Football, as we know, is a glorious sport. Here at Howtobet4free, we've examined the top five goals, and the top five celebrations of all time from the World Cup.
But the next part of our series is due to take a sinister and more violent turn: we're looking at the World Cup's top five worst fouls. The most brutal, dangerous, and outright ludicrous assaults that were exacted on the biggest stage of all.
So peek through your fingers, squint through shut eyes, or peer over the sofa: here's our countdown!
5. Leonardo: Brazil vs USA, 1994
It says something about the rest of your entries when the one you consider the least offensive and famous is an elbow that caused a skull fracture, but that's the situation right now.
Don't let that fool you though; Leonardo's elbow on Tab Ramos, the American midfielder, was a brutal bit of play that left the American on the floor for several minutes and actually put him in hospital. Leonardo was a fiery player (and a fiery Director of Football: he left PSG after receiving a 13-month ban for pushing a referee), but even this attack was out of the blue.
After a bit of handbags near the touchline, Ramos hold onto Leonardo to stop him getting away with the ball. The Brazilian takes exception, and without looking, flings his elbow back into the unfortunate victim's face. Apparently Leonardo visited Ramos in the hospital afterwards.
Presumably to finish the job.
4. Benjamin Massing: Argentina vs Cameroon, 1990
We've mentioned the great Cameroon side of 1990 in our previous blog, and here they get another honorary mention. Albeit not in the most glowing terms.
Their game against Argentina was a shock in itself; the Indomitable Lions managed to secure a single-goal victory against the World Champions, even though they had two men sent off. One of those men was Benjamin Massing, and after you see this, you'll realise why.
Claudio Caniggia starts off on his run before he is chopped by the first of the three Cameroonians to have a dig at him. He carries on, unperturbed, before being knocked off balance by another tackle from the side. Still he goes on! But our hero Benjamin Massing gets to Caniggia before he can do any real damage. Flying in like a kamikaze with his eyes closed, he clears out the Argentine to earn his second booking of the game and lose his boot in the process.
If it didn't look so painful, it would almost be funny. Okay, we lied: it is really funny.
3. Harald Schumacher: West Germany vs France, 1982
A French newspaper did a survey once to find out who was the most hated man of all time according to their readers. Harald Schumacher, the former German-goalkeeper was number one. Adolf Hitler was number two. That should tell you something about the effect this foul had on the collective French psyche, and World Cup history as a whole.
Frenchman Patrick Battiston races onto a glorious pass from Michel Platini and looks set to poke the ball into the back of the German goal. The shot goes wide, but what happened in the aftermath shows the real horror of the challenge. Schumacher, with no intention of even getting near the ball, jumps full pelt into Battiston, his German backside smashing the Frenchman's face.
Battiston lost several teeth, and I challenge you to find a more haunting image from the World Cup annals than his raised hand slowly sinking to the turf as he lies supine on the deck, his remaining consciousness dribbling away.
2. Nigel de Jong: Netherlands vs Spain, 2010
The most recent foul on the list, and also one of the ugliest. The 2010 World Cup final wasn't a classic by any means: it was a fractious, gritty affair that was stifled by the negative Dutch tactics and only settled deep into extra-time by Spain's Andres Iniesta.
In the 28th minute, the game saw its first bit of controversy and arguably the moment that the match is truly remembered for. Xavi plays a ball up in the air to central-midfield partner Xabi Alonso, who heads the ball on. Unbeknownst to him however, Nigel de Jong is raising his foot to get the ball as well. We think that was what he was trying to do, because it would make no earthly sense if de Jong was actually trying to kung-fu kick his opponent.
However, on a third, fourth, and fifth view, that looks exactly like what he was trying to do. He even tries to raise his arms at the end to show he didn't mean it. We'll let you (quite easily) make up your own mind.
1. Zinedine Zidane: Italy vs France, 2006
The foul that no-one saw until after it had happened. Viewers knew that Zidane had been sent off, but we had no idea why. Materazzi lay crumpled on the turf. Zidane looked unrepentant.
And then the replays came. The two players were trading words when suddenly Zidane turned, and planted the mother of all headbutts into the Italian's chest. To this day no-one knows what was really said that caused Zidane to lose it; there was speculation concerning racist abuse, disrespect, and familial insults, and even Materazzi's admissions should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The damage was done in those few seconds of madness. Zidane was ordered from the field, while Italy went on to win the trophy. If the image of Battiston's hand falling is the most haunting image from the World Cup, then Zidane walking past the trophy, within touching distance of it but unable to bend the game France's way, may be its most poignant.
Min deposit requirement. Free Bets are paid as Bet Credits and are available for use upon settlement of qualifying bets. Min odds, bet and payment method exclusions apply. Returns exclude Bet Credits stake. Time limits and T&Cs apply
Click to ClaimSam publishes regular feature and tips pieces for Howtobet4free. He has a blog, crackingjabulanis.blogspot.co.uk, and can be found on Twitter by following @Gaytski.
