Football quiz: sliding doors moments

1. Who turned down the chance to manage Birmingham City a year after winning the World Cup?

   1. Vicente del Bosque

   2. Marcelo Lippi

   3. Luiz Felipe Scolari

   4. Aime Jacquet

2. Chelsea accepted a £750,000 bid for John Terry in 2000 from which club, only for the player to turn down the move?

   1. Huddersfield

   2. Nottingham Forest

   3. Preston North End

   4. Peterborough United

3. Who initially won the bid to host the 1986 World Cup?

   1. Mexico

   2. Brazil

   3. Colombia

   4. Argentina

4. And who were runners-up in the voting to host the World Cups in 1990, 1994 and 2010 (and again for 2026)?

   1. England

   2. Australia

   3. China

   4. Morocco

5. Who turned down the chance to manage Arsenal in 1986?

   1. Terry Venables

   2. Roy Hodgson

   3. Arsène Wenger

   4. Sir Alex Ferguson

6. On the final day of the 1986-87 season Torquay were seconds away from becoming the first team to be relegated out of the Football League. Who was their unlikely hero?

   1. Bryn the dog

   2. Martin the fox

   3. Clive the seagull

   4. Bob the cat

7. As a child, Franz Beckenbauer's dream was to join 1860 Munich. What changed his mind?

   1. His dog was run over by an 1860 fan

   2. An 1860 player slapped him in an under-14s game

   3. The 1860 under-15 coach wanted to play him in goal

   4. He had his heart broken by an 1860-supporting girl when he was in his teens

8. In 2012 Chelsea made a bid to redevelop which London landmark in order to build their new stadium?

   1. Millennium Dome

   2. Kew Gardens

   3. Battersea Power Station

   4. The Oval

9. West Germany's Andreas Brehme scored the only goal of the 1990 World Cup final with an 85th-minute penalty. Why didn't designated taker Lothar Matthäus step up to the spot?

   1. He had tweaked his hamstring

   2. He was wearing new boots

   3. He was too tired

   4. He had lost confidence after missing his last three spot-kicks

10. Which club had the chance (and a deal in place) to sign Diego Maradona before opting against the transfer?

    1. Sheffield Wednesday

    2. Leeds United

    3. Sheffield United

    4. Barnsley

Solutions

1:B - In 2007 the Italian was offered the job but refused it. “This is not a stunt, it's genuine,” said Birmingham co-owner David Sullivan. “He is available and we are looking at bringing in a manager of his calibre.” The Blues ended up appointing Alex McLeish., 2:A - "I bid £750,000 for him and Chelsea accepted it," said the then Terriers manager Steve Bruce. "I was close but at the death he didn't want to go.", 3:C - Colombia won the bid in 1974 but in late 1982 they pulled out. "We have a lot of things to do here and there is not enough time to attend to the extravagances of Fifa and its members," said the Colombia president Belisario Betancur. Mexico jumped in to fill the void., 4:D - Predictably enough, Morocco has already announced plans to bid for the 2030 tournament., 5:D - “The thing about the Arsenal offer was that they wanted an answer right away but I couldn't give them one because I was going to the World Cup in Mexico with Scotland,” he explained., 6:A - German shepherd Bryn, a police dog, attacked Torquay full-back Jim McNichol as he ran down the touchline. In injury time added for treatment to McNichol, Torquay scored an equaliser that kept them up. Lincoln went down instead., 7:B - Der Kaiser never forgot the incident and chose to sign for Bayern Munich. 1860 have not a league title since 1966. Bayern have picked up a few since then., 8:C - Chelsea, having been unsuccessful, now plan to redevelop Stamford Bridge. The power station is set to become a “vibrant new destination for London, housing a community of homes, shops, cafes, offices, leisure and cultural venues”., 9:B - "My right boot had broken in the first half against Argentina," Matthäus said. “I changed them at half-time to a completely different type, but they felt so unnatural in the second half. So I said to Andreas: ‘I don’t feel safe, please go and score the penalty.’", 10:C - The Blades could have picked up the 17-year-old Maradona for a few hundred thousand in 1978 … but opted to sign the cheaper Alex Sabella instead.

Scores

1. 9 and above.

   You hero.

2. 10 and above.

   You hero.

3. 8 and above.

   You hero.

4. 7 and above.

   You hero.

5. 6 and above.

   A superb score. Well played

6. 5 and above.

   A fine score. Well played

7. 4 and above.

   Ah well. Stay safe.

8. 3 and above.

   Ah well. Stay safe.

9. 2 and above.

   Ah well. Stay safe.

10. 0 and above.

    Ah well. Stay safe.

11. 1 and above.

    Ah well. Stay safe.