Logica World Cup, 24-25th May 1997
Blue is the Colour
It was not quite Wembley, the Maracana or the San Siro. There were not quite 100,000 face-painted, drum-banging, horn-blowing, flag-waving fans packed to the rafters either. Instead the third ever Logica World Cup Final was played on a converted rugby field on the outskirts of Aberdeen in Scotland, in front of about twenty on-lookers and the compulsory dog. The sun was shining defiantly however, and the finalists France and England served up a match worthy of any of the afore-mentioned theatres of dreams.
France had only acquired late qualification when the stars of last year's show, Sweden, had been forced to drop out due to the complexity and cost of travelling from Stockholm to Aberdeen. Axime Ingenierie would appear to be a very welcome addition to the Logica international family, bringing with them many relevant skills, a good organisation and a reputation for quality: on the football field at least! It was hard to believe that many of the French team had not met each other prior to the World Cup, as some outstanding teamwork and passing brought them comfortable victories over Holland and Scotland in the early rounds (both by a 4-0 margin).
England Led A Maury Dance
Les Bleus continued with some aplomb in the Final, rushing into a 2-0 lead in the first ten minutes as England were overwhelmed. First a spectacular twenty-five yard volley could only be tipped onto the bar by English keeper Tony Calboutin and Vincent Oran followed up to score. Within minutes concerted pressure on the English defence resulted in a flashing left foot shot into the top corner by Benjamin Maury.
England showed some good character in fighting back. After coming close on a couple of occasions, Kevin Spence finally reduced the arrears with a subtle glancing header. A minute before half-time England were level when the French keeper bundled Keiran Toman to the ground, and Mark Abbott slotted home the resultant penalty. However the French reasserted their authority in the second half, and the only surprise was that they did not score until five minutes from full-time. A series of dangerous corners had bedevilled the English back-line throughout, but they had somehow held out until and a wickedly curled kick from Benjamin Maury did for everyone and flew straight in. The impressive Maury scored seven goals in the tournament and was rewarded with the Golden Boot Award.
Whilst French captain Philippe Soria lifted the 'impressive' Logica World Cup trophy, the disappointed English were left to reflect on a third successive runners up spot. Impressive victories over arch rivals Holland and the auld enemy Scotland had given genuine hope, as a new young nucleus of players including Chris Bramwell, Akis Xenophontos, Tony Calboutin, Colin Duff and Scott Fleming combined well with the experience of Captain Ian Clarke and the old head of Graham Read. Once again, though, England had to rely on ageing strikers Mark Abbott (6) and Kevin Spence (2) for the goals.
Scots Give Rousing Debut
Logica Scotland, playing in their first World Cup, were a welcome addition both on and off the field. Goals from Steve Penman and Philip Gordon brought the Scots their first ever World Cup three points in a closely fought game against reigning champions Holland. Melvin Hauxwell organised an impressive Opening Ceremony on the Friday evening at the grandiose Prince Regent Hotel, which had enabled the players from the various competing nations to meet each other and consume a quantity of alcohol somewhat ill-advised given the level of athletic performance expected over the next couple of days.
Scotland also generously put up the Stanley Rous Cup to be played for annually between themselves and England. England's 3-0 victory meant that the trophy did not stay very long north of the border, but did mean that Captain Clarke finally had something to put in his still vacant Trophy Cabinet at the end of his four year stint as England Supremo.
Oranges Squashed
Holland were the biggest surprises of the tournament. Having won both the 1995 and 1996 World Cups, they were tipped by many to make it a hat-trick and win the prestigious trophy outright. Whilst they were certainly depleted by a number of injuries, inconvenient on-site postings and compulsory shopping trips, Bondscoach James McCabe will still have been disappointed that they lost all their games without scoring a goal. As ever, the Dutch performed exceptionally well off the field, although this may go some way to explaining their indifferent results on the pitch. Still, with players of the quality of McCabe, Zandbelt, Oude Vrielink, Garnaat and Staunton, it would be foolish to write them off for next year's tournament in Bordeaux.
Good Hosts
Finally a big thank you should go to our hosts for World Cup 97 : Glentanar FC. Graeme Lawrie organised a slick, well-oiled tournament and the excellent food laid on by the club was gratefully received each day. The players of Glentanar contributed to the enjoyable atmosphere on both days, and our only criticism would be that it was perhaps a little unsporting of them to be quite so good! Glentanar beat each Logica nation in turn and did not concede a goal in the process. It was to France's great credit that they only lost 3-2 to Glentanar in the Tournament Final, after leading 2-1 in the second half, and this performance only served to confirm France as the best Logica team.