Cool.
40s Retro Football Fantasy Draft | Finished
- Thread starter Moby
- Start date
My write up is currently over 12,000 words long and I haven't even touched upon my tactics yet.
With player profiles or without them? You can post them in the main thread and then just include the link in your write-up
feck that. Going to bore voters into giving me votes.
Making others feel inadequate is not on
I don't know how to deal with this, mine would hardly be 1200 words.Well, my write ups are filled out by some guy writing an essay report on Overaths whole career.
Date of birth 28 February 1944
Josef-Dieter “Sepp” Maier was born in Metten and played for local club TSV Haar, but moved to Bayern Munich before he played senior football. He was to stay at Bayern for nineteen successful years and barely missed a game. He played almost 400 consecutive matches between 1966 and 1977 without missing a match! In that period he was ranked as the best goalkeeper in the world alongside the likes of Gordon Banks and Dino Zoff.
Nicknamed “Die Katze” (the cat) for his elasticity, Maier was definitely a crowd favourite and often made some impossible saves wearing these long black shorts which he always had. Sepp was substitute goalkeeper for Hans Tilkowski in the 1966 World Cup without making an appearance, but he had established himself in the German goal by the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. West Germany reached the semifinals there, but two years later in the European Championship, Maier picked up his first winner’s medal for West Germany.
The summer of 1974 was the highlight of Maier’s career. West Germany hosted and won the World Cup, beating Holland in a tight final where he was outstanding. He kept a clean sheet in four of his country’s seven matches. The mid-seventies was a wonderful time for German football. Bayern Munich ruled in club competitions winning three straight European Cups plus a World Club Cup, and West Germany ruled in international competitions. Both teams had Sepp Maier between the posts. He was awarded German Player of the Year three times in the seventies, a rare accomplishment for a goalkeeper, knowing that strikers or midfielders usually win these awards.
Date of birth 24 July 1941
Tony Dunne, a fullback, from Dublin in the Republic of Ireland was born on 24 July 1941. As a schoolboy he played for Stella Maris and as an 18 year old he helped League of Ireland football club Shelbourne to win the FAI Cup in 1960. Manchester United's manager Matt Busby was looking to rebuild the Old Trafford outfit after the Munich air crash. Tony Dunne fitted the bill and Busby paid £5,000 to bring the gifted and speedy fullback to Manchester.
Tony Dunne & Manchester United
Tony Dunne made his debut for Manchester United on 15 October 1960 against Burnley in the First Division. It was not a happy debut as United lost 5-3 at Turf Moor. This was one of only four first team appearances that Dunne made in the 1960/61 season.
A small and compact full-back, Dunne was quick in the tackle, even
quicker to recover, and could match the majority of wingmen for speed
off the mark. Happy on either flank, his first chance of regular League
action came in season 1961-2 when Noel Cantwell was injured. The wiry
Dunne did so well that for some time after Cantwell`s recovery, he was
unable to displace his young countryman.
That season he made 35 appearances. He made 28 appearances in the 1962/63 including the FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium against Leicester City. Dunne was one part of a trio of Irishmen to collect a winners medal that day. United's captain, Noel Cantwell and Johnny Giles were the other two.
Tony Dunne's ability to play at right-full or left-full meant that that he was an automatic pick as United went in pursuit of the First Division title. The FA Cup was the first silverware won by United since Munich but Busby would not settle for that. He wanted European Cup football and that meant winning the League. In the 1964/65 season Matt Busby achieved his ambition, winning the title on goal difference, and ever-present Tony Dunne contributed significantly to this.
In the next season Tony Dunne scored his first goal for Manchester United against West Bromwich Albion on 4 May 1966 in a 3-3 draw in the League. His only other goal for United arrived 19 months later against Newcastle United and again it was in a drawn match in the League. Unfortunately for such a tremendous servant of Manchester United Tony Dunne never managed to score at Old Trafford in front of the United fans.
The 1967/68 season was to prove to be the highlight of Dunne's career. He played in 49 matches that season including every one of the European Cup matches. His performances in Europe helped United to reach the 1968 European Cup Final against Portugal's Benfica at Wembley Stadium. On 29 May he lined out with fellow Irishmen George Best and Shay Brennan as Matt Busby finally reached his Holy Grail by winning the European Cup. The Manchester phoenix had truly risen from the Munich ashes.
Following on from such a high the rest of Tony Dunne's career proved to be something of an anticlimax. Matt Busby retired as Manchester United manager in 1969 and Dunne played under a succession of managers, Wilf McGuinness, Busby again, Frank O'Farrell, and Tommy Docherty. While Dunne continued to perform with admirable consistency United's fortunes began to decline.
Following the appointment of Scotsman Docherty Dunne only played four more times for United. One of these, in his penultimate match, was the only occasion in 535 appearances in which he was a substitute. Tony Dunne played his last match for Manchester United on 17 February 1973 against Ipswich at Portman Road. He was let go on a free transfer to Bolton Wanderers at the start of the 1973/74 season. Dunne went on to make 170 appearances for Wanderers over five seasons. Some United fans have speculated that if Docherty had held on to the experienced Dunne then perhaps United might have avoided relegation to the Second Division in 1974.
Tony Dunne is in the top ten for all time appearances for Manchester United.
Manchester United Legend Bobby Charlton's Views on Tony Dunne:
"Tony Dunne was possibly the quickest defender I ever saw. His marking ability was brilliant, and I recall telling a journalist who had commented on Tony's great form around the time we won the European Cup, 'Well, you know he's been the best left back in Europe for years. He goes like lightening.' ...he did have a kind of genius. He read an opponent so well that, with his speed, he could go out against any winger on earth confident of putting him in his pocket."
Tony Dunne - Republic of Ireland Career
Tony Dunne made his debut for the Republic of Ireland on 8 April 1962 in a friendly match against Austria. Ireland lost 2-3 at Dalymount Park with Dunne's United team mate, Noel Cantwell playing as a centre forward, scoring the first Irish goal. Unusually, Tony Dunne's competitors for the Irish fullback berths were also his club competition in the form of Cantwell and Shay Brennan. For a player that made over 700 appearances for his clubs in England 33 caps for Ireland seems pitifully few. This may have had something to do with the following football quote attributed to Matt Busby in reference to the FAI after Dunne had come back injured following international duty with Ireland.
"They are running it like a Mickey Mouse club.
They can have the others but they can't have you."
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Include GIFs/Youtube videos please. Never seen how most of them played before
Date of birth 18 December 1947
Karol Dobiaš (born 18 December 1947) is a former Slovak football player and coach. During his career, he was a versatile player, mostly playing as defender or midfielder.
He was born in Handlová. His career started in Baník Handlová. In 1965 he moved to Spartak Trnava where he achieved the biggest success as a player. With Spartak he became a five time Czechoslovakian champion and won three national cups. In 1970 and 1971, he was named Czechoslovak Footballer of the Year.[1] In 1977 he moved to Bohemians Prague.[2] During his career he played 345 matches in the Czechoslovak league and scored 20 goals. In 1980 he was allowed to be transferred abroad and he went to KSC Lokeren in Belgium. He ended his career in 1984 at Racing Gand.
He was capped 67 times for Czechoslovakia, scored 6 goals. He was a participant at the 1970 FIFA World Cup[3] and a member of Czechoslovak winning team at 1976 European Football Championship. In the 1976 final game Dobiaš scored a goal that gave Czechoslovakia a 2-0 lead against West Germany.
Do you wanna help me smiley?
NopeDo you wanna help me smiley?
WLODZIMIERZ LUBAŃSKI
When people outside of Poland try to name the greatest Polish players in history, it's understandable to see the names that they go for. Zbigniew Boniek, Grzegorz Lato, Kazimierz Deyna - they all make deserved appearances on the list, whilst mostly remembered abroad for his performance at Wembley, Tomaszewski always finds himself amongst them. One name who doesn't tend to be mentioned in the same breath however, finds himself both ninth on the list Polish international caps, and way out in front of the pack for the country's all-time goalscorers. Enter, Włodzimierz Lubański.
Born two years after the conclusion of World War Two, in the newly-reclaimed Upper Silesian metropolitan town of Gliwice (the same town as Lukas Podolski), Włodek started out playing for Sosnica Gliwice as a 10-year old - where his father was the club's president. By the age of fifteen, young Lubański had already begun to attract the attention of some of the region's big clubs, and in 1962 he signed a deal at then 3-time Polish champions Górnik Zabrze.
Making his début in a league game against Arkonią Szczecin, Włodek's first season saw him help the club to their fourth title. Alongside the already established Poland and Górnik legend Ernest Pohl, Lubański staked an early claim for a starting position with four goals in his eight league games.
With youth international performances already under the teenager's belt, it didn't take long until the senior team took an interest in young Włodek. Lubański eventually made his début for the Białe-Orły in a September 1963 friendly against Norway in Szczecin; and at the tender age of 16 years and 188 days, he became the youngest ever goalscorer for Poland - netting the third in a 9-0 rout.
With more international appearances deservedly following, 13 domestic goals in 24 games from Lubański helped Górnik to their second successive title in 1964; and with his goal-rate quickly increasing, his 9 goals in 13 appearances during 1964/65 were key to securing the club a league and cup double. However it was in 1965/66 when Lubański - now just turning 19 - really started to blow the league away. Netting 23 times in just 18 appearances, Włodek picked up his first Golden Boot award - an award he would go on to retain for a further three seasons.
After winning the league title in 1966/67, Górnik entered the 67/68 European Cup buoyed with confidence. Two goals from Lubański in a first round tie against Djurgardens helped to set up a second round tie against Dynamo Kyiv - who had eliminated defending champions Celtic in Round One. There, another first-leg strike from Włodek - as well as one in each leg from Szygfryd Szołtysik - pushed Górnik into the quarter finals with a 3-2 win on aggregate. However, that was as far as they were to go. Drawn against eventual champions Manchester United, a 2-0 loss at Old Trafford shattered Polish hopes. But whilst they were dumped out of the tournament, there was one last silver lining for the Silesians. The return leg, played at Chorzów's Stadion Śląski, saw 21-year old Lubański salvage some pride with the only goal of the game giving the Trójkolorowi a famous 1-0 victory - the Red Devils' only loss on the way to lifting the trophy.
Although their European exploits had caused quite a stir in Poland, Górnik's league performances had not. 24 goals in 24 games from Lubański was not enough to stop Górnik's streak of five league titles grind to a halt, as their biggest rivals Ruch Chorzów finally broke the red, white and blue stranglehold on Polish football. Although two successive championships for Legia Warszawa in 1969 and 1970 moved the league trophy away from Silesia for the first time in 11 years, Górnik - still led by Lubański - didn't remain empty-handed. After a Polish Cup win in both 1968 and 1969, the Silesian club entered into the 1969/70 European Cup Winners' Cup, where they proceeded to go further in continental competition than any other Polish club had ever gone before.
With seven European strikes to his name, Lubański was instrumental in Górnik's progression - past Olympiakos, Glasgow Rangers, Levski Sofia, and AS Roma via the aid of three games and a coin toss - to the final in Vienna. There they met Joe Mercer's Manchester City side containing the likes of Colin Bell, Neil Young and Francis Lee; but despite being described by Mercer's then-assistant Malcolm Allison as "in the same class as Eusebio", Lubański was unable to help Górnik turn over a 2-0 half-time deficit as Górnik eventually went down 2-1.
Despite losing their first ever European final, Górnik began to pick up their domestic form. A Lubański penalty helped Górnik to win the 1970 Polish Cup against old enemy Ruch; whilst 24 goals from Włodek were instrumental in Górnik picking up back-to-back League and Cup doubles in 1971 and 1972. By the time that the 1972 Munich Olympics came around, Lubański had been suffering a slight dip in form; and in the tournament he was overshadowed by Legia's midfield pair of Robert Gadocha and Kazimierz Deyna who netted 14 times between them. But Captain Lubański's experience still meant that he was considered an important part of Górski's side - playing every minute and grabbing a couple of goals as the White Eagles went on to claim the gold medal.
Following the high of becoming Olympic Champions, Górski's national side were drawn a tough qualifying group for the 1974 World Cup - having to make two trips to the British Isles to face a Wales side containing Terry Yorath and John Toshack, and then Alf Ramsey's England side, who just seven years earlier were crowned World Champions themselves. Whilst a late-march trip to Cardiff proved fruitless - two second-half Welsh goals being enough to dent Polish hopes of qualifying - Górski's side finally kick-started their campaign at Chorzów's Stadion Śląski in June against England.
Seven minutes into the game at Wembley, a Robert Gadocha free kick caused pressure in the England box; and with the ball flying past Peter Shilton, the hosts were 1-0 up. Until now, still nobody is sure who got the final touch to send the ball past Shilton. Polish midfielder Jan Banaś is credited by many as the goalscorer, although replays show that the final touch could have been made by the outstretched leg of Bobby Moore. Although there is doubt over the scorer of the first, there is no question as to who netted Poland's second. Gambling on Bobby Moore trying to play his way out of trouble, Lubański pressured the England captain and dispossessed him with ease. Quickly bearing down on Shilton, Włodek fired in off the keeper's near post - giving the Białe-Orły an unassailable lead. However just seven minutes after putting the game beyond England's reach, Poland were to suffer an injury blow that would see their star striker out for two years. After latching on to a ball forward, Lubański skipped past England defender Roy McFarland - only to see a very late tackle from the Derby County man bring the him down. Stretchered off the Chorzów turf, the 26-year old would play no further part in helping his team successfully qualify for the 1974 World Cup, or take part in the competition itself.
Lubanski Continued
Despite Lubanski's absence, Poland went on to perform brilliantly in West Germany. Group Stage defeats of Argentina and Italy were punctuated by a 7-0 demolition of pool whipping boys Haiti. Grzegorz Lato, Kazimierz Deyna and Andrzej Szarmach netting all but one of Poland's 12 goals. The trio carried on their form in the second group stage defeating both Sweden and Yugoslavia to set up a clash with West Germany where the winner would progress to the final. But with the pitch in awful condition following torrential rain, Poland were unable to capitalise on their speed which had caused massive problems for opponents in their previous five games. With the Poles providing less than their normal amount of attacking prowess, a second half strike from Gerd Muller was enough to separate the two sides - sending the hosts into the final. Whilst the Germans eventually went on the lift the trophy, Górski's White Eagles were left to wonder how they would have done with their star striker Lubański, as they picked up their bronze medal with a 1-0 win over previous winners Brazil.
When Lubański finally did return to action in the 1974/75 season, he managed five league goals for Górnik in 12 games; but as Górnik only managed a seventh place finish, Włodek found himself ending his 13-year association with the club. During the summer of 1975, he found himself on his way to Belgium, signing for newly-promoted KSC Lokeren.
Forty-three goals in his first three years in Belgium helped Lubański secure a seat on the plane to Argentina for the 1978 World Cup; however with the striker now into his thirties, he found his opportunities becoming increasingly limited under new coach Jacek Gmoch. In qualifying for the tournament, Gmoch generally had preferred to look towards Grzegorz Lato as his main striking option, whilst also giving chances to a young star-in-the-making who was earning great reviews at Widzew Łódz - Zbigniew Boniek.
Lubański's brace against Denmark in qualifying for the 1978 tournament eventually proved to be his last competitive goals with the White Eagle on his chest; and whilst he did manage goals in friendly games against Luxembourg and Czechoslovakia in 1980, Wlodek eventually brought his international career to an end with an impressive 48 goals in 75 appearances - a record that still stands today. Even after his international retirement, Lubański continued to find the back of the net. An almost one-goal-per-game record for Valenciennes in France was followed by 14 goals at Stade Quimper before the striker eventually announced his retirement from the game in 1986.
With a career spanning a total of 23 years, and a record that stands at 327 goals in 590 competitive games games, Włodzimierz Lubański remains as one of Poland's greatest ever strikers. But Polish fans will forever wonder if it hadn't been for that Roy McFarland's tackle back in 1973, could they really have overcome West Germany and lifted the World Cup.
Scoring Record -
European Competition (Champions league, Europa league, CWC) - 31 goals in 52 appearances.
Overall club level - 279 goals in 519 appearances.
International - 48 goals in 75 appearances.
Lubanski vs Moore (Vs England WC qualifier) -
Lubanski vs Rangers:
Some more Lubanski goals below, bad quality video but shows what a complete striker he was, fast, technical with great heading -
Another very poor quality video, but shows Lubanski's goal vs Manchester United in 68, with that goal Gornik was the only team to beat Manchester United in that champions league campaign, which ultimately led to the first European cup win for Manchester United.
Finally a Polish documentary on Lubanski (Couldn't find any English subs
)Debate on who is the greatest Polish player of all time
Source: http://inbedwithmaradona.com/journal/2012/11/12/how-roy-mcfarland-cost-poland-the-world-cup.html
http://www.worldfootball.net/player_summary/wlodzimierz-lubanski/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Włodzimierz_Lubański
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Franco Causio
“The Baron” Franco Causio is considered one of the most talented Italian midfielders of all time. He was a creative side midfielder who was very good in defensive duty and had a long-ball accuracy. In the great period of Juventus during the lately 1970s his popularity reached its peak: Causio became the main idol of the southern Italians who supported Juventus. He was voted as the best ala destro (right-sided attacker) in Juventus history
He was gifted with excellent technical ability and creativity, and was an accurate crosser. In addition to his ball control and dribbling skills, he was also a fast and hardworking player, who possessed notable stamina, which enabled him to continually run up and down the flank. Regarded as one of Italy's greatest wingers, throughout his career, he was give the nickname "The Baron", because of his stylish moves on the pitch, as well as his well-educated upbringing, and his fair attitude in life.In 1981 he moved to Udinese where he played for 3 years, teaming up with Brazilian superstar Zico and in the 1981 – 1982 season, he was rated by Guerin Sportivo with most points ever among Italian players.
Honors:
Club level -
Juventus
- Serie A: 1971-72, 1972-73, 1974-75, 1976-77, 1977-78, 1980-81
- Coppa Italia: 1978-79
- UEFA Cup: 1976-77
Italy
- FIFA World Cup: 1982
1982 Guerin Series A Footballer of The Year
4 times Ballon D'or Nomination.
Some clips and videos -
An outstanding dribbler -
His best goals for Juventus:
Performances with Italy:
Another awesome video highlighting his best skills
FORGOTTEN FOOTBALLERS ~ DRAGAN DZAJIC
If you’re Serbian and reading this, you’re probably spitting out your coffee right now. The legendary Dragan Dzajic a forgotten footballer? Surely not?
But yes, even Dzajic shares the fate of many brilliant players who plied their trade in an era when not every great footballer ended up in the limelight of Spain, Italy or England. Remaining in their own country, their careers began, developed, peaked, declined and ended – and the world barely took notice.
Dzajic, a left winger blessed with demonic dribbling skills, brilliant ball control, speed, a great cross, a superb free kick, and a sharp eye for the goal, played 590 games for Red Star Belgrade, scoring 365 goals. Exceptional figures – but with the Yugoslav league being an obscure affair for the rest of Europe, it was only during international tournaments that people had the chance to witness Dzajic in action.
Euro 1968 launched his status as world class winger. In the semi-final against England, Dzajic scored the winning goal by lobbing the ball over Gordon Banks. Yugoslavia lost the final to Italy, but Dzajic was elected as the player of the tournament. He also ranked third in the Ballon d’Or rankings that year – behind Manchester Unitied’s George Best and Bobby Charlton. Franz Beckenbauer later stated that Dzajic should have won the trophy. Der Kaiser wasn’t the only admirer of Dzajic:
“Dzajic is the Balkan miracle – a real wizard. I’m just sorry he’s not Brazilian because I’ve never seen such a natural footballer.” – Pelé.
In 1971, Dzajic guided Red Star to the semi-final of the European Cup. There the Serbs easily dispatched their Greek opponents Panathinaikos in the first leg: 4-1. Red Star’s place in the final looked certain.
What happened during the return match is best described by Despina Gaspari, the wife of Greece’s former dictator Georgios Papadopoulos. “I told the president of Panathinaikos that I was very nervous. My husband, standing next to me, said that wasn’t necessary. ‘You don’t think we would leave a matter of national interest to chance, do you? Red Star will surrender and receive their reward.'”
The game ended 3-0 for the Greeks. Exactly enough to make it through to the final. Red Star blamed their defeat on food poisoning.
As such, as a result of a bribe, Dzajic never got to play in a European Cup final. Who knows how different football history would have been had Dzajic’s Red Star, rather than Panathinaikos, been Ajax’s opponent in that 1971 final?
But as it was, Dzajic returned to the obscurity of domestic Yugoslav football. His star would continue to shine brightly there, but it would quickly dim everywhere else.
AC Milan and Italian Golden Boy: Gianni Rivera
In the footballing realm, Italy is a European powerhouse indeed. Since forever, the Italians have been known for their elaborate, tactical superiority and a monstrous defense that can make even the best attack in the world look helpless and feeble.
They don't always play a beautiful game. They frustrate and wear out oppositions, play a tough game, never shy away from a rough tackle. Scoring a goal against the Italians is an achievement that should be engraved on your tombstone.
It's slightly shocking then, that in such a defensive and tough mindset, a rather frail-bodied, shy but graceful, creative genius was born. What is not surprising though, considering his talent, is that he went on to become one of the best footballers of all time.
Gianni Rivera is truly a legend.
Giovanni Rivera was born in Alessandria on August 18th, 1943. His love for football was evident right from an early age and his unique silky style and creativity soon caught everyone's eye. Though he started out on the wings, he would find himself more suited in the central midfield position, playing deep and creating opportunities.
He made his Serie A debut at the age of 15 for his hometown Alessandria. His debut match was, as luck would have it, against AC Milan's bitter rivals—Inter Milan.
Gianni scored six goals in 25 appearances the next season. It was a splendid return for a midfielder of that age in the toughest league of the time, defensively speaking.
And it was not long before the Italian giants AC Milan recognized his potential and brought him over to the glorious red-and-black side of Milan, where he would stay until the end of his long and illustrious career.
The transfer fee was a record one at that time: An earth-shattering $200,000, for a 16-year-old who had played only one real season. But having watched Rivera play, few doubted the youngster's potential, and everybody knew Milan were an even bigger offensive threat now.
By this time, he was already dubbed "The golden boy." Throughout the 1960s, he would dominate the midfield, and etch a name for himself in the history books as one of the finest and the most refined players of his time, and indeed, of any time.
His playing style was unique and radically different from his Italian teammates, even in the midfield. He was never a physical player—his body structure wouldn't allow him to be so.
Though he wasn't a rough player, it would be a mistake to say he wasn't gritty. He compensated his on-field physical inferiority with supreme intelligence and creative flamboyance. His vision for passing was immaculate; he created room for himself and provided high-percentage assists.
His midfield dominance was not one warranted by an intimidating presence, but more so by his tactical and technical brilliance, of which there are few parallels.
After his arrival at the San Siro, Rivera wouldn't have to wait long to taste success with the Rossoneri. He smashed in 10 goals in the 1961/62 season and AC Milan would go on and win the Scudetto.
That same year, Rivera also made his international debut for Italy, but his international career, though memorable, would be more painful for him in years to come.
But his days of scripting the glory days of the Rossoneri were just beginning. 1962 also saw AC Milan beat Benfica 2-1 in a memorable match and Milan won the European Cup, now known as the Champions League.
The latter half of the decade saw Rivera become an absolute phenomenon as Milan won the Italian Cup, the Serie A league title, the European cup, the Cup Winner's Cup, the Europe/South America cup—all in just two years.
Milan was undoubtedly the best club in the world, and Gianni Rivera was the hero.
In 1969, the 26-year-old Rivera won the prestigious Ballon d'or award. He was the first Italian to do so.
Rivera continued to churn out good performances during the 70s, as Milan won another couple of Italian cups, and a Cup Winner's Cup in the decade.
But Rivera's international career was not as he would have expected it to be. For bitter city rivals Inter Milan had another brilliant star midfielder by the name of Alessandro Mazzola. The Rivera-Mazzola rivalry, though only on field and fueled mostly by the Milan-Inter rivalry, was one for the ages.
It was so intense that even though both were brilliant players, the Italian national coach would only select one at a time as he thought they could not co-exist together on the field. He employed a strategy known asstaffetta wherein Mazzola played the first half, and Rivera would play the second.
Each of them had their own style and their own assets and weaknesses. Mazzola was more physical and controlling of the midfield, playing on the right hand side; Rivera was the more refined, silky smooth, creative midfielder who played at his own pace in the center.
The strategy paid rich dividends as Italy would reach the finals of the 1970 World Cup against Brazil. Wait....Pele's Brazil. That adds a whole new dimension to it all.
But when the world's best offense squared off against the world's best defense, the Italian coach made the biggest mistake of his career: He didn't bring on Rivera in the second half, thinking that the tougher Mazzola was the better option against the quick, aggressive style of the Brazilians.
Rivera finally came on to the field with only a few minutes to spare, and Italy lost.
He represented the Azzurri once again in 1974, but age and time were not on his side. Not winning the World Cup for his country was probably the biggest disappointment of his career.
Rivera would help Milan win yet another Scudetto in 1979, his final year at the club.
By that time he had made, in total, 658 appearances for Milan, scoring 164 goals. Prolific, by any standards.
Rivera stayed at the club helping in administrative matters, and even became the vice-president. But when Silvio Berlusconi, lying on the opposite political spectrum of his, bought the club in 1986, he had to leave. Rivera soon joined politics.
There is a reason this footballer was so prolific—and it goes far beyond a mere list of the awards and titles he has won.
Some say talent is a natural gift. Some say talent is a result of hard work. Well, Rivera is the unadulterated personification of both these aspects unified, amplified several times.
He had talent, but he applied himself the right way. Like all great players, he was aware of his strengths and weaknesses. His graceful passing, shrewd understanding of the game, and above all, his uncorrupted desire to play the beautiful game of football, is what makes him the legend that he is today.
For @Tuppet (since I picked them before)
Intercepting at right position
Winning the ball back despite losing the ball in the beginning
Tracking attacking player with his pace
Winning the ball back despite losing the ball in the beginning
Tracking attacking player with his pace
Fantastic, thank you @green_smiley
For @Marty1968
GIFs that I used when I picked Gerson. Not really well-made (first time), but should give you some rough idea on how Gerson played
GIFs that I used when I picked Gerson. Not really well-made (first time), but should give you some rough idea on how Gerson played
I already feel like the lazy kid at school who only does the minimum to get by in a class full of geeks who all do extra work to impress the teacher.
Same
I feel like my proclamation has motivated @Tuppet to make these long ass write ups.
@Marty1968 October 16th?
Wolfgang Overath
Wolfgang Overath is the most underrated German footballer of all-time in spite of being one of the greatest German playmaker's ever. He holds the all-time record most appearances for FC Koln with 765 games and scored 287 goals. Kicker rated him in 4 world-class seasons and 9 seasons of international-class. Overath is one of the few players with World Cup medals for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place. He was known for his passing and organizing ability, especially with his left foot. In the World Cup 1970, Many foreign journalists voted him Germany's best player and he reached his highest place (5th) in Ballon'Dor in that year. Overath was also very famous for his winning-mental and always was able to perform an aggressive playing style combined with technical ability to help West Germany get back to winning after being down a goal. Overath was named in Bundesliga team of the season three times. According to German footballer of the year voting, he finished third place twice and was German midfielder of the year for three times. He finished
best place in Ballon D'or at fifth in 1970.
Wolfgang Overath first caught the attention of the youth coaches of the German F.A. in 1958 at the age of 14 while he was playing for his hometown club Siegburg 04, a town south-west of Cologne. Soon Overath was picked to represent Germany at youth level. His first appearance in front of a big crowd came in the pupil’s international between England and West Germany at Wembley, when he impressed with his long passes that would become his trademark later in his career. At the age of 16, Dettmar Cramer put through that he would play at the UEFA Youth Cup with the 18-year-olds. Cramer wanted to show that there were not only mere athletes among German youth footballers but also accomplished technical players. In 1962, the 18-year-old Overath was already a very sought-after player, with many clubs trying to sign him (among them Bayer Leverkusen, Borussia Dortmund and Kickers Offenbach). But Overath opted to sign for FC Cologne, as Cologne’s president Franz Kremer had a very good reputation and Cologne’s manager Zlatko Cajkovski was renown for being adept at intergrating young talents into his side. Additionally, Cologne was among the best sides in German club football at that time, having just won the German championship by beating Nuremberg 4-0. However a drawback for Overath was that he was not allowed to play in competitive games for his new club for exactly one year, as the German F.A. had a rule that disallowed players from amateur clubs that joined professional clubs to play for the professional club during the first year, a rule that was designed to protect amateur clubs from getting their best players bought out by bigger clubs. So Overath could only play in friendlies during the 1962-1963 season. He joined that fate with Wolfgang Weber, another promising talent that had joined Cologne from an amateur club. Both would spend the next 14 years together at Cologne and also the German national team. He left college to commence an apprenticeship at the Kaufhof department store together with his mate Wolfgang Weber.
By August 1963, the German F.A. had finally established a professional nationwide league which replaced the various regional leagues that now became the second divisions. Overath immediately became a very important player in the Cologne side, with his gifted left foot, he played at the inside left position but also at times at outside left. Already in his first league game for Cologne, Overath impressed as a smart playmaker full of energy and wit, scoring one goal in the away game at Saarbrücken. During the next couple of weeks, Overath was one of the players of the new Bundesliga that continued to produce headlines in the sport papers. This publicity also meant that Overath soon had to deal with tight man marking in every game, something that would accompany him during the rest of his professional career and that often led Overath to complaining bitterly to the referees. This was one of Overath’s most well-known character traits, for all his brilliance as a footballer, he could never really control himself, as he was shorttempered, uncontrollable and sometimes choleric in nature. His constant arguments with referees gave him a somewhat negative image among not few football fans and the media. During his first professional season, FC Cologne was the club to beat in the Bundesliga, with players like the 1954 World Cup champion Hans Schäfer, center forward Christian Müller, outside left Heinz Hornig, goalkeeper Fritz Ewert, outside right Karl-Heinz Thielen, center half Leo Wilden and the full backs Fritz Pott and Anton Regh, Cologne possessed the most balanced side at that time. Cologne seemed at times unstoppable and ran away with the league title in sovereign fashion. In September 1963, Overath was for the first time called up to represent West Germany at senior level. The legendary manager Sepp Herberger was still in charge at that time and Overath’s great talent had not escaped him. In the game against Turkey in Frankfurt, Overath was subbed in after 69 minutes and immediately began to impress the spectators with his great vision, quick play, his great technique and his (soon trademark) through balls and long passes over 50 or 60 yards. Overath received standing ovations for his superb display during the last 20 minutes of the game. For the next game, Herberger decided to give the 20-year-old Overath the possibility to showcase his talents from the start of the game. Although West Germany lost 1-2 in Stockholm to Sweden, he was again one of the best players on the pitch. During the next ten years, Overath would remain a constant feature in Germany’s national side.
After the big success of his first professional season, becoming nothing less than the new great hope of German football, things slowed down a bit in the following season. Cologne had started as huge favorites to defend their league title but they only managed second behind totally unfancied Werder Bremen. In the European Cup, Cologne made it to the quarterfinal, beating Albanian champs Partizan Tirana and Greek representatives Panathinaikos Athens. The first real test came in February and March 1965, as Cologne had to face English champions Liverpool FC. Cologne only managed a goalless draw at home against Bill Shankly’s side, but then surprised everyone with a great performance at Anfield that also ended in a 0-0 draw, goalie Toni Schumacher (not related to Harald ‘Toni’ Schumacher, Cologne keeper of the 1970s and 1980s) had played the game of his life. A decision game had to be staged in Rotterdam, which again ended in a draw (2-2). Since penalty shoot-outs had not been invented at that time, a coin throw had to decide the winner but the drama had not yet ended. Incredibly, the coin thrown by referee Schaut from Belgium got stuck in the mud on the pitch without falling to either side! However the second coin throwfound a winner and Liverpool proved to be luckier with their side of the coin ending up on top. Overath’s buddy Wolfgang Weber had collided with an English player after only 20 seconds, was brought into the dressing room, the doc gave him a pain killing injection as no substituting was allowed in those days. Weber got back onto the pitch, playing the first half. During the half-time break, the Cologne medical staff made a test to find out if Weber could keep on playing: Weber climbed onto a table and then had to jump down again. If his leg didn’t break, it was determined, he could go on playing. As he didn’t collapse after the jump, it was decided that he could keep on playing in the second half as well. Despite the hellish pain, Weber kept on playing even in extra-time and incredibly almost scored a goal! After the game he was brought into the hospital and x-ray revelead that he had played with a broken fibula the whole game. Those were the days ...
Wolfgang Overath Con.
So while things didn’t work quite as planned for Cologne, Overath’s international career would soon reach a first peak. Having established himself firmly as the new playmaker in the (now Helmut Schön-supervised) German national team during the 1964-65 season, he would become one of Germany’s best players in the 1966 World Cup held in England. The German midfield in that tournament still has to be ranked as one of the finest in the country’s footballing history, with Serie A professional Helmut Haller on the right, Franz Beckenbauer at the center and Wolfgang Overath on the left. After the tournament was over, at the age of 22, Overath had to be rated as one of Europe’s finest midfield players, as he was an integral part of the team that almost won the World Cup at Wembley in the historic final vs. hosts England. Helmut Schön had played with a 4-3-3 during the World Cup, but during the next two years, he changed the system back to a 4-2-4. This meant that it was hard for midfield players to get a spot in the team. Most of the time, the midfield duo consisted of Overath and Beckenbauer which was an unfortunate situation for another newly emerged midfield talent, Mönchengladbach’s Günter Netzer. With Overath having played so well at the 1966 World Cup, Helmut Schön preferred him over the unproved Netzer. The only time both Netzer and Overath were playing together, the result was disastrous as Germany only drew 0-0 at Albania, a result that eliminated them from the European Championship! Although Schön had reintroduced the 4-3-3 by 1968, he usually only used Netzer when Overath was injured or out of form. During the next three years, Schön only “risked” to pair Netzer and Overath once, in the other 30 games during that period, it was either one of them, but mostly Overath. During the same time, Cologne lost its dominant position in the Bundesliga. Although they still had an above average side, the team lacked the killer instinct necessary to remain at the verz top over a longer period. This was mostly explained by the typical character of people from Cologne, a “everything-will-work-out-fine-in-the-end” attitude that oftentimes shied away from hard work. With their happy-go-lucky attitude, FC Cologne could not really compete seriously with Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach, the two sides that emerged in the late-1960s as the two dominant forces in German club football. This lack of proper attitude of his teammates was the source of annoyance to the ambitious Overath, whose goal always was to win every game by all means, even the most unimportant friendly. It was especially bitter for him to see less talented sides like Bremen and Brunswick win the championship as a result of their better work attitude. The only trophy Cologne won in those years was the German Cup in 1968 against second division side VfL Bochum. While Cologne was always among the top clubs after the 1964 championship, the 1968-69 season proved to be a traumatic one for the club and its best player, Overath. Troubled by injuries of several regular players (among them goalgetter Johannes Löhr, who was out for almost the entire season), Cologne had to fight off relegation to the very last day. Overath himself had to fight off a severe slip of form that for a while made him lose his starting place in the national side. But just in time Overath and his teammates got back to their form of old and it was Overath that saved the club from relegation when he scored the highly important 1-0 against direct competitors Nuremberg on the last day of the season. If Cologne had been relegated, Overath would have had to face either a season of second division football or he had to join another big club, most likely Bayern Munich. Since Overath was closely linked to the city of Cologne, he would probably have opted to stay at the club even if it had been relegated.
The following season was the complete opposite. Overath was in tremendous form, he arguably never played as well as he did in 1969-70. Some even compared his performances to that of the great Alfredo di Stéfano. Overath was the heart of his club, he orchestrated the attacks, impressed with his visionary style of play, dribblings with the ball close to his left foot, then long passes sprayed across the pitch with the precision of a Swiss clockwork. His delicate left foot was at the center of attention whenever he was on the ball, playing almost every pass with the outside of his left foot, giving his passes an outstandingly subtle touch. He even used the outside of his foot for freekicks and corner kicks, giving the ball a great spin with that. His rival Günter Netzer also played a formidable season, but he found it a lot harder to adapt to the surroundings of the national team, something Overath never had any problems with. Then Netzer also had a falling out with German national team manager Helmut Schön in February 1970, Netzer even announced his retirement from the national side after he felt that he was unfairly criticised for his performance against Spain by Schön. Although they soon made up again afterwards, Netzer all the same missed the 1970 World Cup due to an injury. Thus the scene was set for Overath. Backed by his tremendous performances for Cologne, there was no doubt that he would be the main man in Germany’s midfield in Mexico. Overath played exceptionally well for Germany, becoming one of the best players of the tournament. He played a significant part in one of the most attack-minded German sides in World Cup history. After a bumpy start against minnows Morocco in the first game, Germany impressed with victories against Bulgaria (5-2), Peru (3-1) and reigning champs England (3-2 at extra-time). Then came the historic clash with Italy in the semi final at Mexico-City, which Germany lost quite unluckily 3-4. Overath himself made sure Germany would finish third with his goal against Uruguay in the third place match. In all of these games, Overath was among the best players, forming an incredibly well-tuned midfield tandem with Franz Beckenbauer. It did not come as a surprise when Overath was described as the tournament’s “Best player” by a Brazilian sports paper.
Overath continued to play at a high level for Cologne in the 1970-71 season and he succeeded Uwe Seeler as captain of the German national team, however the early 1970s proved to be a difficult time for him. Germany manager Helmut Schön could no longer afford to ignore Günter Netzer, as the playmaker of the German champions Borussia Mönchengladbach was in tremendous form during those years and enthused every football fan in Germany with his inspired style of play. With Borussia Mönchengladbach now being the best side in German club football, more of Netzer’s teammates were called up by Schön which made the environment of the national team much more welcoming to Netzer than in previous years. With Berti Vogts, Jupp Heynckes, Herbert Wimmer and Rainer Bonhof as constant fixtures in the German national side of the early 1970s, Günter Netzer found it now easier to transfuse his great club performances over to the national team. So Helmut Schön faced a real dilemma. He had two outstanding playmakers available, one who had already proven his worth in two World Cups, and one who was the all-conquering, bright-shining star of the Bundesliga. Schön was certain that it should be possible to create a system in which both playmakers could plaz alongside each other, his hope also being spurred by the fact that Overath and Netzer were good friends outside of the pitch that had a good understanding. Helmut Schön arguably wanted to avoid a situation like in Italy where Valcareggi designed a job-sharing program between Sandro Mazzola and Gianni Rivera. By mid-November 1970 the time had come to once again try the experiment of having two classic playmakers in the same side. This experiment was only made possible due to Schön’s decision to move Beckenbauer out of the midfield back to his precious sweeper position which he always longed to play in. Germany played two games on the Balkans, the first one against Yugoslavia was lost 0-2 and neither Netzer nor Overath played particularly well. For the game against Greece four days later, Schön decided that he needed Beckenbauer in midfield, together with Netzer and Overath. After 36 minutes Overath had to leave the pitch due to an injury, but up to that point the new midfield had blend in quite well. Germany won 3-1, with Netzer and Beckenbauer both scoring a goal.
Wolfgang Overath Con.
It was Netzer’s best game for Germany up to that point. Pleased with the outcome, Helmut Schön repeated the Beckenbauer-Netzer-Overath midfield combination for the next game, a Euro qualifier away in Albania. Netzer again impressed while Overath played average. Overath missed the next game due to an injury, the important away Euro qualifer at Turkey. Netzer was again the best player on the pitch and it probably dawned upon Helmut Schön that it was time to to give Netzer full command of the midfield. However Overath was still the captain of the national team and played very well for his club thus he could not just drop him. Thus in the next game, the return leg against Albania, Overath and Netzer were again playing together. Overath knew that it would become harder and harder for him to perform well in the national team, as there were now up to eight players from Borussia Mönchengladbach featured in the Germany roster. No surprise, Netzer continued to blossom under these circumstances, slowly but surely becoming the dominating player in Germany’s team. Against Albania, Schön experimented with a 4-2-4 formation, the midfield consisting of Netzer and Wimmer with Overath having to act as one of the forwards. This new role did not suit Overath at all and being a sensitive character, he became more and more unsure of his position in Schön’s team. In late-June 1971, Germany went to a tour of Scandinavia with three games. In all three games Overath and Netzer played together in midfield, but this was to be the last time Schön tried to play with the two playmakers for almost three years. The midfield of Borussia Mönchengladbach was simply in better form than that of any other German club and during the next 18 months, Netzer would be the unrivalled boss of the German midfield. In the coming season, Overath was plagued by a seriers of minor injuries but in March 1972 he suffered a more severe groin injurz which had to be operated and that put Overath out of action for some months. The last game Overath would be playing for Germany was in the disappointing 0-0 draw at home against Poland which Netzer had missed. Under Netzer’s guidance, Germany had won impressively in Poland with 3-1 and the public opinion was now firmly against Overath. Overath was to miss the next six games and thus also was not part of the 1972 European Championship winning side that impressed all of Europe in spring and summer of 1972. During Overath’s absense, the German national team had become a perfect symbiosis of Bayern Munich and Borussia Mönchengladbach, only two players were not part of these two clubs. Netzer had now become the face of German football (together with Beckenbauer) in a way Overath never had managed to. This was a very depressing phase for Overath, as his rival Netzer was getting all kinds of laurels for his outstanding performances while Overath was almost forgotten. A very bitter experience. At the end of 1972, it looked as if Netzer would remain Germany’s #10 for many years, but fate was now turning against Netzer. It was now the Gladbach playmaker that was more and more troubled by minor injuries and during all of 1973, Netzer would only be able to play one international game for Germany out of ten. Now Helmut Schön was forced to call up Overath once again, who himself was in no good form, but since he needed a playmaker for his side, there was no other option than Overath. However the football year 1973 started disastrously for Germany. In February, with Overath at the helm, Germany lost to Argentina in Munich with 2-3 (after having been down 0-3!). The media and fans were of course shocked and furious after that out-of-the-question performance. With Overath having made his comeback after an absense of over a year, the scapegoat was easy to pick. To the sensitive Overath, this was a disastrous development. Although he was back in spotlight much sooner than he ever expected, he now had to face being booed and whistled whenever one of his passes didn’t reach his man. Soon Overath was already whistled when his name mentioned over the speakers before the game even had started! Quite a hostile enrivonment, especially since Germany kept on struggling in all of their games in spring and summer 1973. The contrast to 1972 was very striking.
The early 1970s also proved to be a disappointing time for FC Cologne. In 1970, they lost the German Cup final against second division side Kickers Offenbach and a year later they again lost a German Cup final, this time to more respected opposition, Bayern Munich. In 1973, the big Netzer vs. Overath showdown was set to take place, as Mönchengladbach and Cologne had both reached the German Cup final. In a thrilling game, which was probably the best ever Cup final, Overath had to leave the pitch after about an hour due to an injury. Günter Netzer had been sensationally placed on the bench by his coach Hennes Weisweiler, but when Netzer got into the game in extra-time, he struck the winning goal with a left-footed volley straight out of heaven. Netzer had again remained victorious (in his last game for Borussia Mönchengladbach)! With Netzer joining Real Madrid in the summer of 1973, the public opinion began to be a bit more critical of him, though. Netzer found it incredibly hard to adapt to Spanish football, he who could only really play good in his accustomed enrivonment had a really hard time at Real during his first season. His teammates were not really accepting him as the complete dominator like he was at Mönchengladbach (where his nickname was “King of the Bökelberg”). This was Overath’s big opportunity. With Netzer struggling most of the 1973-74 season, it wasn’t a hard choice to make for Schön to seriously try to get Overath back in his old playmaker role for Germany. Some weeks before the 1974 World Cup which was held in Germany, Helmut Schön as well as skipper Franz Beckenbauer made the decision to play with Overath in midfield and without Netzer. It had become obvious in the training camps in May that Netzer was not in good physical shape and that a recreation of the magic of the 1972 team was simply impossible. And with Bernd Cullmann and Heinz Flohe, Overath had now two teammates in midfield that would make things easier for him in the national team. And thus it came that Wolfgang Overath was for the third straight World Cup a permanent fixture in the German national team. Overath proved that Schön’s and Beckenbauer’s decision was in fact the right one, he may not have played his best ever World Cup (that was the 1970 one), but he played his midfield playmaker role still in an exceptional way, scoring two great goals himself. Overath’s confidence was constantly growing throughout the tournament, although the tournament itself was not without drawbacks. In the game against East Germany, which West Germany lost 0-1, Overath did not play too well and had to get substituted after 70 minutes. On came Günter Netzer whose name the crowd in Hamburg had chanted loudly during most of the second half. But once he was on the pitch even Netzer couldn’t do a lot and in the next game against Yugoslavia, Overath was back in the starting eleven. While he did not play outstanding against the Yugoslavians, the next game against Sweden would become his best ever World Cup performance for Germany. In a real thriller, Overath was one of the best players on the pitch. After Germany had managed to beat the fancied Dutch in the World Cup final in Munich, the time had come for Overath to quit the national side after eleven years. There was no better way to leave than as World Champion. In July 1974, Overath for a short time contemplated a move to Spain to join Atletico Madrid, but his wife eventually objected against such a move.
Wolfgang Overath Con.
In 1976, former Gladbach and FC Barcelona coach Hennes Weisweiler came to Cologne to finally help the club win the German championship once again. Weisweiler had a reputation of always getting in trouble with the big stars at his club (Netzer at Gladbach, Cruyff at Barcelona). The media was expecting that he and Overath would be a quarrelsome pairing and thus both men at first did their best not to let the impression arise that they could not work together. But Weisweiler was still suffering from the dishonor that he was inferior to a player (oh the shame!) - to Cruyff in Barcelona. Weisweiler wanted to restore his image by winning the German championship with Cologne. The laissez-faire attitude was something he immediately got out the Cologne players and the club started sensationally bz winning the first five games of the season. But then came a embarrassing defeat against lowly-ranked Tennis Borussia Berlin and soon Cologne was back on the old track. Cologne got into a crisis and the fans as well as the media demanded an explanation for that slump. What Weisweiler came up with was an easy explanation: “It’s Overath’s fault!“ Weisweiler was working on a concept in which Overath did not play a role anymore. His criticism of Overath was basically that the time of the great playmakers was over, that he needed players that fought, ran, covered and marked. Weisweiler knew that the sensitive Overath would have problems dealing with this kind of criticism. Overath was always dependent on this feeling that he was indespensable for FC Cologne, that nothing at the club could work without him in the center of things. Weisweiler however said: “When Overath plays a long pas over 40 yards forward, he is out of the game.” Overath would balk at joining the turmoil in the penalty box. Two days later it came to the final cut. Cologne lost 2-4 against Kaiserslautern at the Betzenberg. Overath wanted to leave the pitch after 65 minutes but Weisweiler decided he had to remain in the game. “I only wanted to clarify what he is still capable of. A pitz that so few people from Cologne were here.” From this moment on Overath and Weisweiler stopped talking to each other. The final humiliation that Overath had to endure came in the German Cup final in May 1977 against Hertha BSC in Hanover. Weisweiler substituted Overath before the start of extra-time. Overath had sworn that he would immediately quit his playing career if Weisweiler dared to substitute him after he refused to do so in the Kaiserslautern game. That moment had now come. In the repeat of the Cup final two days later, Overath was not part of the squad anymore. His professional career had finally ended at the same time his old rival Günter Netzer quit his playing career in Switzerland. Franz Beckenbauer was also leaving the Bundesliga joining New York Cosmos and thus all of a sudden the three dominating figures in German football were all gone at the same time. A year later Weisweiler in a way proved that he was correct about ousting Overath since he led Cologne to win the double.
To many, Wolfgang Overath is still the best German midfield player that ever was, better than even Fritz Walter or Günter Netzer, Bernd Schuster or Lothar Matthäus. Overath possessed a number of great attributes like no other German midfielder did. He was a superb playmaker, but was also someone able to work very hard for others. The 1966 World Cup was the best example, when Overath did a lot of covering for Beckenbauer and Haller. In 1970 he was the dominant player in Germany’s squad, even overshadowing one Franz Beckenbauer. And in 1974, he was willing to subordinate himself to the dominant Bayern block. Overath was gifted with a superb technique, but at the same time he was an aggressive warrior that used the worst curses and insults on the pitch and that was capable of committing some nasty fouls. He could hit accurate passes over 50, 60 yards, but was also used as a special marker for other players (like in 1968 when he had to cover Rivelino in the World XI). Overath was arguably the best tournament player that ever was. He participated in three World Cups and did not miss one minute.
League Statistics per Season
Season - Club - Games – Goals
1963/64 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........30 / 09
1964/65 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........27 / 09
1965/66 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........30 / 03
1966/67 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........33 / 06
1967/68 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........29 / 09
1968/69 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........34 / 06
1969/70 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........29 / 12
1970/71 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........26 / 04
1971/72 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........25 / 06
1972/73 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........30 / 03
1973/74 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........31 / 05
1974/75 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........34 / 04
1975/76 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........27 / 02
1976/77 FC Cologne.....Bundesliga........24 / 06
International Club Games
1963/64 FC Cologne.....Fairs Cup..........06 / 02
1964/65 FC Cologne.....EC I.................07 / 01
1965/66 FC Cologne.....Fairs Cup..........05 / 02
1967/68 FC Cologne.....Fairs Cup..........04 / 01
1968/69 FC Cologne.....EC II................08 / 01
1970/71 FC Cologne.....Fairs Cup..........06 / 00
1971/72 FC Cologne.....UEFA Cup.........04 / 00
1972/73 FC Cologne.....UEFA Cup.........05 / 00
1973/74 FC Cologne.....UEFA Cup.........07 / 01
1974/75 FC Cologne.....UEFA Cup.........10 / 03
1975/76 FC Cologne.....UEFA Cup.........04 / 00
1976/77 FC Cologne.....UEFA Cup.........05 / 00
Wim Van Hanegem
“The Crooked” Willem Van Hanegem is regarded by many Dutch old-timers as one of their greatest footballers ever, is one of the most complete box-to-box midfielders the world has ever seen and is one of the most underrated midfielders of all-time as he was never voted in top ten Ballon'Dor. He is respected for his tactical insight. Both his way of sprinting (he had bandy legs), and his skill to give the ball a curve achieved by striking the ball with the outside of his left foot. He is also well known for his fantastic passing range, his ability with the ball at his feet and his excellence in the air. However, Van Hanegem was never fulfilled his talent in international country competitions as one of the most prominent players in the world. He had an impressive record scoring almost 100 goals around 300 games for Feyenoord.
Trophies & Tournaments:
World Cup beaten finalist: 1974
World Cup participant: 1974
European Championship participant: 1976
European Champions’ Cup winner: 1970
UEFA Cup winner: 1974
Intercontinental Cup winner: 1970
Dutch Champion: 1969, 1971, 1974
Dutch Cup winner: 1969, 1978
Dutch runner-up: 1970, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1983
Dutch Super Cup winner: -
Willem “Wim” van Hanegem was one of the best midfielders of his era, renowned for his delicate left foot, very strong heading, his great passing but also for his toughness when not on the ball. He joined the workers club Velox of Utrecht in 1960 at the age of 16 and made his debut in the first team in 1962 at the age of 18. His coach at Velox was Daan van Beek, who became a fatherlike figure for young Willem during the six years he played for the club. Velox was a second division side that played third fiddle in Utrecht to DOS and Elinkwijk, but van Hanegem later commented that he never played at a better club in his life. During his time at Velox, van Hanegem was usually playing as an outside left or sometimes even as a left back. It wasn’t before 1966 that van Hanegem decided to leave the small club to join a (slightly) bigger club in Xerxes Rotterdam, a first division side. At Xerxes, van Hanegem was coached by the German Kurt Linder, who was focusing on iron discipline and hard training methods. Although van Hanegem collided with his new coach more than once, he managed to trim down van Hanegem’s weight from 94 kilos to 81 kilos. Also, at Xerxes, a 4-2-4 was played in which van Hanegem was moved from outside left to inside left. In his second season at Xerxes, van Hanegem scored his all-time high record of 26 league goals, only two goals short of winning the top goal scorer’s crown. Xerxes finished third in the Dutch league that season and after making his debut for the Dutch national team in May 1968, it became clear that he would have to move to a bigger club than Xerxes. In the summer of 1968, van Hanegem joined Feijenoord Rotterdam, he was going to play six seasons for this club which was to become the most successful phase in the history of the club and van Hanegem was on his way to becoming a Feijenoord legend. Already in his first season at Feijenoord, van Hanegem won the Eredivisie and the Dutch Cup and a year later even triumphed in the European Champions’ Cup final in Milan vs. Glasgow Celtic. A tense game that was decided in extra-time, Feijenoord became the first Dutch club to win top honors in European football. Later that year, they also beat South American champions Estudiantes de la Plata to win the Intercontinental Cup.
A year later, van Hanegem went on to win his second Dutch championship with Feijenoord, a third would follow in 1974, that same year Feijenoord also beat Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Cup finals. By that time, the golden age for Feijenoord was about to end, finishing Dutch runners-up twice in 1975 and 1976. In 1976, Olympique Marseille offered van Hanegem and his Feijenoord colleague Wim Jansen a fortune, but van Hanegem declined and instead moved to aspiring new side AZ ’67 Alkmaar, where he won the Dutch Cup in 1978. After a season spent in the NASL with Chicago Stings, van Hanegem moved back to his hometown Utrecht, joining FC and then spent two final seasons at Feijenoord, with whom he almost won the Dutch championship in 1983, but Ajax proved too strong once more.
Playing for Holland, van Hanegem was an integral part of the 1974 Dutch side that shook the football world in the World Cup held in West Germany. In previous years, the Dutch team weakened itself due to the two camps in Dutch football – Ajax and Feijenoord – almost never being willing to work together as a team. This had changed in 1974 and the result was a breathtaking new take on how football could be played (still known today as “Total Football”). Being Feijenoord’s main man, Wim van Hanegem’s acceptance of Johan Cruijff’s unquestioned leadership was one, if not the main component of making this experiment work. At the age of thirty, Wim van Hanegem had reached the pinnacle of his career, being Dutch champion, UEFA Cup winner as well as highly respected World Cup participant. He remained a fixture of the Dutch team during the next two years, but by the beginning of the 1976-77 season, Dutch coaches began to look for younger players. However he had a brief comeback in time for the 1978 World Cup, but then didn’t make the squad, as Austrian coach Ernst Happel was not willing to guarantee him a place in the team, he decided to walk out of the training camp, officially reasoning that the season which had just ended had taken too much out of him, claiming that he really needed a rest. However van Hanegem later claimed the real reason was a dispute on money (not uncommong for Dutch players of his generation). Some people argue that van Hanegem’s absence was more crucial to Holland than that of Johan Cruijff, as van Hanegem was considered to be the best passer available to Holland at the time. A year later, van Hanegem made another brief comeback for Holland versus Belgiun, now aged 35, but then finally retired from international play.
League Statistics per Season
Season - Club - Games – Goals
1962/63 Velox.................II. Division
1963/64 Velox.................II. Division
1964/65 Velox.................II. Division
1965/66 Velox.................II. Division
1966/67 Xerxes/DHC.........34 / 06
1967/68 Xerxes/DHC.........33 / 26
1968/69 Feijenoord...........32 / 13
1969/70 Feijenoord...........32 / 06
1970/71 Feijenoord...........34 / 13
1971/72 Feijenoord...........29 / 06
1972/73 Feijenoord...........31 / 12
1973/74 Feijenoord...........34 / 12
1974/75 Feijenoord...........28 / 11
1975/76 Feijenoord...........27 / 15
1976/77 AZ ‘67 Alkmaar.....30 / 6
1977/78 AZ ‘67 Alkmaar.....30 / 1
1978/79 AZ ‘67 Alkmaar.....15 / 03
1979/80 Chicago Stings.....27 / 06
1979/80 FC Utrecht..........27 / 01
1980/81 FC Utrecht..........27 / 02
1981/82 Feijenoord...........24 / 01
1982/83 Feijenoord...........27 / 01
Jimmy Johnstone
Jimmy Johnstone, one of the most prolific wings & finest football personalities with over 500 games and 130 goals for the Celts. He was one of the smallest too... In 2002, "Jinky" was voted by Celtic-fans as the greatest player to ever play for the club. "Jinky" and the rest of the Lisbon Lions went into history books when they won the European Cup in 1967 by defeating the superstars of Internazionale who played the defensive tactic "Catenaccio". Not only were they 11 players from the same nation, but they also lived not far from each other! Johnstone played a major part in that achievement.
Johnstone was afraid of flying, so Jock Stein (manager at that time) used to take an advantage of this, especially in European Cup away matches. Stein used to encourage Johnstone that if he could help to get the team a good result in the home game, he would not have to take long FLIGHTS for the away matches. One incident was an European Cup match against Red Star Belgrade. Stein said to Johnstone that if he'd help the team to get a good result in the home game, he could stay home while the others went to Yugoslavia. He netted 2 goals and assisted 3 goals...
Tiny Johnstone had the habit to cause havoc in the opponents defence, especially the opponent full-backs. He did so with the likes of Bertie "the terrier" Vogts and Terry Cooper. Johnstone used to toy around with his opponents so much that he once managed to cause Terry Cooper to fall on his butt. Cooper even tried to kick Johnstone in some cases, but failed to do so as Johnstone just went past him. Although Vogts was a hard-worker that almost never gave up in a duel, he once claimed that although he was in a great form, Johnstone still managed to cause a lot of PROBLEMS for him.
Johnstone capped only 23 times for Scotland. At that time, most of the national team contained players from the archrivals of Celtic, Rangers. Most of the national team supporters were also Rangers-supporters which caused Johnstone some issues during matches. Whenever Johnstone got the ball, the supporters started to boo/shout and winding up Johnstone. He later asked to not be a part of the national team, so he "retired" from playing for the national team.
One thing that not many people knew until recently... He was not far from signing for Manchester United, but he eventually chose Celtic as his team. Even Ferguson had to put on a smile and say "imagine that... Johnstone, Charlton and Best... imagine that..."
Johnstone died in 2006 after he was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in 2001. He was greatly tributed during the Scottish League Cup Final where there was a minute of applause before the kick-off. The entire Celtic squad wore the number 7 on both the front and back of their shirts to honour Johnstone. Also, after the match, the Celtic players wore shirts with the squad name "Jinky" and the number 7 as a further tribute to Johnstone.
Jimmy Johnstone Con.
Jimmy ‘Jinky’ Johnstone, was born on the 30th September 1944 to Sarah and Mathew Johnstone.
He was born in the district of Bothwell, famous for the Battle of Bothwell Bridge (seeing off the English) and a rather atmospheric ruin of a castle often visited by the young Jinky with his school on a day-out trip. Jinky lived, with his family, upstairs at 647 Old Edinburgh Road.
Jinky enjoyed a wonderful childhood and made full use of Bothwell’s surrounding countryside and woods where he would fill his time and imagination playing all manner of games with his friends. It was to be the game of football though that would define his life and his place in history.
‘It was part of every Scottish lads life, it was total football before the term was even invented.‘Times were hard, football I guess helped us forget, kept our spirits up, gave us plenty to laugh about.’
The lads would play until their clothes were splattered with mud and their faces shining with the exhilaration. They wore Sloppy Joes, trousers and penny black shoes but a lot of lads had footware hanging off feet by the end of the day.
They would kick around a plastic, mass produced ball, until, as it often did, it would get punctured on somebody’s hedge or railings. If it wasn’t the lightweight plastic ball it was the old pump-up leather one that had an inflatable inner bladder, which, of course, would need continual inflating. Somebody was always rushing off for a foot pump to inflate the ball.
It was hard sometimes, having to stop the game, just reaching a make or break point, simply to inflate the ball. But, being hit in the face by a semi inflated leather ball wasn’t pleasant and it ruined your shots. If it wasn’t a ball being kicked around it would be anything that moved, a tin can, a stone, with a couple of jackets serving as goalposts.
As well as playing in the streets the pitches would VARY tremendously. THE BACKyard or GARDEN or tarmac road would be converted into the site of the next round of the world cup.
Teams playing the first to 21 or even the first to 42 as the day lengthened into twilight and then darkness. It rains a lot in Scotland, yet this would not affect the games. Helter-skelter, onwards and onwards, oblivious of the conditions the total football would continue.
‘Football was no big DEAL, not in the way that it is now with all the hype, we all played it all the time. You would just pick up a ball and be practicing against a wall and in no time at all a team would have formed around you and yet another football match would start.’
If a game wasn’t possible then the lads would play headers. A game usually played in the back yard, sometimes with a tennis ball, the object of the game being simply having to header the ball between the posts (jumpers and assorted coats).
‘The only thing to watch out for was the owner of the occasionally nice garden. If your ball went in there you could kiss it goodbye as they would keep the ball.’
Team sizes would VARY and, as the day progressed would often see drastic changes made within the sides but, every morning at the beginning of school the teams would be picked, the days playing had just begun. At the first break, 10am, the game would commence.
Play continued at the one hour lunch break and then re-commenced after school. The games were played until it was too dark to see or, if they were darting about under dim street lights, until the mothers called their boys home.
Jimmy was lucky in his local primary school, St Columba's Primary, Viewpark. Three great TEACHERS, John Crines, Mr Milligan and Mr Travers loved the beautiful game and enthusiastically encouraged the youngsters to play. The school team was great and, at the age of nine or ten, Jimmy had already been part of a team, which had ‘lifted everything that year’.
The League Cup, the County Cup and the John Lee trophy all became St Columba’s in the years 1953-54.
Within school and under the tutelage of John Crines, Jinky would undergo trials and training a couple of times a week with at least one weekly full game played.
St. Pats was a square, wooden, building with the pitch just down the road. The lads would get kitted up in school and then walk down to the pitch, unless it was an away game.
John Crines was a stickler for discipline and turnout. The leather boots had to be polished until they shone, soles and all, before they were inspected. ‘Woe betide the boy who hadn’t put every last ounce of effort into polishing his boots.’
The strip was black and green, and the team, under John Crines’ watchful eye, was always well turned out. At last the boys got to play a ‘real game’ on a ‘real pitch’. Although St Pats had a grass pitch many schools had horrible ash pitches.
‘Sliding on one of they ash pitches was like sliding on a scrubbing brush or a pan scourer, left you red raw.’
Jinky’s Junior Secondary school, St John the Baptist at Uddingston, didn’t have as good a side as St Columba but Tommy Cassidy, the Physical Education TEACHER, was a friend of Celtic star Sammy Wilson and his family.
Watching the young Jinky play with all the flair and skill of a man twice his age Cassidy realised that the lad’s talents mustn’t be wasted, he got Jinky a place with Celtic.
‘We never had any aspirations then though, it was just fun, a way of life, when Celtic happened it wasn’t planned, just sort of a natural evolution.’
Jinky was 13 years old when he became a ball boy for Celtic and played his heart out for the youth team. The Daily EXPRESS soon ran a feature on him about how many medals he had won. A star was rising.
The PROBLEM for Jinky was that he wanted to actually play football.
‘It was great to be at Celtic and everthing, to see all the great players, your heroes, but we all wanted to be playing on a SATURDAY and that was with the Boys Guild, so I left.’
Playing in the Boys Guild Jinky played all the local parish teams in all types of conditions on all sorts of pitches and loved every MINUTE of it. His first really memorable moment came when his team set off to play Manchester United.
‘What an adventure, all up early and on the bus and everything. We stayed with their parents and when they came up to us they stayed with ours. It was great, all great fun.’
It was whilst in Manchester that a Mr Wishbone, once an international player in his own right, now the head scout, noticed young Jinky. He happened to be standing next to Jinky’s brother Pat who, just happened to have a load of press clippings and reviews in his pocket.
Wishbone soon got talking and before the match had finished had decided that Jinky should be thinking about a future with Manchester United.
The word must have got around fast because a couple of days after his return a Mr Johnny Higgins, Celtic’s scout, came round to the house with the purpose of SIGNING UP the lad.
Asked about how that must have felt Jinky is his usual humble self.
‘Aye Dad was delighted for sure, but you see we played all the time, it was our life, the biggest part of your life and so when Johnny came round it was just sort of, ‘Oh Aye, that’s great’, and then on with the next thing.
Maybe that’s what kept my feet on the ground. I mean I look back now and think ‘bloody hell what did we achieve’, and I guess they were great things, but at the time we were just a bunch of ordinary lads.
We never bragged or talked about things, we just got out there to WIN, we were confident that we could take anyone on, and we did.
You’ve got to remember times was hard then, football was the biggest part of our lives, just like for the boys in Brazil and Spain, they lived in poverty like us and that’s where all of the great players come from, the streets.’
Jimmy Johnstone Con.
A god with a leather football at his feet
When Jock Stein returned to manage the Celtic in March 1965, he was dismayed at the poor morale among the same players whom he had enjoyed a great relationship with years previously as RESERVE team coach.
The erstwhile Hibs boss quickly set about beefing up the fun quotient about Celtic Park. In this respect, the great man had a willing and able assistant in ‘Jinky’ Johnstone.
As for team affairs, Stein’s first modification was to hand the late Bobby Murdoch a deep midfield role at the expense of 20-year old Jim Brogan. Murdoch’s relocation from inside right to midfield would allow him to use his tremendous passing ability to control the flow of a game for the Celts.
The new manager’s next step was to fill the position left by Brogan’s demotion to the RESERVES. Jimmy Johnstone filled the gap on the right wing. In two easy steps, Stein had re-established a meaningful balance in the Celtic line-up. The team would never be the same again.
“What an influence he had on me!” Johnstone said years later. “I remember playing in a RESERVE game at Celtic Park against Hibs just after he took over as manager. Nobody knew that Jock had come to the game until he came into the dressing room at half time. It was the first time I had seen him in there. I then happened to go to the toilet, which is separate from the dressing-room.
Stein played to Johnstone’s strengths and vice-versa. For instance, the manager insisted that all 28 of his squad players had a ball each in training.
A 6-0 WIN over Dutch side Go Ahead in the Cup-Winners Cup (Johnstone bagged a brace) soon after Stein’s return to the club added fuel to theory that the emphasis on working to the strengths of great ball players like Johnstone was going to pay off.
A League Cup final victory for Johnstone and company over Rangers a couple of months later in front of 107,600 cemented the value in the manager’s head of mercurial wing wizards like the fiery redhead.
Like all relationships, it didn’t always run smoothly though. Johnstone could be as stubborn as he was gifted as a footballer and that stubbornness shone through in one instance while Celtic were on a, then unprecedented, close-season tour of North America during the summer of 1966.
Celtic played a series of games against various opponents across the continent but by the time the hoops met Bayern Munich in San Francisco on June 9th, Stein had only 12 fit players left available to him.
The newly crowned British Manager of the Year had given his winger permission to fly home early to Scotland to get married. On the day before he was due to depart, Stein asked Johnstone to telephone his fiancée Agnes and tell her to postpone the wedding so that he could cover for the injured men. The request was politely refused.
Johnstone’s sometimes unreliable temperament wasn’t the only source of frustration for the Celtic management. There was also the wee man’s massive fear of flying Stein’s awareness of Johnstone’s hang-up on flying worked a treat in helping the Celts beat Red Star Belgrade of Yugoslavia in a European Cup match.
The Celtic manager promised Johnstone that he would excuse him from playing in the second leg if the winger helped create enough of a lead in the home leg in Glasgow. True to form, Johnstone played out of his skin in Glasgow, scoring twice and making THREEof the five goals that would render his trip abroad unnecessary.
However, if Stein was the injured party on the occasion of the aforementioned club tour to America, it was Johnstone who suffered most almost THREE months later when Celtic made their European Cup debut with a home tie against FC Zurich of Switzerland, the previous year’s semi-finalists.
From the outset, Johnstone was singled out for special attention by the tough Swiss side. Kicks and punches literally rained in on the diminutive winger. The game acted as a taster for Johnstone in terms of what he was in store for him on the European stage in the years that were to follow. Nevertheless, Jinky was man of the match as the Celts won 2-0.
It’s a testimony to Johnstone’s magical balance, dribbling skills and sheer athleticism that he managed to play at the highest level for over 12 years without suffering a SERIOUS INJURY for, at just 5ft 4in and nine-and-a-half stones, he was invariably picked upon by tough, but insecure opposition defenders.
The Viewpark born and bred outside right used his brilliant ability to turn defenders, his capacity to swerve by some dodgy tackles and his pace to create openings for himself all through his marvellous career with Celtic, which began on March 27th, 1963 (two years after he signed for the Parkhead club from Blantyre Celtic) in a match against Kilmarnock.
Dubbed the “Flying Flea” by the French press after an inspired display against Nantes in a European Cup tie, Johnstone was a God to the Celtic fans but never quite received the CREDIT for his talent elsewhere in Britain, even after he tormented Leeds in the aggregate victory in the 1970 European Cup semi-final.
“Wee Jinky was out of this world at Elland Road,” teammate Tommy Gemmell reflected. “Terry Cooper, the Leeds left-back, must have nightmares every time somebody mentions Jimmy Johnstone because he gave him a total going over.
NORMAN Hunter was shouting to Cooper, “Kick him!” Cooper turned around and said, “You come out and kick him. Hunter came out and tried to stick it on wee Jimmy. Wee Jimmy just waltzed round about him and nutmegged him.”
“Jimmy Johnstone”, his long-time team-captain Billy McNeill said, “could terrorise any defence”.
When Johnstone was in his element, bobbing, weaving, ducking and darting, he was poetry in motion and his ability to make defenders, particularly English ones, look ponderous and muscle-bound in their efforts to stymie his inventiveness and creativity, endeared him to football followers everywhere, even Rangers fans.
Jimmy Johnstone made 515 appearances for Celtic and scored 129 goals in the process. On the international front, he was only awarded 23 caps by Scotland.
