Xavi. Photograph by Alfonso Jiménez. The World Cup is about tradition. I don’t know how many countries officially make up the map, but only eleven national teams have made it to the final since 1930. Football is a popular sport, and such a subversive one that it was banned by China and Iran during their respective revolutions. But since 1982, when the number of qualified teams went from 16 to 24, the same five have shared the final cake: no one would blame me, I suppose, for using the words “conservative” and/or “elitist” in this context. Football fans, on the other hand, know how heavily tradition weighs: in 1974, newcomer Holland was just the best team in the world, and Cruyff the best player. That’s not enough against the veterans of four semifinals. Germany had tradition—and, yes, Beckenbauer—on their side.
- 7/9/2010
- Vanity Fair
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