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Brazil Imposes Order at World Cup

Unless it was just a weird World Cup.

The two most successful nations in the sport wound up in the final, with Brazil beating Germany 2-0 on goals by superstar Ronaldo. Otherwise, it was a bad year to be a traditional power.

Defending champion France and co-favorite Argentina didn't get out of the first round. Italy went home after round two. The United States and Senegal, hardly notables before, reached the quarterfinals, and Japan nearly joined them.

But that was only a sign of what was ahead. Unheralded Turkey and South Korea, despite never winning a game in six previous World Cups, carried the upstarts' flags all the way to the semifinals.

The South Koreans' wild ride came amid accusations they had a 12th man on the field - in the form of biased officials. The Italian and Spanish teams they ousted went home whining, instead of praising the Koreans' fast, imaginative play and astonishing stamina.

If the old-guard Europeans had applied the same approach, they might have contended for the title.

"But it's not a case of the first level coming down," three-time World Cup winner Pele said. "It's the second level coming up.

"That's been the big difference in this tournament and it's the big reason for all the surprises. It was," he added, "good for the game."

Awarding the World Cup to co-hosts who traditionally don't get along was a gamble. But apart from some ticketing problems early, the tournament was a resounding success.

Just not for the favorites.

Argentina was eliminated by archrival England 1-0 and the scene at a train station outside Tokyo the next day suggested how far the mighty had slipped. Ignored by commuters, Argentine stars Juan Sebastian Veron, Hernan Crespo and Claudio Lopez - each going his separate way - dragged their suitcases through the crowds like mere mortals and struggled to hail a taxi.

The French knew how it felt.

After losing to Senegal in the opener, FIFA's top-rated team was in trouble. Zinedine Zidane, the hero of the 1998 final against Brazil, sat out two games because of an injury and Thierry Henry was suspended after a needless challenge drew a red card.

Finished off by Denmark, the French became the first defending champion to go home without scoring a goal.

Star-studded Portugal went home in a fury, and striker Joao Pinto faces disciplinary action, accused of punching a referee after getting a red card.

The Spaniards, at least, advanced much further than Portugal and Italy before losing their cool. Spain had an important goal against South Korea disallowed, this one because of a linesman's simple mistake.

But there was no mistaking David Beckham. The English captain and husband of girl-band star Posh Spice, he was chased by screaming Japanese fans everywhere he went. In a refreshing change, no hooligans joined the 7,000-strong contingent of England fans along for the ride.

The championship itself was largely trouble free, although some of the results apparently touched off violence in Moscow and China.

Senegal carried Africa's flag, making up for disappointing Cameroon and Nigeria, and El Hadji Diouf was the biggest reason. The striker was rewarded with a $15 million transfer deal from French club Lens to English powerhouse Liverpool.

The United States more than made up for finishing last of the 32 nations at France '98. Coach Bruce Arena's team was unlucky to lose 1-0 to Germany in the quarterfinals.

In a move that provided some consolation, playmaker Claudio Reyna became the first American named to a FIFA All-Star team and goalkeeper Brad Friedel's reputation, already considerable, climbed a notch. So, too, for Landon Donovan, at 20 the youngest player to score in the tournament.

The kid was so tireless that he left Ulsan, South Korea, after the U.S. loss, took the team flight back to Seoul, then a morning flight to Los Angeles and finally a connecting flight to San Jose to play the final six minutes of a Major League Soccer game. Fittingly, he started a play that led to the final goal.

By contrast, Manchester United's Roy Keane went home before the championship after squabbling with coach Mick McCarthy. But the Irish still reached the last 16 without him, tying Germany and Cameroon before losing on penalties to Spain in round two.

From an organizational point of view, the one big negative was a delay in ticket delivery that left thousands of seats empty at games that were supposed to be sellouts.

But that hardly dampened the co-hosts' spirits.

Millions of South Korean fans, wearing replica Red Devils' jerseys, filled the streets to watch their team's games on giant TV screens and chanted nonstop.

In Japan, the color of choice was blue. That also described the mood that swept the country when the home team was eliminated and South Korea, Japan's Asian rival, kept marching through the bracket.

Ultimately, though, the final came down to yet another contest between South American and European powers, with Brazil's triumph putting the southern hemisphere back on top 9-8.

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