Myths and truths of the world cup draws: from the fights for the seeds to the legend of cold balls or with polka dots

Every minute that passes raises the level of expectation in those selected who await the draw that will take place at the Doha Convention and Exhibition Centre (DECC). There, the teams that will participate in the World Cup organized by Qatar will begin to define their destinies.

Beyond what chance gives in the conformation of the tournament, it is worth reviewing some legends installed in the popular imagination and delving into the myths and truths of this type of ceremonies throughout history.

The first striking antecedent is installed in the first edition held in Uruguay. During the event that took place in Montevideo, the draw was held a couple of days before the start of the competition (July 13, 1930), because we had to wait for foreign delegations arriving at the port of Rio de la Plata. At a time when football was still amateur on most of the planet, coaches had to wait to meet their rivals until the last minute. The 13 participants were distributed in three areas of three and one of four.

Another curiosity that was fixed in history dates back to the 1966 World Cup, when then FIFA President Stanley Rous celebrated England's rivals for the first phase: Mexico, France and Uruguay. Undoubtedly, the manager's joy continued throughout the competition until the British representative won the trophy.

Over the years, the system was improved. A key man was Julio Humberto Grondona, former head of the AFA and vice president of the Mother House. The Argentine leader was one of those who insisted on the generation of the Heads of Series with teams of the highest predicament. The antecedent of what happened in 1978 was what the manager was most concerned about. On that occasion, the European wing, led by the German Neuberger, UEFA strongman, wanted the four seeded heads to be the semifinalists of 1974 (Germany, Holland, Poland and Brazil), but the South American sector maintained that Argentina deserved a place there as a host. This eventually happened, but the curious detail was that Italy was placed without a draw through the area of the local country, which was a rarity. Only for the championship organized by the United States in 1994, Grondona managed (with the approval of Joao Havelange) that the group leaders were the ones with the best coefficients in the previous three editions.

Another initiative promoted by Don Julio was based on the modification of the qualifiers and the number of places awarded by each confederation. His idea (also endorsed by Havelange) laid the groundwork for Conmebol to benefit the most with 4 tickets and a playoff. Changing the two-zone format to a round-robin competition on the back and forth greatly favored the higher-ranking teams (Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay).

In addition, for the 2014 tournament he kept the number of qualifiers in a competition that did not have the participation of Canarinha because he was the host. In Pelé's land, 6 South American teams played for the only time in a World Cup (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Colombia, Ecuador and Chile).

Today, the trend continues: Europe has 55 members in UEFA and only 13 teams go to the World Cup; Concacaf awards 3 places and a playoff for the 41 selected players; in Asia there are 4 places and a repechage for the 50 participants; in Africa 55 contenders are settled all 5 tickets and in Oceania 7 teams must fight for a single playoff.

But beyond the qualifications, that contest that was held in Brazil also generated a controversy during the draw. When the official broadcast avoided showing the opening of the balls, which were hidden under the animator's desk, debates about the movements of the event driver were set up on social networks.

Especially in Brazil, speculations continued when Juan Carlos Crespi, member of the Albiceleste delegation, made a gesture with the V for victory and a signal to El Jefe (Grondona) after learning that the team led by Alejandro Sabella was going to face Bosnia and Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria. “He was always very close to Julio, but the reality is that Grondona didn't intervene at all. The only time Julio raised his voice was when he tried to suggest the referee for the final, but they ignored him and the result was visible to everyone,” said former AFA spokesman and renowned journalist Ernesto Cherquis Bialo.

In that contest, the myth of placing the cast of Pachorra and Brazil in different areas was also installed so that the only way to face each other was in the decisive match. However, it was never proven. “I never went to any draw, but it was installed that they put hot and cold balls to know which rivals could play the candidates for the title; but that is a lie. There was also the hypothesis that some balls were marked with imperceptible pencils for television cameras, but they could not prove it either. I very much doubt that former footballers with a remarkable career such as Cafú, Zinedine Zidane or Fabio Cannavaro, to name a few examples, lent themselves to that game. Therefore, I don't believe that the balls have had any moles either,” Cherquis Bialo insisted.

The scandal of what happened in Spain in 1982 marked a before and after in the draws. The broken balls, the permanent confusion and the inconvenience in the distribution of the teams put the organization, which could never explain what happened during that day in Madrid.

On April 1, the eyes of the world will once again converge on the bolilleros that FIFA has for its traditional draw. There will be speculation and thousands of conjectures. Also the assurance that several will begin to raise or lower their chances of that moment. But what will bring everyone together is the wonderful feeling of starting the dream of lifting the long-awaited World Cup.

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