Some Psychologists think that having a massive, roaring crowd can inspire tired home players, intimidate opposition goalies -- and cow the match officials, too.
For the record:
Of the 17 World Cup finals so far, six have been won by the host nation -- Uruguay in 1930, Italy in 1934, England in 1966, Germany in 1974, Argentina in 1978 and France in 1998.
Two hosts (Brazil in 1950 and Sweden in 1958) finished runner-up, and three made it to the semi-final stage: Chile in 1962, Italy in 1990 and South Korea, co-organiser with Japan, in 2002.
But this extraordinary home success is not exclusive to the World Cup.
According to a FIFA study of more than 6,500 top-level international matches, almost exactly half were won by the home side, and only a quarter were won by the away side. The rest were draws.
But what creates the home-side benefit?
Psychologists and sociologists agree that the big factor is crowd support, although how this works is poorly understand and in some circumstances may even work against a home team.
Whatever the reasons behind the home advantage, we know that the world cup will be an exciting contest and may the best team win. That's my head talking, but the heart goes for Brazil, for the beauty of samba and smooth flowing soccer.
No comments:
Post a Comment