Tucked away in the corner of Canning Town Business Park, past the Screwfix and the Edmundson Electrical, more than nine million pictures lay stored on shelves, in drawers and battered old boxes documenting nearly every world event you could possibly imagine.
You would never know it was there. Even when Daily Mail Sport was invited into the Aladdin’s cave that is the Getty Images archive to uncover some newly-discovered World Cup images, it took us a good few minutes to figure out we were in the right place.
Once behind its doors, though, a genuine treasure trove of history is revealed. Getty’s archivists are constantly searching through their goodies to uncover never-before-seen images of the biggest occasions from across the world and from all walks of life. Every year they digitise around 40,000 new physical images from their archive.
‘There is so much still to discover,’ says Julian Ridgway, managing editor at Getty Images. ‘If there’s only one frame that we scanned over the last 30 years and put online, we might have the rest of the roll of film in there, that’s never been looked at, with some other great unseen frames.’
Around 10,000 new never-before-seen World Cup images from their analog stock have been digitised since the last tournament finished in Qatar. There are other frames, too, that are rarely remembered because other ones fell into folklore.
Here are some of the best World Cup pictures you’ve never seen before – and the stories behind them.
Child’s play for Rooney
2014 World Cup, Brazil
This picture has never been published before. England’s official team photographer Michael Regan took behind-the-scenes pictures of the players during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil. That’s commonplace these days but, back then, it was still very much not the norm.
Gary Neville wasn’t a fan of it. The pictures were never released because England bombed out in the group stage and it was felt it would not go down well to show images of the Three Lions enjoying themselves when they had performed so badly.
Anyway, thanks to the FA, Daily Mail Sport have been granted permission to publish this image of Wayne Rooney rolling his legs out in a children’s playground in the Royal Tulip Hotel in the neighbourhood of Sao Conrado in Rio de Janeiro, the World Cup home for Roy Hodgson and his England squad.
Wayne Rooney stretches out in a children’s playground at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil
Chris Waddle’s close shave
1990 World Cup, Italy
What better way to spend the day before your World Cup semi-final against West Germany in Turin than by letting Paul Gascoigne loose near your head with a pair of scissors?
How much happier these two midfielders seem in this new archive discovery than they would be 24 hours later, when Gazza’s tears became the iconic image of Italia ’90 and Waddle missed the decisive penalty in the shootout that would send England home.
Chris Waddle has his hair cut prior to England’s World Cup semi-final against West Germany in 1990 with Paul Gascoigne, alarmingly, in close attendance
French trailblazer identified
1938 World Cup, France
Trailblazer Raoul Diagne was the first black player to appear for a European side at a World Cup when he turned out for France in 1938 in their home tournament.
It was only because a picture, in which he was named in the caption, was held on file with him posing with team-mates in front of a plane for his club side Racing Club de Paris that Getty were able to recently identify him on an uncaptioned picture in their archive playing for France against Belgium in the World Cup.
The photo in front of the Air France Wibault aircraft is taken in October 1936, two years before the World Cup in France, when Diagne and his Racing Club de Paris team-mates arrived at Croydon Airport ahead of playing Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in a friendly in front of 10,000 spectators.
The newly discovered and captioned picture of Raoul Diagne (left) with his Racing Club de Paris team-mates at Croydon Airport in 1936
That helped archivists reveal that it is Diagne pictured here shooting for France against Belgium at the 1938 World Cup
Maradona’s high five
1990 World Cup, Italy
Put this one down as a wonderfully happy accident. Getty’s offices in Germany found a bunch of pictures of Diego Maradona in a drawer and assumed they were just a load of duplicates but thought they would send them over to London just in case.
They weren’t duplicates. It was a collection of their best Maradona pictures from throughout his career. Among them was this cracker of the Argentinian legend high-fiving a mascot ahead of the 1990 final against West Germany which his side would go on to lose 1-0.
Argentinian legend Diego Maradona high-fives a mascot ahead of the 1990 World Cup final
Korean thumbs down
1966 World Cup, England
When archivists were first digitising images, they would usually get a request for a specific image and the rest would be left in a box. It’s only now they are getting trawled through again that we get an insight into some of the early stages of those old World Cups and, especially, for countries that aren’t England. This picture is a belter and even better because it’s in colour.
North Korea became the first Asian team to qualify for the second round in 1966 so were given the team bus previously used by Brazil, who failed to get past the group stage. Here are their players, in matching blue tracksuits, inspecting their new vehicle during their stay at Loyola Hall in Liverpool, a former Jesuit retreat.
Doesn’t look like they were too keen on the bus once belonging to Brazil.
The 1966 South Korean team with their new bus – used to transport Brazil before their elimination
Pavarotti watches on
1990 World Cup, Italy
Whenever you think of Italia ’90, Luciano Pavarotti’s Nessun dorma, which became the BBC’s theme song, rings in your ears. The Italian tenor performed the aria from Turandot as part of the Three Tenors concert on the eve of the final in Rome.
This recent discovery shows Pavarotti taking his seat in the VIP area of the Stadio Olimpico alongside his wife Adua before the final between West Germany and Argentina. Looks like he can’t wait for it to get started…
Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti, the voice of the 1990 World Cup, takes his seat for the final
Smash hit
1970 World Cup, Mexico
Forget World in Motion and John Barnes’s rap. This new find among the Getty archive shows the England 1970 World Cup squad recording their team song Back Home in February of that year, which also went to No 1 in the charts.
Members of England’s 1970 squad sing their World Cup song ahead of the tournament in Mexico. From left to right: Bobby Moore, Alan Ball, Emlyn Hughes, Norman Hunter, Peter Bonetti and Martin Peters
When Baresi cleared the bar
1994 World Cup, USA
We’re used to seeing the picture of Franco Baresi on his knees with his face in his hands after the Italy captain’s crucial miss in the penalty shootout against Brazil in the 1994 final.
But this new discovery shows a fresh angle of him blazing his effort over the bar at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.
Agony for Italy’s Franco Baresi as his penalty sails over the bar in the 1994 World Cup final shootout against Brazil
Brilliant Brazil are flagging
1958 World Cup, Sweden
Because England were eliminated in the group stages of the 1958 World Cup held in Sweden, images from other matches in the later stages of the tournament have rarely been seen.
That meant tons of reels of hidden images lay dormant for years until researchers went crawling through the archives. This recent find is a great example of a historic moment as Brazil celebrate their first World Cup triumph after beating Sweden 5-2 in the final in Stockholm by performing a lap of honour while carrying the host nation’s flag above their heads.
Brazil’s players celebrate winning their first World Cup in 1958 in Sweden
Putin crashes photo
2018 World Cup, Russia
The World Cup trophy lift. The one shot a photographer needs to get. The joy, the celebrations, the moment. Regan, by now an official FIFA photographer for Getty, was given the prime, unobstructed spot after the final in Russia in 2018 ready for France to hoist it aloft.
He had his camera plugged in so the editors could see the pictures instantly. And then, just as Hugo Lloris lifts the World Cup above his head in the pouring rain, Vladimir Putin steps right in front of his lens. ‘Who is going to tell him to stop,’ says Regan. ‘What can you do?’
Russian president Vladimir Putin and his entourage obscure the shot of France lifting the World Cup trophy in 2018
Messi finds space
2018 World Cup, Russia
France, the eventual World Cup winners, have just opened the scoring against Argentina in the last-16 match at the World Cup in 2018 in Kazan, Russia.
Nearly all the lenses are pointed at the wild French celebrations in the corner, except this one that managed to snap Lionel Messi stood alone in the centre circle.
Much of the narrative of the 2018 World Cup was that Messi was Argentina’s one-man band. One of the greatest players to ever live was left to do it on his own but came up short as his side crashed out to France 4-3 in a thriller. This one image told that story.
Messi had his revenge four years later in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar when he led Argentina to victory over France in the final.
Lionel Messi is a man apart during Argentina’s last-16 defeat by France in 2018
Fabio fury
2010 World Cup, South Africa
Before the days of Gareth Southgate, when the Golden Generation ruled the roost, England were so guarded when it came to their privacy that their official photographer for the 2010 World Cup was barely allowed to take any pictures.
One morning when England walked out to train at their Royal Bafokeng Sports Campus in Rustenburg, South Africa, manager Fabio Capello marched over to berate the gathered pack of snappers convinced that one of them had been taking pictures through a window of his players getting massaged.
The Italian was right but aimed his fury at two innocent parties. The paranoia did not make for a happy camp and England crashed out in the last 16 to Germany 4-1 after finishing runners-up in their group to the USA.
England boss Fabio Capello confronts the English photographers in South Africa
Maradona all over again
2022 World Cup, Qatar
Everyone’s seen that picture of Maradona, haven’t they? The one where he’s got the ball and there’s six Belgium players up ahead of him.
Everyone also knows by now that the iconic frame is, essentially, a trick of the crop and that Maradona had just received a short free-kick and the horde of shirts in front of him are just the Belgium wall breaking up.
Regardless, it remains one of the all-time great football pictures, no matter how the sausage is made. What photographers have long tried to do is get one of Messi surrounded, too.
It’s proved tricky but one of the closest they have got is this one of the little magician being chased by Marten de Roon, Cody Gakpo and Virgil van Dijk of Netherlands in their World Cup quarter-final of 2022.
Messi tries to evade the Dutch defence during the World Cup quarter-final in 2022
Howzat?
1966 World Cup, England
In another recent discovery, we can see how some nations chose to kill time during the 1966 World Cup in England. The Spanish team were using the playing field at the Delta Metal Company’s sports ground in Birmingham as their training base ahead of the group stage matches at Villa Park.
Enough time, clearly, for a spot of makeshift cricket for Spanish defender Severino Reija and the workmen.
Spain’s Severino Reija tries his hand at a spot of makeshift cricket in England in 1966
On ma heed, son!
1982 World Cup, Spain
Another new find among the archives shows Scotland practising their headers ahead of their World Cup match against New Zealand in 1982 in Malaga.
In the foreground are Allan Evans and Steve Archibald. It clearly worked. Archibald scored a header in Scotland’s 5-2 victory over New Zealand, their only win of the group stage.
Scotland’s players, including Allan Evans (front left) and Steve Archibald (front right), practise their heading at the 1982 World Cup in Spain
Hooligan shame
1990 World Cup, Italy
England’s goalless draw against the Netherlands in June of 1990 in Cagliari was marred by yet more hooligan violence, which had become a staple of British football throughout the 1980s.
Ahead of the game, around 1,000 England fans marching to the stadium broke into a charge at a police barricade. Officers responded with tear gas and shots fired into the air as running battles broke out through the city streets. At least 200 hooligans were rounded up and held at a petrol station.
This newly-discovered image shows one seized fan spread-eagled over the bonnet of a car.
An England fan is dealt with by police in Cagliari during the 1990 World Cup
Sealed with a kiss
1986 World Cup, Mexico
There’s only one image of Maradona against England in 1986 that we all remember and he’s off the ground with his hand in the air.
But a recent trawl through the archives uncovered this new picture of him after his two goals (should only have been one!) sent Argentina into the semi-finals at the Azteca Stadium in Mexico City and England crashing out. He subsequently swapped that shirt with England’s Steve Hodge, who would go on to sell it for £7.1million at auction.
Maradona celebrates World Cup quarter-final success with Argentina in 1986 after his two very different goals knocked England out of the tournament
Messi takes the bus
2022 World Cup, Qatar
Argentina’s squad spilled out of their dressing room following their World Cup victory over France four years ago and started running down the corridor, banging drums, singing songs and got on to a big double-decker bus parked in a service tunnel of the stadium in Lusail.
Messi celebrates leading Argentina to victory in the World Cup final in 2022 in Qatar
Photographer Regan followed them on to it. Even the players guarded Messi. The bus went down the high street and, eventually, everyone got off and they celebrated once more. Regan’s last memory of the tournament was getting this last shot of the man himself, lifted into the air on the shoulders of his team-mates.
