First of all, there is a view that this sports event is related to human instincts because people have no choice but to like soccer the most. When you see a rolling ball, even young children who don’t know what soccer is said to kick instinctively. They only pick up the ball with their hands if they feel it is too big for their body size. Besides, soccer has rules that anyone can easily understand, except for the subtle offside rules. It is the simplest form of sports after excluding essential sports such as track and field and swimming.
Next, soccer is an equal game, regardless of the body and intelligence that a person is born with. Among the players who have shone in soccer history are tall ones like Johan Cruyff of the Netherlands and very short players like Diego Maradona of Argentina. Socrates of Brazil, who enjoyed the 80s, was a skinny person who seemed far from exercising. However, all players on the pitch are treated the same.
Together, soccer has become a microcosm of life. Soccer is ultimately an individual match, and teamwork determines victory or defeat. In addition, just like a society that judges the success of an individual or team from the outside, regardless of what they think, soccer also has an external factor of refereeing. And the judgment has absolute authority. In the final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico, Maradona of Argentina scored a goal with a handball foul that deceived the referee’s eyes. But no one officially questioned Argentina’s victory because the referee didn’t declare a foul.
Also, there is a drama of hope and reversal in soccer. Algeria beat Germany at the 1982 World Cup in Spain, and North Korea beat Italy at the 66 World Cup in London. At the 50-year World Cup in Brazil, Uruguay beat Brazil to win the championship. There is a level difference between each team, but there is no fixed match. No one has ever told you not to let anything unexpected happen. That is life.
Combining all these factors, soccer has become a universal language beyond politics and the economy. Of course, some critics say that soccer plays a role in turning their eyes away from practical problems. Khomeini, Iran’s Muslim leader and a thorough anti-American, once banned soccer, saying it was becoming a means of escape (Iran must advance to the World Cup finals and compete with the United States in the same group after all).
Of course, it is a debatable sport. However, is there a more stimulating and cheaper way to escape from the tough reality than soccer and the World Cup? In addition, most countries are now in a situation where it wants to escape from reality politically and economically. Isn’t it simple enough to enjoy the last festival of this century?