The 1982 FIFA World Cup 2.5.1981

The 1982 FIFA World Cup, or the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. However, this FDC and stamps were issued in 1981 as a prelude to WC82 which was held a year later.

Thank you Merja.

1978 FIFA World Cup

I am sure football fans are going to love this FDC and the stamps on it issued by Brazil to commemorate WC78.

The 1978 FIFA World Cup was the 11th staging of the FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial international football world championship tournament, which was held in Argentina between 1 and 25 June 1978.
The 1978 World Cup was won by Argentina who beat the Netherlands 3–1 after extra time in the final. This win was the first World Cup title for Argentina, who became the fifth team (after Uruguay, Italy, England and West Germany), to be both hosts and world champions. Argentina, the Netherlands and Brazil were the gold, silver and bronze medalists respectively. Iran and Tunisia made their first appearances in the finals.

The official match ball was the Adidas Tango.

This Worl Cup was not devoid of its fair share of controversy.A fact surrounding the 1978 World Cup was that Argentina had suffered a military coup only two years before the cup, a coup known as the National Reorganization Process. Less than a year before the World Cup, in September 1977, Interior Minister General Albano Harguindeguy, stated that 5,618 people had recently disappeared. The infamous Naval Mechanics School (known by its acronym ESMA) held concentration camp prisoners of the Dirty War and those held captive reportedly could hear the roars of the crowd during matches held at River Plate's Monumental Stadium, located only a mile away; prompting echoes of Hitler's manipulation of sports during the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Because of the political turmoil, some countries, most notably the Netherlands, considered publicly whether they should participate in the event. Despite this, all teams eventually took part without restrictions. Allegations that Dutch star Johan Cruyff refused to participate because of political convictions were denied by him 30 years later. More controversy surrounded the host, Argentina, as all of their games in the first round kicked off at night, giving the Argentines the advantage of knowing where they stood in the group. This issue would arise again in Spain 1982, which prompted FIFA to change the rules so that the final two group games in subsequent World Cups would be played simultaneously.

Further accusations surrounded the game Argentina and Peru played in the second round of the tournament. Argentina needed to win by a margin of four goals to proceed to the final and did so by defeating Peru by 6–0. However, claims that the Argentine military dictatorship interfered to ensure Argentina would defeat Peru, were denied by the Peruvian captain and several Peruvian players. Some accusations originated in the Brazilian media and pointed to the fact that the Peruvian goalkeeper had been born in Argentina. There is also an alleged deal, reported by the British media as an anonymous rumour, that involved the delivery of a large grain shipment to Peru by Argentina and the unfreezing of a Peruvian bank account that was held by the Argentine Central Bank. Another alleged deal, published by a Colombian drug lord in a controversial book, involved the Peruvian team being bribed without any political implications. A third alleged deal, claimed by a Peruvian leftist politician, encompassed sending 13 Peruvian dissidents exiled in Argentina back to Peru. On top of the contradictions between stories, no evidence is shown in any case.

The biggest surprise of this World Cup came in Group 3, where Austria finished ahead of Brazil. All this does not undermine this lovely FDC issued by Brazil to commemorate FIFA World Cup 1978.

Thank you Merja.

12th FIFA World Cup in Spain23.5.1980

The 1982 FIFA World Cup, the 12th FIFA World Cup, was held in Spain from 13 June to 11 July 1982. However, this FDC and stamps were issued in 1980 as a prelude to the WC82 which was held two years later.

The tournament was won by Italy, after defeating West Germany 3–1 in the final. It was Italy's third World Cup win and first since 1938. The holders Argentina were eliminated in the second group round. Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand made their first appearances in the finals.

The tournament's top scorer was Paolo Rossi of Italy with six goals, including a hat-trick in a second group game against Brazil and one in the final.

In the first round of Group 3, Hungary defeated El Salvador 10–1, tying the largest margin of victory ever recorded in the finals (Hungary over Korea 9–0 in 1954, and Yugoslavia over Zaire 9–0 in 1974). The tournament was also notable for the first ever penalty shoot-out in a World Cup finals tournament, with West Germany beating France 5–4 on penalties after a dramatic 3–3 draw in the semi-finals in a match often regarded as one of the best World Cup games of all time.

Thank you Maria.

FIFA World Cup Soccer 1994 in the USA 26.5.1994

For one action-packed month millions of viewers around the globe tuned in to the world’s most popular sporting event as twenty-four teams vied for the championship. Sponsored by the Federation Internationale de Football Association(FIFA), the World Cup is soccer’s most famous and spectacular international competition.

Proposed by Frenchman Jules Rimet, the first World Cup was held in Montevideo, Uruguay in 1930. Since then the competition has been held every four years, except during World War II. Qualifying rounds held two years prior to the event determine which twenty-two teams will join the host nation and the defending champion. Unlike Olympic soccer however, World Cup teams are not limited to amateur players.

For the first time in the World Cup’s 64-year history, the event was held in the United States in 1994 and to honour the occasion the Postal Service issued three commemorative stamps, namely 29¢, 40¢, and 50¢. Various denominations made mailing letters home easier for the international athletes, coaches, and officials. A souvenir sheet was also issued. Although the 1983 airmail stamp issued for the ’84 Olympics featured a soccer player, this was the first time stamps had been issued to specifically honour the sport of soccer.  

Thank you Merja.

Italy - FIFA World Cup 2002

While we just talked about Russian sports it would be worthwhile talking about other sports too. Besides, a break from the Soviet era would really be refreshing I feel. I was always a very keen cricketer – for the school, for the North Zone Schools, at the National Defense Academy, for the Navy and even had a crack at the Services team for the Ranji Trophy. But, in school it was necessary to play Hockey and Football as well, for the simple reason that our sports teacher felt that these games were necessary for character building. He said nothing about making money through sports.

These days I believe there is no emphasis on character building sports! Instead encouragement is given to boys and girls to go hammer and tongs (how this can be translated by my non English speaking friends beats me) at cricket. Many young men in India these days do make a neat pile in the shortest period of time and also become household names. But, I am digressing. In school the sports honcho need not have forced me to play these character building sports, for I genuinely felt, in those days that I would come good in Hockey and Football as well as in cricket. It so happened that because I kept wicket in cricket, my classmates automatically felt that my place was between the goal posts, and so it was. I never became a Dhyan Chand or Pele. Didn’t even reach the standard of Maradona. All that I achieved in these games at school were a couple of broken toes and a permanently bent finger. Notwithstanding the fact that I never indulged in these character-building games again, I remained a keen follower to this day. And so in 2002 when I happened to be in Hong Kong, I was desperately keen to go to Korea for the FIFA 2002 World Cup. This was really a great occasion as the World Cup matches had been allotted to an Asian country for the first time. But, the choice was staying on for a gorgeous holiday in Hong Kong and then on to Jakarta for an even bigger bash, on the one hand and the FIFA world Cup on the other. In hindsight I think I chose correctly by turning down the World Cup.

However, I was lucky as my good friend and brother-in-law happened to go to Korea and brought the world cup to me. Please see the date stamped brochure as well as the miniature sheets of stamps issued by the Republic of Korea to commemorate this Great Event in their country.

(click to enlarge)