Francisco Varallo

Francisco Varallo might not have been a household but the announcement of his death means that none of the players from the 1930 World Cup final between Uruguay and Argentina still survive.

Varallo was on the losing Argentinian side. On his 100th birthday he told FIFA:

''However, in my whole life I've never felt such a bitter pain as losing that World Cup final against Uruguay in 1930. How I cried that day. Even now when I look back it still makes me angry.''

"Everyone asks me about that match, in which I shouldn't have played because I was very young, I didn't have experience. Sometimes I prefer not to remember what happened in Montevideo."

Until very recently, when he was overtaken by Martin Palermo, Varallo was also Boca's record goalscorer.

Interesting to wonder what Varallo thought of the modern game. Telling also that the pain of defeat was still so strong eighty years later. Eighty often turbulent years for football and for Argentina. But that, I suppose, is what international football should be all about.

Hand of Sod

Luis Suarez and the handball shame. Another controversial talking point in a World Cup that's been full of them.

Saint or sinner?

Truthfully who wouldn't have done the same thing? It's cheating. Of course it is. But it also saved his team. He broke the rules in the knowledge that to do so would give his team hope. The ends justified the means.

That's unfortunate but it is fact. One man's saint is another man's sinner.

I've always been in favour of a penalty goal in such situations. The referee is allowed to award the goal and punish the player as he sees fit.

It might be nice if Suarez could at least show a bit of sympathy for Ghana. Although his lack of contrition did at least inspire Richard Williams to this whopping display of double standards:

A little sympathy for the losers might have been appropriate at that point, but he then started talking about "the real hand of God". He is a good footballer but he is not Diego Maradona, or entitled to claim the same moral exemptions.

You see, it's alright for a genius to cheat. A defence that I'm inclined to think probably doesn't stand up in many courts.

> Pained as I am to admit it my support for the penalty goal means I'm in agreement with Graham Poll:

"The clause in the law under which Suarez was dismissed was the denial of an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. The problem is that Ghana were denied a goal, not just the opportunity to score one. A penalty-goal in these circumstances would be appropriate."

While some argued Suarez acted instinctively, Poll said that should not affect the punishment against his team. "If that is true then awarding a penalty-goal and a yellow card seems more appropriate. Then the wronged team would not be denied a goal and the instinctive act less harshly punished.

Scotland In 1986: Another hard luck tale

Scotland's trip to Mexico in 1986 would be their fourth World Cup in a row. We might have been hopeless when we got to the finals but we were proving astonishingly consistent at qualifying.

Our route to the 1986 World Cup was, as we all know, steeped in tragedy. Jock Stein's death on a tense night in Wales as Scotland clinched a play off place cast a long shadow over the whole 1986 campaign.

It fell to Alex Ferguson, still at Aberdeen and Stein's part time assistant, to take the reins and negotiate the double header against Australia. A 2-0 win at Hampden put Scotland firmly in control of the fixture as they prepared to travel to Melbourne. A 0-0 draw got the job done but, as if to prove that Scotland players could still mix it with the best of them went it came to extra-curricular antics, a couple of incidents involving booze, birds, Maurice Johnston and - inevitably - Frank McAvennie left Ferguson mulling over the possibility of leaving Johnston out of his final squad.

As part of his preparation Ferguson travelled to Ipswich and sought Alf Ramsey's advice. Sir Alf was only too happy to oblige, although Ferguson was incredulous that no England manager had ever approached Ramsey as part of their big tournament build up.

Ferguson's most controversial decision was to leave Alan Hansen out of his squad. A number of late withdrawals had left both Stein and Ferguson concerned about the centre half's commitment. He also lost Kenny Dalglish, a massive blow, blamed at the time on Hansen's omission although Dalglish has always insisted that his knee was just not up to another summer of football.

Squad selected, preparations made. Scotland were off to Mexico. Lying in wait were Denmark, West Germany and Uruguay. Displaying our usual knack of finding ourselves in the wrong place at the wrong time we had somehow pitched up in the tournament's group of death. Lucky us.

We would emerge without a win to our name, cursing our luck and somewhat battered. Yet again we were going home on the first plane.

Before the tournament we might well have considered Denmark to be rivals for second place behind West Germany. The Danes didn't exactly follow that script.

In an even first match Denmark beat us 1-0, although a Roy Aitken goal that looked legitimate was disallowed.

In the next match Gordon Strachan put us ahead against West Germany in the first half. Unable to hold out, Scotland went in all square at half time before a Rudi Voller goal early in the second half put the Germans ahead. There was much huff and no little puff as Scotland chased the game. As so often in the past those efforts came to nothing.

At times it seems that Scotland team was created to tantalise the support with the the promise that greatness is always just one step away. Amazingly we went into the Uruguay game with qualification still a realistic possibility.

We had to win to progress, Uruguay needed only a draw. It might have been realistic to assume that an astonishing 6-1 defeat to Denmark might have knocked their confidence. Needing only a draw, however, they were always going to be happy suck Scotland into a war of attrition. Even accepting that as a legitmate tactic does not mean there is any need to condone the brutality with which they set about the task.

In the first minute of the game Jose Batista was ordered off for an X-rated version of one of Ron Atkinson's early doors reducers, a cynical and blatant attempt to nobble Gordon Strachan. The tone was set.

Against a team displaying football's uglier side, Scotland were without answers. Yes, Uruguay were brutal and hard but Scotland were ineffectual in the face of it. They had come to defend deep but Scotland were unable to exert the pressure that would have made them doubt the wisdom of their tactics.

In the face of a cynical Uruguayan roar, Scotland meekly surrendered with a whimper. A win would have sent Scotland through in third place behind West Germany and surprise group winners Denmark. Instead we finished bottom with two defeats and a draw.

Again there were plenty of excuses. Stein's death left Ferguson with a job he didn't want and, by his own admission, wasn't ready for. We missed the aura of Dalglish. Graeme Souness, perhaps not fully fit, struggled in the altitude and heat. Roy Aitken's goal against Denmark should have counted. Uruguay were little more than cheats.

But. In six trips to the World Cup we'd won only three games. In Mexico we could only score one goal. Again players who should have done better failed to perform. Maybe by raging against the unfairness of it all we missed the point: our players lacked something - skill, nerve, fight? - on the biggest stage.

For Scotland just qualifying had become more than half the battle. At least, for now, we looked not too shabby at that.

More on Alex Ferguson's experience as Scotland manager in Managing My Life: The Autobiography.

Scotland squad at the 1986 World Cup

A curiosity to make Hibs fans weep: look at the three goalkeepers who made the trip. Makalamitys they were not.

Souness, listed as a Sampdoria player, had already agreed to take over as Rangers manager. The Ibrox revolution was drawing near and was much needed. Only Davie Cooper made the squad from Rangers.

When will another Scotland manager be able to call on players from Barcelona or Sampdoria?

Note that Mo Jo didn't make the trip. As far as Fergie was concerned that bridge was well and truly burnt.

Jim Leighton (Aberdeen)
Richard Gough (Dundee United)
Maurice Malpas (Dundee United)
Graeme Souness (Sampdoria)
Alex McLeish (Aberdeen)
Willie Miller (Aberdeen)
Gordon Strachan (Manchester United)
Roy Aitken (Celtic)
Eamon Bannon (Dundee United)
Jim Bett (Aberdeen)
Paul McStay (Celtic)
Andy Goram (Oldham Athletic)
Steve Nicol (Liverpool)
David Narey (Dundee United)
Arthur Albiston (Manchester United)
Frank McAvennie (West Ham United)
Steve Archibald (Barcelona)
Graeme Sharp (Everton)
Charlie Nicholas (Arsenal)
Paul Sturrock (Dundee United)
David Cooper (Rangers)
Alan Rough (Hibernian)