Maradona's infamous Hand Of God (Allsport).

By Neal Collins

Football is life. That's what the slick marketing men tell us. So yes, the universal ball game provides heroes, successes, medals, fortunes. But what about the villains, the disasters, the defeats, the bankrupts? Oh yes, the World Cup's had plenty of them. For every rising star, there's a black hole; for every moment of wizardry, you'll find a lunging leg-breaker. So here they are, the ten World Cup villains, the men who have been tempted over to the dark side:

1: Diego Maradona, who is also generally listed as a hero for his exploits in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Sadly, Maradona's "hand of God" goal must put him right up there amongst the greatest villains of the world's greatest footballing show. Though he went on to add a masterful second goal four minutes later in that quarter-final against England, nobody can forgive or forget the way Mara-bloody-dona used his forearm to put the ball over Peter Shilton in the 51st minute. Nor the way he tried to insist afterwards that a greater force had helped him. You were great, Diego, but you were also a cheat.

2: Diego Maradona also takes second place in our top ten of World Cup villains. The Argentinians made a huge song and dance about the Great One's return for the 1994 World Cup in the United States. Though overweight and struggling with knee injuries, Maradona appeared to have produced a miraculous comeback. Until he was banned for taking illegal substances and sent home in disgrace. The US World Cup didn't need that kind of publicity. Neither did Maradona, who never recovered.

3: Tofic Bakhramov may not be a familiar name to many World Cup watchers. But the words "that Russian linesman" may serve to jog the memory. Yes, Tofic was the man who decided that Geoff Hurst's shot HAD crossed the line after bouncing down off the bar in the final between England and West Germany at Wembley in 1966. Sorry Tofic, there's no way you could have seen that ball cross the line without harbouring a slight doubt. You were too far away to have a better view than those inconclusive photographs and video replays we have seen repeated again and again ever since. The ref, Gottfried Dienst, should have known that. Were you influenced by Alan Ball turning away the minute the ball hit the floor? Or did you just hate the Germans? Either way, that decision has cast a shadow over England's 4-2 victory ever since. I think we'd have preferred a 3-2 triumph thanks Tofic.

4: The entire West German and Austrian teams deserve a villainous mention after their infamous 1982 Group Two meeting in Spain. The Germans, shocked by Algeria in their opening game, needed a win to go through. Austria had to avoid defeat by four goals to join them in the second round. Surprise, surprise, it ended 1-0 to Germany and the European duo went through, leaving the Algerians heart-broken and, rightly, crying foul. Horst Hrubesch scored the only goal after 11 minutes, then both sides sat back and knocked the ball about. It was little short of criminal. Despite calls for both sides to be ejected from the tournament, FIFA stood firm. Nothing was proved, though God stepped in and gave the trophy to Italy, denying both the Germans and Austrians any real profit from their antics.

5: Arthur Ellis is another little known name. He was the English referee who lost it in 1954 when Hungary and Brazil fought out a six-goal quarter-final which later became known as 'The Battle of Berne". Obviously, I wasn't there to see it, but reports suggest Ellis lit the touchpaper when he gave a penalty for a dubious foul on Hungary's Sandor Kocsis. Three players were sent off as the sense of injustice began to bite. When the final whistle went, players, managers, spectators, police and even the photographers were all fighting on the touchline and in the changing rooms. And poor old Mr Ellis had apparently swallowed his whistle.

6: Morais was the Portuguese defender given the job of making sure Pele didn't give Brazil the edge against his nation during the 1966 finals in England. As previous winners in Sweden, Brazil were heavily fancied to do well despite the British conditions. And Pele scored in the opener against Bulgaria. When he missed the second game against Hungary through injury, his team-mates struggled and lost 3-1. A win in the final group game against Portugal was vital. But a still struggling Pele was targeted by Morais and his pals. After several horrific tackles, Pele was limping and close to tears. Then Morais caught him at the second attempt and Pele was barely able to walk as his nation crashed out. Pele swore he would never play in the finals again - but he went back on his word and played a major role in Brazil's 1970 success.

7: Willie Johnston was the Scot who failed a World Cup drugs test. In 1978, with an apparently powerful Scotland side already struggling after a shock 3-1 defeat against Peru and an awful 1-1 draw against Iran, Scotland boss Ally McLeod was hit by the news of Johnston's dope problems and never really recovered. Though his side rallied to beat Holland 3-2 in their final game, it wasn't quite enough. The Scots went out and flew home just behind the disgraced Johnston, who has always insisted he was innocent. Johnston claimed he had only taken "a flu tonic" but was banned for life from international football. He was the second man to fail a World Cup drugs test behind Haiti's Ernst Jean-Joseph in 1974.

8: David Beckham may be a hero now. And yes, we're all praying for a metatarsal miracle as the England captain struggles to recover from a broken foot. But just four years ago, he was villified by the nation. With England giving as good as they got against Argentina at St Etienne for a place in the last eight, Becks got involved in a tangle with Argentina's notorious Diego Simeone. While he was lying on the ground he flicked out a heel at Simeone, who fell to the floor, dramatically clutching his "wound". History tells us Beckham was sent off, England couldn't come up with a winner and Argentina went through on penalties. Beckham was the scapegoat. That he is now right up there with the late Queen Mum and Elton John in the nation's affections says something about the resilience of the man.

9: Ronaldo's role in Brazil's 1998 World Cup final loss against France at the gleaming Stade Francais has never been fully explained. But there can be no doubt it was the failure of their greatest player which led to their abject performance. Reports suggest that the buck-toothed Inter Milan superstar was so nervous he suffered convulsions and collapsed the night before the final. Edmundo was actually on the team-sheet and ready to start in Ronaldo's place. But pressure behind the scenes forced Ronaldo on to the pitch... and France strolled home 3-0. A villain? Yes, I think Ronaldo deserves that status – until he finally tells us all exactly what happened.

10: Edmondo Fabbri was the manager of heavily fancied Italy during the 1966 World Cup in England. They looked great early on, winning against Chile. The second game saw a 1-0 defeat against the USSR. But nobody was worried. They only had North Korea left to play and a win would have seen the Italians through. Just before half-time, a tiny chap called Pak Doo-Ik popped up and scored the only goal. As the name suggests, he was certainly not Italian. The Koreans went through to an epic quarter-final defeat against Portugal. The Italians went home to be pelted by rotten fruit at Rome airport. Fabbri was sacked hours after their dismal homecoming.