WORLD CLASS

By GRAHAME L. JONES

June 10, 1998 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

PARIS —

The contrast could not be more striking, the differences between them could hardly be more pronounced.

On the one side, wearing dark blue and hailing from the chilly climes of northern Europe, come the Scots, their World Cup history a tattered banner full of defeats and disappointments.

On the other side, resplendent in the sun-yellow uniforms that are now world famous, come the Brazilians, their World Cup history a tapestry woven with threads of quicksilver talent and golden trophies.

Soccer as industry versus soccer as art.

And yet, when Brazil and Scotland stride out onto the Stade de France field this afternoon for the opening game of the 1998 World Cup, respect will flow both ways.

The luck of the draw--good or bad, depending on your viewpoint--has seen these nations thrown together time and again. This will be the fourth occasion they have met on this stage in the last seven competitions.

And always, the Scots have come up a wee bit short.

* In 1974 in Frankfurt, Germany, the teams played to a 0-0 tie.

* In 1982 in Seville, Spain, the Scots took the lead, were still in a tie at halftime, but ended up losing, 4-1.

* In 1990 in Turin, Italy, Scotland held Brazil in check for 80 minutes, then lost, 1-0, to an 81st-minute goal.

Today, in front of a sellout crowd of 80,000 in Saint-Denis on the outskirts of Paris and a worldwide television audience estimated at one billion, the Scots again will unfurl that banner and carry it forward more in hope than expectation.

Because their record, sad to say, is not a pretty one. In five other games between the countries, three in Glasgow and two in Rio de Janeiro, the Brazilians have prevailed in four and tied the other.

But brave heart, not feint heart, rules now. It is the opening game of this five-week festival of football, and the hopes of Scots everywhere, as well as those of fans from the other 31 competing nations, are riding high. Anything can happen and anything might.

Remember 1990, when Cameroon upset defending champion Argentina in the opening game in Milan on that improbable headed goal by Francois Omam-Biyik?

Remember 1982, when Belgium defeated reigning champion Argentina in the opening game in Barcelona on a lone goal by Erwin Vandenbergh?

No? No matter. The point is that the World Cup is full of surprises, and this one has already started with one--a spectacular but unfortunately interminable parade through the streets of Paris on Tuesday night.

Well, not one parade but four, each starting in a separate corner of the city and converging on the Place de la Concorde. The idea was a good one. The execution was fine. The timing, well . . . .

The city and the worldwide television audience was treated to four parades, each filled with dancers and musicians and outlandishly colorful and bizarre costumes, each parade headed by a 60-foot giant figure looking not unlike something out of a ‘50s Japanese sci-fi movie.

It was all supposed to represent the coming together of the continents, in the spirit of friendship and competition. They converged on the obelisk in the center of the huge square, the obelisk itself redecorated to represent the World Cup trophy.

Unfortunately, the $8.3-million production, in which 1,998 children took part, went on and on and on and on. For more than four hours, in fact. By the time it was over, shortly before midnight, clear skies had given way to rain.

That’s what happens if your parade drags on too long.

But the thousands of fans who turned out to watch the festivities were unconcerned. Many, in fact, had already abandoned the Place de la Concorde and returned to more usual Parisian pursuits.

Across the Seine, for instance, the tables were full at every sidewalk bistro and brasserie in the fashionable Saint-Germain district. The talk was not of football, but of food. Or politics.

But there was no escaping the fact that the World Cup has arrived in town. Soccer stories or photographs were splashed across the front pages of Le Monde, Le Figaro and other newspapers being read here and there by lone diners.

And before long there came from around one corner a block or two south of the Boulevard Saint Germain the by-now-familiar mating cry of the Scots fan abroad. At a corner cafe, half a dozen or so of the lads were well into their cups and their singing echoed deep into the evening air.

To their credit, when a rival fan strolled by wearing one of those sun-yellow shirts, they did break off the unprintable lyrics and let forth with a chorus of “Bra-zil! Bra-zil! Bra-zil!”

At last, some soccer atmosphere that had been sadly lacking in the staged production on the other side of the river.

Along the banks of the Seine a while later, the usual occupations were also in evidence: clusters of teenagers sharing an illicit beer or a joint; couples entwined in assorted peculiar positions. And every once in a while a car would screech by, horn honking and fans leaning out of every window holding flags that streamed in the wind.

Ah, yes. Four years have passed. Another World Cup is finally here. All across France, it will only get more bizarre and more colorful as the summer wears on.

This will be the biggest World Cup ever. A record 32 nations are taking part, including four that are making their debut: Croatia, Japan, Jamaica and South Africa.

There will be 64 matches in all, starting today with Brazil-Scotland in the afternoon in Saint-Denis and Morocco-Norway at night in Montpellier. The tournament runs through July 12, when the championship match is played at the Stade de France.

In addition to Saint-Denis and Montpellier, other cities playing host to games are Paris, Lens, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lyon, Saint-Etienne, Toulouse and Marseille.

If the competing countries had been lined up behind those giants in Tuesday night’s parades, here’s how they would have grouped themselves:

Africa: Cameroon, Morocco, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia.

Asia: Iran, Japan, Saudi Arabia and South Korea.

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Paraguay.

North and Central America and the Caribbean: Jamaica, Mexico and the United States.

Europe: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Scotland, Spain and Yugoslavia.

The countries have been divided into eight groups of four teams each for round-robin play within the group. The top two teams in each group advance to the final 16, from which point it becomes a knockout competition. Win or go home.

That will not be the case for the Scots or Brazilians today, however. Theirs is merely the opening bell to a much longer bout. But it does pit the lightweights against the heavyweights.

Scotland has never advanced past the first round. Brazil has won the World Cup a record four times.

Craig Brown, the Scottish coach, is impressed but not intimidated. Here’s what he said when he learned his team would be playing the world champions in the opening game:

“It’s a great honor to play in the opening game. . . . It should be spectacular--Roy of the Rovers, a real festival. We’ve got to produce the shock, and quite often there is one in the opening game.

“Sometimes the first game can be tentative; then again, Brazil could come out in swashbuckling style, thinking they can run over the top of us. But we go into the game with no real fear and a sense of optimism.”

Roy of the Rovers is a storybook soccer character prone to getting into scrapes and somehow scoring the goal in the end that wins the game and the championship.

Here’s Brown again, in Roy mode:

“We’re a hard team to beat, and hopefully Brazil will find that out when we meet.”

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

France ’98

Today’s Games

Brazil vs. Scotland

8:30 a.m.

TV: ESPN, Ch. 34

Morocco vs. Norway

noon

TV: ESPN, Ch. 34

U.S. games, first round