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FIFA celebrates 100 years of soccer

Zinedine Zidane of France, left, clad in the 1904 French team jersey, eludes Edmilson of Brazil during their friendly match at the Stade de France stadium on Thursday. PHOTO: AP

Diego Maradona captured it with a mesmerizing run through England's lineup. So did Pele, with a leaping header that was foiled by Gordon Banks' brilliant save.

Zinedine Zidane's bewildering footwork and George Best's dribbling wizardry are yet more examples of the magical appeal of a game that has enthralled fans for a century.

Call it football, soccer, futbol or calcio, the world's most popular sport raises passions from Buenos Aires to Barcelona, Manchester to Milan, Seoul to South Africa.

Now the game is celebrating a notable birthday with its world governing body, FIFA, which was formed in Paris on May 21, 1904. FIFA president Sepp Blatter celebrated on Thursday in Zurich at the start of the centennial congress. French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin, Paris Mayor Bertrand Delanoe and IOC president Jacques Rogge also attended.

At 100 years old, international soccer has been there, done that and most assuredly sold the T-shirts: Trade disputes, globalization, star power, violence and racism, skyrocketing salaries, but also, some of the most beautiful moments in sporting history.

Soccer is played by an estimated 240 million people around the globe, and the quadrennial World Cup is by far the most watched single-sport event in the world. Two years ago, an estimated 1.3 billion tuned in for Brazil's victory over Germany in the final.

"Football is as old as the world," Blatter said. "People have always played some form of football, from its very basic form of kicking a ball around to the game it is today.

"And now, from its humble beginnings, it has become one of the largest employers in the world, the business with the biggest earnings in the world."

FIFA said last month it estimated a US$144 million profit on US$1.64 billion revenue from 2003 to 2006.

"I am very happy to see FIFA's 100th anniversary and the stability it has gained," said former German captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer. "FIFA right now is in very good condition."

Starting in 1930, the World Cup has been the stage for some of the sport's grandest moments:

There was the US upsetting England 1-0 in 1950; and a 17-year-old Brazilian named Pele scoring six goals in his first World Cup in 1958, including two in the final to help Brazil beat Sweden 5-2 for its first title.

There was North Korea emerging from obscurity to defeat Italy in 1966, and Banks' 1970 save against Pele -- perhaps the greatest in World Cup history -- a move Pele later would liken to a "salmon leaping up a falls."

And there was Argentina's Diego Maradona in 1986, cutting through the entire English defense as if he were slaloming down a mountainside to score perhaps the tournament's greatest goal.

Of course, soccer is also about the players.

Pele, the most famous player, has been the personal guest of more than 55 heads of state and three popes, and he has dozens of soccer stadiums named in his honor.

In the 1980s, it was Maradona who captivated the world's imagination. Author of two of the most famous goals in history -- the so-called "Hand of God" and "Feet of a God" goals -- Maradona has seen his best seller I am Diego translated into 30 languages in 80 countries.

England's Manchester United is thought to be the most valuable sports franchise in the world, estimated to be worth US$1.2 billion.

"The biggest change in soccer comes from all the money the big companies have brought into the sport," Pele said. "I played for almost 30 years, and over that time, I didn't make as much money as the players now earn in three years.

"But the game itself hasn't changed that much. It's probably tougher now because there is so much more at stake, but what makes a good game is still good players. And the definition of a good player is pretty much the same today as it was in my time."
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