DDR. Ranked 16th. In brief, 10th consecutive title for Dynamo (Berlin), but this time with differences: this time Dynamo won also the Cup, making it the first double during their long dominant years. Yet, the iron grip of Dynamo on East German football was loosening – a double, but neither title, nor Cup were won confidently – the championship was clinched on better goal-difference and in the Cup final they managed to prevail only in extra-time. Bellow the top league little to report. Typically.
6 teams were promoted from Third Level, going to the two groups making the Second Division: BSG Aktivist (Borna), Dynamo (Eisleben), KWO Berlin (East Berlin), Motor F.H. (Karl-Marx-Stadt), BSG Schiffahrt/Hafen (Rostock), and
BSG Stahl (Hennigsdorf).
Second Division. One team dominated each group, so there was little excitement – former top league clubs dominated and got promoted. BSG Lokomotive (Stendal) was lucky – they ended in the relegation zone of Group A, but FC Vorwaerts (Frankfurt/Oder) was relegated from First Division and because of that their second team was relegated from Second Division instead of BSG Lokomotive (Stendal).
FC Vorwaerts II (Frankfurt/Oder) – 14th with 28 points on Group A, but went down for two teams of the same club could not play in the same league.
Second Division teams usually left next to nothing pictorial:
Motor (Babelsberg) was 11th with 31 points in Group A. Top row from left: Jürgen Nachtwey, Steffen Piehl, Heiner Martens, Norbert Rudolph, Matthias Kakoschky, Detlef Uecker, Thomas Müller, Ronny Eichelbaum
Middle row.: Ingo Nachtigall, Frank Schulz, Marcus Petsch, Klaus Herber, Rainer Köpnick, Peter Mett, Frank Edeling (Kapitän), Karsten Bosecker
Front: Uwe Patz, Andreas Prohn, Lutz Kerper, Jens Clemen, Ingolf Matthes.
BSG Chemie (Leipzig) – finished 6th with 41 points in Group B.
And there was little reason to make team photos – in both groups one team ruled. BSG Sachsenring (Zwickau) won Group B with 50 points from 20 wins, 10 ties, 4 losses, 66-34. They finished 8 points ahead of second-placed BSG Stahl (Thale).
Similarly, BSG Energie (Cottbus) topped Group A with 20 wins, 10 ties, 4 losses and 69-24. Ending with 50 points, they were 6 points clear from second-placed BSG Rotation (East Berlin).
BSG Sachsenring was relegated from First Division in 1985-86; BSG Energie – in 1986-87. They did not stay in Second Division long, but they did not last in the top league before their last relegation, so… it was the painfully familiar East German story: a handful of clubs meandering between first and second division, too strong for the lower level and too weak for the upper.
Holland the Cup
The Cup final opposed PSV Eindhoven to lowly Roda JC. Was it Roda really lowly? Yes, they had weak season and lucky to escape relegation, but the team was not all that bad and gave tons of trouble to the studded with stars PSV – twice they came ahead with goals scored by the Smeets brothers and it was 2-2 at the end of regular time. It was only in extra-time PSV clinched the victory – interrestingly, all goal were scored by their oldish greats: Gerets scored both goals in regular time and Lerby the winning goal in overtime. This is also telling – so much trouble was Roda JC that it took defensive players to turn the game over for PSV! A matter of grit and determination.
Roda JC fought greatly at the final, but still lost. Too bad, yet, it was expected – in the long run, PSV was much stronger. Can’t blame the boys in yellow, though – they tried hard and it took everything PSV had to overcome them. Top row from left: Petri Kolkanen, Michel Broeders, René Trost, Ernie Brandts, Huub Smeets, Marco Grassi, Piet Wildschut, Jos Smits.
Middle row: B. Jongen, Eric van der Luer, Michel Haan, Michel Boerebach, Martin van Geel, Wilbert Suvrijn, Silvio Diliberto, Moti Iwanier, Jan Versleijen (ass.)
Sitting: Eugène Hanssen, Raymond Smeets, Pierre Blatter, Rob Baan (trainer), Paul Jansen, John de Jong, Alfons Groenedijk.
Must have been painful for Ernie Brandts to see the victory going to the other side – he spent his best years playing for PSV, but now was too old for his former club. Still, Roda JC was not left with entirely empty hands – since PSV won the championship and also the European Champions Cup, Roda JC was going to represent Holland in the 1988-89 Cup Winners Cup. International football was not happening to Roda JC very often, so it was great! Instead of playing Second Division, they were going to play in Europe. Consolation of a kind.
Not a photo of Cup winning team, but still a fair sample of wealth of players in the stables of PSV. Look above at the full squad and count the great players who were not present in this starting eleven. So much power, so it was almost impossible to beat PSV – Roda tried hard, but class prevailed at the end. And PSV really proved its greatness by winning everything: the Dutch Cup, the championship, the European Champions Cup, and finally half of the team won the European Championship for good measure. Arguably, the best ever season in the history of PSV Eindhoven and the most successful team the club ever had. A point of curiosity more than anything, but when Cruijff left Ajax in 1973, the great team collapsed – no such thing after Gullit went to Italy, on the contrary: PSV had their best season right after his departure.
Holland I Division
First Division. A bit of irony this season: very strong Ajax, but not a match at all to fantastic PSV Eindhoven. May be if Cruijff stayed… be this could be only wishful speculation. This two clubs dominated Dutch football and rightly so. Feyenoord was still in the dark and AZ’67 Alkmaar paid high price for their years of success – since the club get strong on the risky concept of hiring old stars, it could not really last more than few years. Once there were no more veterans, there was nothing… and the moment of nothingness arrived.
DS’79 (Dordrecht) – absolute outsiders. Last with just 12 points and relegated. Won only twice this season and received 100 goals!
FC Den Haag – very weak too. 17th with 22 points and relegated.
AZ’67 (Alkmaar) – may be a bit unlucky, but they hit the bottom inevitably. 16th with 28 points and relegated on worse goal-difference, but looking at the squad, it was only right: at the turn of the decade the team was full of famous names – old, but famous, and along them few current stars emerged. The veterans retired and the young stars were sold mostly abroad, and now there was nothing. Very young beginner, Michel Vonk, aging Kees Tol, and English journeyman David Loggie – that was all…
Roda JC – 15th with 28 points. Lucky to escape relegation on better goal-difference, but having great year in the Cup tournament. Their terrible performance in the championship was a bit curious – the squad, compared to perhaps half of the league teams was quite decent. Perhaps they underperformed, perhaps put their stakes on the Cup. Bitter-sweet season.
FC Volendam – 14th with 29 points.
PEC Zwolle – 13th with 29 points.
Sparta (Rotterdam) – 12th with 32 points.
FC Groningen – 11th with 32 points. Third row from left: Mark Verkuyl – René Eijkelkamp – John de Wolf – Edwin Bakker – Hans Reussing – Jurrie Koolhof – Erik Manders
Middle row: Jan van Dijk – Dick Koster – Claus Boekweg – Foeke Booy – Paul Mason – Edwin Olde Riekerink – Gary Brooke – Marco Waslander
Sitting:Jos Roossien – Sjaak Storm – Rob Jacobs (trainer) – Johan Tukker – Frans Thijssen.
FC Utrecht – 10th with 33 points.
HFC Haarlem -10th with 34 points. Dick Advocaat coaching – not the famous coach yet, but rather at the starting point of the road to fame.
Fortuna (Sittard) – 8th with 35 points.
FC Den Bosch – 7th with 36 points.
Feyenoord – 6th with 36 points. Rinus Israel coached the team, but very often famous players fail as coaches – this was poor season of poor squad. Ben Wijnstekers (36 years old now), Sjaak Troost, Keje Molenaar (hardly a big star when playing for Ajax and now pushing 30, like Troost), Joop Hiele (the only player in this team called to the national team, but only as a back-up goalkeeper). Regi Blinker was only 19-years old hopeful, the older Rene Monkou, hardly a top-class… even the imports were quite anonymous (Dane Lars Elstrup and Australian David Mitchell, who played a bit for Glasgow Rangers and… Seiko Hong Kong). Feyenoord seemingly was getting worse, not better – there was very little at the present and even less for the future.
VVV (Venlo) – 5th with 38 points. Top row from left: Patrick van der Hoeven, Frans Verbeek, Edwin van Berge Henegouwen, Jos Rutten, Remy Reynierse, Raymond Libregts, Rene Eyer.
Middle row: ass.trainer Nico Neele, Frank Berghuis, Chris Burhenne, John Lammers, Bert Berhagen, Jos Luhukay, verzorger Ton van Veggel.
Sitting in front: Robert Janssen, John Roux, Stan Valckx, trainer Jan Reker, manager Wiel Teeuwen, Gerrie van Rosmalen, Rick Laurs, Frans Nijssen.
Perhaps a silent commentary on the Feyenoord crisis: VVV ahead of the famed club! Having Valckx, Verbeek and Libregts practically matched the players Feyenoord had…
Willem II – 4th with 38 points. A rare strong season for the boys from Tilburg.
FC Twente (Enschede) – 3rd with 41 points. Twente coming back to their great 1970s? Not very likely with the current crop of players – apart from Theo Snelders, hardly anybody with exceptional talent. Very good season, indeed, but they finished 9 points behind Ajax.
Ajax – 2nd with 50 points. Third row from left: Dennis Bergkamp, Sonny Silooy, Rob de Wit, Stanley Menzo, Ronald Spelbos, Erik de Haan, Arnold Scholten, Jan Sorensen, Frank Verlaat.
Middle row: Barry Hulshoff (ent.), Spitz Kohn (ent.), Dick de Groot (ent.), Cees Koppelaar (ent.), Alastair Dick, Petri Tiainen, Hennie Meijer, Aron Winter, Danny Blind, Erik Regtop, Peter Boeve, Ton Bruis Slot (coordinateur technique), Frans Hoek (ent. gardiens), Bobby Haarms (ent.).
Sitting: Pim van Dord (physiothérapeute), Edo Ophof, Arnold Mühren, Frank Rijkaard, Johnny Bosman, Johan Cruijff (directeur technique), Frank Stapleton, Johnny van’t Schip, Jan Wouters, Rob Witschge, Sjaak Wolfs (intendant).
What a squad – Frank Stapleton not even a starter! Ronald Spelbos also largely kept the bench warm. But Cruijff left shortly after the picture was taken and Rijkaard went to Spain even before Cruijff, largely leaving the club because of conflict with Cruijff. Ajax a rather big number of foreigners – Stapleton, Dick, Sorensen, Tiainen – and none was a regular. Which speaks volumes of the talent of the Dutch players at hand. Yet, they were outshined and left far behind… Ajax was not a title contender and this could be attributed to a point to conflicts, rather hasty departure of key figures, and nobody able to replace Cruijff at the helm – since all the trouble started pretty much at the start of the season, there was nothing to be done to remedy the situation. Eventually, Barry Hulshoff finished the season as a coach, but he was a far cry from Cruijff at the helm.
PSV Eindhoven dominated the championship, finishing 9 points ahead of Ajax. 27 wins, 5 ties, only 2 lost games, 117-28, and 59 points. The goal-difference of +89 pretty much sums up the great season PSV had. This was the peak of Guus Hiddink excellent squad and they won everything possible this year. There is hardly any need even to mention the stars playing for PSV – it is enough to point that Willy van de Kerkhof was just a rarely used reserve in this squad. Yes, he was very old by now, but he was also one of the all-time greats of the club and a legend. Compared to Ajax, PSV had one quite obvious advantage: experience. It was better mixed team – old grizzled stars, players at the prime of their careers, and talented youngsters. And surely the make of a great team – such teams usually had more than 11 former and current national team players and so did PSV. A triumphal season and confident champions.