World Cup Has as Much Action Outside the Lines

The scores alone told only part of the story behind the past week’s round of qualifying games for the 2002 World Cup, to be played in Japan, South Korea and, just possibly, North Korea.

A lot of the real drama took place off the field. A few examples:

* In Trinidad, intimidation was the name of the game as fans of the Soca Warriors tried to throw Mexico off stride even before its players arrived in Port of Spain.

“This is War,” read banners that promoted the qualifying clash, a marketing approach that did not sit well with the Mexican delegation.

The fact that local security personnel denied Mexico’s team access to the Queen’s Park Oval stadium to train the day before the game also fueled the controversy.

Mexico and Trinidad played to a 1-1 tie.

* In Nigeria, anger at last weekend’s road loss to Sierra Leone led to the ouster of Coach Jo Bonfrere, the Dutchman who had led Nigeria to the gold medal at the 1996 Olympics.

Bonfrere, who frequently had clashed with Nigerian soccer federation officials, was hauled on the carpet and asked some pointed questions.

“But we were not satisfied with his answers,” federation chairman Dominic Oneya said, “. . . so we said we didn’t need his services any more.”

* In Ecuador, an irate fan slipped past security, ran onto the field and tried to attack referee Angel Sanchez of Argentina after he red-carded an Ecuador player during its game against Paraguay in Quito.

“Thank God I saw him coming and was able to get out of his way because he was big and if he had hit me it would have hurt a lot,” said Sanchez, who was shielded by players.

“Once the game had finished, I found out that the guy was treated like a hero in the stands for trying to attack me and for escaping from stadium security.”

* In South Korea, FIFA President Sepp Blatter reopened a previously sealed can of worms by again suggesting that North Korea might host a game or two in the May 31-June 30 World Cup.

“The possibilities are open until the final draw [in Pusan in December],” Blatter said in Seoul.

* In Bolivia, Argentina Coach Marcelo Bielsa left listeners almost as baffled as he was when he tried to explain the effects of playing at high altitude.

“I’ve got no experience at altitude, all I know is from what other people have passed on to me,” he told Reuters.

“The ball is a small and insignificant detail. They say it weighs less because of the relationship between its weight and the air, but I’m not taking this literally because I don’t know too much about this.”

In any event, Argentina overcame the problem by scoring twice in the final two minutes to earn a 3-3 tie in the rarefied atmosphere of La Paz, after which team captain Roberto Ayala aired a few words of his own.

“The altitude experience was terrible,” he said. “I felt useless on the field. I couldn’t shout at my teammates and I couldn’t move.”

Daniel Bertoni, a 1978 World Cup winner for Argentina, put it better.

“I would say the result was Argentina 3, Altitude 3,” he said.

* In Cameroon, the home side was booed and jeered by its fans, who thought its fifth consecutive qualifying victory, over Libya, lacked sparkle. Cameroon, the gold medalist at the 2000 Olympics, can become the first nation to qualify for the World Cup by tying its next game, away to Angola on Sunday.

* In Jamaica, the Reggae Boyz managed to hold Honduras to a 1-1 tie in Kingston at the stadium known locally as “the Office.”

That extended Jamaica’s undefeated streak in the stadium to 49 games. Next up? The United States on June 16.

* In Brazil, it was left to 69-year-old Mario “Lobo” Zagallo to provide the week’s most entertaining comment.

Speculation has been that the superstitious Zagallo, who coached Brazil to the runner-up spot in the France ’98 World Cup, would retire soon. Not so, said the man whose World Cup resume also includes victories as a player in 1958 and 1962, as a coach in 1970 and as technical director in 1994.

“They’re saying that I’m going to leave and retire from football,” said Zagallo, who considers 13 his lucky number.

“Then note it down here--on January 13, 2013, at [1 p.m.], I will retire from football.”

When it comes to international soccer, scores alone can’t begin to tell the story.