In
1974,
teams met in West Germany to compete for a new trophy: the FIFA World
Cup. Also new were the tight security measures at the tournament,
brought into effect because of the assassination of Jewish athletes
at the Munich Olympics two years earlier.
The opening ceremonies were held on June 13. Pele was on hand,
even though he had decided not to play in what would have been
his fifth World Cup. The action kicked off with defending champion
Brazil playing Yugoslavia to a 0-0 tie -- hardly an exciting
opener. . . .
This tournament became known as the "World Cup of Quality,"
with three outstanding teams in Holland, Poland and West Germany.
. . .
One of the biggest showdowns of the tournament was the Brazil-Holland
game played on July 3. Brazil, missing its potent offense of
years past, fell to the speedy Dutch team 2-0.
In the championship game, Holland scored on a penalty kick
before West Germany even touched the ball, but the Germans came
back for a 2-1 victory in front of 79,000 fans in Munich. .
. .
In a futile effort to boost his country's performance, Zaire's
President Motubo awarded each of his players with a car, a trip
for two to anywhere in the world and a house just for qualifying.
Perhaps he should have held out a little longer: When Zaire
got to West Germany, it lost to Scotland 2-0, Brazil 3-0 and was
trounced by Yugoslavia 9-0.
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