Frank Dell'Apa

Italy

Boston’s history with Santos & the Seleção

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Brazilian teams have been visiting the Boston area since Pelé led Santos FC on a visit to Fenway Park nearly 50 years ago. The match marked a milestone in modern soccer promotion for the area, attracting 18,431 on July 9, 1968, indicating soccer could be a viable professional sport in Boston, after decades of the sport having been shunted aside.

Santos’ 7-1 victory over the Boston Beacons also attracted mainstream media attention, which was not easy to do. Prominent bylines included Peter Gammons, Leigh Montville, Marvin Pave, Bob Sales. The stories were complimentary about Santos’ performance, Pelé earning plenty of praise. And nearly every story made the same factual error, stating Santos had twice won the World Cup. Remarkably, at that time, even the best and brightest of mainstream journalism had difficulty distinguishing between club and country competitions.

[Read more…] about Boston’s history with Santos & the Seleção

July 9, 1994 – Italy 2:1 Spain, World Cup quarterfinals, Foxboro Stadium (Att.: 53,400/54,605 )

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Four days after Roberto Baggio scored an 89th-minute equalizer against Nigeria, he broke the deadlock in the 88th minute as Italy edged Spain. Giuseppe Signori, who replaced Antonio Conte after halftime, set up the deciding goal, laying off for Baggio, who rounded Andoni Zubizarreta. [Read more…] about July 9, 1994 – Italy 2:1 Spain, World Cup quarterfinals, Foxboro Stadium (Att.: 53,400/54,605 )

July 5, 1994 – Italy 2:1 (aet) Nigeria, World Cup quarterfinals at Foxboro Stadium (Att.: 54,367)

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Robert Baggio’s 89th-minute goal sent the match into extra time, then Baggio converted a penalty kick, his first goals of the World Cup. Nigeria controlled the tempo for much of the match, thanks to the midfield play of Jay Jay Okocha and Sunday Oliseh and the second-half ejection of Gianfranco Zola to a controversial red card. But the Super Eagles’ defensive tactics failed as Baggio finished past Peter Rufai, then broke the deadlock after Antonio Benarrivo went down, Mexican referee Arturo Brizio Carter awarding the penalty kick in the 100th minute. [Read more…] about July 5, 1994 – Italy 2:1 (aet) Nigeria, World Cup quarterfinals at Foxboro Stadium (Att.: 54,367)

April 14, 2007 – U.S. 5:0 Mexico at Gillette Stadium (Att. 18,184)

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Kristine Lilly scored twice, Lauren Cheney, Lindsay Tarpley and Abby Wambach once as the U.S. Women’s National Team and Mexico met in a doubleheader, along with the Revolution vs. Toronto FC match. New England established itself as an early home for the USWNT, the first significant crowds arriving for Sports Museum of New England Challenge Cup games against Norway in 1991 and ’92. In Foxborough, the U.S. women have compiled a 7W-0L-1D record (28-1 goal differential) at both stadia. Until recently, crowds for USWNT games in Foxborough were strong, especially for the 1999 Women’s World Cup at Foxboro Stadium – 50,484 arrived for a doubleheader as the U.S. took a 3-0 win over North Korea (and Italy blanked Mexico, 2-0) June 27, 1999. In ’99, three WWC dates were staged at Foxboro Stadium and in 2003, two WWC dates were held at Gillette Stadium. [Read more…] about April 14, 2007 – U.S. 5:0 Mexico at Gillette Stadium (Att. 18,184)