THE WORLD CUP : FOOTNOTES : Eat Less Meat, More Pasta, Doctor Tells W. German Players

ERBA, Italy — West German players wilted in their World Cup quarterfinal against Czechoslovakia because they had been eating too much meat and not enough carbohydrate-rich pasta, according to team doctor Franz Liesen.

“This was the result of completely wrong nutrition,” he said. “The players have eaten too much meat and not enough pasta. The lack of carbohydrates caused a crisis in the second half.”

Liesen said he had to give an injection of vitamins to each player after the match to “reestablish the necessary equilibrium in their bodies.”

West German team chief Franz Beckenbauer acknowledged the players had been tired during the quarterfinal but blamed it on the torrid afternoon heat.

Pasta, Italy’s national dish, is recommended by sports doctors for building stamina. Marathon runners sometimes use a concentrated diet of pasta or rice for “carbohydrate loading” before competition.