The History of the World Cup (1970)

By Guy Bailey - Writer for Yanks Are Coming

The 1970 World Cup

The ninth World Cup is technically the first to be hosted outside of South America and Europe and is therefore North America’s first (sorry guys!)

Classic is an overused word to describe a lot of transient crap but virtually everything about this tournament screams CLASSIC at you in a loud voice, through a bullhorn, into your ear – the Day-Glo kits, in color for the first time for a generation of TV viewers watching matches live back in Europe (which resulted in a lot of lunchtime local kick-offs which put a lot of teams at a disadvantage); the classic black and white ball by Adidas, used for the first time, the first appearances of substitutes and yellow/red cards in a World Cup tournament; arguably the greatest save ever made, the greatest tackle ever made, the most audacious tricks ever played and after the final presentation of the Jules Rimet Trophy to the winners – the touchstone for the greatest attacking football ever played.

The format of the tournament remained the same although the revolutionary concept of using goal difference to separate the teams was now implemented along with extra-time in the quarter and semi finals, although instead of penalty kicks, the winners name would be drawn out of a hat by the referee the following day!