A World Time-Out

When Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon in 1969, half-a-billion people watched him on TV. This weekend, when 22 athletes step onto the turf of a West German soccer field in the quadrennial battle for the World Cup, an estimated 600 million people will be looking on. The difference in statistics is not altogether surprising. With the possible exception of the Olympics, there is no event that so intensely commands the attention of the world.

The winner of the Cup will hold unchallenged ranking as the planet's best soccer team. In a sport that is actively played by 16 million people on 600,000 teams in 141 countries--six more than belong to the U.N.--that is no minor claim. Indeed, a large part of the world takes time out for the Cup. Since the final rounds began in West Germany three weeks ago, Rio de Janeiro factories have shut down, and criminal activities in the city have hit an alltime low. In Rome, efforts to restore a moribund government were disrupted when three Socialist leaders walked out of negotiations to watch a match. In Australia, people stayed up all night to see broadcasts from West Germany, and in the African nation of Zaire, bus drivers abandoned their vehicles when the Zaire Leopards took the field 4,000 miles away.

"Total Football." In West Germany, where the matches are being played in nine cities, sports pages--and front pages--have carried a flood of words describing the action both on the field and off. A banner headline in Bild Zeitung, the nation's largest paper, reported that a German soccer star had shaved off his mustache. A nervous West German government has spent millions of marks to prevent terrorists from seizing the Cup as their latest forum for guerrilla attacks.

Despite the trappings, this year's Cup playoff has been something of a disappointment. Competition began two years ago with elimination rounds that eventually pared 90 national teams down to the 16 that reached Germany. Predictions were legion that this playoff would have exceptionally exciting, high-scoring battles reflecting a new, wide-open soccer style popularized by Holland and West Germany. That so-called "total football" involves mobilizing an entire team for rushes against an opponent's goal. But total football is apparently a forgotten strategy. Staid defense quickly took over the competition. In the opening game, defending champion Brazil played Yugoslavia to a limp 0-0 tie. Eight other uninspiring ties followed.

Early on, the Brazilians missed their superstar Pele, who retired from international competition after helping to win the last World Cup. Despite occasional flashes of individual brilliance, the Brazilians barely squeaked into the semifinal round that began last week.

The favorites turned out to be a powerful Dutch team and the Poles, a surprise contender. The Dutch, with soccer's finest player, Johan Cruyff, struggled through some ragged early games, but by last week they were attacking with precision. The Polish team, which upset England in the elimination rounds, arrived in West Germany relatively unknown. Though the Poles do not favor the star system, not even the most solid collective front could hide Grzegorz Lato, a great right forward who leads the team's bruising, tireless attack. Going into last weekend, the Polish team had the best record in Cup play.

As the finals approach, the host team from West Germany also promises to make a strong bid. For good reason: losers face national disgrace. The Zaire team, trounced in first-round play, went home to a nation in mourning. As the defeated Italians tried to slip out of the Milan airport--flanked by no fewer than seven police cars and two busloads of armed carabinieri--they were pursued by scores of hooting fans who hung out of cars yelling "Buffoni! Buffoni!"

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