Argentina Nacional

Campeonato Nacional “Año del Turismo en las Américas”

[National Championship “Tourist Year in the Americs”]

Table:

Group A

No. Team                     G    W    D    L    Gf    Ga    P
--------------------------------------------------------------
 1. San Lorenzo de Almagro  13   10    3    0    29     6   23 Finalist
 2. River Plate             13   10    2    1    50    23   22 Semifinalist
 3. Vélez Sarsfield         13    8    2    3    31    19   18
From left: Tébez, Zuvialde, Eusebio Ibáñez, Neumann, Monárdez, Gusmán, Vergara, Gramari, Barroso, Maryllack, Reggi.
 4. San Martín (M)          13    7    3    3    27    21   17
 5. Atlanta                 13    6    4    3    31    15   16
 6. Rosario Central         13    5    4    4    28    18   14
 7. Independiente (A)       13    4    5    4    24    20   13
 8. San Lorenzo (Mar del Plata)       13    5    2    6    24    28   12
 9. Lanús                   13    3    5    5    17    23   11
10. Gimnasia y Esgrima LP   13    3    3    7    13    24    9
Standing from left: Villalón, Héctor Corvalán, Jerez, Blasco, Torga. 
Crouching: Véliz, Naranjo, Castro, Vargas, Frías, Cáceres.
11. San Martín (T)          13    2    2    9    10    25    6
12. Bartolomé Mitre         13    1    2   10    11    36    4
13. Independiente (T)       13    0    3   10    10    46    3
   
Group B

 1. Boca Juniors            13   10    2    1    31    15   22 Semifinalist
 2. Colón                   13    8    2    3    21    16   18
 3. Argentinos Juniors      13    7    3    3    26    16   17
Back row from left: Marcos Pereira, Miguel A. Brindisi, Roque Avallay, Carlos A. Babington, Omar Larrosa.
Front: Edgardo Cantú, Mario E. Zanotti, Alfio Basile, Ricardo De Rienzo, Francisco F. Russo, Héctor Roganti. 
 4. Huracán (BA)            13    6    4    3    26    20   16
 5. Racing Club             13    6    1    6    20    18   13
Back row from left: De Sá, Syeyyguil, Reinaldi, Laciar, Guerini, Tocalli. 
Bottom: Bracamonte, Serrano, Cuellar, Rivadero, Lerpo.
 6. Belgrano (C)            13    4    5    4    19    18   13
 7. Banfield                13    5    3    5    23    27   13
Second row from left: León Martínez, Ricardo Etcheverry, Roberto C. Franco, Gerónimo Saccardi, Oscar May, Miguel De Filippo.
Crouching: Ricardo Pérez, Osvaldo Sosa, Pedro Gallina, Marcelo Moreno, Benito Valencia. 
 8. Ferro Carril Oeste (BA) 13    4    4    5    20    20   12
Back row from left: González, Cortez, Quatropani, Signorelli, Lizzi, Palacio. First row: Del Valle, Paz, Spadaro, Rodríguez, Vega.
 9. Sportivo Desamparados   13    4    4    5    15    25   12
10. Chacarita Juniors       13    3    5    5    19    18   11
Standing from left:  Camargo, Fornari, Legrotaglie, Patire, Aceituno, Grudzien. Front: Algocino, Guayama, Castellanos, Pereyra, Ibáñez
11. Gimnasia y Esgrima M    13    2    6    5    18    23   10
12. Estudiantes LP          13    2    4    7    12    25    8
13. Newell's Old Boys       13    2    1   10    18    28    5
  
Semifinal
Standing from left: Raul Alberto Giustozzi,Jorge Omar Berrio,Jose Alberto Perez,Pablo Antonio Zuccarini,Rene Martin Daulte,Reinaldo Carlos Merlo
Crouching: Carlos Angel Lopez,Ernesto Enrique Mastrangelo,Nestor Leonel Scotta,Juan Jose Lopez,Jorge Luis Ghiso 
 1. River Plate              1    1    0    0     3     2     2 Finalist
Back row from left: Rogel, Peracca, Rubén Sánchez, Nicolau, Marzolini. 
Front: Ponce, Orlando Medina, Curioni, Potente, Suñé, Ferrero.
 2. Boca Juniors             1    0    0    1     2     3     0

Final

 1. San Lorenzo de Almagro   1    1    0    0     1     0     2 Champion
 2. River Plate              1    0    0    1     0     1     0

After winning Metropolitano, San Lorenzo won the Nacional – excellent double!

Spain

Spain. Real Madrid recovered their ‘rightful’ place – champions after few lean years, but hardly impressive. Tough team, yet a far cry from the glorious team of the 50s and early 60s.

Some established stars, like Grosso and Zoco; some younger strong talent, like Amancio and Santillana. Strong team, but no more than that. Mostly for Spanish consumption and perhaps the team at the lowest point by Real standards. The 1970s were dark years for the club.

The Cup went to Atletico (Madrid). Contrary to their city rivals, the ‘Mattress makers’ were in their most successful period. Alas, only domestically – the general decline of Spanish football affected them as well.

Any recognizable name? Perhaps Irureta… perhaps Adelardo… perhaps Ufarte… chances are only Atletico fan can faintly recognize some players. Club legends, surely… and nothing more.

Argentina Metropolitano

Argentina. Campeonato Metropolitano [Metropolitan Championship]

Table:

No. Team G W D L Gf Ga P
Standing from left: Irusta, Glaría, Cocco, Rosl, Rezza, Olguín.
Crouching: Héctor Scotta, Fischer, García Ameijenda, Sanfilippo, Chazarreta.
1. San Lorenzo de Almagro 34 18 13 3 59 33 49 Champion
Standing from left: Kaliszuk, Della Savia, Mario Alberto Jorge, Pato Fillol, Daniel Onega, Cardenas
Bottom: Sangenis, Quique Wolff, Nelsón Chabay, Jorge Paolino, Carlos Squeo.
2. Racing Club 34 14 15 5 56 44 43
Back row from left: Juan Siciliano, Roque Avallay, Omar Larrosa, Roberto Cabral, Carlos Babington, Miguel A. Leyes.
Front: Miguel Brindisi, Francisco Lavorato, Daniel Buglione, Carlos Leone, Ricardo De Rienzo.
3. Huracán (BA) 34 14 12 8 66 49 40
4. River Plate 34 15 10 9 64 52 40
5. Vélez Sarsfield 34 14 11 9 59 50 39
6. Rosario Central 34 14 10 10 51 39 38
7. Newell’s Old Boys 34 13 12 9 49 49 38
8. Chacarita Juniors 34 13 11 10 46 41 37

9. Boca Juniors 34 12 12 10 56 44 36
10. Colón 34 14 8 12 51 52 36
11. Independiente (A) 34 12 11 11 47 48 35
Standing from left: Pena, Urchevik, Spilinga, Marenda, Juan Carlos Sosa, Tardivo.
Front: “Torito” Zuviría, Cordero, Ciccarello, Pekerman, Moreno.
12. Argentinos Juniors 34 10 14 10 52 37 34
Back row from left: Pagnanini, Horacio Rodríguez, Del Curto, Pernía, De Marta, Togneri.
Bottom: Leone, Aguilar, Giachello, Bedogni, Verde.
13. Estudiantes LP 34 14 5 15 40 52 33 Qualification
14. Atlanta 34 12 7 15 43 54 31 Qualification
15. Gimnasia y Esgrima LP 34 8 10 16 40 55 26 Qualification
16. Ferro Carril Oeste (BA) 34 6 12 16 39 55 24 Qualification
Standing from left: Norberto D´Ángelo, Vicente A. Zic, Ernesto Suárez, Jorge U. Traverso, Ricardo Ferlich.
Front: Juan C. Fiore, José L. Lódico, Néstor A. Barú, Víctor Donato, Ramón Peralta, Horacio Gavuzzo.
17. Lanús 34 3 6 25 35 71 12 Qualification
Second row from left: Oscar E. Haak, Eduardo Pipastrelli, Jorge Amado, Daniel Tagliani, Hugo Pini, Juan C. Guzmán.
Bottom: Silvio Sotelo, Daniel Cantero, Jorge Domínguez, Juan A. Taverna, Alberto J. Benítez.
18. Banfield 34 7 7 20 25 53 0 Qualification

Banfield, 21 points deducted.
On Mar 17, Banfield was suspended 4 months from Mar 16.
So, they would have 36 points deducted at the end of the championship.
However, as Banfield only won 21 points, 15 points were forgiven.
Torneo Reclasificatorio [Qualification Tournament]

Table:

1. Ferro Carril Oeste (BA) 5 3 2 0 16 10 8
2. Banfield 5 2 3 0 15 9 7 Relegated
3. Atlanta 5 2 1 2 14 12 5
4. Gimnasia y Esgrima LP 5 1 2 2 9 12 4
5. Estudiantes LP 5 1 2 2 4 11 4
6. Lanús 5 0 2 3 4 8 2 Relegated
Note: Points from Metropolitan Championsip and Qualification Tournament
were added to define the relegations:

Metropolitan Qualification Total
1. Estudiantes LP 33 4 37
2. Atlanta 31 5 36
3. Ferro Carril Oeste (BA) 24 8 32
4. Gimnasia y Esgrima LP 26 4 30
5. Lanús 12 2 14 Relegated
6. Banfield 0 7 7 Relegated
San Lorenzo – champion of Metropolitano.

Italy

England was England – unpredictable as ever. Meantime the South was the South: predictable as ever. After the brief stir of the previous two years, everything went back to the same old ‘normal’. Kind of. In Italy Juventus won the title. So far ‘The Old Lady’ was the only big Italian club not winning anything internationally. The club won Scudetto for the first time after 1967, which was thrilling for suffering fans, but – on the surface – hardly a change in Italy.

Since Juventus did represent a change, it was not noticed that the club was actually ahead of the other Italian clubs – and on its road to domineer late 1970s and the 1980s. The team consisted of stars, of course, but somewhat secondary stars by Italian measures, where Mazzola and Rivera were the highest mark. Juve players were younger too – the team itself came to ripeness a few years later, but there was already good foundation for the future. Naturally, Capelo is the most famous name from 2009 standpoint – the famous coach. He was not the most impressive feature of the 1972 team, though: to my mind the most interesting part was the attack. The (West) German star Helmut Haller, the already impressive Anastasi, and the young Roberto Bettega. For Italian team, too many attackers. All of them centre forwards, but easily adapting their skills to the wings too. Heavy competition between three generations. Add the World champion with Brazil (1958) Jose Altafini and there was formidable attack line, well balanced in age and experience, and competing for titular place in the fielded squad. No other Italian club had so strong attacking choices. No other club had selection providing for gradual painless replacement of aging stars – Haller was to step down in a year, but Bettega really matured by 1978. Anastasi was rapidly becoming the leader of the attack and Altafini – dangerous reserve, coming in the second half to torture opposite defense. Juventus had variety, flexibility, and choice. They had money too – new players were added effortlessly, making the team stronger and stronger. More or less, Juventus made easy transition from one generation to the next – something Milan and Inter were unable to do. This was new, but it was realized few years later. Juventus were still heavily defensive team, but with younger players, they were able to adopt some elements of total football. 1972 was only the beginning.

Milan won the Italian Cup. Familiar name, familiar team. Catenaccio – still alive and kicking. Perhaps Milan’s win obscured the potential of Juventus – Italy was traditional, no matter what happens in the world, field five defenseman… and win by one goal scored. Tremendously boring by 1972. And Rivera was no longer 20-years old…

The team was aging – Trapattoni (yes, the same one), the Argentine with French citizenship Nestor Combin, Cudicini, Rosato were at their end. Not to mention Rivera. Hardly worthy replacement in sight to any of them. The red flag was really flashing in the heart of defense – Schnellinger was not invited to the West German national team after 1970. He was key player for Milan, but useless for the European Champions – and the difference between Beckenbauer’s manner of playing and Schnellinger’s was as big as between day in night in 1972. Milan’s Cup was more or less a last gasp of old 60’s football.

Brazil II Division

II Division

Participants
Alagoinhas Atlético C (BA)
Alecrim FC (Natal-RN)
América FC (Natal-RN)
América FC (Recife-PE)
Botafogo FC (João Pessoa-PB)
Calouros do Ar FC (Fortaleza-CE)
Campinense Clube (Campina Grande-PB)
Central SC (Caruaru-PE)
AD Confiança (Aracaju-SE)
CSA (Maceió-AL)
Clube Ferroviário (Recife-PE)
Ferroviário EC (São Luís-MA)
EC Flamengo (Teresina-PI)
Fluminense FC (Feira de Santana-BA)
Second row from left: Louro, Sérgio Redes, Dimas Filgueiras, Renato, Lulinha, Pedro Basílio. 
Front: Amorim, Miguel, Dudu Diniz, Chinesinho, Mimi. 
Fortaleza EC (CE)
Guarany SC (Sobral-CE)
AO Itabaiana (SE)
Maguari EC (Fortaleza-CE)
Moto Club (São Luís-MA)
River AC (Teresina-PI)
Sampaio Corrêa FC (São Luís-MA)
UP São Domingos (Maceió-AL)
SE Tiradentes (Teresina-PI)
Group A
 1.Sampaio Corrêa    10  5  3  2  12- 4  13  Qualified
 2.Tiradentes-PI     10  4  4  2  12- 9  12  Qualified
-------------------------------------------
 3.Moto Club         10  4  4  2   7- 6  12
 4.Fortaleza         10  5  1  4   9- 9  11
 5.Guarany (Sobral)  10  2  2  6   8-15   6
 6.Flamengo-PI       10  1  4  5   9-14   6

Group B
 1.Campinense        10  7  0  3  20- 9  14  Qualified
 2.América-RN        10  5  3  2  15-10  13  Qualified
-------------------------------------------
 3.River-PI          10  5  2  3  14-14  12
 4.Ferroviário-MA    10  4  4  2  12- 9  12
 5.Maguari           10  2  1  7   7-15   5
 6.Calouros do Ar    10  1  2  7  11-22   4

Group C
 1.CSA                8  4  2  2  14-11  10  Qualified
 2.América-PE         8  4  2  2   8- 9  10  Qualified
-------------------------------------------
 3.Botafogo-PB        8  3  3  2  13- 8   9
 4.Alecrim            8  1  4  3  10-12   6
 5.Ferroviário-PE     8  1  3  4   7-12   5

Group D
 1.Atlético-BA       10  8  2  0  18- 4  18  Qualified
 2.Itabaiana         10  4  3  3  13-10  11  Qualified
-------------------------------------------
 3.Central           10  3  5  2   8- 6  11
 4.Confiança-SE      10  2  3  5  10-15   7
 5.Fluminense-BA      9  1  5  3   9-16   7
 6.São Domingos       9  1  2  6   9-16   5

Fist phase stats: 259 goals, 109 matches, 2.37 goal average per match

Second Phase

Group E
 1.Sampaio Corrêa     6  3  2  1   6- 3   8  Qualified
-------------------------------------------
 2.Tiradentes-PI      6  3  2  1   6- 3   8
 3.Atlético-BA        6  1  2  3   2- 5   4
 4.Itabaiana          6  1  2  3   2- 5   4

Group F
 1.Campinense         6  6  0  0  11- 2  12  Qualified
-------------------------------------------
 2.América-RN         6  4  0  2   9- 5   8
 3.CSA                6  1  0  5   3- 8   2
 4.América-PE         6  1  0  5   3-11   2

Second Phase stats: 42 goals, 24 matches, 1.75 goal per match average

Final

[Dec 17]
Sampaio Corrêa  1-1  Campinense      [aet 0-0, pen 5-4]

Stadium: Nhozinho Santos (São Luís-MA)
Referee: Ronald Monassa (PI)
Attendance and gate receipts: not available
Goals: Volmir 37'; Pelezinho 89'.
Penalty shoot-out: back then, penalty shoot-outs were a bit different. Just one player from each team would take the five shots, and they were all mandatory, even if a club had won mathematically.
Campinense: Ivan Lopes (missed the 2nd shot).
Sampaio Corrrêa: Neguinho (scored all 5).
Yellow and red cards: not available
Sampaio Corrêa-MA (4-2-4): Jurandir; Célio Rodrigues, Neguinho, Nivaldo, Valdecy Lima; Gojoba, Edmílson Leite (Airton); Lima, Djalma, Pelezinho, Jaldemir (Prado). Coach: Marçal Tolentino Serra.
Campinense-PB (4-2-4): Olinto; Miro, Ivan Lopes, Deca, Zé Preto; Vavá, Dão; Dinga, Erasmo (Edgar), Pedrinho, Volmir. Coach: Zé Preto
Sampaio Correa – champion.
* No team was promoted to 1st level, and there was no 2nd level in 1973. The Brazilian FA (CBD) invited 4 clubs to take part in the Brazilian 
1973 1st level: América-RN (4th in the 1972 Second level),
Tiradentes-PI (5th), Moto Club-MA (11th) and Fortaleza (12th).

England the Cups

The Cup. Well, England has two cups – the F.A. Cup, the oldest tournament in the world, and the Football League Cup. Sometimes English writers place the FL Cup higher than the F.A. Cup. Sometimes it is the opposite. UEFA recognizes F.A. Cup as the national cup. Leeds met Arsenal at the final and won 1-0. Cup mattered back then. For Leeds it was also sweeter ending of the season, after losing the title by a point.

By names, much better team than Derby County. By ambitions too. By expectations also. Yet, a cup, not a title.

The Football League Cup – different animal. Just to show the many-faced and competitive English football – Stoke City won the final, beating Chelsea 2-1. Stoke City were not among league’s favourites. Chelsea too were not as great as at least 5 other clubs. The beauty of cup tournaments – David wins over Goliath. One name at least was huje: Gordon Banks. Typical for that time – the superstar goalkeeper, perhaps the best in the world, played for small club. It was nice to know Banks won a cup. Soon misfortune stroke the great goalkeeper – he lost an eye in car accident, his career in England was over.

4th row, left to right: Mike Bernard, Alan Bloor, Mike Pejic

3rd row: Jimmy Greenhoff, Gordon Banks

2nd row: Tony Waddington (manager), George Eastham, John Marsh, John Mahoney

1st row: Terry Conroy, Peter Dobing, John Ritchie, Denis Smith

Well, hardly famous squad. Some fairly decent players – Conroy, Mahoney. Some promise, never fully developed – Greenhoff. And surprising national player in the near future – the guy with Yugoslavian name, Pejic, eventually played few games for England. They proudly display the FL Cup, though.

Brazil I Division

Brazil. I Division

First phase

Group A
1.Internacional 25 11 12 2 34-20 34 Qualified
2.Vasco da Gama 25 10 10 5 23-15 30 Qualified
3.São Paulo 25 11 6 8 45-31 28 Qualified
4.América-GB 25 8 10 7 19-21 26 Qualified
——————————————
5.Bahia 25 6 11 8 16-23 23
6.Sergipe 25 2 5 18 14-41 9

Group B
1.Palmeiras 25 14 8 3 39-15 36 Qualified
2.Coritiba 25 12 9 4 34-17 33 Qualified
3.Cruzeiro 25 12 9 4 37-20 33 Qualified
4.Flamengo 25 10 8 7 21-20 28 Qualified
——————————————
5.Remo 25 5 15 5 21-20 25
6.Náutico 25 7 8 10 30-34 22
7.ABC 25 4 7 12 20-33 15

Group C
1.Corinthians 25 11 10 4 29-24 32 Qualified
2.Atlético-MG 25 10 6 9 31-26 26 Qualified
3.Botafogo 25 7 11 7 30-30 25 Qualified
4.Santa Cruz 25 7 9 9 31-36 23 Qualified
——————————————
5.Nacional 25 4 10 11 23-31 18
6.Portuguesa 25 4 9 12 25-37 17

Group D
1.Santos 25 11 9 5 31-19 31 Qualified
2.Grêmio 25 10 8 7 22-16 28 Qualified
3.Ceará 25 8 12 5 27-25 28 Qualified
4.Fluminense 25 9 9 7 21-19 27 Qualified
——————————————
5.Vitória 25 6 10 9 13-26 22
6.América-MG 25 3 12 10 18-28 18
7.CRB 25 1 11 13 18-45 13

Second Phase
Group 1

1.Internacional 3 2 1 0 7- 4 5 Qualified
——————————————
2.Vasco da Gama 3 1 2 0 5- 3 4
3.Flamengo 3 0 2 1 3- 5 2
4.Cruzeiro 3 0 1 2 4- 7 1

Group 2
1.Palmeiras 3 2 0 1 6- 3 4 Qualified
——————————————
2.São Paulo 3 2 0 1 4- 1 4
3.Coritiba 3 1 0 2 2- 6 2
4.América-GB 3 1 0 2 3- 5 2

Group 3
1.Botafogo 3 2 1 0 6- 2 5 Qualified
——————————————
2.Grêmio 3 1 1 1 2- 2 3
3.Santos 3 1 0 2 3- 3 2
4.Santa Cruz 3 1 0 2 3- 7 2

Semifinals
[Dec 20]
Palmeiras 1-1 Internacional
[Nei; Tovar]
Botafogo 2-1 Corinthians
[Jairzinho, Nei; Nélson Lopes]

Final
[Dec 23]
Palmeiras 0-0 Botafogo

SE Palmeiras wins due to better season record
23 de dezembro de 1972
PALMEIRAS 0 x 0 BOTAFOGO
Local: Morumbi (São Paulo). Renda: Cr$ 649.445,00. Público: 58.287
Árbitro: Agomar Martins (RS)
PALMEIRAS: Leão, Eurico, Luís Pereira, Alfredo e Zeca, Dudu (Zé Carlos) e Ademir da Guia, Edu (Ronaldo), Leivinha, Madurga e Nei. Téc.: Oswaldo Brandão
BOTAFOGO: Cao, Valtencir, Brito, Osmar e Marinho Chagas, Carlos Roberto e Nei Conceição, Zequinha, Jairzinho, Fischer e Ademir Vicente (Ferreti). Téc.: Sebastião Leônidas
Final Table
1.Palmeiras 30 16 10 4 46-19 42
2.Botafogo 30 10 13 7 38-31 33
3.Internacional 29 13 14 2 42-25 40
Standing from left: Mirandinha, Caíto, Dirceu Alves, Baldocchi, Sidnei, Tião, Luis Carlos Galter, Rivellino, Zé Maria, Beto, Lance, Armando, Célio,técnico Duque; Crouching: Adãozinho, Golê (ex-São José), Miranda, Paulo Borges, Vaguinho, Nelson Lopes, Aladim, Pedrinho, Paulo Sérgio, Guaraci, Joãozinho, Marco Antonio
4.Corinthians 29 12 12 5 31-26 36
5.Coritiba 28 13 9 6 36-23 35
Standing from left: Lauro, Darci, Hélio, Vanderlei, Piazza, Fontana.
Bottom: Luiz Carlos, Zé Carlos, Roberto Batata, Palhinha, Lima.
6.Cruzeiro 28 12 10 6 41-27 34
7.Vasco da Gama 28 11 12 5 28-18 34
8.Santos 28 12 9 7 34-22 33
9.São Paulo 28 13 6 9 49-32 32
10.Grêmio 28 11 9 8 24-18 31
11.Atlético-MG 28 11 8 9 35-29 30
12.Flamengo 28 10 10 8 24-25 30
13.Ceará 28 8 14 6 28-27 30
14.Fluminense 28 9 11 8 23-22 29
15.América-GB 28 9 10 9 22-26 28
16.Santa Cruz 28 8 9 11 34-43 25
17.Remo 25 5 15 5 21-20 25
Standing from left: Burcitte. Oldair. Onça. Mario Braga. Baiano, Paulo Henrique.
Front: Natal. Amorim. Picolé. Elizeu, Gilson Porto.
18.Bahia 25 6 11 8 16-23 23
19.Náutico 25 7 8 10 30-34 22
20.Vitória 25 6 10 9 13-26 22
21.Nacional 25 4 10 11 23-31 18
22.América-MG 25 3 12 10 18-28 18
Second row from left: Aguilera, Calegari, Lorico, Fogueira, Carlos Alberto Torres, Deodoro, Marinho Peres, diretor José Pereira Mendes Neto.
Bottom: Ratinho, Dirceu, Cabinho, Basílio, Piau.
23.Portuguesa 25 4 9 12 25-37 17
24.ABC 25 4 7 14 18-33 15
25.CRB 25 1 11 13 18-45 13
26.Sergipe 25 2 5 18 14-41 9
Palmeiras – champion of Brazil!

England Championship

Bundesliga was obviously becoming exciting championship, but only claiming a place among the big European championships. England pretended nothing: just keeping its reputation of most interesting domestic football. Great competition, where no club was able to win two titles in a row and pre-season predictions hardly worked: every year – new champion. Manchester United was decaying, but with strong Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, Tottenham, and Leeds, there were plenty of potential champions. None of which got the coveted title… Derby County finished first with 58 points, followed by Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester City with 57 points each. Tough. Exciting. So very British. How not to love this championship?

Rams on top! One Brian Clough coached them – a name to remember.

Interesting, but hardly winning squad at first glance. Yet, the coach and some players will conquer Europe by the end of the 1970s. With different club, freshly relegated to Second Division in 1972. And one more point – Colin Todd. Perhaps the best central English central defenseman in the 1970s, but rarely included in the national team.

Uruguay II Division

II Division

1.Wanderers 18 11 5 2 25-12 27 Promoted
2.Fénix 18 10 4 4 35-20 24 Promotion Playoff
3.Racing 18 9 5 4 24-17 23 Promotion Playoff
4.Progreso 18 6 8 4 21-18 20
Standing from left: Oscar Washington Tabarez, Walter Hugo Silva, Harry Fleitas, Juan Nichele, Alfredo Corbo, Ruiz Diaz, Eloy Garcia (DT);
Crocuhing:Faccelo, Jorge Paz, Jorge Fanys, Milton Martinez, Eugenio Tato Santos.
5.It. El Tanque 18 8 2 8 26-19 18 [*]
6.Colón 18 5 5 8 17-30 15
Back row from left: Labarrere-Lachat- Couat- Bochi Grill-Monaco-Zwenger- Lachat
Front:Stoessel-Vizoso-Iriarte-Schwerdt-ARduin-Sañudo
7.Rampla Juniors 18 4 6 8 28-34 14
8.Misiones 18 4 6 8 16-23 14
9.Miramar 18 2 9 7 19-27 13
10.Cerrito 18 2 8 8 12-23 12

[*] full name: Sportivo Italiano El Tanque
Promotion/Relegation Playoff

Round 1
Racing – Fénix 3-1
Sud América – Central Esp. 1-1

Round 2
Central Esp. – Fénix 5-2
Sud América – Racing 1-1

Round 3
Central Esp. – Racing 0-0
Sud América – Fénix 5-0

1.Sud América 3 1 2 0 7- 2 4 Second Playoff
Central Esp. 3 1 2 0 6- 3 4 Second Playoff
Racing 3 1 2 0 4- 2 4 Second Playoff
4.Fénix 3 0 0 3 3-13 0

Second Playoff

Round 1
Sud América – Racing 3-1

Round 2
Central Esp. – Racing 2-2

Round 3
Central Esp. – Sud América 1-0

1.Central Esp. 2 1 1 0 3- 2 3
2.Sud América 2 1 0 1 3- 2 2 Relegated
3.Racing 2 0 1 1 3- 5 1

Promoted: Wanderers
Relegated from 1st level: Sud América

Promoted from 3rd level: Salus

Relegation Playoff
Cerrito – Rampla Jrs. 1-1 0-0 0-1

Rampla Juniors remained at 2nd level, Cerrito played (and won) a playoff
against a 3rd level team and eventually also remained at 2nd level

West Germany

The West German football was in very good shape indeed – along with Borussia and Bayern, Schalke 04 was seemingly becoming a third extremely promising club: they finished second in the Bundesliga and won the Cup in 1972. Alas, the bribing scandal of 1971 cut short their challenge – investigations went well into 1972 and penalties were announced practically at the end of this season. Arminia (Bielefeld) were stripped from their points and relegated (they were to be relegated even without penalty, finishing last anyway). Players were suspended – many of them were Schalke 04 players, and although the suspensions were not long, the team was destroyed. The Cup was the last trophy Schalke 04 won for very, very long time.

Under their Yugoslavian coach Ivica Horvat the Blues were to be the third great German club. Well, no luck.