As the football world holds its breath for Sunday's final in Qatar, a curious little itch has started to prickle the back of my mind. It is the same i...
As the football world holds its breath for Sunday's final in Qatar, a curious little itch has started to prickle the back of my mind. It is the same itch that strikes every four years, just as the trophy is polished and the stadium announcer begins to limber up his vocal cords. It is the urge to test my own memory against the history of the game. Forget the tactical battles and the 'squeaky bum time' of penalty kicks, can you, the reader, do the one thing that separates the casual fan from the true connoisseur Can you name every single winner of the World CupLet us be honest with one another. We all have that one mate at the pub, the one who leans back with a knowing smirk and reels off the entire roll of honour from 1930 to 2018 without breaking stride. He remembers who lifted the Jules Rimet trophy before the war, who bottled it in the Maracanã, and who parked the bus to steal the glory in 1990. This quiz, brought to you exclusively by GoalZaza, is the definitive check on your footballing credentials. It is not about remembering the flashy stars or the clinical finishing in the group stages. It is about the cold, hard facts of who walked off the pitch with the biggest prize in the sport.For the modern fan, the list might feel familiar. Brazil's yellow kit, Italy's azure blue, Germany's relentless machine. But cast your mind back further. Think of the transitional post war years, the rise of total football, the era of defensive masterclasses. The quiz does not ask for the year or the scoreline, just the name of the nation. It sounds simple, does it not And yet, when you stare at that blank space for the 1950 champions or the 1974 winners, the mind can go worryingly blank. That is the beauty of these exercises. They humble you.From a tactical perspective, one can see the evolution of the game reflected in the list of winners. The early South American dominance gave way to the European tactical flexibility of the 1970s and 1980s. Then came the era of the low block and the ruthless counter attack. Every champion tells a story about the state of football at that moment in time. So I challenge you, ahead of Sunday's showpiece, to prove your mettle. Do not cheat. Do not consult your phone. Just sit down with a pen, or your finger hovering over the keyboard, and see if you have the historical nous to back up your bravado. It is harder than it looks, and that is precisely why it is so bloody enjoyable.
