First Division – final stage. Since the teams carried only half of their first-stage points to the final stage, theoretically ever team had equal chance to win the title, no matter how they played in the first phase. Then again, such 2-staged championships rarely produced sensations: a good number of teams made the effort to reach safety in the first phase and then did not care much, especially when having poor squads. Thus, most often the final stage produced mixed results: some initially strong teams continued to be strong, some lower teams geared up only for the second stage and some exhausted themselves early and dropped from the championship race. Anyhow, the season ended like this:
BSC Young Boys (Bern, 3rd in the first stage) – last with 22 points (13 of them carried over). A prime example of those spending themselves early and perhaps just going through the motions at the final stage.
Lausanne Sports (Lausanne, 8th in the opening stage) – 7th with 23 points (12 carried over). That was a team just putting effort to avoid the risk of relegation and once achieving its goal only waiting for the next season.
FC 1879 St. Gallen (St. Gallen, 5th in the first stage) – 6th with 23 points (12 carried over). Similar to Lausanne Sports.
FC Luzern (Luzern, 6th in the first stage) – 5th with 27 points (12 carried over). Saved strength for the final stage, but not exactly a title contender.
Grasshopper Club (Zurich, 2nd in the first stage) – 4th with 30 points (15 carried over). Apparently, spent themselves in the first stage and dropped down when the title was at stake.
FC Aarau (Aarau, 4th in the first stage) – 3rd with 30 points (13 carried over). Very strong at the final stage, but handicapped by lukewarm first stage.
Servette FC (Geneve, 7th in the first stage) – 2nd with 30 points (12 carried over). The prime axample of the kind saving their strength in the first stage, juts playing enough to qualify to the final, where they unleashed their best. But… unable to win the title because of weak first stage. Top row from left: Colletti, Cacciapalia, Hasler, Morisod, Niaba, Eriksen, Palombo
Middle row: ?, Bamert, Egli, Decastel, Favre, Grossenbacher, Schällibaum, Burri
Sitting.: Kok, Kressibucher, Marguerat, De Choudens (coach), Mutter, Sinval, Besnard.
Xamax (Neuchatel, winner of the first stage) – 1st with 32 points (16 carried over). Well, if you really want to win steady performance during the whole season is the key. Most often. Xamax was not superior at any point of the championship, but was steadily strong. Two teams got more points than them at the final stage – Servette and FC Aarau – but Xamax came to the final with more points than them and prevailed. Steady, that was the secret.
Thus, Xamax won second consecutive title and rightly so – they had great period. Their first and so far the last… Two titles in a row – but also that were the only titles Xamax ever won. By frugal Swiss standards – strong and well made squad, a good mix of domestic stars (Sutter at the first place) and imports (Uli Stielike the most famous). As a traditional underdog – lovely success. It was the last season of Uli Stielike and the famed veteran retired in stile – as a champion.
Winterthur was perhaps the best known club there – they finished 8th in the first stage of the Second Division East Group and later took 2nd place in promotion/relegation Group B, thus preserving Second Division spot. Top row from left: Sepp Roth, Rolf Müller, Norbert Schneider, Hans Franz, André von Niederhäusern, Jürg Hofmann.
What a surprise… FC Basel ( 11th the first stage of First Division) took 5th place with 15 points and was… relegated! FC Basel? One of the leading clubs?
FC Wettingen (2nd in the first stage of Second Division East Group) was splendid in the most important second stage: they won 11 games and lost 3, scored 32 goals, received 16, and finished with 22 points – 5 ahead of Bellinzona. Thus, they were promoted to the top league.
And the second bomb of the season: FC Zurich (last in the first stage of First Division) was outsider even at this stage: 6th with 9 points and relegated. Who would believe it 10 years earlier?
FC Sion (9th in the first stage of First Division) pulled itself together and left no doubt of their determination to keep top league place: 2nd with 23 points. They scored 49 goals in 14 games and allowed only 14 – the best record at this stage.
Unlikely winners, so the happier – no wonder Bekescsaba lost their shirts.
May be too arrogant, may be not so good as they thought they were… no matter, Honved lost the Cup and consequently lost a double.
Fantastic success for Bekescsaba 1912 Elore – or Bekescsabai Elore Spartacus – or just plain Bekescsaba. Interesting kit, some relatively good players, no great stars, difficult season at the bottom of the league… the perfect underdog. Which succeeded and turned unfortunate season into triumphal one – in fact, their best season, for they never any trophy before… and after. So, this was their greatest season in the long history of the club.
The already mentioned Dunaujvaros finished 2nd with 48 points and was promoted.
Veszprem won the championship with 49 points: 21 wins, 7 ties, 10 losses, 49-28. Promoted, of course.
Bekescsabai Elore Spartacus finished 13th with 27 points. Avoided relegation, which was pretty much the most expected from them, but they had great success this year as well.
Vaci Izzo – 10th with 28 points. Not bad…
Vasas SC – 9th with 29 points.
Szombathelyi Haladas – 7th with 31 points.
MTK Hungaria FC – 6th with 32 points. The picture is actually from the previous season – the team which won the title. But the 1987-88 the champions were a pale shadow of themselves and left little evidence of their presence.
Ferencvaros – not a memorable season. 5th with 33 points.
Tatabanya – 2nd with 37 points. They were pleasant surprise and although prevailed over Ujpesti Dosza only on goal-difference, this was splendid season. If not their best ever, then one of the stronger and memorable performances. They scored most goals too: 58.
Honved (Budapest) had no rival and that was no surprise – they had the best squad by far in the country. Looking at the players… well, some of the best made their names in the provincial clubs. Honved more or less scooped whatever talent remained in Hungary and there was no one now to challenge them. 17 wins, 7 ties, 6 losses, 48-23, 41 points, and one more title to their name. Hardly a great team, but that was the best Hungary had at this lean times.
Complete humiliation of Olympiakos – miserable season and at the end losing the Cup to the archenemy. Chancy loss, but still a loss… Frankly, not a great squad of Olympiakos this year.
Lucky Panathinaikos, but they won the Cup and thus somewhat remedied otherwise poor season. No matter how, it was always great to beat Olympiakos, but the Cup victory would not really mask underperforming – this was arguably the strongest squad in Greece, full of national team players among which Saravakos was the current biggest star. Add the strong and stable Yugoslavian Zajec and well-established in Greece for years Rocha – even with the imports Panathinaikos had the edge over all other teams. All that and only a Cup won with difficulty and good luck…
Panachaiki – last with 20 points and relegated. They had 1 point deducted for some crime committed, but even if this point was restored they were going to be last.
Panserraikos – 15th with 21 points and relegated.
Veria – 14th with 23 points. Worse goal-difference relegated them.
Levadiakos – 13th with 23 points. Survived on better goal-difference.
Diagoras (Rodos) – 12th with 23 points and lucky to survive on goal-difference.
May be a picture of this season of Apollon Kalamarias (Thessaloniki) – they left little certain pictorial evidence this time, but luckily escaped relegation: 11th with 24 points.
Panionios – 10th with 26 points.
Aris (Thessaloniki) – 9th with 27 points.
Olympiakos (Piraeus) – 8th with 31 points. Terrible season for them, even ending with negative goal-difference of -2.
Ethnikos (Piraeus) – 7th with 32 points. Ahead of their mighty neighbours was a triumph. Standing from left: Vassilis Xanthi, Michael Gerothodoros, ?, Daniel Batista, D. Doxakis, Takis Kampolis.
Iraklis (Thessaloniki) – 6th with 34 points.
Panathinaikos – 5th with 36 points. Poor season, which is surprising, for PAO seemingly had the best squad in the country.
OFI (Crete, Iraklion) – 4th with 37 points.
OFI deserves a second look not only because of their great ascent and good performance in Europe, but also for a counterpoint to the big clubs: having largely domestic second stringers, OFI managed very well, even playing better than the big clubs, which had squads studded with national team players and foreigners.
PAOK (Thessaloniki) – 3rd with 39 points. Strong season, a title contenders – at least to some late point of championship. They scored most goals in the league – 60 – and finished with the best goal-difference of +33.
AEK (Athens) – 2nd with 40 points. The best playing team from Athens, but it is hard to judge them – perhaps, major disappointment and frustration, for Larissa’s punishment put them on top. But the ruling was voided and they finished second. Then again… the drama happened well before the last rounds of the championship and after it Larissa played with even bigger enthusiasm. Purely on records, AEK ended 3 points behind the champions – hard to make a case of victimization.
The title was massively celebrated and there was too many reasons for wild joy – not just the drama and the revolt of the city. Not just that Larissa won its first – and only – title. It was great victory of David vs Goliath: for the first time provincial club broke the monopoly of Athens-Piraeus-Thessaloniki. It is also the only time small provincials won the Greek championship. It was more than football victory – it was a victory of provincials against mighty big cities, and end of yoke and dominance, a matter of social justice, a triumph of the underprivileged, a people’s power and revolt. More than just football. Yet, it was football. And still against the odds in sporting terms.
Such rare winners really deserve more than one picture. The new champions standing from left: Christos Mikhail, Kostas Kolomitrousis, Jiannis Gkalitsios, Ioannis Alexoulis, Michalis Ziogas, Jiorgos Mitsibonas.
To a point AEL (Larissa) overperformed and surely had not the making of a team to establish a dynasty, but they won the title and firmly placed themselves in history as the first and so far the only regional club to win the Greek title.
G.S. Kallithea (Athens) survived by a point – 14th.
P.A.S. Giannina ended 12th. Point deduction placed near relegation, but they survived. After the deduction they were left with 32 points – one more than Edessaikos and Acharnaikos Menidi.
May be a photo of this season of Pierikos (Katerini) – they were 8th with 34 points.
Athinaikos Vironas (Athens) finished 7th with 35 points. Somewhat difficult to judge – Athinaikos was slowly improving and recently was one of the better teams in the Second Division. Yet, they finished with only 4 points more than relegated Edessaikos and Acharnaikos Menidi.
Charavgiakos (Athens) was perhaps the pleasant surprise this season – they finished 5th with 38 points. Missing promotion up by very little. One of the many clubs in the Greek capital, but practically unheard of – they hardly played any Second Division previously and suddenly performed very well. Only the future could tell would they go up or down.
Apollonas Smyrni – better known abroad as Apollon (Athens) – clinched 3rd place with 39 points, but better head-to-head record than Kastoria. Promotion was a huge relief: this was club accustomed to play top league football and not just making the numbers there.
Olympiakos (Volos) took 2nd place – they had the best head-to-head record among the teams with 39 points. Happily promoted up.
A possible picture of the Second Division champions – at least it is from that period, if not from this season. Like Apollon (Athens), A.S. Doxa (Drama) was used to play First Division football. No wonder they were eager to return to it and achieved it quite comfortably: 20 wins, 4 ties, 10 losses, 68-36, and 44 points. Five point ahead of the nearest pursuers.
Cardiff City ended a good season – they earned promotion to Third Division and won their 20th Welsh Cup. Going to play in Europe in the fall – there was no country where 4th level team could reach participation in European tournament, but here it was, the sheer oddity. More important is the great round record of Cardiff City – how many clubs could say they won the national cup that many times? Great round number, which can only get higher.
Perhaps not just Carl Zeiss fans were disappointed by the loss, but what can you do… not a bad squad, but not as powerful as Dynamo’s.
BFC Dynamo (East Berlin) won their 2nd ever Cup and their 1st double. There is a bit of irony in that – when they really dominated and were at their peak, they never managed to win the Cup. Now, beyond their peak and already heavily challenged they won. A swan song of a kind. A double extracted with difficulty, without supremacy, by better goal-difference and goals scored in extra-time. But a double!
BSG Stahl (Riesa) – hopelessly last with 16 points. They were promoted in 1982-83, so this time they went down after a long first division spell – by their standards, for the best place they reached was 11th in 1983-84.
FC Vorwaerts (Frankfurt/Oder) – 13th with 21 points. Their good years, suggesting revival of the once-upon a time strong Army club were also long gone by now. They were sinking for quite some time, naturally hitting the bottom – relegated, if only on worse goal-difference.
FC Rot-Weiss (Erfurt) – 12th with 21 points. Normally, insignificant mid-table team, but hardly ever in danger of relegation. This season they barely escaped – only on one-goal better goal-difference than Vorwaerts.
1. FC Union (East Berlin) – 11th with 22 points. They may see themselves as perpetual victims, but the bare fact was not a strong team, fighting only for survival. This time – successfully.
BSG Wismut (Aue) – 10th with 23 points. Hardly anything new – may be only that they were very close to relegation this season.
FC Hansa (Rostock) – 9th with 23 points. Just coming back from Second Division, so not bad? Well, they managed to survive – that was all.
FC Karl-Marx-Stadt (Karl-Marx-Stadt) – 8th with 25 points. Nothing special for many years, nothing new this season. Perhaps close to the relegation zone than usual.
1. FC Magdeburg (Magdeburg) – 7th with 25 points. Lost its edge some time ago and seemingly going into big decline: near relegation zone was absolutely untypical, but then again Magdeburg never had anonymous squad before. Perhaps Joachim Streich as a coach was a far cry from the player he was, but with squad like that it is hard to point at him.
FC Carl Zeiss (Jena) – 6th with 26 points. In a shaky situation recently, but looks like the crisis was over. Not a full recovery, but there was promise for better days.
HFC Chemie (Halle) – 5th with 26 points. Very promising return from Second Division, even if they were not really outside the danger of relegation through the season.
BSG Stahl (Brandenburg) – 4th with 29 points. Now, they were a pleasant surprise – unlikely club to finish that high, but they were played solid since promoted in 1983-84. Top row from left: Eberhard Janotta, Frank Jeske, Jan Voß, Uwe Ferl, Lutz Schwerinski, Jens Pahlke, Ingolf Pfahl, Timo Lange, Roland Keibel.
SG Dynamo (Dresden) – 3rd with 33 points. Keeping their level, even if they were not title contenders this season.
1. FC Locomotive (Leipzig) – 2nd with 37 points. Strong for years and perhaps having their best season ever, for in the past they were not really a title contender. This season, however, they were and not only challenged mighty Dynamo, but lost the title only on goal-difference. Too bad, frankly… not only because everybody in East Germany was tired from Dynamo’s dominance and the ominous power behind them, but mostly because Lokomotive had excellent team, lead by the best East German player in the last two years – the national team goalkeeper and captain Rene Muller.
BFC Dynamo (East Berlin) clinched the title on better goal-difference only: 15 wins, 7 ties, 4 losses, 59-30 and 37 points. +29 vs +21 put them above Lokomotive. Bottom row from left: Jörg Fügner, Thomas Grether, Bodo Rudwaleit, Marco Kostmann, Marco Köller, Heiko Brestrich.