, regardless of their performance in Italy.
The United States is back among the soccer elite for the first time since 1950, when it pulled the biggest upset in tournament history - a 1-0 victory over England. This time, it will be a surprise if the Americans score a goal in their three opening-round games, against Czechoslovakia, Italy and Austria.
"For any team in the world, the World Cup is a difficult experience," said Carlos Bilardo, Argentina's coach. "It's hard even for a team with experience.
"I've seen some of the U.S players play - Paul Caliguiri, Eric Eichmann, Tony Meola. I saw them play against Trinidad and Tobago. But it's a tough group for the United States, a group with rivals with World Cup experience.
"It's a great achievement just to get there. One thing is that they're there and they'll be there to get the experience for the next World Cup."
The 1994 Cup will be played in the United States for the first time.
While the Americans are the longest of long shots, things are close enough at the top that West Germany, England, the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Spain, Ireland and Belgium all are considered capable of winning. There are no teams likely to make an unbeaten run through the tournament.
"Maradona and Van Basten are almost unstoppable players and can make the difference between their teams and the others," said Azeglio Vicini, Italy's manager.
Maradona did it in 1986, when Argentina won its second championship. Van Basten, or teammate Ruud Gullit - if he is healthy - could be the star this time.
Or perhaps Brazil's Careca, England's Gary Lineker, Yugoslavia's Dragan Stojkovic, the Soviet Union's Oleg Protasov, Spain's Emilio Butragueno, Italy's Franco Baresi, West Germany's Lothar Matthaeus will grab the spotlight - and the most coveted trophy in international sports.
The most pressure, of course, will be on the hosts, whose fans are known for their strong ties to local and regional teams. Those fans certainly will rally behind the national squad - at least until the first sign of problems on the field.
"The pressures on the Italians will be tremendous," said Bobby Charlton, who helped England win the 1966 World Cup and whose brother, Jackie, is coaching Ireland. "They are a very passionate people when it comes to football [soccer] and they will expect nothing less than a championship."
The Italian team's preparations have been so serious that Vicini forbid his players from having sex until after the tournament ends.
"Would I make a similar recommendation?" said Brazil's Lazaroni. "Sincerely, no. On days off, they're free to do what they want."
by CNB