1966: Italy left reeling by North Korea's 'Red Mosquitoes'

28 April 2002

Agence France-Presse

 PARIS, April 28 (AFP) - Regarded by most historians as the greatest upset in the history of the World Cup, North Korea's 1-0 win over Italy in 1966 has become the benchmark for David v Goliath encounters.

 An unknown quantity before the tournament kicked off, little was expected of the team from Kim Il-Sung's reclusive Stalinist state when they arrived at their training camp in Liverpool.

 Viewed with a mixture of curiosity and hospitality by their English hosts, most discussion focused on the team's diet of spicy kimchi and soy sauce.

 In football terms they were there strictly to make up the numbers, providing useful target practice for their Group 4 opponents Russia, Chile and Italy before making a brisk return to Pyongyang.

 After all, the Koreans had only qualified for the World Cup by default, breaking an Asian and African boycott to secure a place at the finals via a play-off in Phnom Penh against Australia.

 North Korea's opening match provided no hint of the heroics that would come later. Outmuscled and overawed by Russia, the 'Red Mosquitoes' were comfortably swatted aside 3-0.

 Defeat liberated the minnows however. More adventurous, North Korea gave a good account of themselves in their next game, a last- gasp equaliser earning them a 1-1 draw with Chile.

 The point earned against the Chileans meant that against Italy in their final match, North Korea would have to win to qualify for the next round.

 Against a star-studded Italy side containing the likes of Gianni Rivera and Sandrino Mazzola they were given no chance.

 In fact, the no-hopers from beyond the 38th parallel created problems for their opponents, their speedy forward play stretching the lumbering Italian defence.

 On 42 minutes, Korea's positive approach got its reward. Pak Doo- Ik dispossessed Rivera and sped towards goal before unleashing a powerful cross-shot which left Italian 'keeper Albertosi beaten. North Korea 1 Italy 0.

 Despite attempts to claw back the deficit, Italy were unable to break down the Koreans.

 They finished the game in shame, having resorted to a series of professional fouls in a vain effort to disrupt the underdogs. Korean players later remarked that they were mystified by the Italians' descent into skullduggery: the concept of the professional foul was utterly alien to them.

 At the final whistle, Korea's players collapsed in tears, overwhelmed at having pulled off an extraordinary result as cries of 'Ko-re-a!' rang out around the stadium.

 Italy's players, dumped out of the competition, returned to Rome to be splattered in a hail of rotten tomatoes.

 There was more to come from North Korea in the quarter-finals against Portugal. The Koreans raced into a dramatic 3-0 lead only for Eusebio to inspire a miraculous comeback, the Portuguese winning 5-3.

 What happened to North Korea's team on their return to the 'hermit kingdom' has been the subject of conflicting reports.

 According to the British makers of a documentary film 'The Game of Their Lives' due to be screened for the first time later this year, the North Korean squad returned to a hero's welcome, feted by the state propaganda machine.

 But research by French author Pierre Rigoulot offers a different picture.

 In his book 'The Last Gulag', Rigoulot claims the team was made to suffer for celebrating the Italian upset with alcohol, music and women and for their subsequent collapse against the Portuguese.

 Korean exile Kang Chol-Hwan told Rigoulot the team were imprisoned and treated as pariahs, the team's behaviour criticised by Kim as 'bourgeois, reactionary, symbolic of a corrupt Western imperialism and not worthy of a Communist country,' according to the book.

 The book says all the team except Pak - who had missed the party because of a fever - were sentenced to 20 years in the Yodok camp, considered the strictest internment camp in the country.