Month: August 2023

Scottish Premier – the top league. 10 teams playing 4 times against each other, the last one relegated. Well… the rest was Glasgow Rangers.
Hamilton Academicals – last and relegated with 14 points. The winners of second level in the previous were now hopeless outsiders.
Motherwell – 9th with 27 points.
Dundee – 8th with 28 points.
St. Mirren – 7th with 29 points.
Hearts of Midlothian – 6th with 31 points.
Hibernian – 5th with 35 points.
Dundee United – 4th with 44 points.
Celtic – 3rd with 46 points.
Aberdeen – 2nd with 50 points.
Glasgow Rangers – practically unchallenged champions with 56 points from 26 wins, 4 ties, 6 losses, and 62-26 goal-difference. Graeme Souness did excellent job, but it was noticed that he used quite liberally the chequebook – of course, he felt right to do so, because Rangers wanted success and that meant spending money and buying classy players. Domestic success was even smaller part of the ambitious project: international success was the real aim, which naturally supposed domestic success in order of reaching and concurring Europe. Thus, Rangers under Souness reversed the traditional flow – instead of selling Scottish stars to English clubs, they were buying English top players and grumbling along the way that the Scottish league was too weak for them. Which was true, so buying bug English names was also seen as waste of money. So far, Rangers was getting what they wanted and concurring Europe was becoming possible, but UEFA suddenly hit hard Rangers by introducing stiffer requirements for foreign-born players – and Rangers was exceeding the new limits. For they had 7 English players this season: Chris Woods (30 years old), Terry Butcher (31), Mel Sterland (28), Gary Stevens (26), Mark Walters (26), Ray Wilkins (33), and Kevin Drinkell (29). Six of them were regulars, that is half of the team and the very skeleton of it, and 3 (Woods, Butcher, and Stevens) were current English national team players. Add 2 more Northern Irish – Jimmy Nicholl (34) and Johnny Morrow (18) – and Rangers had way too many foreigners without much room to play around the new UEFA regulations. Yet, Souness still added one more big name at the beginning of the season – Andy Gray (34), luckily, he was Scottish, but it was clear that the regular line would not be able to play in Europe – and what could be the point of trying to organize two similarly strong sides: one for domestic use and another for international? Anyhow, at the moment Souness had very strong team with reliable reserves and at least at home dominated.

Scotland. Ranked 5th. Glasgow Rangers time… their ambitious project was based entirely on money. Spending like crazy and buying English players. In the long term, it was their doom. Still 2 points for a win, the teams in the lower divisions played 3 times against each other and the teams in the top league – 4 times.
Scottish Division 2 – third level. As ever, 2 teams promoted, none relegated. In brief:
Arbroath finished 10th with 37 points.
Queen’s Park – 7th with 38 points.
A bit of battle for second place – Brechin City lost it by 2 points, ending 3rd with 43 points.
Alloa Athletic clinched 2nd place with 45 points and was promoted to second level.
Albion Rovers won the championship with confidence: 21 wins, 8 ties, 10 losses, 65-48 goal-difference and 50 points. It was great and may be even surprising success, for they were 12th of 14 teams in the previous season. Now they were promoted up.
Scottish Division 1 – second level.
Queen of the South finished last with 10 points and was relegated. They had 2 points deducted for a breach of the rules, but even with full record they were too weak and going down.

Kilmarnock was the other relegated team – 13th with 34 points. Unfortunate, for they went down only on worse goal-difference and that by a single goal, but Kilmarnock was not doing well in the last few years, so relegation was inevitable.
Clyde survived with 34 points and one goal better goal-difference. Lucky 12th.
Ayr United also survived – 11th with 35 points.
Meadowbank Thistle – 10th with 36 points.
Forfar Athletic – 9th with 36 points.
Partick Thistle – 8th with 37 points.
Raith Rovers – 7th with 40 points.
St. Johnstone – 6th with 40 points.
Greenock Morton – 5th with 41 points.
Airdrieonians – tried to climb back to top flight, but eventually fell back: 4th with 47 points.
Clydebank – one more team trying to go up, but eventually losing steam: 3rd with 48 points. They scored most goals in the league – 80.
Falkirk – solid season, ending with success: 2nd with 52 points.
Dunfermline Athletic managed to prevail over all rivals: 22 wins, 10 ties, 7 losses, 60-36 goal-difference and 54 points. They were just relegated from the Premier and did not want to stay in the second level at all.
Of course, they had every right to celebrate – champions and moving up!

The Cup final provided an opportunity to Benfica for a double – their opponent, although city rival, was not particularly serious challenger: Belenenses. However, ambition cannot be underestimated easily – the final was still a Lisbon derby, Belenenses was on ascent… and they surprised Benfica by beating them 2-1.
Benfica lost the Cup final and had to be satisfied with one trophy this season. In any case, they won the more important championship.
Belenenses triumphed and it was more than pleasant victory of the underdog: after a very, very long decline, Belenenses was seemingly on ascent, possibly restoring its leading position… in time. This was their 3rd Cup, but they won a trophy for a first time since 1959-60,when they won their 2nd Cup. Reduced to insignificant third club of Lisbon, now they claimed better place in the ranks of Portuguese football. Not ready yet for much, but boosted by success, everything was possible. So were the hopes of blue fans. The triumph was due to two coaches: Brazilian Mario Marinho (remembered as a central defender of Brazil at the 1974 World Cup, now 42 years old) took the helm in August, 1987, but in December, 1988 well respected in Portugal Englishman, John Mortimore (55) was signed as well and it seems the two foreigners worked in tandem all the way to winning the Cup (and both left the club in June, 1989). Of course, Belenenses could not compete financially with Benfica and their players were modest compared to what Benfica had – thus, the victory was even sweeter. No matter what, winners deserve to be known and here is the squad: goalkeepers – Jorge Martins (35 years old), Justino (29), Rui Valentin (22). Defense: Baidek (Brazil, 29), Galo (28), Carlos Ribeiro (25), Rui Gregorio (21), Sobrinho (28), Teixeira (Angola, 25), Ze Mario (Brazil, 30). Midfield: Adao (29), Delei (30), Dudu (Brazil, 29), Goncalves (22), Jaime Merces (26), Jorge Silva (25), Jose Antonio (32), Juanico (31), Macae (Brazil, 25), Paulo Monteiro (25). Strikers: Chico Faria (25), Chiquinho Conde (Mozambique, 24), Stoycho Mladenov (Bulgaria, 32), Paulo Sergio (21), Saavedra (Angola, 27).
Nothing like Benfica… it could be argued that their most famous name was coach Mario Marinho… The best known player was Stoycho Mladenov and that largely from the early 1980s, when playing for impressive in Europe CSKA (Sofia). And for the Bulgarian national team, of course, with which he played at the 1986 World Cup finals. But he was 32 years old already… Chiquinho Conde was just making his name. Add Brazilians Baidek and Ze Mario, who achieved some international recognition with their previous club, Gremio, and that was all… Again, modesty makes victory greater and sweeter. As for the future… Belenenses needed serious and massive additions if wanting to play key role and that meant money, and money… they did not have much. So, once again – sweet victory, for most likely success would not come again.

First Division. A 20-team league evidently was overstretching – 2 teams were way to strong for the rest and half the league was practically fighting for survival. So, the Federation decided to decrease it from 20 to 18 teams next season. Thus, 5 teams were relegated. Benfica dominated the season, one team was hopeless outsider, another 9 were involved in the battle for avoiding relegation. It was also the time when Bulgarian players were the choice of import of Portuguese clubs (apart from Brazilians, Angolans and Mozambiqueans, who were almost domestic players) – next season will be 20 Bulgarians playing for Portuguese clubs.
Academico Viseu was too weak – last with 19 points and out.
Leixoes – 19the with 28 points and relegated.
Farense – 18th with 31 points and relegated. Former Bulgarian international Tzvetan Danov went down along with his teammates.
Espinho – 17th with 32 points and relegated.
Fafe – 16th with 32 points and relegated as well.
Beira Mar survived – 15th with 33 points.
Penafiel – 14th with 33 points.
Chaves – 13th with 34 points. More Bulgarians here – Radoslav Zdravkov and the winner of the Golden shoe Georgi Slavkov. Both aged…
Maritimo – 12th with 35 points.
Portimonense – 11th with 35 points. The import of arguably the most exciting Bulgarian player of the earlier 1980s, Plamen Guetov, did not help much.
Nacional – 10th with 36 points. With them ends the large group battling only for survival this season.
Vitoria Guimaraes – 9th with 38 points.
Estrella Amadora – 8th with 39 points.

Belenenses – 7th with 40 points.
Sporting Braga – 6th with 40 points.
Vitoria Setubal – 5th with 42 points.
Sporting Lisbon – 4th with 45 points. Having three very well known stars – Oceano, the Uruguayan goalkeeper Rodolfo Rodrgues, and Brazil’s Silas – was not enough for more.
Boavista – 3rd with 49 points. Very satisfying season, but distant third…
FC Porto, talented as it was, left the rest of the league far behind, yet, in the same time they were unable to challenge Benfica. 2nd with 56 points.
Benfica reigned supreme: 27 wins, 9 ties, only 2 lost games, 60-15 goal-difference, 63 points. They left FC Porto 7 points behind and celebrated their 28th title. It was formidable squad,coached by former star Toni, now 43 years old and much talked about coach around Europe. Two players, who played with him and also with Eusebio, were the link between the good team in the first half of the 1970s and the great one of the 1960s: the goalkeeper Bento (now 41 years old) and midfielder Sheu (36). Two othwer players related this squad with the previous vintage, when the decline started in the 1970s was halted in the early 1980s: Diamantino (30) and Chalana (30). The rest of the team was quite strong as well: four more goalkeepers – current regular Silvinho (30), Bizarro (29), Brassard (Mozambique, 17) and Dias Graca (Brazil, 25). Defenders: Abel Silva (20), Alvaro (28), Antonio Veloso (32), Fonseca (24), Jose Garrido (29), Mozer (Brazil, 29), Ricardo Gomes (Brazil, 25), and Samuel (23).
Midfield: along with Sheu, Chalana, and Diamantino, Benfica had Ademir Alcantara (Brazil, 23), Elzo (Brazil, 28), Hernani (26), Mariano (21), Miranda (26), Pacheco (23), Valdo (Brazil, 25), and Vitor Paneira (23).
And in attack: Abel Campos (Angola, 27), Lima (Brazil, 27), Mats Magnusson (Sweden, 26), Ricky Owubokiri (Nigeria, 28), and Vata (Angola, 28).
Certainly a squad capable of serious football and success – after all, they played at the European Champions Cup final in 1988 and lost it only in the penalty shoot-out.

Portugal. Ranked 6th. The season was dominated by Benfica, but there was another very promising sign from a club, seen in big decline for years. Portugal still used classic 2-point for a win system.
Second Division – divided as usual into 3 zones of 18 teams each. The zone winners were directly promoted, the last 5 teams – directly relegated, and at the end the three zone champions played between themselves for the Second Division title.
Zona Norte. One team dominated the championship.
Salgueiros finished 11th with 34 points.
Vizela – 9th with 35 points.
Pacos de Ferreira – 8th with 37 points.
Felgueiras – 7th with 37 points.
Varzim – 6th with 38 points.
Rio Ave – 4th with 41 points.
Freamunde – 2nd with 43 points. A distant second, not really contesting the top place.
Wonderful season for Tirsense – they won the championship without any trouble with 50 points. 20 wins, 10 ties, 4 losses, 56-23 goal-difference. Well deserved promotion to First Division.
Zona Centro. Two teams competed for top position.
Estrela Portalegre ended in the relegation zone – 17th with 20 points – and went down to third level.
Their local rivals did much better – Portalegrense finished 11th with 31 points.
Caldas ended 8th with 36 points.
Covilha – 6th with 38 points.
Uniao de Lamas – 5th with 40 points.
Agueda – 3rd with 44 points. Top row from left: Eduardo, Rui Ferreira, François, Paulo Sérgio, João Luís, Jorge, Palecas, NN, Gabriel I, Adolfo, Hernâni.
Middle row: Rogério Matias, Castanheira (roupeiro/condutor), Caetano Coelho (massagista), Paulo César, Gabriel II, Paulo, Carlos Janeiro, Augusto Semedo (treinador), Rui, António Augusto, Gabriel III, Elói, Canas, Chaves, Barros.
Sitting: Coelho, Gabriel IV, Jean, Miguel, José Augusto, Raúl, Chula, Morais, Rogério, Mico, Alexandre.
Academica Coimbra lost the battle for promotion – 2nd with 52 points. Standing from left: Vítor Nóvoa, João Mendes, Mito, Dimas, Eldon, Reinaldo. Front: Tomás, Barry, Rolão, Rubens Feijão, Mota.
Feirense clinched 1st place with 54 points from 23 wins, 8 ties, 3 losses and 69-18 goal-difference. Wonderful victory, leading to promotion to top flight.
Zona Sul. Two teams fought for first place like in Zona Centro.
Montijo was one of the relegated teams – 17th with 24 points.
Esperanca Lagos – 16th with 25 points and relegated.

Silves escaped relegation only on better head-to-head record with unfortunate Oriental (which had better goal-difference, but it counted only if head-to-head record was even) – 13th with 30 points.
Lusitano de Evora – 12th with 31 points.

Barreirense – 11th with 33 points.

Alverca – 8th with 35 points.
Torreense – 5th with 38 points.
Olhanense – 4th with 38 points.
O Elvas – 3rd with 43 points.
Very strong season for Louletano, but they lost the race for top place – 2nd with 47 points.
Uniao da Madeira prevailed over Louletano by 2 points and was the group champion with 49 points: 20 wins, 9 ties, 5 losses, 54-22 goal-difference. Well earned promotion.
The championship final between the zonal champions – 2-leg round-robin play-offs.
Feirense finished last with 3 points. Tirsense – 2nd with 4 points.
Uniao da Madeira won the play-offs with 5 points: 2 wins, 1 tie, 1 loss, 4-3 goal-difference. They were the champions of Second Division this season. Of course, this was only a final for Second Division title- all participants were already promoted to First Division as zonal winners.

The Cup final was exact copy of the previous year final: Anderlecht vs Standard 2-0.
Standard Liege lost second Cup final in a row, which was demoralizing. But the team they had presently was not as good as the one of few years back and Standard was actually slipping down – a win could have stopped the decline… alas, they lost.
Anderlecht won second Cup in a row, increasing their total to 7 Cups. They lost the championship, so the Cup was worthy consolation. The squad was not as great as some previous vintages, but still arguably the strongest in Belgium: Raymond Goethals at the helm. National team regulars Munaron, Grun, Lozano, Vervoort and young bright striker Luc Nilis. Fresh European champion Adrie van Tiggelen from Holland, the Yugoslav Milan Yankovic, who played for Real Madrid before joining Anderlecht, the Australian national team player Edi Krncevic, the Icelandic star Arnor Gudjohnsen, Dane Hendrik Andersen, and an African who was to become well known name around the world Stephen Keshi. This team did not finish the season without a trophy, but… the title was not theirs.

First Division. One outsider, two teams fighting for the title.
KRC Genk – very weak this season – last with 15 points and relegated.
RWD Molenbbek – lost the battle for survival and ended relegated: 17th with 25 points. Very quickly Brussels went down from 3 teams in the top league to one in the next season.
K. Beerschot VAC – survived by a point: 16th with 26 points.
Cercle Brugge KSV – 15th with 27 points.
KSC Lokeren Oost-Vlaanderen – 14th with 28 points. Nothing special, but two Nigerians will become very well known in the 1990s – Siasia and Rufai.
KRC Mechelen – 13th with 28 points.
KSK Beveren – 12th with 28 points. Back to their modest tradition, the good years were over.
R Charleroi SC – 11th with 29 points.
Lierse SK – 10th with 29 points.
KSV Waregem – 9th with 30 points.
KV Kortrijk – 8th with 35 points.
K Sint-Truidense VV – 7th with 35 points.
Standard Liege – 6th with 36 points.
Royal Antwerp FC – 5th with 42 points.

Club Brugge – 4th with 43 points.
RFC Liege – 3rd with 46 points. Wonderful season for usually modest club. They had a number of strong players – 3 second-rate Yugoslavs (Stojic, Varga and Malbasa), two up and coming Belgians – Vejt and Boffin, and another one of little talent, but who will change football for ever and not for good (depending on standpoint) in the 1990s – one Jean-Marc Bosman. Hats down to these boys, though – they were inferior to the selections and Club Brugge and Standard, but finished well ahead of the famous clubs.
Anderlecht – 2nd with 53 points. Fought for the title as usual, scored most goals in the league (83), had strong squad – perhaps the best in the country on paper – but finished 4 points behind the winners.
KV Mechelen won the Belgian title just one year after winning the Cup Winners Cup. 25 wins, 7 ties, 2 losses and 64-20 goal-difference did it – they finished with 57 points: 4 points ahead of mighty Anderlecht. The team excited many a viewer in the previous year and it was so sweet to see them winning again. Since for many this club was somewhat ‘new arrival’, the title most likely was their first – in fact, it their 4th, but 40 years passed since they won their 3rd title – no wonder their success was considered absolutely new. Well, the long wait was over at last.
The squad was pretty much the same as the one winning the Cup Winners Cup, but eventually changes occurred .
The ambitious program started in the mid-80s worked better than expected – KV Mechelen had the best period in its history and the only problem was the future: sudden fame is almost always deadly for a small club. So far nobody was looking and they were able to recruit good players, but now… the opposite was going to happen, including their coach Aad de Mos. But the moment was great and the team deserved its success.

Belgium – ranked 7th. Interesting season, bringing new champion – or rather very old one – which was also a club in everybody’s mind at least in Europe. Belgium still used the old 2-point-for-a-win system.
Second Division. The winner was directly promoted to First Division and the second promotion was contested in play-offs between the teams finishing 2-5 in the championship. The usual confusion with names… so the one given in the RSSF records is followed here.

KSC Hasselt was last and out with 18 points.
RC Harelbeke – 15th with 20 points and out.
FC Verbroedering Geel -14th with 24 points.
K. Stade Leuven – 13th with 26 points.
KSK Tongeren – 12th with 27 points.
FC Lommelse SK – 11th with 27 points.
K. Th. Diest – 10th with 27 points.
Racing Jet Wavre – 9th with 28 points. One has to keep foundation date – or rather registration date – of Belgian clubs, for almost every change canceled previous club and new one started. So, the previous featured team Diest, although familiar name, was actually just coming to existence. On the other hand Racing Jet only changed location – and the name, consequently – from Brussels to Wavre. Something like that…
K. Berchem Sport – 8th with 29 points. As usual, many foreigners played in Belgium – Berchem had the Czechoslovak veteran striker Werner Licka, for example. Now 35-years old and fading away from minds – his fame really was in 1980.
FC Eeklo – 7th with 30 points.
K. Patro Eisden – 6th with 31 points.
KSC Eendracht Aalst – 5th with 32 points.
K. Boom – 4th with 36 points and to the promotion play-offs.
KAA Gent – 3rd with 40 points and to the play-offs.
RFC Seresien – 2nd with 41 points and going to the play-offs.
FC Germinal Ekeren won the championship with 44 points from 19 wins, 6 ties, 5 losses, 63-33 goal-difference. Well desereved victory, getting then direct promotion to First Division.
The promotion play-offs – a 2-leg round-robin tournament. A bit of mystery – the 7th in the championship went to the play-offs instead of higher-placed teams.
Why FC Eeklo was given place in the promotion play-offs is unclear, but did not help them – they finished last with 4 points.
K. Boom – 3rd with 4 points.
RFC Seresien – 2nd with 6 points.
KAA Gent – won the play-offs and the promotion with 10 points – 5 wins and 1 lost game, 10-3 goal-difference. Won when mattered and went up along with Germinal Ekeren.

The Cup final repeated the championship – Swarovski Tirol against Admira/Wacker. Admira/Wacker won the first leg 2-0, but in the second there was no doubt who was best this season – Swarovski Tirol won 6-2 and the Cup.
This was more or less the last great run of the old club from Vienna. They came close to winning championship and Cup, a championship, if not the Cup; a Cup, if not the championship… but finished second in both competitions. Who know what their fate would have been, if they won a trophy this year… may be they will be still playing in the city they were founded today and not representing another town. But they lost.
Swarovski Tirol (Innsbruck) won a great double. It was their first – in fact, their first trophies ever. Football in the city of Innsbruck has weird history, closely related to the famous jewelry firm Swarovski. Fate depended on the whimsical involvement of Swarovski and still depends… So, there is always a principal team in the eyes of city fans, but… it is not the same club. Amalgamations, name changes, new establishments, sometimes buying league licenses from already existing ot just folding club, bu the colours are always white, black, and green, so… it is the same club and it is not… Even the names repeat themselves – Wattens, Wacker, Tirol, with or without Swarovski attached to them. By the rules, Swarovski Tirol was new club, formed in 1986, which immediately bought the license of Wacker, seemingly on their last legs (only to be reincarnated later for better confusion). Once again, it was ambitious Swarovski project, but if fans recall the great early 1970s, officially this only 3-years old club, which in this short time managed to triumph – 1st title, 1st Cup, 1st double! If it was really brand new club, such a sharp rising from nothing to national domination would be great… but in local eyes it was just continuation, their boys finally came back on top again. Today this club does not exist and for many years too, but… there is still white, black and green in Innsbruck. Anyhow, when Swarovski decides to invest in football, they do not joke – Ernst Happel was hired to coach and he was a winner to the end of his career. He got a good skeleton of solid players – aging stars, in the Austrian tradition, but what names! Bruno Pezzey (now 34) was back from West Germany and was joined by 33-years old Yugoslav Ivica Kalinic in defense. The West German Hansi Muller (32) commanded midfield, helped by former Rapid star Peter Hrstic (28). Austrian national team striker Peter Pacult (30) was the force in front of the opposition’s net and experienced Austrian goalkeeper Klaus Lindenberger (32) was solid defender of Tirol’s own net. No matter how weird Happel was, he delivered always – and his team quickly delivered first success – and not just success, but a double!
Innsbruck was happy again and the future… ah, the future depended on Swarovski…

First Division spring Championship final phase. Positions and points in the first phase will be in brackets. Strange it may be, but the teams ended the season with combined records from first and second phase, but how the points were counted? Half of the points earned in the fall were carried to the spring and the total was made from that plus all spring points earned.
VSE Sankt Polten (4th in the first phase with 25 points) ended 8th with 17th points. If Vorwaerts Steyr had the 1975 European player of the year, St. Polten boasted the 1978 World champion and best player Mario Kempes. Now 35-years old Argentine was playing his second season with St. Polten and third season in Austria, where he started with First Vienna. Along with him played the typical for Austrian football Yugoslav players – Petrovic and Brankovic – plus two well respected Austrians – Ogris and Pichler – but the team either lost steam or interest in the spring final stage.
Grazer AK (7th in the fall with 22 points) finished 7th with 20 points.
Wiener Sportclub (8th in the fall with 20 points) ended 6th with 22 points. Danish well known defender Soren Busk (36) left before the season and the big name was the Yugoslav Petar Brucic (36) best known for his successful years with Rapid (Vienna).
First Vienna FC (6th with 22 points in the fall) took 5th place with 26 points. First Vienna had wonderful spring – they lost only 1 game, tied 9 and won 4.
Rapid (5th with 24 points in the fall) finished 4th with 29 point. Not a factor this season. Rapid had 5 foreigners – some of them were little known (Mladen Munjakovic -Yugoslavia, Gudmundur Torfason – Iceland, and Daniel Rodriguez – Uruguay), but the last two were very well known, however, in the Austrian tradition, old: the former Soviet national team midfielder Sergey Shavlo (second season with Rapid, 33 years old) and the former Yugoslav national team striker Zlatko Kranjcar, who played many years for Rapid, now 33 years old.
FK Austria (Vienna, 3rd in the fall with 30 points) finished 3rd with 31 points. They were the only club with different approach, not looking for old foreign stars, but for current vintage – the Argentina striker Jose Percudani (24) arrived in 1987 from Independiente (Avellaneda). He was joined by Enrique Baez (23), arriving from Wanderers (Montevideo) in 1988. Both were national team players when Austria signed them, Baez played in the 1987 Copa America, so they appeared to be highly promising reinforcements. However, when they donned the violet shirt of Austria, neither was called again to the national team of his country. It could be said that Austria was a dead end for them… and Austria did not win the title this year.
FC Admira/Wacker (2nd with 31 points in the fall) had a rare strong season, but managed only 2nd place at the end with 33 points.
FC Swarovski Tirol (Innsbruck) won both first and second phase – 15 wins, 3 teas, 4 losses, and 33 points in the fall, followed by even better spring final – 9 wins, 4 ties, 1 loss. Thus, their final record was 24 wins, 7 ties, 5 losses, 78-38 goal-difference, and 39 points – 6 more than Admira/Wacker. Great victory for the new club and it was not all.