After 4 weeks and over 100 hours of football, the World Cup is coming to an end. One of France, Belgium, Croatia or England will be crowned World Champions this Sunday.

It’s been a tournament to remember. There are goals, moments and games I will never forget. I wanted to share some memories from my very first World Cup, the first one of the new millennium. World Cup 2002.

I was 8 years old in 2002. This world cup was my first real foray into football as a spectator sport. Before this point, I understood football as a simple, fun game that involved kick a ball around until it ended up in the net. This tournament was where football changed from a children’s game to a serious passion. As with most first-times, I have fond memories of the tournament. Two things stand out after the intervening 16 years.

One was the Brazil team. They went on to win and were utterly devastating throughout. This team was full of old-school, 90s players – a type more or less extinct in todays game.

There was the captain, Cafu. His command of the team was like a war general that would rather die on the battlefield than retreat. He led brazil to the world cup final three times in a row – winning two of them.

Alongside Cafu was his lieutenant, Roberto Carlos. A bald-headed, bulldozer is the best way I can describe him. He ran up and down the pitch all game, steamrolling anyone in his path. And who can forget his incredible free-kicks? It makes this years goals look routine in comparison. Here’s a special one.

Up front were the creative players. A fresh-faced, buck-toothed Ronaldinho. On the pitch he looked like a kid playing for fun. Always pulling incredible tricks. Making professionals look like Sunday League players.

But most memorable of the bunch was Ronaldo Nazário at his peak. He was the ultimate goal-machine. Running past defenders as if they weren’t there and making world class goalkeepers look foolish by sliding the ball through their legs countless times. And he did this while having the worst haircut of all time.

The story goes even deeper for him. He had a lot of critics going into the tournament. In France ‘98, he failed to make a mark in the final. He claims the devil visited him the night before the final, and cursed him.

After that tournament, the curse continued. A recurring knee injury limited his immense talent to occasional flashes of brilliance. The lack of playtime also meant he gained weight. A player once predicted to be the greatest of all time, was now a overweight bloke on the bench watching life go by.

But, in 2002, the stars aligned for him. He cut most of his bulk, his knee held together and the rest is history. There’s something special about the way he was able to run through defenders and inevitably slide the ball between the keepers legs. He scored both goals in a 2-0 victory against Germany in the final. O Fenômeno (The Phenomenon) as he was known is still the most complete striker I’ve know – Fuck Off Cristiano.

The other memory I have is of South Korea’s run to the semi-final. This was the first tournament held in Asia. South Korea and Japan were co-hosts, and boy did they rise to the occasion. It reminds me of Russia’s run in this world cup. A team of nobodies, being willed to win by the crowd and there sheer belief. They made it to the semis after beating the likes of the Netherlands, Spain and Italy. All heavyweights of the sport and often towering over the nimble South Koreans.

However, South Korea’s run is also remembered for the wrong reasons. There were allegations of match-fixing after they beat Italy in the quarter final with several dubious refereeing decisions. In light of FIFA’s recent corruption scandal, these allegations are not that far-fetched. Weather it was indeed corruption or just terrible refereeing, this distracted from this world cup.

This is a huge change from this years tournament. The introduction of video reviews has brought integrity to the World Cup. Gone is the controversy due to blatantly wrong calls. Here is stay is the drama, suspense and beauty of football.

There’s a lot more I could say about this tournament. And in 16 years, I’m sure I’ll look back at 2018 with as much if not more fondness.

Every 4 years, I get swept into the cauldron of emotion that the world cup is. I tasted everything from euphoria, despair, shock and fear. All this while being from Nepal, a country that will probably never play a world cup in my lifetime.

The World Cup unites in a way that no other sporting event can. All in just a month and 100 hours of football. Soon we’ll all be back to our regular lives, wondering when the 4 year wait will be over and the next World Cup takes us back to those emotions.

Goodbye world cup, you will be missed.

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