A treat in store if Brazil v England as good as 1970 epic

By Simon Lewis

THIS 2002 World Cup has given us much to be thankful for, wonderful moments, brilliant performances, numerous memories to savour … and that’s just the TV coverage.

Last night, armchair aficionados were again taken to seventh heaven, when, as a prelude to tomorrow’s quarter-final showdown in Shizuoka between Brazil and England, the BBC offered up the 1970 epic between the two great rivals.

It all took place in the Mexican city of Guadalajara on June 7, 1970, and, as Alan Hansen was moved to comment earlier this week, it was the match that had everything, pitting the best defender in the world in Bobby Moore against Pele, the best player in the world; the reigning world champions from 1966 against easily the greatest team the world has known, the side for which the term the beautiful game was coined.

And, just for good measure, Gordon Banks conjured up quite possibly the greatest save the game has seen.

The facts of the game were straightforward enough, Brazil beating England 1-0 in a group III encounter that really meant very little as both were expected to ease into the knockout stages at the expense of Romania and Czechoslovakia.

The context of that meeting was altogether more significant. This was the most eagerly-awaited group fixture of the tournament and regarded by many observers as a dress rehearsal for the final.

That the English had had little sleep on the eve of the match had little to do with nerves. Their city centre hotel had been deluged by Brazilian fans who kept up a deliberate and sustained level of noise in a concerted bid to upset their opponents.

And when Alf Ramsey’s team took to the pitch the next day they were given a reception every bit as hostile as the intense heat.

It mattered little, England played with the skill and craft to match the sublimely talented Brazilians and could have won the match were it not for their profligacy in front of goal. At the other end, the English centre-back pairing of Moore and Allan Mullery were brilliant in shackling Pele with Moore’s performance prompting the Brazilian superstar to later comment that the England captain was ‘the finest defender I played against’.

Moore’s fellow veteran of 66, Bobby Charlton, who himself put in a great performance to echo his finest moments for England and Manchester United, also recognised the West Ham maestro’s defensive masterclass.

“It was a sensational match,” he would say, “maybe Bobby Moore’s greatest game. Any little bit of danger he nipped it in the bud and he didn’t tackle one man, he was tackling them all, and all crucial tackles.”

And that makes Brazil’s victory all the more remarkable. The goal that separated the teams came from a perfectly executed Brazilian move with Tostao breaking free from the English defence and crossing to Pele who drew in full-back Terry Cooper before teeing up the wonder winger Jairzinho to crash the ball home past Banks, who had earlier denied Brazil with a miracle save from a Pele header that even now, after countless action replays, defies belief.

To be fair to the English, a draw would have been the right result but they just couldn’t find the net. Geoff Hurst snatched at a shot in the first half having been put in behind the Brazilian defence, Alan Ball clipped the bar and gangly substitute, the late Jeff Astle contrived to find row Z from in front of the posts when gifted the ball from a weak Brazilian header.

Of course, Brazil went on to win the Jules Rimet trophy with a 4-1 defeat of Italy but the feeling was they had passed their stiffest test that day in Guadalajara, against England.

Certainly the feeling with which Moore and Pele embraced and exchanged shirts after the match confirmed the view that two great players had found their equals.

Today’s vintage from both countries have yet to prove they are anywhere near reaching those great heights but the encounter poses some tantalising possibilities.

Will Moore’s heir apparent, Rio Ferdinand, live up to his billing as one of the best defenders in the world or will its greatest attacking force, Ronaldo, puncture the bubble of hyperbole that currently surrounds the England number five?

Will it be David Beckham or Rivaldo who scales the same heights as Jairzinho did? All will soon be revealed, although one thing is for sure, no-one will be keen to emulate the hapless Astle.

But if the boys from Brazil and the Lions of England serve up a treat only half as fascinating tomorrow morning as their predecessors of 32 years ago, then we are in for a real footballing treat.