By Tony Ubani, in South Africa
Every four years, the World Cup produces a smorgasbord of stunning football, great goals and controversial moments that will be remembered for a long time to come.

•Diego Maradona

Bobby Moore, 1970Four years earlier, Moore had captained England to their first — and so far only — World Cup triumph. Although not tournament favorites, Alf Ramsey’s side were still expected to be one of the front-runners in Mexico.

However, their preparations blew up in their faces when Moore was arrested for allegedly stealing a bracelet from a hotel in Bogota, Colombia, where England were playing a warm-up match.

Despite the claims, Moore was allowed to travel with the squad. But, upon returning to Colombian soil on the way to Mexico, he was subsequently placed under house arrest for four days.Eventually, with no evidence against him, the defender was released, but not before the incident had caused a massive diplomatic row.

Brazil v Sweden, 1978
Compared to the great teams of their past, Brazil were in transition — but they certainly did not have luck on their side in Argentina.

The South Americans ended up finishing third, having remained unbeaten in all of their six matches, but what happened in this opening game should have alerted them that 1978 was not to be their year. Welsh referee Clive Thomas had the nickname “The Book” because he was a stickler for the rules, and Brazil felt the full force of his fussy nature.

With the match deep in injury-time, and the scoreline at 1-1, Brazil were awarded a corner. The delivery was perfect and Zico was on hand to head home and give Brazil a last-gasp victory.

However, in the two seconds between the corner being taken and Zico scoring, Thomas had blown his whistle for full-time. The goal was chalked off and the perplexed Brazilians raged at Thomas all the way to the changing rooms.

Zinedine Zidane, 2006
Zidane, the man who almost single-handedly won the World Cup eight years earlier, had been brought out of international retirement to help struggling France through their qualification group.

Installed as captain, the midfield maestro then produced a succession of brilliant displays to help France reach the final against Italy in Berlin, being named the tournament’s best player in the process.

With retirement beckoning after the match, the scene was set for Zidane to go out on a high, and his early penalty put the French ahead. However, Marco Materazzi leveled for Italy, and those two players were to take center stage in the ensuing extra-time period.

With 10 minutes remaining, Argentine referee Horacio Elizondo was alerted to the fact that Materazzi was writhing on the floor in agony.

Television replays showed Zidane firmly planting a head butt into the midriff of the Italian defender and, although Elizondo had missed it, he showed Zidane a red card on the strength of the fourth official’s advice. Zidane later claimed that Materazzi had insulted a member of his family, and has never apologized for the incident — a sad end to a glittering career.

Andres Escobar, 1994
Colombia were viewed as one of the favorites for overall victory in the United States, but a disappointing 3-1 defeat by Romania in their opening group game meant the pressure was on for the next match against the host nation, in front of nearly 100,000 people in Pasadena.

With the scores level after 34 minutes, Atletico Nacional full-back Escobar deflected a cross from John Harkes into his own net. The U.S. eventually won the match 2-1 and the highly-fancied Colombians were heading home despite beating Switzerland in their final group match.

Just 10 days after his error, Escobar was shot 12 times outside a bar in his home city of Medellin. Speculation abounded about the motives, with reports that Escobar’s own-goal had cost local betting syndicates a small fortune.

A local teacher was found guilty of his murder, and served just 11 years in jail. Escobar was only 27 years of age, and a nation mourned his death.
Diego Maradona, 1986

Just four years earlier, Argentina and England had been at war over the sovereignty of the Falkland Islands. Casualties were high on both sides in some of the bloodiest battles seen anywhere since the end of World War II.

With tensions still high between the nations, fate decreed that they were drawn together in the quarterfinals in Mexico City.
Aged 25, Maradona was at his peak, running at defenses with devastating pace and skill. In the 51st minute, one such surge resulted in the ball looping into the air off a defender, before Maradona punched it into the net just ahead of the advancing goalkeeper Peter Shilton.

Incensed England players claimed handball — and the TV replays and photos of the incident were conclusive — but the goal stood.

Maradona was to go on and score one of the greatest goals in history as Argentina won the game 2-1 on their way to eventually lifting the trophy.

Maradona, now Argentina’s national coach, later admitted what he had done, famously claiming it was the “Hand of God,” and so maintaining a rivalry between the countries which stands to this day.