Specific World Cups are often associated with a particular moment, the memories we have of them more than likely influenced by where we come from and who we follow.

For example, the nostalgia surrounding England's winning of the Cup in 1966 (will it ever happen again?) might be boiled down to the crowning moment when Geoff Hurst scored the fourth goal in the Final against Germany (4-2), accompanied, for those of us who watched it in an English living room, by a piece of television commentary that has all but entered the English language.

The famous BBC commentator, Kenneth Wolstenholme, was on duty that day: [Near the end of the game, Hurst receives a through pass from Alan Ball, but at the top of our screen we can see a handful of spectators running from the stands in premature celebration] "Some people are on the pitch ... They think it's all over ... [Hurst cracks a drive past Hans Tilkowski in the German goal] ... It is now!"

But looking at 1966 a little more objectively, it was a player, rather than a moment or team, that stood out: Portugal's Eusébio.

Eusébio da Silva Ferreira, born into a humble life in Mozambique in 1942, got to the top of the tree on sheer talent. He plied his trade mainly with Portuguese giants Benfica, helping them to win a European Cup in 1962. But his big moment on the world stage was England 1966, and 1966 was his tournament. He finished top scorer with nine goals, four of them in an incredible 5-3 defeat of North Korea in the quarter-finals after Portugal had gone behind 0-3. He scored again in the semi-final against eventual winners England (1-2), and won further fame by becoming one of the first players to openly weep on camera at the end of the game.

The 1970 Cup in Mexico must be associated with a team, the winners Brazil, but in that treasure chest of a side, one diamond shone out bigger and brighter than even the likes of Jairzinho, Rivelino and Tostão: Pelé. Born Edson Arantes do Nascimento (he has admitted that he hates his nickname), he was arguably the first truly global football superstar. He scored over 1,000 goals in his career and four in Mexico, but his light burned even brighter there for his non-scoring part in three sublime moments.

In the Group C match against Czechoslovakia (4-1), he lofted a shot at goal from the halfway line, something that we had never seen before; it didn't go in by a whisker. In the next group game against England (1-0), Jairzinho crossed for Pelé to head in what seemed a certain goal ... until goalkeeper Gordon Banks threw himself across the goal to keep it out.

And in the Final against Italy (4-1), Pelé scored the first goal and, after a wonderful move through the midfield, provided the exquisite lay-off for captain Carlos Alberto to thump in the fourth; for many it was the best goal ever scored, and Pelé had had a major hand in it.

Shifting 20 years into the future and Italy 1990, football was different: money had begun to play a much more central part in the game, and organised, defensive football was much more the norm; the whole of that tournament is widely regarded as being one of the most cynical in the history of the World Cup.

Fortunately, though, there were still individuals who could make the World Cup memorable on their own. There was the veteran Cameroonian striker Roger Milla, who at the ripe old age of 38 took his team to the quarter-finals, beating 1986 champions Argentina (1-0) on the way.

There was the irreverence of England midfielder Paul 'Gazza' Gascoigne, mystifying defenders and emulating Eusébio with a good old cry after being yellow-carded in the semi-final against Germany (1-1, Germany won on penalties).

And then there was Salvatore 'Totò' Schillaci. Stocky striker Schillaci was notable principally for the fact that hardly anyone had heard of him before the tournament began. He had recently signed for Juventus, but had made only one international appearance before Italy 1990. He came on as sub in Italy's first game against Austria (1-0) and scored the vital goal, and would go on to get five more to become the tournament's top scorer before Italy were knocked out in the semi-finals against Argentina (1-1, penalties).

Like another lethal sharpshooter, Clint Eastwood in the 'spaghetti' western 'High Plains Drifter', just as suddenly as he had ridden into town, he rode out again, scoring just one more goal for Italy and in total completing a mere 17 appearances. But for a couple of weeks in the summer of 1970, he had provided us with a precious handful of what the Italians remember as those Notti Magiche ('magical nights') di Totò Schillaci.

Activities

If you would like to practise your English, try the following activites:

Matching famous players and their nationalities (easy)

Information about famous players - true or false? (medium)

Reordering the words of sentences in the text (medium)

Your turn

Who do you think are the major players in the World Cup tournaments you have seen, and why? Who do you think will be the best player in Germany 2006? Write and let us know.