London No less a manager than Cesar Luis Menotti has said it, so it must be taken seriously. Playing at home is no real advantage in a World Cup, This from the man who was in charge of the Argentina team which did win the World Cup at home in 1978, which unquestionable benefited from refereeing decisions in that tournament, and which has subsequently been accused of “persuading” the Peruvian team to lie down and die in the vital game which ensured Argentina’s participation in the final, Not that there has ever been the slightest hint that Menotti himself was responsible for any of this. Knowing him as I do, I am sure he was not.
Visiting Italy recently, Menotti said, “I want to put it on record that a World Cup played at home is no great advantage for a country with a great history behind it, a country like Argentina or Italy; it is not an advantage but a risk. It is easy for a Chile or a Mexico. In the European Championship 1980, the Italians, in Rome, played at 30 per cent of their possibilities. To come first then is fine, to come second is a disaster. For this reason, I say that should Italy win the next World Cup, it won’t be because it is playing at home.”
My mind goes back to a couple of torrid nights in the River Plate stadium in Buenos Aires, where Argentina played its group qualifying games against Hungary and France. An indulgent referee allowed the two Hungarian stars, Toroscik and Nyilasy, in the words of the Italian manager, Enzo Bearzot, “to be Kicked until the blood flowed.” Each eventually lost his temper, retaliated and was sent off.
STA#Dubious: Against France, the Argentines were awarded penalty which looked remarkably dubious and was never properly explained. As one who covered the tournament, I was convinced that they ‘would never have won it had thy not been playing at home.
But then you could probably say much the same when England won the World Cup in 1966, and played every game at Wembley. Only in the semifinals and final did England look truly impressive, and in the final, as we all know, it benefited from a crucial goal by Geoff Hurst which, to this day, remains disputable.
Hurst, you will remember, thumped ‘Also Ball’s cross from the right wing against the underside of the West German crossbar. Did it or did it o0t cross the line goal? Herr Dienst, the Swiss referee, wasn’t sure. He consulted his Russian linesman, Bakramov, who vigorously gestured for a goal, But to this day, it is almost impossible to decide from even firmed evidence whether that ball was over the line ‘or not In 1974, West Germany won the World Cup. at home. Again, as one who was there, [am convinced that home advantage ‘was crucial. Holland was a better team, which should comfortably have won the final after going ahead with the penalty in the second minute, but it relaxed, and let the Germans off the hook.
Let it be recalled that when the Germans beat Poland in Frankfurt, making sure they would reach the final, it was with immense difficulty, on a rain soaked ground which unquestionably favored their more powerful players. Many at the time thought the pitch unplayable, but the referee eventually decided the game would go on. What, 1 wonder, would have been the decision bad the match been played elsewhere, with no possible pressures, however implicit rather than overt, on the official? True, the last two World Cups were not won by the home team, each of which fell early by the wayside. But the Spanish side of 1982 was a truly poor one and could not make progress, even though there is no doubt it was palpably helped by referring decisions when it met Northern Ireland, which prevailed although Mal Donaghy, the defender, was sent off for an utterly trivial offense, No Surprise: Mexico failed both in 1970 and 1986, but then Mexico has never been among the aristocrats of international football, and no one expected it to do very much, This despite the fact that a great many of the matches were played high above sea level, conditions to which few of the other teams were accustomed, even if they did have time to acclimatize, Oxygen debt and the swerving flight of the ball through thin air made for unfamiliar problems.
Menotti has a point, to the extent that passionate home support can work in two ways. It can gal anise the home team, and perturb the opposition. On the other hand, it can act as a form of pressure, a source of anxiety, for the home players. Certainly in 1980 the Italian team played appallingly badly. Certainly there are some teams, such as West Germany, which seem to be able to do their stuff no matter what part of the world they may be playing in.
Take Menottis views to their logical ‘conclusion, however, and you have to say that playing at home, not only in World Cups (where teams do get a chance to acclimatize over the weeks) is no advantage, ever, That is manifestly absurd. By definition, a home team must fee! more at ease in its own surroundings than the visitor, and a quick look at statistics shows that over the decades, home teams win a vastly greater proportion of matches than away ones, The vast and throbbing expectations of the Italian public certainly won’t help team if it is inadequate, But I cannot imagine any Italian player seriously wanting the World Cup to be anywhere else.
Article extracted from this publication >> August 25, 1989
