FIFA World Cup 2022: Greatest show on Earth returns
At its best and its worst, the FIFA World Cup is more thrilling than any other event can conjure up. A live performance unequalled in its vigour and trickery, the thralling geometry of its movement a mere foil to the violent earnestness of its combat. From 1930 to 2022, from Pele to Zidane to Mbappe, here's a walk down the lanes of the history of the beautiful game
By: Madhu Kapparath
1982
‘Aimlessly wandering ghost….
…..over the field’ was how the Italian media described Paolo Rossi after his appalling first three group matches. Small and frail, Rossi wasn’t the epitome of a champion striker. That’s until he kicked in with a memorable hat-trick in the quarterfinals against Brazil, knocked two against Poland in the semis, and one against West Germany in the final win, helping lift the World Cup title. The ghost was now the epitome of 1980s sporting cool.
