Football Journey – A Football Blog

August 31, 2026August 31, 2026

Olympic Games

Brazil

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Vitor	Nov 21, 1953	18	?	Cruzeiro	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Osmar	Feb 18, 1952	20	?	Botafogo	2	0	180	0	0	1
3	DF	Fred	Apr 4, 1949	23	?	Flamengo	1	0	90	0	0	0
4	DF	Terezo	Oct 7, 1953	18	?	América	3	0	270	0	0	0
5	MD	Falcão	Oct 16, 1953	18	?	Internacional	3	0	166	1	1	0
6	DF	Celso	Oct 2, 1950	21	?	Palmeiras	2	0	157	1	0	0
7	FW	Pedrinho	Aug 4, 1953	19	?	Internacional	2	1	152	1	0	0
8	MD	Rubens Galaxe	Sep 29, 1952	19	?	Fluminense	3	0	270	0	0	0
9	FW	Washington	Jan 23, 1951	21	?	Guarani	3	0	180	0	2	0
10	FW	Roberto Dinamite	Mar 13, 1954	18	?	Vasco da Gama	1	0	45	1	0	0
11	FW	Dirceu	Jun 15, 1952	20	?	Coritiba	3	2	270	0	0	0
12	GK	Nielsen	Jun 19, 1952	20	?	Fluminense	3	0	270	0	0	0
13	DF	Abel	Sep 1, 1952	19	?	Fluminense	2	0	180	0	0	0
14	DF	Wágner	May 2, 1950	22	?	Corinthians	1	0	90	0	0	1
15	MD	Bolívar	Dec 21, 1954	17	?	Grêmio	1	0	23	0	1	0
16	MD	Ângelo	May 30, 1953	19	?	Atlético Mineiro	2	0	104	1	1	0
17	MD	Pintinho	Jun 25, 1954	18	?	Fluminense	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	FW	Zé Carlos	Sep 28, 1947	24	?	Palmeiras	3	1	163	0	2	0
19	FW	Manoel	Feb 14, 1953	19	?	Internacional	2	0	180	0	0	0

Burma

Head coach: U Sein Hlaing

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on
1	GK	Tin Aung	May 8, 1947	25	?	Army	3	0	270	0	0
2	DF	Win Sein	Jul 11, 1952	20	?	Army	0	0	0	0	0
3	DF	Maung Maung Tin	May 21, 1949	23	?	Post & Telecomms	3	0	270	0	0
4	DF	Tin Sein	Jun 12, 1951	21	?	Army	3	0	270	0	0
5	DF	Myo Win Nyunt	Feb 19, 1950	22	?	Customs	3	0	270	0	0
6	MF	Ryint Soe	Mar 15, 1955	17	?	Municipal	0	0	0	0	0
7	DF	San Aye	Jun 20, 1954	18	?	Construction	3	0	270	0	0
8	MF	Aye Maung Gyi	Aug 20, 1950	22	?	Construction	3	0	270	0	0
9	MF	Aye Maung Lay	Jun 10, 1954	18	?	Air Force	3	0	270	0	0
10	FW	Kyu Myint	Aug 20, 1950	22	?	Trade	1	0	22	0	1
11	MF	Ye Nyunt	Jun 3, 1950	22	?	Customs	3	0	266	1	0
12	FW	Maung Win	May 12, 1949	23	?	Army	3	0	270	0	0
13	FW	Than Soe	Jun 3, 1952	20	?	Municipal	3	1	270	0	0
14	FW	Tin Aung Moe	Jun 12, 1949	23	?	Construction	3	1	248	1	0
15	FW	Htay Hla	Mar 18, 1940	32	?		0	0	0	0	0
16	FW	Khin Maung Lay	Jul 5, 1954	18	?	Navy	1	0	4	0	1
17	GK	Nyunt Maung Maung	Jan 18, 1954	18	?		0	0	0	0	0
18	MF	Maung Tun Khin	Sep 21, 1940	31	?		0	0	0	0	0
19	MF	Win Lay Sein	Mar 14, 1950	22	?		0	0	0	0	0

Colombia

Head coach: Todor Veselinovic

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Silvio Quintero	Dec 27, 1946	25	?	Deportes Tolima	1	0	90	0	0	0
2	GK	Antonio Rivas	Nov 4, 1951	20	?	Independiente Santa Fe	2	0	180	0	0	0
3	DF	Gerardo Moncada	May 27, 1949	23	?	Atlético Nacional	3	0	270	0	0	1
4	DF	Rafael Reyes	May 17, 1951	21	?	Deportes Tolima	2	0	147	1	0	0
5	DF	Álvaro Calle	Jun 11, 1953	19	?	Independiente Medellín	2	0	180	0	0	0
6	DF	Dumas Guette	Dec 25, 1952	19	?	Deportes Tolima	2	0	180	0	0	0
7	MD	Fabio Espinosa	Jun 13, 1948	24	?	Deportes Tolima	3	1	225	0	1	1
8	FW	Carlos Lugo	Sep 1, 1953	18	?	Deportes Tolima	3	0	158	1	1	1
9	FW	Jaime Morón	Nov 16, 1950	21	?	Millonarios	3	2	270	0	0	0
10	MD	Henry Caicedo	Jul 18,1951		?	Deportivo Cali	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Álvaro Santamaría	Mar 21, 1950	22	?	Independiente Medellín	2	0	167	1	0	0
12	MD	Willington Ortiz	Mar 26, 1952	20	?	Millonarios	3	0	270	0	0	0
13	MD	Ernesto Díaz			?	Independiente Santa Fe	3	0	212	2	0	0
14	GK	Armando Acosta			?	Once Caldas	0	0	0	0	0	0
15	DF	Vicente Revellón	Jun 4, 1950	22	?	Independiente Santa Fe	2	0	123	0	1	0
16	MD	Domingo González	Dec 24, 1947	24	?	Independiente Santa Fe	1	0	45	1	0	0
17	DF	Orlando Rivas	Jul 17, 1950	21	?	América de Cali	3	0	270	0	0	0
18	FW	Luis Montaño	Aug 11, 1950	21	?	Independiente Santa Fe	1	1	23	0	1	0
19	FW	Ángel María Torres	May 8, 1952	20	?	Deportivo Cali	3	1	180	0	2	0

Denmark

Head coach: Rudi Strittich

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Mogens Therkildsen	Mar 15, 1940	32	7	OB	6	0	495	1	0	0
2	DF	Flemming Ahlberg	Dec 23, 1946	25	5	BK Frem	6	0	540	0	0	0
3	DF	Svend Andresen	May 20, 1950	22	16	B1903	6	0	540	0	0	1
4	DF	Per Røntved	Jan 27, 1949	23	15	Brønshøj BK	6	1	540	0	0	1
5	DF	Jørgen Rasmussen	Jul 4, 1945	26	15	Randers Freja	6	0	519	1	0	0
6	MD	Hans Ewald Hansen	Feb 15, 1944	28	8	B1901	4	0	215	2	1	1
7	MD	Jack Hansen	Oct 2, 1947	24	5	B1913	6	0	540	0	0	0
8	FW	Kristen Nygaard	Sep 9, 1949	22	14	IF Fuglebakken	6	1	518	1	0	1
9	FW	Allan Simonsen	Dec 15, 1952	19	2	Vejle BK	6	3	450	2	0	1
10	FW	Kurt Berthelsen	Nov 27, 1943	28	1	AaB	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	FW	Leif Printzlau	Dec 16, 1948	23	5	BK Frem	2	1	72	0	2	0
12	DF	Flemming Pedersen	Sep 2, 1947	24	7	KB	1	0	21	0	0	0
13	DF	Helge Vonsyld	Oct 18, 1947	24	0	Randers Freja	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	MD	Sten Ziegler	May 30, 1950	22	6	Hvidovre IF	2	0	122	0	1	0
15	MD	Max Rasmussen	Dec 11, 1945	26	1	AB	4	0	270	1	1	0
16	MD	Heino Hansen	Sep 24, 1947	24	2	Slagelse B&I	6	3	514	1	0	0
17	FW	Keld Bak	Jun 7, 1944	27	7	Næstved IF	6	2	540	0	0	0
18	GK	Heinz Hildebrandt	Feb 13, 1943	29	1	Hvidovre IF	1	0	45	0	1	0
19	GK	Valdemar Hansen	May 19, 1945	27	1	BK Frem	0	0	0	0	0	0

East Germany

Head coach: Georg Buschner

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Jürgen Croy	Oct 19, 1946	25	?	Sachsenring Zwickau	7	0	660	0	0	0
2	DF	Lothar Kurbjuweit	Nov 6, 1950	21	?	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	4	0	337	3	0	0
3	DF	Manfred Zapf	Aug 24, 1946	25	?	1. FC Magdeburg	7	0	660	0	0	1
4	DF	Konrad Weise	Aug 17, 1951	20	?	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	7	0	660	0	0	0
5	DF	Bernd Bransch	Sep 24, 1944	27	?	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	7	0	660	0	0	0
6	MD	Harald Irmscher	Feb 12, 1946	26	?	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	4	0	150	0	3	0
7	MD	Jürgen Pommerenke	Jan 22, 1953	19	?	1. FC Magdeburg	7	1	543	2	1	0
8	FW	Ralf Schulenberg	Aug 15, 1949	22	?	BFC Dynamo	2	0	34	0	2	0
9	FW	Jürgen Sparwasser	Jun 8, 1948	24	?	1. FC Magdeburg	7	6	660	0	0	0
10	MD	Hans-Jürgen Kreische	Jun 19, 1947	25	?	Dynamo Dresden	7	5	660	0	0	1
11	FW	Joachim Streich	Apr 13, 1951	21	?	Hansa Rostock	7	6	626	2	0	1
12	MD	Reinhard Häfner	Feb 2, 1952	20	?	Dynamo Dresden	1	1	12	0	1	0
13	MD	Wolfgang Seguin	Spe 14, 1945	26	?	1. FC Magdeburg	4	0	333	2	0	0
14	FW	Peter Ducke	Oct 14, 1941	30	?	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	7	1	592	3	0	2
15	FW	Eberhard Vogel	Apr 8, 1943	29	?	FC Carl Zeiss Jena	5	2	129	0	5	0
16	MD	Axel Tyll	Jul 21, 1953	18	?	1. FC Magdeburg	0	0	0	0	0	0
17	DF	Siegmar Wätzlich	Nov 16, 1947	24	?	Dynamo Dresden	3	0	254	1	0	1
18	MD	Frank Ganzera	Sep 8, 1945	26	?	Dynamo Dresden	4	1	290	1	0	0
19	GK	Dieter Schneider	Oct 20, 1949	22	?	Hansa Rostock	0	0	0	0	0	0

Ghana

Head coach: Charles Gyamfi

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Henry France			?	Hearts of Oak	1	0	90	0	0	0
2	DF	Armah Akuetteh			?	Hearts of Oak	2	0	153	0	1	0
3	DF	Oliver Acquah			?	Asante Kotoko	2	0	180	0	0	0
4	DF	Alex Mingle			?	Cape Coast Dwarfs	3	0	270	0	0	0
5	DF	John Eshun	Jul 17, 1942	30	?	Hasaacas	3	0	270	0	0	0
6	MD	Ibrahim Sunday	Jul 22, 1944	28	?	Asante Kotoko	3	1	270	0	0	1
7	MD	Albert Essuman			?	Asante Kotoko	0	0	0	0	0	0
8	FW	Peter Lamptey	Apr 6, 1946	26	?	Hearts of Oak	3	0	153	0	2	0
9	FW	Gariba Abukari			?	Asante Kotoko	3	0	270	0	0	0
10	FW	Joe Sam			?	Asante Kotoko	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	MD	Malik Jabir	Dec 8, 1944	27	?	Asante Kotoko	3	0	270	0	0	0
12	DF	Edward Boye			?	Great Olympics	2	0	72	1	1	0
13	MD	Samuel Yaw			?	Asante Kotoko	3	0	270	0	0	0
14	DF	Clifford Odame			?	Asante Kotoko	2	0	135	0	1	0
15	FW	Kwasi Owusu	Nov 7, 1947	24	?	Bofoakwa Tano	2	0	180	0	0	0
16	MD	Joseph Ghartey			?	Hearts of Oak	1	0	90	0	0	0
17	MD	Osei Kofi	Jun 3, 1940	32	?	Asante Kotoko	2	0	117	2	0	0
18	GK	Essul Badu Mensah			?	Asante Kotoko	2	0	180	0	0	0
19	GK	Joseph Derchie			?	Bofoakwa Tano	0	0	0	0	0	0

Hungary

Head coach: Rudolf Illovszky

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	István Géczi	Jul 13, 1944	28	15	Ferencváros	7	0	610	1	0	0
2	DF	Péter Vépi	Oct 20, 1949	22	2	Ferencváros	7	0	630	0	0	1
3	DF	Miklós Páncsics	Feb 4, 1944	28	30	Ferencváros	7	0	630	0	0	2
4	DF	Péter Juhász	Aug 3, 1948	23	17	Újpesti Dózsa	6	1	540	0	0	1
5	FW	Lajos Szűcs	Dec 10, 1943	28	29	Honvéd	7	0	630	0	0	1
6	MD	Csaba Vidáts	Nov 22, 1947	25	15	Vasas SC	2	0	157	1	0	1
7	MD	Mihály Kozma	Nov 1, 1949	22	6	Honvéd	4	1	347	1	0	0
8	FW	Kálmán Tóth	Aug 13, 1944	27	0	Tatabánya	5	1	294	0	2	0
9	FW	Antal Dunai	Mar 21, 1943	29	24	Újpesti Dózsa	7	7	602	2	0	0
10	MD	Lajos Kü	Jul 5, 1948	24	5	Ferencváros	6	2	290	2	3	1
11	FW	Béla Várady	Apr 12, 1945	27	0	Vasas SC	5	2	377	0	1	0
12	MD	József Kovács	Apr 8, 1949	23	3	Videoton	3	0	270	0	0	0
13	GK	Imre Rapp	Sep 15, 1937	34	0	Pécsi Mecsek FC	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	DF	Ede Dunai	Jun 14, 1949	23	6	Újpesti Dózsa	5	3	450	0	0	1
15	MD	László Branikovits	Dec 18, 1949	22	2	Ferencváros	3	0	194	0	1	1
16	DF	László Bálint	Feb 1, 1948	24	8	Ferencváros	5	0	450	0	0	1
17	MD	Lajos Kocsis	Jun 17, 1947	25	18	Honvéd	6	1	349	3	2	0
18	FW	István Básti	Sep 19, 1944	27	?	Salgótarjáni	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	GK	Ádám Rothermel	Jun 14, 1948	24	9	Tatabánya	1	0	20	0	1	0

Iran

Head coach: Mahmoud Bayati

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Reza Ghoflsaz	Feb 21, 1950	22	?	Pas	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Ebrahim Ashtiani	Jan 4, 1942	30	?	Persepolis	3	0	270	0	0	0
3	DF	Jafar Kashani	Mar 4, 1945	27	?	Persepolis	2	0	180	0	0	0
4	DF	Majid Halvaei	Jul 2, 1948	23	?	Pas	3	1	270	0	0	1
5	DF	Akbar Kargarjam	Dec 26, 1947	22	?	Taj	3	0	270	0	0	0
6	MD	Parviz Ghelichkhani	Dec 4, 1945	26	?	Pas	3	0	270	0	0	0
7	MD	Ali Parvin	Oct 12, 1946	25	?	Persepolis	3	0	270	0	0	0
8	MD	Ali Jabbari	Jul 20, 1946	22	?	Taj	1	0	63	1	0	0
9	MD	Mohammad Sadeghi	Mar 16, 1952	20	?	Pas	2	0	180	0	0	0
10	FW	Safar Iranpak	Dec 23, 1947	24	?	Persepolis	3	0	261	1	0	0
11	FW	Asghar Sharafi	Dec 22, 1942	29	?	Pas	1	0	90	0	0	0
12	MD	Gholam Vafakhah	Feb 23, 1946	25	?	Taj	3	0	207	0	1	0
13	MD	Javad Ghorab	Jul 30, 1941	31	?	Taj	1	0	90	0	0	0
14	FW	Mahmoud Khordbin	Sep 24, 1948	23	?	Persepolis	2	0	146	0	1	0
15	FW	Mehdi Lavasani	Jul 11, 1947	25	?	Taj	1	0	90	0	0	0
16	MD	Alireza Azizi	Jan 14, 1949	23	?	Homa	1	0	9	0	1	0
17	DF	Javad Allahverdi	Apr 9, 1952	20	?	Taj	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	DF	Mehdi Monajati	Jun 29, 1946	26	?	Pas	1	0	34	1	0	0
19	GK	Mansour Rashidi	Nov 12, 1948	23	?	Taj	3	0	270	0	0	0

Malaysia

Head coach: Jalil Che Din

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Wong Kam Fook	Dec. 03, 1949	23	?	Perak	3	0	207	1	0	0
2	DF	Abdullah Othman	Mar 13, 1945	27	?	Johor	3	0	270	0	0	0
3	DF	Soh Chin Aun	Jul 19, 1948	24	?	Selangor	3	0	270	0	0	0
4	DF	Namat Abdullah	Mar 12, 1945	27	?	Penang	3	0	270	0	0	0
5	DF	Mohamed Chandran	May 4, 1942	30	?	Selangor	3	0	270	0	0	0
6	FW	Khoo Huan Khen	Mar 27, 1951	21	?	Perak	0	0	0	0	0	0
7	MD	Hamzah Hussain	Aug 8, 1948	23	?	Kelantan	3	0	188	0	1	0
8	MD	Shahruddin Abdullah	Sep 29, 1949	22	?	Penang	3	1	248	1	0	0
9	MD	Wan Zawawi	Apr 11, 1949	23	?	Kelantan	3	1	270	0	0	0
10	DF	V. Krishnasamy	Jan 13, 1948	24	?	Perak	0	0	0	0	0	0
11	MD	Ibrahim Salleh	Nov 1, 1947	24	?	Terengganu	3	1	270	0	0	0
12	FW	Harun Jusoh			?	Kelantan	0	0	0	0	0	0
13	GK	Lim Fung Kee	Mar 24, 1950	22	?	Selangor	1	0	63	0	1	0
14	MD	Wong Choon Wah	Mar 31, 1947	25	?	Selangor	3	0	262	1	0	0
15	DF	Ali Bakar	Nov 18, 1947	24	?	Penang	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	MD	Mohammed Bakar	Jun 25, 1945	27	?	Penang	1	0	22	0	1	0
17	FW	Looi Loon Teik	Feb 15, 1945	27	?	Kedah	3	0	209	0	1	0
18	FW	Abdullah Rahim	Sep 12, 1947	24	?	Selangor	1	0	61	1	0	1
19	MD	Bahwandi Hiralal	Jun 1, 1951	21	?	Selangor	1	0	90	0	0	0

Mexico

Head coach: Diego Mercado

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Rogelio Ruiz	Aug 20, 1950	22	?	No club (amateur)	1	0	90	0	0	0
2		Jesús Rico	Jan 11, 1953	19	?	No club (amateur)	6	0	457	0	1	0
3		José Luis Trejo	Aug 4, 1951	20	?	No club (amateur)	6	0	540	0	0	0
4		Juan Manuel Álvarez	Apr 12, 1948	24	?	No club (amateur)	6	0	495	1	0	3
5		Enrique Martín	Dec 27, 1950	21	?	No club (amateur)	6	0	533	1	0	0
6		Alejandro Hernández	Mar 11, 1948	24	?	No club (amateur)	5	0	450	0	0	1
7		Fernando Blanco	Jun 4, 1951	21	?	No club (amateur)	5	0	434	1	0	0
8		Lorenzo Reyes	Aug 10, 1951	21	?	No club (amateur)	2	0	129	2	0	0
9		Manuel Manzo	May 10, 1952	20	?	No club (amateur)	6	1	483	1	1	0
10		Daniel Razo	Sep 26, 1950	21	?	No club (amateur)	5	1	437	0	0	0
11	MF	Leonardo Cuéllar	Jan 14, 1954	18	?	No club (amateur)	5	2	450	0	0	0
12	GK	Horacio Sánchez	Mar 27, 1953	19	?	No club (amateur)	5	0	450	0	0	0
13		Francisco Barba	Aug 7, 1953	19	?	No club (amateur)	1	0	90	0	0	0
14		Salvador Márquez	Dec 24, 1950	21	?	No club (amateur)	1	0	90	0	0	0
15		José Talavera	Aug 2, 1950	22	?	No club (amateur)	3	0	141	0	2	0
16		David Regalado	Jan 17, 1952	22	?	No club (amateur)	2	0	106	0	1	0
17		Alfredo Hernández	Jan 12, 1951	21	?	No club (amateur)	3	0	114	0	2	0
18		Alejandro Peña	Oct 20, 1949	22	?	No club (amateur)	4	0	360	0	0	0
19		Manuel Borja	Aug 29, 1949	22	?	No club (amateur)	1	0	90	0	0	1

Morocco

Head coach: Sabino Barinaga

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Allal Benkassou	Nov 30, 1941	31	?	FAR Rabat	0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	Boujemaa Benkhrif	Nov 30, 1947	25	?	KAC Kenitra	6	1	472	1	0	0
3	DF	Larbi Ihardane	Jun 6, 1954	18	?	Wydad Casablanca	6	0	540	0	0	2
4	DF	Abdallah Lamrani	1946	26	?	FAR Rabat	5	0	450	0	0	1
5		Khalifa El-Bakhti	1950	22	?	FAR Rabat	6	0	540	0	0	1
6	MD	Mustapha Yaghcha	Nov 7, 1952	19	?	Difaa El Jadida	6	0	408	3	2	1
7	MD	Abdallah Tazi	1945	27	?	MAS Fes	6	0	355	2	2	0
8	MD	Abdelâali Zahraoui	Jan 9, 1949	23	?	FAR Rabat	4	0	315	1	0	1
9	FW	Ahmed Faras	Dec 7, 1946	25	?	Mohammedia	5	3	450	0	0	1
10		Mohamed Zouita	1944		?	KAC Kenitra	3	1	146	0	2	0
11	MD	Maouhoub Ghazouani	1946	24	?	FAR Rabat	5	0	361	2	1	2 1
12	GK	Mohamed Hazzaz	Nov 30, 1944	26	?	MAS Fes	6	0	495	1	0	0
13		Abdelmajid Hadry	1952	20	?	Raja Casablanca	2	0	180	0	0	0
14		Ahmed Najah	1947	25	?	Raja Beni Mellal	5	0	426	1	0	1
15		Abdel Fattah Jafri	Feb 25, 1950	22	?	Sidi Kacem	1	0	24	0	0	0
16	FW	Mohamed El Filali	Jul 9, 1945	27	?	Mouloudia Oujda	6	1	479	0	1	0
17		Mustapha El-Zaghrari	1949	23	?	Wydad Casablanca	1	0	20	0	1	0
18	MD	Mohamed Merzaq	1951	21	?	Mouloudia Oujda	4	1	254	1	1	0
19	GK	Ahmed Belkorchi	1952	20	?	KAC Marrakech	1	0	45	0	1	0

Poland

Head coach: Kazimierz Górski

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Hubert Kostka	May 27, 1940	32	25	Górnik Zabrze	7	0	630	0	0	0
2	DF	Antoni Szymanowski	Jan 13, 1951	21	8	Wisła Kraków	6	0	540	0	0	0
3	DF	Jerzy Gorgoń	Jul 18, 1949	22	8	Górnik Zabrze	7	2	577	1	0	0
4	DF	Zygmunt Anczok	Mar 14, 1946	26	40	Górnik Zabrze	7	0	630	0	0	0
5	MD	Lesław Ćmikiewicz	Aug 25, 1948	23	8	Legia Warsaw	7	0	606	1	0	1
6	MD	Zygmunt Maszczyk	May 3, 1945	27	5	Ruch Chorzów	6	0	474	0	1	0
7	MD	Ryszard Szymczak	Dec 14, 1944	27	0	Gwardia Warsaw	2	0	22	0	2	0
8	MD	Zygfryd Szołtysik	Oct 24, 1942	29	41	Górnik Zabrze	5	1	308	2	2	1
9	MD	Kazimierz Deyna	Oct 23, 1947	24	26	Legia Warsaw	7	9	616	1	0	0
10	FW	Włodzimierz Lubański	Feb 28, 1947	25	51	Górnik Zabrze	7	2	630	0	0	0
11	FW	Robert Gadocha	Jan 10, 1946	26	22	Legia Warsaw	7	6	630	0	0	0
12	FW	Kazimierz Kmiecik	Sep 19, 1951	20	0	Wisła Kraków	3	1	225	1	0	0
13	DF	Jerzy Kraska	Dec 24, 1951	20	2	Gwardia Warsaw	6	0	376	1	2	0
14	DF	Marian Ostafiński	Dec 8, 1946	25	3	Ruch Chorzów	3	0	262	1	0	0
15	FW	Grzegorz Lato	Apr 8, 1950	22	2	Stal Mielec	1	0	45	0	1	0
16	FW	Joachim Marx	Aug 31, 1944	27	14	Ruch Chorzów	2	0	90	1	1	0
17	MD	Andrzej Jarosik	Nov 26, 1944	27	25	Zagłębie Sosnowiec	0	0	0	0	0	0
18	GK	Marian Szeja	Aug 20, 1941	30	8	Zagłębie Wałbrzych	0	0	0	0	0	0
19	DF	Zbigniew Gut	Apr 17, 1949	23	0	Odra Opole	4	0	269	1	1	0

Sudan

Head coach: Abdel-Fatah Hamad

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	El-Nur Abdel-Qadir			?		0	0	0	0	0	0
2	DF	El-Sir “Kaunda” Abdalla	1949	23	?	Al Merreikh	2	0	172	1	0	0
3	DF	Awad Koka	1947		?	Al Hilal	0	0	0	0	0	0
4	DF	Mahmoud “James” Said	1947		?	Al Tahrir	3	0	270	0	0	1
5	DF	Abdel-Qadir “Qadura” Morgan			?	Al Merreikh	0	0	0	0	0	0
6	DF	Negm El-Din Hassan (C)	1945		?	Al Nile (Khartoum)	3	0	270	0	0	0
7	MD	Ahmed Mohamed El-Bashir			?	Al Nile (Wad Madani)	1	0	50	1	0	0
8	MD	Bushara Abdel-Nadief	1947		?	Al Merreikh	3	0	270	0	0	0
9	MD	Ahmed Bushara Wahba	Jan 1, 1943	28	?	Al Merreikh	3	0	242	1	0	0
10	FW	Nasr Eddin “Jaksa” Abbas	Aug 13, 1944	27	?	Al Hilal	3	1	270	0	0	1
11	FW	Hasabu El-Sagheer	July 1, 1947	24	?	Burri	1	0	90	0	0	0
12	FW	Izz El-Din El-Aati			?		0	0	0	0	0	0
13	MD	El-Fadel Santo			?	Al Merreikh	0	0	0	0	0	0
14	FW	El-Mannan Mohsin Atta	1948	24	?	Al Tahrir	3	0	270	0	0	0
15	DF	Suliman Gafar Mohamed	1947	25	?	Al Ittihad	3	0	270	0	0	0
16	FW	Adam Mohamed Izz El-Din	1949	23	?	Al Hilal	3	0	126	0	2	1
17	MD	Ahmed Mohamed Sharaf El-Din	1938	34	?		2	0	180	0	0	0
18	FW	Abdu Mustafa	1946	26	?	Al Hilal	3	0	220	0	1	0
19	GK	Mohamed “Zaghbir” Abdel Fatah	1949	23	?	Al Hilal	3	0	270	0	0	0

United States

Head coach: Bob Guelker

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Club	Tournament games	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Mike Ivanow	Jan 9, 1948	24	University of San Francisco	2	180	0	0	0
2	DF	Casey Bahr	Sept 20, 1948	23	United States Navy	3	270	0	0	0
3	DF	John Bocwinski	Nov 22, 1936	35	Polonia SC	2	180	0	0	0
4	MD	Al Trost	Feb 7, 1949	23	St Louis University	2	97	0	1	0
5	DF	Horst Stemke	Mar 5, 1942	30	University of Wisconsin	3	270	0	0	1
6	MD	Neil Stam	Jan 7, 1942	30	German-American F.C.	3	270	0	0	0
7	FW	Archie Roboostoff	Oct 9, 1951	21	Condordia A.C.	3	270	0	0	0
8	FW	Mike Seerey	Oct 23, 1950	22	St Louis University	2	180	0	0	0
9	MD	John Carenza	Jan 30, 1950	22	Southern Illinois University	2	173	1	0	0
10	DF	Art Demling	Sept 21, 1948	23	Michigan State University	3	247	2	0	1
11	FW	Mani Hernandez	Aug 2, 1948	24	Grenadiers S.C.	2	180	0	0	0
12	FW	Steve Gay	Sept 1, 1957	25	UCLA	2	78	1	1	0
13	FW	Hugo Salcedo	Jan 25, 1946	26	Compton S.C.	2	180	0	0	0
14	MD	Joe Hamm	Nov 1, 1950	21	St Louis University	2	106	0	1	0
15	DF	Wally Ziaja	July 2, 1949	23	Bavarian Blue Ribbons	1	90	0	0	0
16	FW	Mike Flater	Jan 22, 1951	21	Colorado School of Mines	1	62	1	0	0
17	MD	Jim Zylker	Jan 11, 1951	21	San Jose State University	1	19	0	1	0
18	FW	Mike Margulis	Aug 30, 1950	21		1	68	0	1	0
19	GK	Shep Messing	Oct 9, 1949	22	Harvard University	1	90	0	0	0

Soviet Union

Head coach: Aleksandr Ponomarev

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Yevhen Rudakov	Jan 2, 1942	30	26	Dynamo Kiev	6	0	554	1	0	0
2	DF	Yuriy Istomin	Jul 3, 1944	27	28	CSKA Moscow	6	0	448	1	1	0
3	DF	Murtaz Khurtsilava	Jan 5, 1943	29	55	Dynamo Tbilisi	6	1	516	0	1	1
4	DF	Evgeny Lovchev	Jan 29, 1949	23	20	Spartak Moscow	6	0	525	0	1	0
5	DF	Volodymyr Kaplychnyi	Feb 26, 1944	28	41	CSKA Moscow	7	0	615	1	0	1
6	MD	Viktor Kolotov	Jul 3, 1949	23	17	Dynamo Kiev	6	3	570	0	0	1
7	FW	Volodymyr Onyshchenko	Oct 28, 1949	22	7	Zarya Voroshilovgrad	3	0	139	2	1	0
8	FW	Vyacheslav Semyonov	Aug 17, 1947	24	4	Zarya Voroshilovgrad	5	3	361	4	0	0
9	MD	Andrei Yakubik	Aug 24, 1950	21	0	FC Dynamo Moscow	2	0	169	0	1	0
10	MD	Anatoliy Kuksov	Nov 21, 1949	22	3	Zarya Voroshilovgrad	5	0	363	0	1	0
11	FW	Gennady Yevriuzhikin	Feb 4, 1944	28	27	FC Dynamo Moscow	6	1	491	1	0	0
12	DF	Revaz Dzodzuashvili	Apr 15, 1945	27	32	Dynamo Tbilisi	4	0	347	1	0	1
13	DF	Sergei Olshansky	May 28, 1948	24	1	Spartak Moscow	3	0	181	0	2	0
14	FW	Oganes Zanazanyan	Dec 10, 1946	25	0	Ararat Yerevan	6	1	479	1	1	0
15	MD	Arkady Andriasyan	Aug 11, 1947	24	1	Ararat Yerevan	4	0	267	1	2	1
16	MD	Yozhef Sabo	Feb 29, 1940	32	35	FC Dynamo Moscow	5	1	450	0	0	0
17	GK	Vladimir Pilguy	Jan 26, 1948	24	1	FC Dynamo Moscow	2	0	106	0	0	0
18	FW	Yuriy Yeliseyev	Sep 26, 1949	22	4	Zarya Voroshilovgrad	3	1	208	0	1	0
19	FW	Oleh Blokhin	Nov 5, 1952	21	2	Dynamo Kiev	6	6	486	1	1	0

West Germany

Head coach: Jupp Derwall

No.	Pos.	Player	DoB	Age	Caps	Club	Tournament games	Tournament goals	Minutes played	Sub off	Sub on	Cards yellow/red
1	GK	Günther Wienhold	Jan 21, 1948	24	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	5	0	450	0	0	0
2	DF	Heiner Baltes	Sep 19, 1949	22	0	Fortuna Düsseldorf	6	0	517	1	0	1
3	DF	Reiner Hollmann	Sep 30, 1949	22	0	Rot-Weiß Oberhausen	3	0	225	1	0	0
4	DF	Egon Schmitt	Nov 12, 1948	23	0	Kickers Offenbach	6	0	540	0	0	0
5	DF	Friedhelm Haebermann	Jul 24, 1946	26	0	Eintracht Braunschweig	6	0	540	0	0	0
6	DF	Hartwig Bleidick	Dec 26, 1944	27	2	Borussia Mönchengladbach	3	0	270	0	0	0
7	MD	Hermann Bitz	Sep 21, 1950	21	0	Kaiserslautern	6	1	527	1	0	1
8	MD	Rudolf Seliger	Sep 20, 1951	20	0	MSV Duisburg	6	2	291	2	3	0
9	FW	Klaus Wunder	Sep 13, 1950	21	0	MSV Duisburg	2	0	123	2	0	0
10	FW	Uli Hoeneß	Jan 5, 1952	20	2	Bayern München	5	1	450	0	0	0
11	FW	Ronald Worm	Oct 7, 1953	18	0	MSV Duisburg	6	1	296	2	3	0
12	DF	Dieter Mietz	Sep 3, 1943	28	0	Borussia Dortmund	1	0	23	0	1	0
13	MD	Bernd Nickel	Mar 15, 1949	23	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	6	6	540	0	0	1
14	DF	Manfred Kaltz	Jan 6, 1953	19	0	Hamburg	1	0	13	0	1	0
15	DF	Hans-Dieter Seelmann	Sep 18, 1952	19	0	1860 München	0	0	0	0	0	0
16	MD	Jürgen Kalb	May 20, 1948	24	0	Eintracht Frankfurt	6	1	470	1	1	0
17	FW	Ottmar Hitzfeld	Jan 12, 1949	23	0	FC Basel	6	5	462	0	1	0
18	FW	Ewald Hammes	Aug 4, 1950	21	0	SG Wattenscheid 09	2	0	83	1	1	0
19	GK	Hans-Jürgen Bradler	Sep 12, 1948	23	0	VfL Bochum	1	0	90	0	0	0

FIRST ROUND

4 groups of 4 teams.  Best two to qualify for the semi-final groups.

Group 1  [West Germany and Morocco qualify]

1. West Germany    XXX 3-0 3-0 7-0  3  0  0  13- 0  6
2. Morocco             XXX 6-0 0-0  1  1  1   6- 3  3
3. Malaysia                XXX 3-0  1  0  2   3- 9  2
4. USA                         XXX  0  1  2   0-10  1

Group 2  [Soviet Union and Mexico qualify]

1. Soviet Union    XXX 4-1 1-0 2-1  3  0  0   7- 2  6
2. Mexico              XXX 1-0 1-0  2  0  1   3- 4  4
3. Burma                   XXX 2-0  1  0  2   2- 2  2
4. Sudan                       XXX  0  0  3   1- 5  0

Group 3  [Hungary and Denmark qualify]

1. Hungary         XXX 2-0 5-0 2-2  2  1  0   9- 2  5
2. Denmark             XXX 4-0 3-2  2  0  1   7- 4  4
3. Iran                    XXX 1-0  1  0  2   1- 9  2
4. Brazil                      XXX  0  1  2   4- 6  1

Group 4  [Poland and East Germany qualify]

1. Poland          XXX 2-1 5-1 4-0  3  0  0  11- 2  6
2. East Germany        XXX 6-1 4-0  2  0  1  11- 3  4
3. Colombia                XXX 3-1  1  0  2   5-12  2
4. Ghana                       XXX  0  0  3   1-11  0

SECOND ROUND

Group A

1. Poland          XXX 2-1 1-1 5-0  2  1  0   8- 2  5
2. Soviet Union        XXX 4-0 3-0  2  0  1   8- 2  4
3. Denmark                 XXX 3-1  1  1  1   4- 6  3
4. Morocco                     XXX  0  0  3   1-11  0

Group B

1. Hungary         XXX 2-0 4-1 2-0  3  0  0   8- 1  6
2. East Germany        XXX 3-2 7-0  2  0  1  10- 4  4
3. West Germany            XXX 1-1  0  1  2   4- 8  1
4. Mexico                      XXX  0  1  2   1-10  1

MATCH FOR THIRD PLACE

Soviet Union     2-2 East Germany (aet)

Bronze medals shared.
Years later the Soviet team doctor revealed that the match with DDR was fixed by request of the Soviet coach.

FINAL

München, September 10, 1972
Poland           2-1 Hungary
Poland: Kostka - Gut, Cmikiewicz, Gorgon, Anczok, Szoltysik, Deyna
        (Szymczak), Kraska, Maszczyk, Lubanski, Gadocha.
Hungary: Geczi - Vepi, Pancsics, Juhasz, Szuzc, Kozma, A Dunai (Toth),
         Ku (Kocsis), Varadi, E Dunai, Balint.

Referee: Tschenscher (West Germany)
Attendance: 50,000.

Scorers: 42' Varadi 0-1; 47' Deyna 1-1; 68' Deyna 2-1.
Hungary won the silver medals. 
Olympic champions for the first time. And the rise of Polish team began, culminating at the 1974 World Cup.
Top scorers: Deyna (Poland)         9 goals
             A Dunai (Hungary)      7 goals
             Blokhin (Soviet Union) 6 goals
             Gadocha (Poland)       6 goals
             Straich (East Germany) 6 goals
             Nikkel (West Germany)  6 goals
Hungary in front getting the silver medals.
Olympic gold for Poland.

August 31, 2026August 31, 2026

European Championship 1/4 Finals

The quarterfinals for the European Championship were in the spring of 1972. Only two of the 8 teams did not play in the World Cup 1970 – Hungary and Yugoslavia. The draw played a cruel joke: England paired with West Germany and the weaker Hungarian and Romanian teams were to play against each other. Yugoslavia and USSR were considered equal and difficult to predict, and finally – Italy had the easiest lot against Belgium. The only ‘predictable’ ¼ final proved how unpredictable football is: Belgium eliminated Italy, after scoreless 0-0 at Milan, and 2-1 win at Brussels.

In front of Van den Daele (5), Piot wins the ball against Riva. Belgium won 2-1 and qualified.

Yugoslavia and USSR were considered equal, yet the Yugoslavs were slightly favoured, having the great left winger Dragan Djajic in their squad. But Yugoslavia were also known for underperforming at important tournaments. Scoreless 0-0 in Belgrade left possibilities open for both teams, however, with better chances for the Soviets this time. They won 3-0 – after the first goal the Yugoslavs, quite typically, collapsed.

A. Banishevsky (in white) scores the second goal in 74^th minute in the Moscow’s second leg. Paunovic (in front of Banishevsky) is late and hopeless.

90^th minute – E. Kozinkevich makes it 3-0. Kozinkevich, like Banishevsky, was a rarity in the Soviet squad – playing for small provincial club: Karpaty (Lvov) (see earlier posting). Banishevsky played for Neftchi (Baku).

Russians to the ½ finals – Revaz Dzodzuashvili waives and smiles after the final whistle. Russians? Well, in terms of USSR. By today’s measure, not so – Dzodzuashvili is Georgian, Banishevsky – Azerbaijani (although an ethnic Russian), and Kozinkevich – Ukrainian.

Romania and Hungary, technically the ‘outsiders’, had to play three games until reaching a winner: 1-1 in Budapest; 2-2 in Bucharest; and finally Hungary outwitted their neighbours 2-1 at neutral Belgrade.

A moment from the Bucharest leg: Nunweiler VI of Romania gets ahead of Szucz (Hungary, at the left). The Romanian playmaker was part of great footballing dynasty – he was the 6^th (as his media name shows) Nunweiler gracing Romanian football. Alas, Hungary went ahead (they had players with Roman numbers attached to their names too.)

Hungary got some attention – there was some hope this new crop may have been a revival of the great 1950s… at least media articles give such impression:

Hungary managing measly 1-1 against France in Budapest. The qualification group was barely won by the Hungarians.

But some quality was quickly invented: at top, Szusz keeps an eye on Georges Lech (France). Bottom, left: Kalman Meszoly was considered the ‘conductor’ of Hungarian defense. Already 30 years old, Meszoly was not that impressive, as journalists suggested. He became coach of the Hungarian national team in the 1980s. On the right: Ferenc Bene – the leader of Hungarian attack, and the real star. He was supposed to be glorious continuation of tradition, stretching from Ladislao Kubala in the 1940s through Ferenc Puskas in the 50s, through Florian Albert in the 60s, and on, and on, through Bene… But he never reached the class of the legends. Today Bene is largely a club legend of Ujpest (Budapest), but not a legendary national player.

New kids to continue Hungarian glory: the goalkeeper Rothermel guarded by his club teammate Laczko in domestic league match in 1971-72 season. Their club – Tatabanya – was small one. Rothermel never became star goalkeeper – he was mostly second goalie in the national team. However, he was good enough to move to a better club – he became teammate of Ferenc Bene in Ujpest Dosza (Budapest), arguably, the best Hungarian club in the 1970s.

Lajos Kocsis, from Honved (Budapest), was considered one of the young hopes of Hungarian football. He was 25 years old in 1972, having played in the Olympics 1968, so it is hard to see why he was considered ‘a hope for the future’.

Contrary to journalistic prognostics, Rothermel did not play at the finals; Kocsis was replaced in the ½ final and was not fielded in the match for the third place; and Meszoly was not even in the squad at the final stage of the championship.

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026

African Championship

African Nations Cup 1972

Qualifying Tournament

Sudan qualify as holders Cameroon qualify as hosts

First Round

10-12-70 Algeria 3-1 Morocco

27-12-70 Morocco 3-0 Algeria

3- 1-71 Egypt 2-1 Libya

13- 7-71 Libya 0-1 Egypt

29-11-70 Ethiopia 0-1 Kenya

15-12-70 Kenya 2-0 Ethiopia

8-11-70 Gabon 1-2 Ivory Coast

22-11-70 Ivory Coast 1-0 Gabon

Ghana w/o Upper Volta

18- 8-71 Guinea 1-0 Senegal

1- 9-71 Senegal 0-0 Guinea

15-11-70 Madagascar 2-1 Mauritius

29-11-70 Mauritius 4-1 Madagascar

12-12-70 Niger 0-1 Mali

27-12-70 Mali 3-1 Niger

8-11-70 Nigeria 0-0 Congo

22-11-70 Congo 2-1 Nigeria

15-10-70 Tanzania 1-1 Zambia

1-11-70 Zambia 5-1 Tanzania

8-11-70 Togo 2-1 Dahomey

22-11-70 Dahomey 0-0 Togo

8-11-70 Uganda 1-4 Zaire

24-11-70 Zaire 1-0 Uganda

Second Round

13-10-71 Guinea 0-0 Mali

27-10-71 Mali 3-1 Guinea [Mali qualify]

13-10-71 Ivory Coast 3-2 Congo

27-10-71 Congo 2-0 Ivory Coast [Congo qualify]

4- 7-71 Kenya 2-1 Mauritius

18- 7-71 Mauritius 0-0 Kenya [Kenya qualify]

13-10-71 Morocco 3-0 Egypt

27-10-71 Egypt 3-2 Morocco [Morocco qualify]

13-10-71 Togo 0-0 Ghana

27-10-71 Ghana 0-1 Togo [Togo qualify]

13-10-71 Zambia 2-1 Zaire

27-10-71 Zaire 3-0 Zambia [Zaire qualify]

Final Tournament (Cameroon)

Sudan qualify as holders Cameroon qualify as hosts

Group A

Cameroon

Coach: Peter Schnittger

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Zacharie “Jean-Parade” Egoué
	GK	Bernard M’Bengalack				Diamant Yaoundé
	GK	Moïse Essombé

	DF	Norbert Owona				Union Douala
	DF	Apollin Simo
	DF	Paul N’Lend
	DF	Jean-Paul Akono	1 January 1952 (aged 20)
	DF	Michel Kaham	1 June 1952 (aged 19)
	DF	Gustave Evou Boulon
	DF	François Bekombo Kwedi				Caïman Douala

	MF	Jean-Marie Tsébo
	MF	Jean Moutassié
6	MF	Emmanuel Mvé
8	MF	Paul-Gaston Ndongo
	MF	Emmanuel Eteme

9	FW	Charles Léa	16 January 1951 (aged 21)			Canon Yaoundé
	FW	Philippe Mouthé
	FW	Jean Manga Onguéné	12 June 1946 (aged 25)			Canon Yaoundé
18	FW	Jean-Pierre Tokoto	26 January 1948 (aged 24)			Olympique de Marseille
15	FW	Joseph Yegba Maya	8 April 1944 (aged 27)			US Valenciennes
11	FW	Jean-Baptiste Ndoga
	FW	Dieudonné Bassanguen

Kenya

Coach: Eckhard Krautzun

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	James Siang’a	1949 (aged 22 or 23)			Gor Mahia
	DF	Jonathan Niva				Gor Mahia
	DF	Austin Oduor
	DF	Samson Odore				Kenya Breweries
	DF	Charles Makunda
	DF	Daniel Anyanzwa
	MF	Peter “Pelé” Ouma
	MF	Allan Thigo				Gor Mahia
	MF	Jackson Aluko				Gor Mahia
	FW	John Nyawanga
	FW	Chege Ouma
	FW	Nicodémus Arudhi
	FW	John Chore				Gor Mahia
	MF	Stephen Yongo				Gor Mahia

Mali

Coach: Karl-Heinz Weigang

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Séydou Traoré
	GK	Bassirou Diamoutèné
1	GK	Mamadou Keïta	20 October 1947 (aged 24)			Stade Malien

	DF	Talibé Diané
4	DF	Kidian Diallo	1944			AS Real Bamako
12	DF	Moctar Maïga
	DF	Idrissa Maiga
	DF	Checkna Traoré
	DF	Idrissa Coulibaly
3	DF	Cheick Sangaré

18	MF	Adama Traoré
6	MF	Boubacar Traoré
8	MF	Ousmane Traoré

14	FW	Bako Touré	7 December 1939 (aged 32)			Blois
	FW	Issa Yatayasse
10	FW	Salif Keïta	8 December 1946 (aged 25)			Saint-Étienne
19	FW	Moussa Traoré	2 December 1952 (aged 19)			Stade Malien
20	FW	Sadia Cissé	15 April 1944 (aged 27)			Djoliba AC
17	FW	Moussa Diakhité
11	FW	Fantamady Keita	25 September 1949 (aged 22)			AS Real Bamako
	FW	Cheikh Diallo
	FW	Idrissa Kanté

Togo

Coach: Gottlieb Göller

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Tommy Sylvestre	31 August 1946 (aged 25)			Étoile Filante de Lomé

	DF	Damawuzan Ayitégan
	DF	Ohin Anyaku
	DF	Hermann Hunkpati (C)	1945 (aged 26 or 27)			Modèle de Lomé
	DF	Sanni Kponton

	MF	Emmanuel Atsou
	MF	Luc Agbala	23 September 1947 (aged 24)			Dynamic Togolais
	MF	Michel Sokpo
	MF	Arnold Nyémébuéo

	FW	Omer Sadji
	FW	Edmond Apéti Kaolo	1946 (aged 25 or 26)
	FW	Covi Adé
	FW	Clément Kpadé
	FW	Pindra Sawoè

Group B

Congo

Coach: Adolphe “Amoyen” Bibandzoulou

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
1	GK	Maxime Matsima	18 November 1940 (aged 31)			Diables Noirs
	GK	Emmanuel Mboungou				CARA Brazzaville
	GK	Paul Tandou				Diables Noirs

	DF	Serge Samuel Boukaka	1942 (aged 29 or 30)			Étoile du Congo
2	DF	Gabriel Dengaki	7 November 1952 (aged 19)			Étoile du Congo
5	DF	Jacques Yvon Ndolou (Captain)	3 May 1944 (aged 27)			Inter Club Brazzaville
4	DF	Joseph Ngassaki	8 November 1941 (aged 30)			CARA Brazzaville
3	DF	Alphonse Niangou				Diables Noirs
8	DF	Gabriel Samba	1942 (aged 29 or 30)			Diables Noirs

18	MF	Jean-Bertrand Balékita	6 January 1948 (aged 24)			SC Toulon
12	MF	Joseph Matongo				Diables Noirs
	MF	Emmanuel Mayanda	18 February 1950 (aged 22)			CARA Brazzaville
	MF	Paul Mbemba				Inter Club Brazzaville
	MF	Félix Mfoutou				Avenir du Rail Ouenzé
6	MF	Noël Minga	12 July 1947 (aged 24)			Inter Club Brazzaville

20	FW	François M’Pelé	13 July 1947 (aged 24)			AC Ajaccio
7	FW	Jonas Bahamboula	2 February 1949 (aged 23)			Diables Noirs
10	FW	Paul Moukila	6 June 1950 (aged 21)			Inter Club Brazzaville
19	FW	Jean-Michel M’Bono	27 January 1946 (aged 26)			Étoile du Congo
	FW	Augustin Ndouli				Patronage Sainte-Anne
11	FW	Jean-Michel Ongagna				Étoile du Congo
	FW	Gilbert Poaty				Vita Club Mokanda

Morocco

Coach: Sabino Barinaga

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Allal Benkassou	1941
	DF	Ahmed Najah
	DF	Larbi Ihardane
	DF	Abdallah Lamrani	1946
	DF	Boujemaa Benkhrif	1947
	DF	Abdelkader El Khiati	1945
	MF	Larbi Chebbak
	MF	Mohamed Maaroufi	1947
	MF	Maouhoub Ghazouani	1948
	MF	Mustapha Choukri	1947
	FW	Abdallah Tazi	1945
	FW	Ahmed Faras	7 December 1946 (aged 25)			Chabab Mohammedia
	FW	Mohamed El Filali	9 July 1945 (aged 26)
	FW	Redouane Guezzar

Sudan

Coach: Abdel-Fattah Hamad Abu-Zeid

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Mohamed “Zaghbir” Abdel Fatah				Al-Hilal Club
	GK	El-Sayed El-Masri
	DF	El-Sir Kaunda				Al-Merreikh SC
	DF	Awad Koka	1947			Al-Hilal Club
	DF	Mahmoud “James” Said Salim	1947			Al-Tahrir SC (Bahri)
	DF	Abdelgadir Mohamed
	MF	Negm El-Din Hassan (C)	1945			Al Neel SC (Khartoum)
	MF	Ahmed Bushara Wahba	1 January 1943 (aged 29)			Al-Merrikh SC
	MF	Mutassim Hammori
	MF	Bushara Abdel-Nadief				Al-Merreikh SC
	MF	Abdel Kafi El-Sheikh
	MF	Mohsin El-Mannan
	FW	Hasabu El-Sagheer	1 July 1947 (aged 24)			Burri SC
	FW	Jadallah Kheirelseid				Al-Merrikh SC
	FW	Kamal Abdelwahab				Al-Merrikh SC
	FW	Mohamed Hussein “Kassala”				Al-Hilal Club

Zaire

Coach: Blagoje Vidinić

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Goals	Club
	GK	Pombi Litinda
	GK	Kazadi Mwamba	6 March 1947 (aged 24)

	DF	Joseph Lungwila
	DF	Bwanga Tshimen	4 January 1949 (aged 23)			TP Mazembe
	DF	Mwanza Mukombo	17 December 1945 (aged 26)
	DF	Julien Kialunda	24 April 1940 (aged 31)			Anderlecht

	MF	Kidumu Mantantu	17 November 1946 (aged 25)			CS Imana
	MF	Kilasu Massamba	22 December 1950 (aged 21)
	MF	Léonard Saïdi	24 November 1941 (aged 30)			TP Mazembe
	MF	Tshinabu Wa Munda	8 May 1946 (aged 25)			TP Mazembe
	MF	Kafula Ngoie	11 November 1945 (aged 26)
	MF	Benjamin Mutombo

	FW	Mayanga Maku	31 October 1948 (aged 23)
	FW	Kakoko Etepe	22 November 1950 (aged 21)			CS Imana
	FW	Jean Kalala N’Tumba	7 January 1949 (aged 23)

Group A (Yaoundé) 23- 2-72 Cameroon 2-1 Kenya [N’Doga 7, Ngondo 20; Niva 44] 24- 2-72 Mali 3-3 Togo [Bakary Traoré 10, Fantamady Keita 46, Bako Traoré 49; Kaolo (pen) 45, 60, 81] [Mali: Séydou Traoré, Idrissa Coulibaly, Cheick Sangaré, Kidian Diallo, Cheikna Traoré, Bakary Traoré, Ousmane Traoré, Gigla, Bako Touré, Salif Keita, Fantamady Keita; Togo: Tommy Sylvestre, Sanvi Kponton, Ohin Anyaku, da Silveira Adjévi, Hunkpati Messan dit Ressort, Fiaty Nyémébuéo Arnold, Agbala Luc Watékou, Sokpo, Sadji, Apeti Edmond “Dr Kaolo”, Mébounou Kpadé Clément; coach: Gottlieb Goeller; ref: Ickias (Congo)] 26- 2-72 Mali 1-1 Kenya [Fantamady Keita 45; Nicodemus (other sources: Aluka) 60] 26- 2-72 Cameroon 2-0 Togo [Joseph Maya 64, Emmanuel Mvé 79] [Cameroon: M’Bengalack Michel Kaham, Paul N’Lend, Jean-Paul Akono, Simo Emmanuel Mvé, Gaston Ngondo “Overath”, François Doumbe “Léa”, Joseph Maya, Jean-Pierre Tokoto, Gaston Paul N’Doga “Jair”; Coach: Peter Schnittger; Togo: Tommy Sylvestre, Sanvi Kponton, da Silveira Adjévi, Ressort, Ohin A., Fiaty, Agbala, Sokpo, Sadji, Kaolo, Mébounou Kpadé; Coach: Gottlieb Goeller; ref: Babikr Eissa (Sudan)] 28- 2-72 Togo 1-1 Kenya [Kaolo 60; Ouma Peter (other sources: Niva) 30] [Togo: Tommy Sylvestre, Ohin Anyaku, Hunkpati Messan “Ressort”, da Silveira Adjévi, Ayitégan, Fiaty Nyémébuéo Arnold, Atsou, Sokpo, Kaolo, Akakpo, Mébounou Kpadé Clément; Coach: Gottlieb Goeller; Kenya: Sianga, Makunda, Anyanzwa, Odore, Niva, Thigo, Aluko, Ouma Peter, Madewga Nicodémus, Chege, Niawan; ref: Aouissi (Algeria)] 28- 2-72 Cameroon 1-1 Mali [François Doumbe ‘Léa’ 67; Fantamady Keita 43]

1.CAMEROON 3 2 1 0 5- 2 5

2.MALI 3 0 3 0 5- 5 3

3.Kenya 3 0 2 1 3- 4 2

4.Togo 3 0 2 1 4- 6 2

Group B (Douala)

25- 2-72 Congo 1-1 Morocco [Moukila 45; Faras 34] 25- 2-72 Zaire 1-1 Sudan [Matanga 53; Hasabu 55] 27- 2-72 Morocco 1-1 Sudan [Faras 32; Bushara 49] 27- 2-72 Zaire 2-0 Congo [Ntumba 16, 59] 29- 2-72 Morocco 1-1 Zaire [Faras 3; Mayanga 36] 29- 2-72 Congo 4-2 Sudan [M’Bono 8, 55, M’Pelé 32, Banamboula 46; Kamal 37, Bushara 44]

1.ZAIRE 3 1 2 0 4- 2 4

2.CONGO 3 1 1 1 5- 5

3 Morocco 3 0 3 0 3- 3 3

4.Sudan 3 0 2 1 4- 6 2

Congo qualified by drawing of lots

Semifinals (Yaoundé)

2- 3-72 Cameroon 0-1 Congo [Minga 31] (Douala)

2- 3-72 Zaire 3-4 Mali [aet] [Ntuma 6, Kakoko 61, Ngassebe 78; A.Traoré 17, Touré 68, F.Keita 48, 92]

Third Place Match (Yaoundé)

4- 3-72 Cameroon 5-2 Zaire [Akono (pen) 4, Ndongo 31, Owona 32, Mouthé 34, N’Doga 42; Kakoko 13, Mayanga 17]

Host Cameroon ended with bronze mwdals

Final (Yaoundé)

5- 3-72 Congo 3-2 Mali [M’Bono 57, 59, M’Pelé 63; Moussa Diakhité 42, Moussa Traoré 75] Congo’s captain Ndoulou gets the champion’s cup.

Mali finished with silver medals.

Bottom row from left: Amoyen – coach, Matsima, Mboungou, Tandou, Oba – assistant coach, Mayala – assistant coach

2^nd row: Ndoulé Ryno, François Mpélé, Mbono, Mbemba Thoney, Moukila, Mayanda, Bahamboula Tostao, Matongo Soucous.

3rd row : Poaty Hidalgo, Minga Pépé, Baleckita, Mfoutou, Ongagna.

Top row : Samba, Boukaka, Niangou, Dengaki, Ndolou, Ngassaki.

August 28, 2026August 28, 2026

Champions Cup Continued

If the Albanians look clumsy, they were not alone:

Wacker (Innsbruck) clearly was no match of Benfica (Lisbon). Fear and trembling, when Jaime Graca cannoned the ball in the direction of the Austrian net. Benfica was in decline, but still was much, much stronger team than any Austrian one.

The next round opposed Benfica to CSKA (Sofia) and the Bulgarians were gone. CSKA – Benfica was tough fixture. Benfica won with difficulty – and here CSKA attacks once again. Attacks, attacks, but goals count, not fancy dribbling.

Then Benfica faced Ajax to their own peril – the eliminations proceeded logically: the better clubs eliminated the weak. May be too logically… looks like boring, predictable tournament. Except for the bomb in the 1/8-finals – Inter (Milan) met Borussia (Moenchengladbach) and lost the first leg 7-1. The attacking Germans trashed the old-fashioned slow and defensive Italians – good bye, 60-s! For ever! Well, not so fast… Italian football is more than football: during the game so obviously lost, Roberto Boninsegna dropped dead… allegedly, hit by a beer can thrown by the German fans. He never recovered – as long as this match lasted. Inter protested to UEFA, Borussia was punished – the result was annulled, and the match had to be replayed, but not on home ground. Meantime the original second leg was played in Milan, and Inter, with miraculously recovered Boninsegna, won 4-2. Now Inter had the edge, and splendidly killed the game in West Berlin to the beloved Italian result: 0-0. Classic Italian performance: if the opposition is too much, then simulations, appeals, butchered football, wining, kicking, and spitting, win games. It was scandalous, but at the end who cares? Certainly not the Italians – they reached the final, proving once again that football is not restricted to the pitch. Nothing is lost until UEFA rules on contestations and protests. Bribes are handy too… whatever takes to advance. Outscoring and outplaying the other team is of tiny importance, if important at all.

Thus, preliminary stages went in the fall, sifting and reducing the teams for serious spring action. Club tournaments, but also the national teams were reaching the last stages of the European Championship. By right, the top tournament of the year 1972, so no more clubs for awhile. At least we are in 1972 now, not in the limbo 1971-72… may be.

August 25, 2026August 25, 2026

European Championship Finals

Final Tournament (in Belgium)

Belgium

Manager: Raymond Goethals

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	GK	Christian Piot	6 October 1947 (aged 24)	23	Standard Liège
2	DF	Georges Heylens	8 August 1941 (aged 30)	60	Anderlecht
3	DF	Léon Dolmans	6 April 1945 (aged 27)	5	Standard Liège
4	DF	Jean Thissen	21 April 1946 (aged 26)	23	Standard Liège
5	MF	Erwin Vandendaele	5 March 1945 (aged 27)	11	Club Brugge
6	FW	Jean Dockx	24 May 1941 (aged 31)	20	Anderlecht
7	MF	Leon Semmeling	4 January 1940 (aged 32)	28	Standard Liège
8	DF	Maurice Martens	5 June 1947 (aged 25)	4	Molenbeek
9	FW	Raoul Lambert	20 October 1944 (aged 27)	13	Club Brugge
10	FW	Paul van Himst (captain)	2 October 1943 (aged 28)	65	Anderlecht
11	MF	Jan Verheyen	9 July 1944 (aged 27)	15	Anderlecht
12	GK	Luc Sanders	6 October 1945 (aged 26)	0	Club Brugge
13	DF	Gilbert van Binst	5 July 1951 (aged 20)	0	Anderlecht
14	FW	Odilon Polleunis	1 May 1943 (aged 29)	15	Sint-Truidense
15	FW	Jacques Teugels	3 August 1946 (aged 25)	7	Molenbeek
16	MF	John Thio	2 September 1944 (aged 27)	17	Club Brugge
21	FW	Frans Janssens	25 September 1945 (aged 26)	6	Lierse

Hungary

Manager: Rudolf Illovszky

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	GK	István Géczi	13 June 1944 (aged 28)	13	Ferencváros
2	DF	Tibor Fábián	26 July 1946 (aged 25)	9	Vasas
3	DF	Miklós Páncsics	4 February 1944 (aged 28)	28	Ferencváros
4	DF	Péter Juhász	3 August 1948 (aged 23)	15	Újpesti Dózsa
5	FW	Lajos Szűcs	10 December 1943 (aged 28)	28	Budapesti Honvéd
6	DF	László Bálint	1 February 1948 (aged 24)	6	Ferencváros
7	MF	István Szőke	13 February 1947 (aged 25)	8	Ferencváros
8	MF	Lajos Kocsis	17 June 1947 (aged 24)	17	Budapesti Honvéd
9	FW	Ferenc Bene (captain)	17 December 1944 (aged 27)	60	Újpesti Dózsa
10	MF	Lajos Kű	5 July 1948 (aged 23)	3	Ferencváros
11	FW	Sándor Zámbó	10 October 1944 (aged 27)	24	Újpesti Dózsa
12	MF	István Juhász	17 July 1945 (aged 26)	13	Ferencváros
15	FW	Antal Dunai	21 March 1943 (aged 29)	22	Újpesti Dózsa
16	MF	József Kovács	8 April 1949 (aged 23)	3	Videoton
20	MF	Mihály Kozma	1 November 1949 (aged 22)	5	Budapesti Honvéd
22	GK	Imre Rapp	15 September 1937 (aged 34)	0	Pécsi MSC
24	MF	Flórián Albert	15 September 1941 (aged 30)	72	Ferencváros

Soviet Union

Manager: Aleksandr Ponomarev

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	GK	Yevhen Rudakov	2 January 1942 (aged 30)	23	Dynamo Kyiv
2	DF	Revaz Dzodzuashvili	10 April 1945 (aged 27)	28	Dinamo Tbilisi
3	MF	Murtaz Khurtsilava (captain)	5 January 1943 (aged 29)	52	Dinamo Tbilisi
4	DF	Nikolay Abramov	5 January 1950 (aged 22)	2	Spartak Moscow
5	DF	Viktor Matviyenko	9 November 1948 (aged 23)	6	Dynamo Kyiv
6	MF	Viktor Kolotov	3 July 1949 (aged 22)	14	Dynamo Kyiv
7	DF	Vladimir Troshkin	28 September 1947 (aged 24)	5	Dynamo Kyiv
8	MF	Anatoly Baidachny	1 October 1952 (aged 19)	3	Dynamo Moscow
9	FW	Anatoliy Banishevskiy	23 December 1946 (aged 25)	48	Neftchi Baku
10	MF	Vladimir Muntyan	14 September 1946 (aged 25)	29	Dynamo Kyiv
11	MF	Oleg Dolmatov	29 November 1948 (aged 23)	6	Dynamo Moscow
12	DF	Vladimir Kaplichny	26 May 1944 (aged 28)	38	CSKA Moscow
13	DF	Yuri Istomin	3 July 1944 (aged 27)	26	CSKA Moscow
14	MF	Anatoliy Konkov	19 September 1949 (aged 22)	8	Shakhtar Donetsk
15	FW	Eduard Kozynkevych	23 May 1949 (aged 23)	5	Karpaty Lviv
16	FW	Givi Nodia	2 January 1948 (aged 24)	18	Dinamo Tbilisi
18	FW	Volodymyr Onyshchenko	28 October 1949 (aged 22)	1	Zorya Voroshylovhrad
19	GK	Vladimir Pilguy	26 January 1948 (aged 24)	1	Dynamo Moscow
20	GK	Viktor Bannikov	28 April 1938 (aged 34)	12	Torpedo Moscow
21	DF	Mykhailo Fomenko	19 September 1948 (aged 23)	0	Dynamo Kyiv
22	FW	Levon Ishtoyan	3 September 1947 (aged 24)	6	Ararat Yerevan

West Germany

Manager: Helmut Schön

No.	Pos.	Player	Date of birth (age)	Caps	Club
1	GK	Sepp Maier	28 February 1944 (aged 28)	40	Bayern Munich
2	DF	Horst-Dieter Höttges	10 September 1943 (aged 28)	53	Werder Bremen
3	DF	Paul Breitner	5 September 1951 (aged 20)	7	Bayern Munich
4	DF	Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck	3 April 1948 (aged 24)	12	Bayern Munich
5	DF	Franz Beckenbauer (captain)	11 September 1945 (aged 26)	61	Bayern Munich
6	MF	Herbert Wimmer	9 November 1944 (aged 27)	16	Borussia Mönchengladbach
7	FW	Jürgen Grabowski	7 July 1944 (aged 27)	26	Eintracht Frankfurt
8	FW	Uli Hoeneß	5 January 1952 (aged 20)	10	Bayern Munich
9	FW	Jupp Heynckes	9 May 1945 (aged 27)	17	Borussia Mönchengladbach
10	MF	Günter Netzer	14 September 1944 (aged 27)	29	Borussia Mönchengladbach
11	FW	Erwin Kremers	23 March 1949 (aged 23)	2	Schalke 04
13	FW	Gerd Müller	3 November 1945 (aged 26)	40	Bayern Munich
14	DF	Berti Vogts	30 December 1946 (aged 25)	42	Borussia Mönchengladbach
15	MF	Rainer Bonhof	29 March 1952 (aged 20)	1	Borussia Mönchengladbach
16	DF	Michael Bella	29 September 1945 (aged 26)	4	MSV Duisburg
17	FW	Johannes Löhr	5 July 1942 (aged 29)	20	1. FC Köln
18	MF	Horst Köppel	17 May 1948 (aged 24)	9	Borussia Mönchengladbach
22	GK	Wolfgang Kleff	16 November 1946 (aged 25)	2	Borussia Mönchengladbach

SEMIFINALS

Antwerpen, June 14, Bosuil West Germany 2-1 Belgium [G.Müller 24, 71; Polleunis 83] [ref: Mullen (Scotland); att: 56,000]

West Germany: Maier, Höttges, Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Breitner, U.Hoeneß (Grabowski 58), Wimmer, Netzer, Heynckes, G.Müller, E.Kremers

Belgium: Piot, Heylens, Van den Daele, Thissen, Dolmans, Dockx, Verheyen, M.Martens (Polleunis 70), Semmeling, Van Himst, Lambert

Brussel, June 14, Astridpark Soviet Union 1-0 Hungary [Konkov 53] [missed penalty: Zámbö 85 (saved)] [ref: Glöckner (East Germany); att: 2,000]

Soviet Union: Rudakov, Dzodzuashvili, Kaplichny, Istomin, Khurtsilava, Kolotov, Troshkin, Baidachni, Banishevski (70 G.Nodia), Konkov, Onishenko

Hungary: Géczi, Fábián, Páncsics, Bálint, P.Juhász, I.Juhász, Kocsis (60 Albert), Kü, Szöke, Bene (60 A.Dunai), Zámbö

MATCH FOR THIRD PLACE Ličge, June 17, Stade Sclessin Belgium 2-1

Hungary [Lambert 24, Van Himst 28, Kü 53pen] [ref: Boström (Sweden); att: 9,000] Belgium: Piot, Heylens, Van den Daele, Thissen, Dolmans, Dockx, Verheyen, Polleunis, Semmeling, Van Himst, Lambert

Hungary: Géczi, Fábián, Páncsics, Bálint, P.Juhász, I.Juhász, Kü, Abert, Kozma, A.Dunai, Zámbö (46 Szücs)

FINAL Bruxelles, June 18, Stade Heysel West Germany 3-0 Soviet Union [G.Müller 27, 58, Wimmer 52] [ref: Marschall (Austria), att: 50,000]

West Germany: Maier, Höttges, Beckenbauer, Schwarzenbeck, Breitner, U.Hoeneß, Wimmer, Netzer, Heynckes, G.Müller, E.Kremers

Soviet Union: Rudakov, Dzodzuashvili, Kaplichny, Istomin, Khurtsilava, Kolotov, Troshkin, Baidachni, Banishevsky (66 Kozinkevich), Konkov (46 Dolmatov), Onishenko

Topscorer overall: G.Müller (West Germany) 11 goals

Topscorer final tournament: G.Müller (West Germany) 4 goals

August 25, 2026August 25, 2026

1971-72 Champions Cup 1/16 Finals

There were no surprises in the 1/16-finals – the favorites won. The weaker clubs were really weak. A sample: Bulgarian champion CSKA ‘Septemvriisko zname’ played against the Albanian champion – Partizani (Tirana). Hardly anything was known about Partizani, yet nobody worried: the Albanians were no opposition. The hewspapers presented them in somewhat curious, but correct way:

The centre-forward Pano often had to play behind his own goalkeeper, the observers said. The Albanians spent most time in desperate defense, involving everybody.

Yet, the goalie Muhedini had to fish out the ball from his net.

The Bulgarians were confident and rightly so:

They dominated the matches: on this occasion the left winger Marashliev did not reach the ball, but there are three Bulgarian players and only two Albanians.

And here the goalie is alone and desperate against two strikers. Clumsy too, Muhedini.

And Albanians down – Tzvetan Atanasov (in white) scores the first goal for CSKA.

Most early matches were like that, and the stronger teams did not sweat much. The favorites hardly played on the top of their abilities. CSKA won easily, if not beautifully, and advanced. Today, in 2008, a match between Bulgarian and Albanian team would not be sure thing, but rather equal and unpredictable – it was not so in the early 70s: the outsiders were truly outsiders. If I am showing Albanians here, it is because it was very rare to find Albanian players depicted. For many years these were the only photos of Albanian football I saw. True exotica – nobody photographs the lowliest losers, except for amusement. In the same time the football division in Europe was very clear and unflexible.

August 24, 2026August 24, 2026

European Championship 1/4 Finals

The European championship played in the original format: 8 preliminary groups, the winners going to ¼ finals in two legs, then the semi-finals, a match for third place and lastly the final – Belgium hosted the final round. The final games were played in Brussels (2 games including the final), Liege (the match for 3^rd place), and Antwerpen (the semifinal Belgium-West Germany). Extra time and penalty shoot-out were introduced at the final stage, if necessary. Everything after the group stage was played in 1972 – in the spring, before the final 4 played in June.

European ¼ finals.

[Apr 29, London]
England          1-3 West Germany
  [Lee 77; U.Hoeneß 26, Netzer 85pen, G.Müller 89]
[May 13, Berlin]
West Germany     0-0 England

[Apr 29, Milano]
Italy            0-0 Belgium
[May 13, Bruxelles]
Belgium          2-1 Italy
  [Van Moer 23, Van Himst 72; Riva 85pen]

[Apr 29, Budapest]
Hungary          1-1 Romania
  [Branikovits 11; Satmareanu 55]
[May 14, Bucuresti]
Romania          2-2 Hungary
  [Dobrin 14, Neagu 82; Szöke 5, Kocsis 35]
[May 17, Beograd]
Hungary          2-1 Romania  
  [Kocsis 27, 89; Neagu 34]
[Apr 30, Beograd]
Yugoslavia       0-0 Soviet Union
[May 13, Moskva]
Soviet Union     3-0 Yugoslavia
  [Kolotov 53, Banishevski 74, Kozinkevich 90]

August 24, 2026

1972. Champions Cup – beginning

The Russians may serve for opening of 1972, however, the season already started months ago – in the fall of 1971, for most countries in Europe, and for various international competitions. But the hype of expectations and hopes is the same, no matter the actual time: the European Champions Cup begins. Whoa! ‘Whoa’? Really? The first round, the 1/16 finals, was never exciting – it used to be saner tournament, but still the pairing of big clubs at early stage was avoided. One of the most difficult tasks was to find ‘big’ games at the beginning… and here is what the journalists considered the toughest, hence, most exciting and difficult to predict, opposition in the beginning if 1971-72 European Champions Cup:

The only ‘tough’ pair, the article says, was Olympique Marseille (France) and Gornik Zabrze (Poland). Not exactly strong enough clubs, excepted from early clash; not outsiders either. Tough luck… yet, not so tough. Relatively equal teams, no favorite. Battle of the strikers: Josip Skoblar (left) and Wlodzimierz Lubanski (right) – stars in France and Poland, respectively, well known in Europe, but – just like French and Polish football in general – not the very top. Good clubs… having strong players and national players, and some success, but not heavyweights. The excitement of equality. The best an early stage of a tournament could offer was just that. Tough luck for either club…and nothing more. OM did eliminate the Poles, but they faced Ajax in the next round and expired.

August 21, 2026August 21, 2026

1972

One may argue 1972 was the most significant year in world football history: the undoubtable establishment of total football. The impact paved the development of the sport to this very day. Debatable or not, it is very difficult to select the most important event of the year – it was the year of complete triumph of Ajax; the year of arguably the best ever (West) German national team; of the rise of Poland and more. Let say the Germans marked the year:

West Germany brilliantly won the European championship. Before that they eliminated England, beating the Brits at their hoem in one of best ever football clashes. The sheer magic of this squad will never be repeated and maybe only the team of 1980 came relatively close. It was not the selection as such, but the way they played. Total football at its best.

August 21, 2026

1972

1972. To my mind, one of the most important years: total football got legitimacy. Ajax won their second European Champions Cup, West Germany were European Champions – both teams playing total football. No more ‘accidents’ – this was the football of the future, everyone to reckon with, and, hopefully, to follow. There were also Olympic games, bringing new winner – Poland. May be the Poles were underestimated in 72: just another team from Eastern Europe, winning their ‘own’ tournament. But this was the team which evolved into the great one which finished third in the World Cup 1974.

There were changes in South America as well. And, of course, much more… but the central issue for me is the recognition of total football.

Big fun 1972, yet, there was a personal tragedy – the drama of ¼ finals of the European Championship, opposing England to West Germany. One of the greatest fixtures I ever saw – the first leg in London. England lost. The penalty against my guys I was unable to watch and left… hoping Banks will save it. He did not. Great match, but I was supporting the losers… little I knew: England just started her long downfall. What difference! Great clubs, great domestic championship, and pathetic national team. Not yet in 1972, though.

A year of ups and downs, in a way. But let’s start this year.

Lifting the curtain. For the football fan the beginning of the year is when the new championship season begins. After months of football depravation, finally the great moment arrives. The moment of renewed hope… if we were champions last season, let’s win again; if we sucked last year, this one we will be surely better. Let’s see the new boys in the team, the old great and not so great players, let’s see football. Again. Anew. And, correspondingly, the new season is opened grandly… speeches, suits, banners.

The opening of 1972 USSR Championship – the official paraphernalia, the parade, and the captains of the teams chosen to endure officialdom: R. Shneiderman (Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, left) and V. Kaplichy (CSKA Moscow, right). They are about to lift up the national flag, the final ceremonial touch, after which the match may begin. By 1972 such ceremonies were becoming rare and I think even the Soviets eventually toned them down, if not abandoning them completely. The reason was simple one: such grand parades belonged to the past, when often tournaments were staged at one place, and most teams were present. Routine modern national championship begins in many cities simultaneously and the grandeur of parades is lost. Big ceremonies are reserved for international competitions such as the World Cup. Domestically, who cares – the fans want to see football, not raising of flags and endless speeches. I even doubt that today’s fans really crave the ‘first’ match of the season: various tournaments already are lost in 1972, I may add, so this is a curious tribute to long gone days. Progress on one hand; football never stops on TV, on the other. The magic is lost. It was large