Article Summary: An article the fraud which was the Japan/South Korea 2002 World Cup.
I personally believe that the 2002 World Cup which was held in Japan/South Korea was not only fixed but a product of the enormous corruption which many are now just starting to associate with football's world governing body; FIFA. In all this however I do not deny that I can not give concrete proof yet I do have or in at least in my opinion; sufficient reason to believe that this was most likely what did occur during the world cup which was Japan/South Korea 2002. It being a case that the FIFA wanted to see a Germany VS Brazil final and were going to do anything and everything in their power; fair or unfair to get such a final.
After all, Brazil and Germany were perhaps the two most successful footballing nations in the history of the world cup. Brazil having to their credit four world cup titles, one second place finish, two third place finishes and one fourth place finish. Brazil also being a team which had not only played in every world cup ever played but had not lost a qualifying match till qualifying for USA 94 when they lost by 2-0 to Bolivia. This indeed an impressive feat though perhaps qualifying for Brazil or at least till the 2002 world cup had been abundantly easy since they were not required to play more than 6 matches to do so and never against either Argentina or Uruguay. This given the fact that Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay were always placed as the head of their respective qualifying groups or at least till the 1998 world cup. It being for that particular world cup that South America's qualifying system was changed from being one of putting all ten nations in to three groups to having all of them in one large group in which the first four qualified with the nation which finished fifth also having a chance. This if they could get by a team from some part of the world which for every world cup would be different.
Brazil however for its part, was not required to qualify for France 98 since they won the title in 94 yet they did have to play elimination round matches to qualify to the 2002 world cup which lead to their losing more than one game out of the 18 they were required to play. It even being the first time that Brazil and Argentina were required to play each other in world cup qualification. Brazil however went on to qualify with not much in the way of trouble though some did criticize their not finishing in the top two spots though at the end of the day; this really held very little if any importance.
As for Germany, they had 3 world cup titles, 3 second place finishes, 2 third place finishes and 1 fourth place finish. Germany being the team which had played in more finals than any other apart from also being a nation which had only once failed to get past the first round and this being in a world cup played as far back as 38 when they did so as a united team with Austria. Germany and Brazil being the only teams which never failed to qualify to a world cup yet in contrast to Brazil, Germany had not played in every world cup yet not due to failure to qualify but reasons completely unconnected with football. Germany, being so dominant in qualifying that they had never even lost a single qualifying match or at least not till 85 when they lost by 1-0 to Portugal.
All of which making it clear that Germany and Brazil along with Italy and perhaps to some extent Argentina; were the most outstanding teams in the history of the world cups yet despite this fact and 16 world cups having gone by; Germany and Brazil had never played against in each other in a world cup. They of course had played each other in friendlies yet never in a world cup nor any official competition which naturally also included continental championships. It being easy to see given the above mentioned facts why a world cup match between Germany and Brazil was a more than desirable thing not only for football fans every where but for FIFA. As such a match would definitely attract world wide attention specially if it were to be in a world cup final.
Germany and Brazil also being the only world champions who had never played each other before which further added to the interest in seeing such a match. This perhaps being most odd yet it was precisely the case that these two teams which had been in so many world cups had never played each other but such had been the reality. It being in Uruguay 30 that Germany did not participate while Brazil was eliminated by Spain in the first round of Italy 34. France 38 would see Brazil go on to the semifinals while Germany (than playing with Austria) was eliminated in the first round by Switzerland. Brazil 50 would not see Germany send a team due to being temporarily suspended from world cup competition due to World War II. Switzerland 54 would see Germany win their first world cup title while Brazil was eliminated by Hungary in the quarterfinals and would not have played against Germany till the final anyway. Sweden 58 could have seen a Germany Vs Brazil final if Germany had managed to beat Sweden in the semifinal yet they were defeated by a score of 3-1. Chile 62 saw Brazil win their second title while Germany was eliminated by Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals. England 66 saw Germany get to the final while Brazil was eliminated in the first round by both Hungary and Portugal. Mexico 70 came close to producing a Germany Vs Brazil final yet Italy managed to beat Germany by 4-3 in the semifinal. Germany 74 however also repeated a similar situation as Brazil would have met Germany in the final if they had just been able to beat Holland yet they ended up losing by 2-0 in a match which only a victory would have sufficed for them to make it to the final. Argentina 78 would have produced an encounter between Germany and Brazil for third place if Germany had only managed a draw with Austria yet it was Austria who on that occasion defeated Germany by 3-2. Spain 82 found Germany in the final yet Brazil was eliminated by Italy in a match in which all the South Americans needed to do was draw in order to get in to the semifinals. Mexico 86 perhaps was the closest Brazil and Germany ever came to meeting as they so easily could have met in the semifinals and would have had Brazil beaten France in the quarterfinals. This a match which ended with a French victory in penalties after both teams finished tied at 1 a piece after 120 minutes yet it was Zico who during the game missed a penalty for Brazil. Italia 90 would see Germany make it to the final yet it was Maradona's Argentina to beat Brazil in the round of 16. USA 94 saw Brazil obtain its fourth title while Germany was left out of the tournament when Bulgaria defeated them by a score of 2-1. France 98 saw Brazil reach the final while Germany was again eliminated in quarterfinals though on that particular occasion it was by Croatia.
So close had Brazil and Germany been to playing one another yet never had they met. It even being strange that Germany had met Argentina twice in the final while Italy and Brazil had also met each other twice in the final. Italy and Argentina even having met each other in five consecutive world cups while Brazil had met Argentina four times with three of them being in as many world cups yet never had Germany and Brazil met. Of course world cups will always attract attention no matter who plays but in all honesty, it is when those teams which have a world cup title or more meet that the biggest interest is aroused. This being important in a world cup which did not draw as many fans as previous world cups perhaps given its greater distance from Europe and South America yet despite reason; match attendance at 2002 world cup was low. This perhaps being the reason why FIFA needed South Korea to get as far in to the tournament as they did even if it meant having referees blatantly favor them with completely biased calls.
As one can see it is easy to see why FIFA would have wanted a final between Germany and Brazil yet how would they get it? Naturally by having both teams get to the final and helping them along the way as they clearly did. It being Brazil who in their first match barely managed to beat Turkey by a score of 2-1 and only due to being given a penalty for a foul which was clearly committed at least one meter outside the penalty box. Brazil, naturally being in a group which could not really have been any easier with Costa Rica and China being the other two teams in the group. Germany for their part were also in an easy group with Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia which though perhaps not as easy as it seemed on paper did not represent any major problems in their qualifying to the next round though Ireland did provided a surprise in holding them to a 1-1 draw.
FIFA in my opinion and based on what I could see, defiantly wanted a Germany Vs Brazil final and were going to get all the teams which could interfere with this plan out of the way. It being teams like Italy and Argentina who ended up in most difficult first round groups. Argentina being in the same group with Sweden, England and Nigeria while Italy found itself with Mexico, Croatia (third in France 98) and Ecuador. Argentina would be eliminated in the first round after losing to England on a penalty which was a clear case of diving. This while Italy had two perfectly good goals not given against both Croatia and Mexico after which equally appalling decisions by the referee would allow South Korea to eliminate them from the world cup.
Spain also being a team which might have interfered with FIFA's plan to have Germany and Brazil meet in the final yet they were eliminated by South Korea; when the referee unjustly annulled two perfectly legitimate goals. This making it clear to me that FIFA was going to get this dream final by cheating every team out off the competition whom they felt had any clear chance of upsetting either team. Brazil and Germany not even being teams of great quality or at least not like they had been in the past. It being a case of both of them getting by more on their name and reputation than the kind of football which had once earned them these two.
Brazil and Germany as can be expected would go on to the next round with Brazil beating Belgium by 2-0 though not before a legitimate goal was not given to Belgium during the match which would have given them a 1-0 lead in the game. Germany for their part beat Paraguay without any problems or controversy yet only be 1-0 with a goal scored very late in the match. The quarterfinals would see Germany beat the USA by 1-0 though not without assistance from a handball by Frings which prevented an American goal. It then being Germany's turn to benefit from a referee's "mistake".
At this point, Brazil and Germany were in the semifinal against both Turkey and South Korea in what promised to be very easy matches for both of them. Germany and Brazil clearly having it in them to defeat both South Korea and Turkey though these two teams did prove more difficult to beat than most would have given either one credit at the start. In fact, both South Korea and Turkey losing by 1-0 with South Korea at no point in the match; contrary to their previous matches being helped by biased calls.
It was after these two semifinals ended the way most would have predicated that Germany and Brazil were in the final. This being what most people wanted and to be honest; it is not that I minded seeing these two giants of world football playing each other yet I feel that this was arranged by FIFA. A dream final had arrived at the cost of unfairly eliminating other teams like Spain, Italy and Argentina.
After all, Brazil and Germany were perhaps the two most successful footballing nations in the history of the world cup. Brazil having to their credit four world cup titles, one second place finish, two third place finishes and one fourth place finish. Brazil also being a team which had not only played in every world cup ever played but had not lost a qualifying match till qualifying for USA 94 when they lost by 2-0 to Bolivia. This indeed an impressive feat though perhaps qualifying for Brazil or at least till the 2002 world cup had been abundantly easy since they were not required to play more than 6 matches to do so and never against either Argentina or Uruguay. This given the fact that Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay were always placed as the head of their respective qualifying groups or at least till the 1998 world cup. It being for that particular world cup that South America's qualifying system was changed from being one of putting all ten nations in to three groups to having all of them in one large group in which the first four qualified with the nation which finished fifth also having a chance. This if they could get by a team from some part of the world which for every world cup would be different.
Brazil however for its part, was not required to qualify for France 98 since they won the title in 94 yet they did have to play elimination round matches to qualify to the 2002 world cup which lead to their losing more than one game out of the 18 they were required to play. It even being the first time that Brazil and Argentina were required to play each other in world cup qualification. Brazil however went on to qualify with not much in the way of trouble though some did criticize their not finishing in the top two spots though at the end of the day; this really held very little if any importance.
As for Germany, they had 3 world cup titles, 3 second place finishes, 2 third place finishes and 1 fourth place finish. Germany being the team which had played in more finals than any other apart from also being a nation which had only once failed to get past the first round and this being in a world cup played as far back as 38 when they did so as a united team with Austria. Germany and Brazil being the only teams which never failed to qualify to a world cup yet in contrast to Brazil, Germany had not played in every world cup yet not due to failure to qualify but reasons completely unconnected with football. Germany, being so dominant in qualifying that they had never even lost a single qualifying match or at least not till 85 when they lost by 1-0 to Portugal.
All of which making it clear that Germany and Brazil along with Italy and perhaps to some extent Argentina; were the most outstanding teams in the history of the world cups yet despite this fact and 16 world cups having gone by; Germany and Brazil had never played against in each other in a world cup. They of course had played each other in friendlies yet never in a world cup nor any official competition which naturally also included continental championships. It being easy to see given the above mentioned facts why a world cup match between Germany and Brazil was a more than desirable thing not only for football fans every where but for FIFA. As such a match would definitely attract world wide attention specially if it were to be in a world cup final.
Germany and Brazil also being the only world champions who had never played each other before which further added to the interest in seeing such a match. This perhaps being most odd yet it was precisely the case that these two teams which had been in so many world cups had never played each other but such had been the reality. It being in Uruguay 30 that Germany did not participate while Brazil was eliminated by Spain in the first round of Italy 34. France 38 would see Brazil go on to the semifinals while Germany (than playing with Austria) was eliminated in the first round by Switzerland. Brazil 50 would not see Germany send a team due to being temporarily suspended from world cup competition due to World War II. Switzerland 54 would see Germany win their first world cup title while Brazil was eliminated by Hungary in the quarterfinals and would not have played against Germany till the final anyway. Sweden 58 could have seen a Germany Vs Brazil final if Germany had managed to beat Sweden in the semifinal yet they were defeated by a score of 3-1. Chile 62 saw Brazil win their second title while Germany was eliminated by Yugoslavia in the quarterfinals. England 66 saw Germany get to the final while Brazil was eliminated in the first round by both Hungary and Portugal. Mexico 70 came close to producing a Germany Vs Brazil final yet Italy managed to beat Germany by 4-3 in the semifinal. Germany 74 however also repeated a similar situation as Brazil would have met Germany in the final if they had just been able to beat Holland yet they ended up losing by 2-0 in a match which only a victory would have sufficed for them to make it to the final. Argentina 78 would have produced an encounter between Germany and Brazil for third place if Germany had only managed a draw with Austria yet it was Austria who on that occasion defeated Germany by 3-2. Spain 82 found Germany in the final yet Brazil was eliminated by Italy in a match in which all the South Americans needed to do was draw in order to get in to the semifinals. Mexico 86 perhaps was the closest Brazil and Germany ever came to meeting as they so easily could have met in the semifinals and would have had Brazil beaten France in the quarterfinals. This a match which ended with a French victory in penalties after both teams finished tied at 1 a piece after 120 minutes yet it was Zico who during the game missed a penalty for Brazil. Italia 90 would see Germany make it to the final yet it was Maradona's Argentina to beat Brazil in the round of 16. USA 94 saw Brazil obtain its fourth title while Germany was left out of the tournament when Bulgaria defeated them by a score of 2-1. France 98 saw Brazil reach the final while Germany was again eliminated in quarterfinals though on that particular occasion it was by Croatia.
So close had Brazil and Germany been to playing one another yet never had they met. It even being strange that Germany had met Argentina twice in the final while Italy and Brazil had also met each other twice in the final. Italy and Argentina even having met each other in five consecutive world cups while Brazil had met Argentina four times with three of them being in as many world cups yet never had Germany and Brazil met. Of course world cups will always attract attention no matter who plays but in all honesty, it is when those teams which have a world cup title or more meet that the biggest interest is aroused. This being important in a world cup which did not draw as many fans as previous world cups perhaps given its greater distance from Europe and South America yet despite reason; match attendance at 2002 world cup was low. This perhaps being the reason why FIFA needed South Korea to get as far in to the tournament as they did even if it meant having referees blatantly favor them with completely biased calls.
As one can see it is easy to see why FIFA would have wanted a final between Germany and Brazil yet how would they get it? Naturally by having both teams get to the final and helping them along the way as they clearly did. It being Brazil who in their first match barely managed to beat Turkey by a score of 2-1 and only due to being given a penalty for a foul which was clearly committed at least one meter outside the penalty box. Brazil, naturally being in a group which could not really have been any easier with Costa Rica and China being the other two teams in the group. Germany for their part were also in an easy group with Ireland, Cameroon and Saudi Arabia which though perhaps not as easy as it seemed on paper did not represent any major problems in their qualifying to the next round though Ireland did provided a surprise in holding them to a 1-1 draw.
FIFA in my opinion and based on what I could see, defiantly wanted a Germany Vs Brazil final and were going to get all the teams which could interfere with this plan out of the way. It being teams like Italy and Argentina who ended up in most difficult first round groups. Argentina being in the same group with Sweden, England and Nigeria while Italy found itself with Mexico, Croatia (third in France 98) and Ecuador. Argentina would be eliminated in the first round after losing to England on a penalty which was a clear case of diving. This while Italy had two perfectly good goals not given against both Croatia and Mexico after which equally appalling decisions by the referee would allow South Korea to eliminate them from the world cup.
Spain also being a team which might have interfered with FIFA's plan to have Germany and Brazil meet in the final yet they were eliminated by South Korea; when the referee unjustly annulled two perfectly legitimate goals. This making it clear to me that FIFA was going to get this dream final by cheating every team out off the competition whom they felt had any clear chance of upsetting either team. Brazil and Germany not even being teams of great quality or at least not like they had been in the past. It being a case of both of them getting by more on their name and reputation than the kind of football which had once earned them these two.
Brazil and Germany as can be expected would go on to the next round with Brazil beating Belgium by 2-0 though not before a legitimate goal was not given to Belgium during the match which would have given them a 1-0 lead in the game. Germany for their part beat Paraguay without any problems or controversy yet only be 1-0 with a goal scored very late in the match. The quarterfinals would see Germany beat the USA by 1-0 though not without assistance from a handball by Frings which prevented an American goal. It then being Germany's turn to benefit from a referee's "mistake".
At this point, Brazil and Germany were in the semifinal against both Turkey and South Korea in what promised to be very easy matches for both of them. Germany and Brazil clearly having it in them to defeat both South Korea and Turkey though these two teams did prove more difficult to beat than most would have given either one credit at the start. In fact, both South Korea and Turkey losing by 1-0 with South Korea at no point in the match; contrary to their previous matches being helped by biased calls.
It was after these two semifinals ended the way most would have predicated that Germany and Brazil were in the final. This being what most people wanted and to be honest; it is not that I minded seeing these two giants of world football playing each other yet I feel that this was arranged by FIFA. A dream final had arrived at the cost of unfairly eliminating other teams like Spain, Italy and Argentina.
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