I’ve enjoyed this challenge.
Here are the answers.
FC Lokomotiv Moscow: The only team in the group that has never operated under the auspices of its nation’s armed forces.
Torquay United: The only team in the group not nicknamed “The Canaries.”
Aaron Lennon: He’s very short, the others in the group are very tall.
Italy: Despite having Italian parents, this is the only nation Alfredo di Stefano did not represent internationally. Obviously, the rules have changed since then.
U.S. Imperia 1923: This is the only team in the group not associated with an automobile company (Ford, Skoda, ZIL).
Pele: The only one in the group not named “European Footballer of the Year” three times.
“Which Side Are You On?”: The only Billy Bragg song in the group that doesn’t mention football.
British Home Championship/World Cup: Oops. I guess they did win the WC in ’66. Damn.
Now that the reasons behind the answers have come out, might as well explain myself for a few laughs – the ones I got wrong, anyway:
4. I guessed Colombia because they were the only team who has never been ranked number one in the FIFA World Rankings (their peak was #4) – I never would have thought about Alfredo di Stefano, so this one fooled me completely. Essentially a blind guess.
5. I guessed Skoda because they are the only team of those listed which is still operational – only after it was called wrong did I notice that three of the teams had auto manufacturers in their names. Too much research sometimes is a bad thing!
8. Houston, we have an error. England has won the World Cup. Of course, I was lazy and assumed that they’ve surely won a European Championship – imagine my surprise when I saw they haven’t.
And just for fun, I got 7 right by dumb luck. I thought that it was because “Whose Side Are You On?” was the only song mentioned that wasn’t a Billy Bragg original – it was a cover (in a matter of speaking).
Sorry, they did win the WC. As a Scottish-American there are some things that I block out because they are too painful.