The World Cup generates a totally different feeling from club football. All the animosity that fuels and creates the excitement of the leagues is forgotten for a month of national unity. Hailed as the pinnacle of a career, and because of its rarity, international competition is placed in a dimension of untouchability for most players. The audacious dream of bringing 30,875 carats of gold in your home country. That's what the World Cup offers.
The 2006 World Cup tournament held in Germany remains my favorite. I watched all the matches I could, in the same living room, on the same couch. It was my earliest distinct football memory and I have an unparalleled nostalgia attached to it. The iconic gold crest on the Azzurri's winning shirt, R9's yellow and green Nike Mercurial Vapors when he became the World Cup's top scorer, the inevitable and palpable excitement surrounding the "golden generation" of the England, and of course that famous whim.
I remember five iconic matches in this thrilling tournament that captured my attention 16 years ago.
Czech Republic 3-0 USA (June 12, 2006)
Koller 5′, Rosicky 36′, 76‘
Czech Republic. Tomáš Rosický, Pavel Nedvěd and Jan Koller. An overflowing team of footballers who symbolized the 2000s era. It was a clinic of ball headers and magic in the top corners as the Czechs put the Americans to the sword in Gelsenkirchen.
Koller, the old-school bustle striker who wouldn't look out of place in a heavyweight boxing ring, kicked off the proceedings in the most adamant way. Dortmund's big, burly and bullish striker powered an unstoppable header for the opener. The 6'8 target man has scored 55 goals in 91 appearances for his nation. Criminally underrated, a formidable force in the air and a handful for any centre-back, the 2002 Bundesliga winner flew away on cloud nine after scoring his first-ever World Cup goal.
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It then became the Rosický show.
USA had their oldest line-up in a World Cup game, with an average age of 29, and it was evident as future Arsenal midfielder, 25-year-old unleashed hell on tired players. Americans. After a deft Czech passing move, Pavel Nedvěd's inviting delivery headed towards Rosický, who with a touch of his feet launched a rasping thunderbolt from 30 yards that flew past Tim Howard.
Former Ballon D'or winner Nedvěd and Rosický combined at will as they walked around the pitch. Nedvěd unlocked the American defense with a delightfully weighted through ball that was snagged by Rosický. Once again, he gave Howard no chance, as he deflected his effort away from the stopper's desperate reach.
The World Cup generates a totally different feeling from club football. All the animosity that fuels and creates the excitement of the leagues is forgotten for a month of national unity. Hailed as the pinnacle of a career, and because of its rarity, international competition is placed in a dimension of untouchability for most players. The audacious dream of bringing 30,875 carats of gold in your home country. That's what the World Cup offers.
The 2006 World Cup tournament held in Germany remains my favorite. I watched all the matches I could, in the same living room, on the same couch. It was my earliest distinct football memory and I have an unparalleled nostalgia attached to it. The iconic gold crest on the Azzurri's winning shirt, R9's yellow and green Nike Mercurial Vapors when he became the World Cup's top scorer, the inevitable and palpable excitement surrounding the "golden generation" of the England, and of course that famous whim.
I remember five iconic matches in this thrilling tournament that captured my attention 16 years ago.
Czech Republic 3-0 USA (June 12, 2006)
Koller 5′, Rosicky 36′, 76‘
Czech Republic. Tomáš Rosický, Pavel Nedvěd and Jan Koller. An overflowing team of footballers who symbolized the 2000s era. It was a clinic of ball headers and magic in the top corners as the Czechs put the Americans to the sword in Gelsenkirchen.
Koller, the old-school bustle striker who wouldn't look out of place in a heavyweight boxing ring, kicked off the proceedings in the most adamant way. Dortmund's big, burly and bullish striker powered an unstoppable header for the opener. The 6'8 target man has scored 55 goals in 91 appearances for his nation. Criminally underrated, a formidable force in the air and a handful for any centre-back, the 2002 Bundesliga winner flew away on cloud nine after scoring his first-ever World Cup goal.
>
It then became the Rosický show.
USA had their oldest line-up in a World Cup game, with an average age of 29, and it was evident as future Arsenal midfielder, 25-year-old unleashed hell on tired players. Americans. After a deft Czech passing move, Pavel Nedvěd's inviting delivery headed towards Rosický, who with a touch of his feet launched a rasping thunderbolt from 30 yards that flew past Tim Howard.
Former Ballon D'or winner Nedvěd and Rosický combined at will as they walked around the pitch. Nedvěd unlocked the American defense with a delightfully weighted through ball that was snagged by Rosický. Once again, he gave Howard no chance, as he deflected his effort away from the stopper's desperate reach.
Illustrated by Onkar Shirsekar
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