SPORTS> Off the Pitch
The lowdown on the world's best
(FIFAworldcup.com)
Updated: 2006-05-26 09:05
The quadrennial, month-long carnival that is the FIFA World Cup? finals is not just about the football, just as football itself is so much more than just '22 hirelings kicking a leather ball', as was once famously suggested.
The lowdown on the world's best
FIFA's Soccer World Cup trophy.[Reuters] 

From the tens of thousands of visiting fans to the hard-working volunteers, many factors conspire to make the FIFA World Cup a spectacle without peer in the world of organised sport. However, one thing is certain: without the players, 736 footballers from 32 different nations spread over six continents, nothing else would really matter.

Whether they started their journey on bumpy Caribbean pitches or in the cathedrals of the European game, they come to Germany all in search of the same thing: glory, respect and a chance to lift the most-coveted prize in sport, the FIFA World Cup.