"Narrated by Terence Stamp" "Wolfgang Overath West German International The Brazilians, They have the endless potential of the young, to create new players." "England, with their tradition of incisiveness, dedication, willpower." "The Italians, with their ability at playing football." "The Argentinians." "Too far away to be judged, but they have had great teams in the past." "Germany is a part of this too." "France." "Right now on a level above Germany, above England, above Italy." "These teams belong to a circle of teams in which sometimes one is a bit better, and at other times not as good." "Uwe Seeler West German International Every international match, every World Cup game, was a special event for me." "When I took the field, and people were enthusiastic, and the national anthem was being played," "I certainly felt a shiver, to be playing for my country." "Mario Zagallo Former Brazil Conch Everyone has their own style." "We have our ginga, our way of moving, as well as our way of playing." "And we have been champions of the world four times." "Why would we copy the style of the Europeans?" "Playing against Brazil was always a great experience." "They have always been a great football nation, known for their style, that was different from the way the Europeans played." "We used to say that we would not be able to do what some Brazilians do naturally with the ball, because we would probably break our legs!" "57,000 spectators came to the Olympic Stadium in Berlin to see world champions Brazil and European champions Germany in what had been billed "the match of the year"." "We have been losing quality in the past decades." "Until the 1960s." "Socrates Brazilian International Brazilian football was seen within the country as a marginal activity in which high society had little interest in participating." "That gave the people from the lower classes the chance to play professional football." "From the 1970s onwards, the situation altered." "Football became a sport also of the middle and upper classes." "We have a big problem with the next generation." "Jürgen Klinsmann German International to bring top players to world-class level." "In the last 20 years we have been relying on the fact that we are good in tournaments, and that we have a strong national team." "Everyone was dazzled, but the next generation was neglected, especially in terms of technique, and now we are paying the price." "Qualification in the World Cup is a breakthrough in the history of Chinese football," "Fan Zhi Yi Chinese International since we started to play in the World Cup 44 years ago." "The future of football in China is very promising." "Since the economic reforms, which took place in 1994, the development of football has become more influenced by the market economy, changing from just a pure sport into a profession." "To a certain extent, this is a reflection of the spirit of collaboration." "There are reasons why this spirit has been so valued in the 5,000 years of Chinese history." "It's an aspect of Chinese culture that is highly valued." "How can I put it?" "You know, football in China is an immensely popular game." "Just like the rest of the world, it's the most popular sport." "China has 1.3 billion people, and millions of fans have been hoping that China would eventually qualify for the World Cup." "I think we should send more young players to more advanced countries, like in Europe, where new concepts and new ideas can be learned, in the clubs there." "They will have a better environment, and they can observe the differences." "I think the coaches should also go abroad and learn." "In addition, we need to see how the clubs are run and managed." "Novy Kapadia Historian, India" "P.K.Banerjee Indian International" "Baichung Bhutia Indian International" "Jimmy Hill Broadcaster, England" "Carlos Alberto Parreira Former Kuwait Coach Until we arrived there in 1976, the Arabic teams had never won a title of great international importance." "At that time, a new era really started for Arabian football, for Arabian football in that region of the Middle East." "Saudi Arabia went tothe World Cup, the Emirates went, Kuwait went in 1982." "This shows the work done, the technical improvement at international level." "Ken Naganuma Japanese International It is incredibly important - epoch-making." "It doesn't only affect Japanese football, but also football in the whole of Northeast Asia in the 21st century." "It is the start of a great opportunity." "Kunishige Kamamoto Japanese International When it was announced that the first World Cup of the 21st century would for the first time take place in Asia and would be co-hosted," "I thought of all the political problems and other problems between Japan and South Korea." "But I realised that it could be a mutual opportunity for both countries, despite the long history between them." "I hope this is going to be a new opportunity for us." "Korea became a colony of Japan in 1919." "Duk Ki Kim Historian, South Korea After that, people played football as an expression of their longing to beat Japan." "The Korean team won the game, so the Olympic team was supposed to be formed of Koreans." "But, in fact, it was made up mostly of Japanese, with only two Koreans - Kim Yong-Sik and Kim Hyong-Gun." "His coach didn't stop blaming him." "Mr Kim started thinking that if he were Japanese, he wouldn't be treated this way." "So he beat his coach with a wooden washbowl, and he resigned his position and he came back to Korea." "I am from North Korea." "During the winter, just after the liberation, I went over the border." "I crossed the 38th Parallel to the south on my own." "Hong Deok-Young South Korean International When I became a national player, I couldn't tell my family." "There was no way to tell them." "It was impossible to send mail or to phone them." "But it was possible to listen to the radio in North Korea." "They could tune in to the Seoul radio station, although if you were caught listening to it you could be arrested." "But my father didn't care about that at all." "Later, they heard my name on the radio, saying I had been chosen as a national player." "We lost 12-0." "That was the biggest defeat ever." "I was the goalkeeper, and I took all the blame." "I counted until nine goals had been scored, because the American team had lost to Italy by eight goals to nil." "So after nine goals, I thought we must be even worse than the Americans." "To put it simply, Mr Syngman Rhee ground his teeth with vexation when he heard about the match against Japan, because it was a home-and-away system at that time." "How could Japanese people come to Korea?" "We beat them by five goals to one, and inside the Japanese stadium we saw for the very first time our flag raised beside theirs." "We had won." "The World Cup teams wore suits as a uniform." "When they were on the plane, they found that their trousers had become smaller due to the poor quality of the material." "When they arrived in Switzerland, the trousers had shrunk." "The team was ashamed when people asked if that was the fashion in their country." "We thought it was our first and last opportunity to play in World Cup games." "Our team had a squad of 20, and in those days you weren't allowed substitutes." "So when we had a match with Hungary, 11 players played, and in the second match, with Turkey," "the rest of our players who didn't play against Hungary played." "The Korean Football Association received a World Cup application form from FIFA." "An executive director who was dealing with that application form asked an office worker to fill in the form and send it." "But he put the form into his drawer and completely forgot about it." "Five... four... three... two... one... zero!" "In May 1993, the J-League, the first professional football league in Japan," "Kumi Kinohara Journalist." "Japan was launched." "Verdy, one of the strongest teams at the time, played against Marinos in the opening game, and many people came to the National Stadium." "It really was a very moving event, and many people cried." "For the first time, top-level football was being organised in Japan, and over the following three years the J-League "boom" developed." "Kazu Miura Japanese International Many Japanese people believed that Japanese football started with the J-League." "However, people who really knew Japanese football didn't agree with this, because the Japanese Football Association had been established for more than 80 years." "Baseball has a very long history in Japan." "It was the first sport for the Japanese people to really take to their hearts before football." "Players such as Okudera were extremely important for Japanese football as they gave Japanese players confidence that they had the ability to play in a top league such as the Bundesliga." "It was Okudera who showed them that it was possible." "Saburo Kawabuchi Chnirmnn." "J-Lengue In 1980, football replaced baseball in the elementary-school curriculum." "In the same year, a popular children's cartoon called Captain Tsubasa came on TV, and from that point onwards football started to become more popular." "The J-League players of today were brought up on this show." "Zico Brazilian International Football always existed in Japan, but not in a professional way." "So they created a league, and they believed that it would be a good spectacle." "I believed in that process, so I decided to go to Japan in 1991." "I had only in mind to offer my experience as a professional and teach the young Japanese, but never to play." "Unfortunately, their technical quality was so low that, at 39 years of age," "I found myself playing football again as well as having the chance to teach the young Japanese on and off the field." "You're really only a child at the age of 15 or 16, but somehow I became a professional." "All I thought about then was earning money." "This was a very childish, simplistic way of thinking." "I thought that if I went to Brazil, I wouldn't have to do any schoolwork, all I'd do was become a professional and get better at football." "Most people think that football only arrived in 1993, but those of us in the game knew it was a longer process." "Most people, from the old people to the young people, know nothing about football." "And now we have the J-League." "with all the foreigners - experienced players and coaches from overseas - and as a consequence, we understand what the world of football is like." "Since winning the Asian Cup in 1992, they hadn't been close to having any good results," "but in 2000, they regained the title in Lebanon under the direction of their coach, Philippe Troussier." "Regaining the title was very important" "because it made other countries realise" "that Japan were up to international standard." "In fact, from a global perspective, the European, South American and African teams have been infinitely more successful than the Asian ones." "However, with the World Cup taking place in Japan, the Japanese will be able to experience top-level football at first hand, and this should raise the standard of football in Asia." "I really hope that FIFA will continue to support Asia and Africa until their standards reach Europe's or South America's, so that the standard of football in the five continents" "will reach a high enough level, and they develop together."