Author: Vesselin

Liverpool had a chance for a triple this season. It was a big possibility until the semi-finals of the cups. Both times Liverpool drew the strongest opponent, which in a way was even better – overcoming the real opposition early meant almost sure cup. Both times Liverpool was visiting at the first leg and both times the results heavily favoured the Reds: in the Football League Cup, they lost 0-1 in Nottingham. In the FA Cup, they drew 0-0 tie in London against Arsenal. Unfortunately, the home games did not go well – Nottingham managed to keep the result at a 1-1 tie. Liverpool was eliminated. Then an epic followed: Arsenal also managed to a 1-1 tie. A third match was scheduled and it ended again 1-1. A forth match. And here Arsenal prevailed 1-0. No cups for Liverpool, then. But what a drama and what a historic event: 4 matches were played to decide the finalist – never before and never again. The longest semi-final of all time.

Meantime the other semi-finals went on quieter note. Wolverhampton lost the first leg to 3rd Division Swindon Town 1-2, but won 3-1 at home and moved to the League Cup final. West Ham United tied their home match against Everton 1-1 and looked like the 2nd division team was a goner. But surprisingly they won in Liverpool 2-1 and reached the FA Cup final. As usual, the Football League Cup final was played first. Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Nottingham Forest. The Wolves enjoyed a strong season and Nottingham not so great, but still odds were in favour of Bryan Clough’s squad. The final was fairly equal, but eventually the Wolves scored a goal, courtesy of Gray. Nottingham failed to score and lost.

Nottingham finished empty-handed this season – but empty-handed in England. They still got a trophy, though. This was their 3rd consecutive League Cup final – and the first they lost. This was also the last domestic success for a long time – their next chance for winning a trophy will come in 1989.

Wonderful season for Wolverhampton Wanderers – it looked like the decline was over and new bright period was starting. Perhaps the happiest was Emelyn Hughes: a winner with Liverpool, the great defender was winner again. This was second Football League Cup for the Wolves, but also their last big success.

A London FA Cup final for the first time since 1975. Back than it was a battle between 1st and 2nd division clubs. Now it was the same. West Ham United appeared in both finals, but this time they were the underdog representing Second Division. Arsenal seemed too strong to be beaten by a team having so-so season in the lower division. In 1975 the 2nd division team fought bravely, but lost. But it was different this time: in another pretty much equal game a single goal was scored – like in the League Cup final. And like the other final, the unanswered goal was scored by the underdog. Trevor Brooking was the hero. West Ham United won.

Bad luck for the Gunners. Unfortunately, not a great team… coming close to winning, but only that.

Happy winners, including the teddy bear. The Hammers won their 3rd – and so far last – FA Cup. It was great not only because Hammers proved stronger than Gunners: it was a victory bringing hope to down and out club, which was quite demoralized. They had a team which should have been in first division, but suffered in the second. Winning the Cup was perhaps very important moral boost. Not to mention that they beat city rivals in good shape. Trevor Brooking proved to be still the great player,, collecting trophies. West Ham was not going to be a great club, but tough they were and winning was not to end. Yet.

 

 

The English clubs dominated Europe and the premier league was still attractive, but there was something new: it was becoming similar to the continental leagues. There were outsiders. And there was a dominant club. The big question was who would challenge Liverpool. However, there was no match so far – one or another club had a strong season, but the next year it was someone else. The English did not particularly like that – it was boring and similar to the Continental championships, which were always looked down. To become like them meant only one thing: degrading. But concerns had little to do with battles on the pitch.

Since 1976-77 every season had outsiders and this one only continued the trend.

Bolton Wanderers were last with 25 points. Like Chelsea the previous season and Leicester City in 1977-78, the last team in the league won only 5 matches.

Derby County finished 21st with 30 points. Hardly a surprise – Derby County was sinking since 1975.

With 31 points Bristol City settled at the 20th place. It was quite clear that neither Bristol City, nor Bolton Wanderers were going to play first division football any time soon – if at all. Derby County was not expected to come back quickly either. The last 3 teams in the league were obviously weaker than the rest: Everton, 19th this season, finished 4 points ahead of Bristol. There was a gap between the outsiders and the better clubs consistently after 1976-77.

The group of declining clubs was also familiar by now: Manchester City – 17th and Leeds United – 11th, but Woolverhamton Wanderers had a strong year. Stoke City, coming back from relegation, was also in this group – by now, they were only fighting to stay in the league. Tottenham Hotspur was still shaky, but trying to build a new team and promising one too. However, so far a team good only for mid-table position. No new promising team emerged in 1979-80 – rather, the teams noticed in the previous years as going up continued their climb, with the caveat that none was going to match Liverpool. To a point, the group of West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, and Ipswich Town reached its peak: all to be second-best. Nottingham Forest apparently reached its peak too and it was not particularly high: occasional success, but not building a dynasty. Manchester United was hoped to deliver more than they actually did. Arsenal was perhaps the best example of strong English clubs at that time: they consistently maintained a place among the best in the league. This year – 4th. But they were unable to compete for the title. Looking ahead, only two clubs seemed promising:

Tottenham Hotspur – 14th this year, but there was strong skeleton already formed: Osvaldo Ardiles, Glenn Hoddle, Mark Falco, Ricardo Villa. With some additional good players, Tottenham had a future.

Southampton took different road. They finished 8th and looked ambitious.

Unlike Tottenham, Southampton did not appear making a strong team from scratch. They preferred to hire famous veterans. The old players got a spark in a new club – at least for a season or two. Then new veterans replaced them. Mike Channon was pretty much the only true member of Southampton – he was playing for them for years. Alan Ball and Charlie George were the old stars of this year, but they were not going to last. Ivan Golac, one of the first successful foreigners in England, and Phil Boyer were seemingly going to stay longer. So far, so good – it all depended on new recruits for the next season. Seemingly, Southampton was making a team for one season at the time. How long they would be able to gamble successfully was anybody’s guess, but so far the approach worked.

From this perspective, the top of the league appeared a bit suspect.

Nottingham Forest finished 5th with 48 points. They clinched the top place of a group of rather similarly strong clubs – that is, not very strong. Far behind the really strong. Apparently, Nottingham was not to be a great club and already were falling down to the bulk of competitive upper-mid-table teams. Tony Woodcock went to play in West Germany. It was not sure that Trevor Francis, Garry Birtles, and Viv Anderson will stay with Nottingham for a long time. Brian Clough was brilliant, but his approach was peculiar – depending largely on well-known oldish players, no longer needed by their former clubs. But those were players getting older and no better – no wonder the team was already slipping down the table. The great season of 1977-78 was more and more looking like one-time wonder. The gap was opening – Arsenal finished 4 points ahead of them.

Arsenal fought with Ipswich for the bronze and lost the race by a point. Strong team, but not a title contender. May be the attempt to keep a balanced squad was the reason why – too many old players. Brady, Stapleton and O’Leary were running the show, but it was not exactly a team built around them: with the exception of Pat Jennings, Arsenal had a bunch of likely counter-productive veterans – Sammy Nelson, Malcolm Macdonald, Pat Rice, and John Hollins. They were no winners, unfortunately. Not hungry anymore.

Perhaps the reason why Ipswich Town bested Arsenal, if only by a point.

Younger and hungrier team. It was not Mick Mills and Kevin Beattie running the team, but Mariner, Brazil, Osman, Butcher, Burley, Wark. The foreign recruits were well chosen – Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen were not only solid professionals, but players eager to prove themselves after years of playing second-fiddle in their native Holland. They blended perfectly. Of course, Bobby Robson was the coach and he wanted success too. So far, bronze medals was the best his team was able of.

And good as they were, Ipswich were entirely outside the race for the title. With 53 points they finished 5 points behind the silver medalists. The battle for the title was between two teams – Liverpool and Manchester United. The opponents run together to the end, but the Red Devils lost the title by 2 points. Liverpool won one more game and that was that.

Back row: K Moran, J Nicholl, G McQueen, P Roche, G Bailey, S Paterson, A Grimes, J Jordan;

Middle row: L Brown (Physio), S McIlroy, A Ritchie, M Duxbury, T Connell, J Greenhoff, S Houston, T Cavanagh (Asst. Manager), D Sexton (Manager);

Front row: M Thomas, T Sloan, L Macari, M Buchan, R Wilkins, S Coppell and A Albiston

It looked like Manchester United were finally restoring their leadership and once again were ready to win and even dominate. A bit familiar, though… United had a squad, which judged by names should have been champion, like most of the 1970s. At a glance, 14 former, current, and future national team players. Great veterans – Macari, McIllroy, Buchan, current major stars – Jordan, McQueen, Wilkins, Coppel. Players, expected to be big stars very soon – Bailey, Nicholl. Typical Manchester United, but now the key players were clearly from newer generation, not stigmatized by the unfortunate first half of the 1970s. If anybody was going to challenge the dominance of Liverpool, it was this squad – or so it looked. They came close, they appeared ready – the next year, surely.

Liverpool were used to it by now – there was a challenger every year, but every year it was a different one too. None lasted longer – seemingly, confident Liverpool was able to destroy every opponent. One run was deadly enough – the challenger was gone, licking wounds after that. Liverpool did not dominate the league entirely, matched by Manchester United, but the two leaders left the rest far behind. At the end, Liverpool won by a small margin. Small, but it was there. 25 wins, 10 ties, 7 losses, 81-30 goal-difference. The scoring record reveals Liverpool’s supremacy: they outscored the rest of the league by far – the next best strikers, Ipswich, managed only 58 goals; and had the best defense also by far – Manchester United, with the next best defense, allowed 35 goals. Liverpool had everything – class, experience, confidence.

It was useless to count Liverpool’s titles by now. It was pointless to list the stars – the squad was world famous. The magic was working – and it was in fantastic ability of the club and its managers to recruit new players. Nothing major, hardly ever a famous player – just two or three, largely unknown guys, every year. And similar number of great aging stars were released. Liverpool sold Keegan without a second thought. Emelyn Hughes was also gone – other club perhaps would linger and keep a legendary player, but Liverpool was braver: it was time, there were new movers and shakers in the team, development required those belonging to the past to be out. And they were replaced by ‘suspect’ youngsters – a strange import from Israel – Avi Cohen (Since when Israel has football players?), Frank McGarvey (Who?), Sammy Lee (Huh?). Well, they blended well – not starters, of course, but promising support. It was familiar by now – Fairclough, Alan Hansen, Allan Kennedy, most recently – David Johnson. Every one of them was unknown at first. Liverpool managers never made a mistake, thus ensuring great future without sacrificing the great present. Perfect squad. True champions. And to the disgust of the rest of England, Liverpool established itself as a Continental great club: head and shoulders above the other English clubs in every respect, dominating the league and certainly going to dominate it. Leaders even in new trends – perhaps they were the club least needing cash, but they signed with Hitachi and presented the sponsor’s add on their shirts.

Liverpool collected one more title. Meantime observers cried out that English transfers went insane…

Lots of money spent… and Liverpool was unbeatable.

 

Second Division – as ever, the only Second Division in the world attracting international interest. So many well known clubs, some of them quite recently successful and even playing international football. Not just weel respected players were found in second league, but even famous names – Trevor Brooking was playing there.

Charlton Athletic finished last with 22 points – a miserable season, in which the team was the league’s outsider. They finished 5 points behind the next to last.

Burnley settled at the 21st place with 27 points. Once upon a time, Burnley was to feared – now, they were going to taste 3rd Division football.

With 29 points, Fulham ended 20th – the third relegated team. It was not that long ago they almost won the FA Cup – in 1975. Now not only going down, but were among the pariahs of the league – the three clubs at the bottom of the table were well bellow anybody else: Bristol Rovers, 19th, finished with 36 points – 7 more than Fulham.

Four clubs should be mentioned for one reason only: it was surprising to see them in this league. Less so Newcastle United, for they had not been impressive for many years.

9th this season. Seemingly, Newcastle was going to stay in Second Division for awhile.

QPR was 5th, but not really in the race for promotion. It was only a few years ago when they were arguably the most exciting and promising English team. They lost the 1975-76 championship by a single point… and now: second division members.

Chelsea ended 4th , 4 points ahead of QPR, and losing promotion on worse goal-difference.

Going down lately… relegated in 1974-75, promoted in 1976-77, relegated again in 1978-79, and missing promotion in 1979-80. Chelsea had financial troubles and they were escalating.

West Ham United finished 7th their second season in Second Division. Not much… nothing, really.

Just imagine – Trevor Brooking, one of the top English and European players, struggling in Second Division. With seemingly not bad team-mates: Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard, Phil Parkes, Paul Allen, David Cross, Jimmy Neighbour… Perhaps rebuilding started too late, but the reason was most likely different: the late 1970s were tough times for the London clubs. QPR, Chelsea, Fulham, Charlton… Three clubs were in First Division, but Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace played in the second level a year or two ago. London was down. However, West Ham United still had teeth. A teeth seen only in England.

The battle for the top spots was fierce – 4 clubs competed for 3 promotional spots. Chelsea lost on goal-difference. Birmingham City elbowed Chelsea and took the 3rd place – and the last promotion.

Birmingham was just relegated and going back to First Division was great. However, Birmingham had modest decade in top flight, mostly trying to survive and this vintage was no more promising. Don Givens and Archie Gemill were the stars, but both already reached their peak a few years back. Pat van den Haowe was Dutch import, alas, one of the unknown Dutch players. Birmingham City was more lucky than strong. With 53 points, they ended 2 points behind the champions – it could have been them on top, but reality was still different: not an up and coming team.

Sunderland finished with 54 points and second. Sunderland spent most of the 1970s in Second Division – they were promoted in 1975-76, only to be relegated the next season. Now – going up again.

Like Birmingham, nothing much. Sturdy team, no big stars. Going up meant largely trying to stay there and no more.

Leicester City won the championship with 55 points. Relegated in 1977-78, they were eager to play first division football again. Difficult victory, but there was England – no big favourites, tough chase instead. Trophies count, so Leicester was a second division champion, but champion.

Leicester City was much stronger during the 70-s than its companions Sunderland and Birmingham City, but not anymore. Compared to the wonderful team of the first half of the 70-s, this vintage was rather weak. Similar to the other two promoted clubs and therefore not expected to play big role in the highest league. But there was one young player, who very soon will be a big world-famous star: Garry Lineker. So far unknown, but going up anyway – or so it looked like at the end of 1979-80 season.

 

Third Division. Wimbledon finished last with 34 points. Mansfield Town was 23rd with 36 points, Southend United – 22nd with 38, and Bury – 21st with 39 points. Those four were relegated. Up the table, in safety and nothing more, were the smallish English clubs of no interest. Except one:

Sheffield United, down on its luck, was 12th.

Better fate for their city rivals – they finished 3rd with 58 points.

Sheffield Wednesday ended with just a point more than Chesterfield, but it was enough – they clinched the last promotional spot. Jack Charlton was no loser as a player, and no loser as a manager. Going up, always going up. Sheffield Wednesday did not play in Second Division since 1974-75 and saying good-buy to Third Division perhaps was not spectacularly, but the feeling was great nevertheless.

Blackburn Rovers finished 2nd with 59 points and the Third Division champions were Grimsby Town with 62 points. The top three were promoted, of course. Sheffield Wednesday was seemingly the most promising of the trio – not because of their name, but because they lost the least number of matches this season – 9, and scored the most goals in the league – 81.

England. Dominating European football on club level, but financially, the English clubs were running debts, some in dire straits already. It was this season sponsors names appeared on team shirts. There was resistance to the idea and at the beginning only a handful of clubs used adds – Liverpool, Everton, Leeds United. The number of foreign players was steadily increasing and some got approval by fans and press. The rest was business as usual – English football was still attractive show.

Huddersfield Town won the IV Division with 66 points.

(Back) Robson (coach), Hanvey, Topping, Fletcher, Sutton, Taylor, Starling, Brown, Lillis, Mellor, Gartland, Haselden (physio/coach).

(Middle) Hart, Branagan, Holmes, Sandercock, Laverick, Robins, Robinson, Gibson, Bielby.

(Front) Smith, Cowling, Buxton (manager), Brook, Armstrong.

The champions distinguished themselves with scoring record: there is nothing unusual in that most goal were scored in the lowest professional league, but 101 goals is remarcable achievement. Over 100 goals were not scored in England since 1975-76, when Lincoln Town scored 111.

Three more teams were promoted along Huddersfield Town: Walsall, 2nd with 64 points, Newport County, 3rd with 61 points, and Portsmouth.

Portsmouth was lucky to clinch the last promotional spot – they ended 4th thanks to better goal-difference. Bradford City also finished with 60 points, but had to stay in the IV Division for the next season.

The grain of salt came from the Cup final. It was exceptional final: on their famous stadium, Real Madird A met Real Madrid B. Real Madird vs Castilla CF. An unique event, but also questionable. The second teams of the clubs were not allowed to play in the same league with the A teams, but were permitted to play in the Cup tournament. Apparently, nobody envisioned the possibility of two sides of the one club to compete for the cup – or, if somebody did when the rule was established in the past, it was believed that honorable sportsmanship will prevail. But nobody seriously thought such a final possible – and when the impossible happened, the spirit of the time was very different. In 1980 such a final looked like a scam – nobody believed the B team will even try to oppose the A team. There was no question not only who the winner will be, but even what colours the finalists will use: the B team without any fuss will dress in the reserve kit. There was no point to play the final at all. The other clubs surely pointed a finger and complained – and soon enough the rule was changed. Which provided further unique historic point: a second division finalist, two teams of the same club at the final. Never to be repeated anywhere. The final ended as expected: Real Madrid won 6-1 and enjoyed a double. The critics point was confirmed by the result. On the pitch, the final was seemingly fair – at least judging by the vicious tackles delivered by the Castilla’s defenders. But they often missed the ankles… and no matter how they tried, Castilla looked obviously weak, not even close to Real. Which is technically understandable – a mid-table second division team, no matter how enthusiastic, would be weaker than mighty club like Real. As a second team of same Real, it stands to reason that there is huge gap between the stars and mostly promising, but not good enough for the first team players. The most Castilla could do would be on individual level: youngsters trying hard to impress the coaching stuff of the A team, yet, careful not to prevent the stars from winning. Tackle, but miss. Kick the ball a bit off-target. Run energetically, but misread a bit the game flow. Make an interesting, but not dangerous pass. Try to impress, but make sure to lose. A difficult task really, for first and formost Castilla had to lose – and impress in the same time. A lot of running was done as a result.

And all ended cheerfully – there was no loser: both teams smiling with the cup, all winners, for all are Real Madrid players. Precisely the picture all other clubs and their fans hated to see: the end of competitive football, a scam. But unique one nevertheless.

Losers before the match was even started, yet, this is the squad which achieved the biggest success in the history of Castilla CF. It may be a B team of Real, but still has its own bit of history – and this final stands as the highest, never to be repeated again, point. And because Real won the title as well, Castilla was going to play international football too – in the next Cup Winners Cup. Which presented one more amusing possibility: imagine Real eliminated in the European Champions Cup, but Castilla running strong and winning the Cup Winners Cup? Theoretically, possible… the second team with European trophy and the A empty-handed. And from possibility, all kind of suspect activities were easily imagined too: such as Real giving players to Castilla mid-season to ensure they win in Europe. Apart from dark speculations, let see who was on the field for Castilla: Agustin, Gallego, and Pineda. Familiar as Real Madrid players a few years later. The captian Javier Castaneda did not make the first team, but had a good career – after the final he went to play 11 years for Osasuna. Hardly a star… as a whole, this Castilla vintage gave little to big brother…

Which enjoyed a double and therefore was happy.

Unlike the championship, winning the Cup was never a question. Standing from left: Garcia Remon, Stielike, Cunnigham, Benito, San Jose, Pirri, Camacho.

Crouching: Juanito, Del Bosque, Angel, Santillana.

One more trophy and perhaps Cunningham was the happiest of them all, for he started his career in Madrid with a double – his first titles. And, as it turned out, no star had to fear ambitious youngsters from the B team – nobody was invited to take the place of established player after the final.

At the end, the front picture in AS Color sums this final best.

The First Division was divided into three groups during 1979-80 season – 2 outsiders, two favourites, running head to head to the end, and between the lowest and the highest vast fairly equal bulk, almost a league by itself. 13 points separated the bronze medalist from the third relegated team at 16th place. 13 points also separated bronze from silver…

Malaga was last with 19 points.

Standing, from left:Burgueña,Orozco,Brescia,Cantarutti,Viberti,x,x,Mesquida,x,Corral,Popo,Nacho,Muñoz Pérez; Middle row:Javi,Aido,Migueli,Vargas,Salguero,Santi;

Sitting:Salcedo,Castro,Juan Carlos,Astorga,Alcaide?,Macías,Aráez,Filgueira,Collantes,Martín.

To a point, Malaga was largely a warning for the newly promoted: promoted in 1978-79, relegated in 1979-80. The longest time Malaga played in Primera was 5 consecutive seasons. Normally, they lasted a year or two. They were hopelessly last, finishing with fewer points than they actually earned: 3 points were deducted as a penalty for forfeiting their match against AD Almeria.

Thanks to the deducted points, Burgos CF finished 19th. They were really the worst team team this year, earning just 20 points.

The only thing to say about Burgos has nothing to do with their pathetic season, but about their history and that only from contemporary standpoint. Burgos was found in 1922 as Gimnastica Burgalesa Club de Futbol. In 1948 the name was changed to Burgos Club de Futbol and under this name they reached and played their bit in the top Spanish league. But today the club has two foundational years – 1922 and 1994 and this is because they disappeared in 1983 due to grave financial problems. Their reserve team – Burgos Promesas – was renamed Real Burgos Club de Futbol and played under this name until 1993, when once again the club was bankrupt and dissolved. Only to be refounded again as Burgos Club de Futbol. The painfully familiar scheme of preserving a club without paying mounting debts, leading to historic confusion. Arguments are pointless – if only Burgos was not relegated in 1980, money would not have been a problem; if money was not a problem, they would have been outsiders in 1979-80. Which came first – the chicken or the eggs?

Unlike the two outsiders, the third relegated club fought to the end and lost the battle for survival.

Dwarfed by its giant neighbours – Atletico and Real – Rayo Vallecano is the third significant club in Madrid, but the world was largely unaware of its existence until 1976-77, when Rayo Vallecano won promotion for the first time. Modest and somewhat restricted to its own neighbourhood, Vallecas, Los Franjirrojos (the Red Sashes) is almost a club from another city: nobody seriously considers a match between them and the big two a derby. And so big are the neighbours, Rayo Vallecano never managed to elevate itself from its insignificant predicament. Going to Primera in 1977 was their biggest success since founded in 1924. Staying in Primera was almost heroic achievement, but the Cindarella story ended in 1979-80. They fought as much as they could, but at the end were 2 points short – Hercules (Alicante) survived with 28 points – Rayo finished with 26 and unlucky 16th. No surprise, really. They had only one great player – Fernando Morena. The Uruguayan star delivered what he was hired for – 20 goals – but he was the only strong player in the team and his performance was not enough to save the club. Rayo Vallecano went down to its familiar second division apparently for good.

This was not a great year for another club from Madrid – Atletico had miserable season. They finished 13th with 31 points. Five points ahead of minuscule Rayo Vallecano, but 22 points behind Real. If Rayo Vallecano escaped relegation, may be they would have been proud to be on similar level with Atletico, but from the other point of view it was only shame: to be compared to Rayo was a disgrace.

Sinking so low seemed illogical: Luis Aragones, already successful and respected, was coaching them. The squad was strong, as far as names, one more Brazilian star was added to Luis Pereira – Dirceu, no less. But the crisis is understandable: Atletico aged as a team. No radical changes were made for a long time – only small additions. Some key players left (Leivinha) or were too old to make a difference (Ayala). Luis Pereira was beyond his peak and Dirceu did not fit well for whatever reason. Atletico needed a new squad, a full rebuild. The season should have been a wake-up call – a bit too late may be, but much needed.

The other club in need of waking call was Barcelona – they finished 4rd, but far behind the leading clubs. Since the real measure for Barcelona is only Real Madrid, the red signal for danger was flashing: Barcelona ended with 15 points less than their arch-enemy and Real was not particularly great . Barcelona suddenly found itself in unlikely company – similar to Sporting Gijon, Real Betis, Salamanca, and Almeria.

Like Atletico Madrid, Barcelona needed radical rebuilding – they kept a cluster of players too long. There were problems unsolved for years – particularly goalkeeping. Asensi and Rexach were getting too old. Krankl and Simonsen presented a problem for the future – they were both strikers, but the team needed a defender and a playmaker to organize a new team around them. Which meant that both foreigners were not going to last, for they represented to a point the old guard. At least one of them was to be out soon to open space for a foreign midfielder. A good goalkeeper had to be found – and quickly.

The weakness of the usual strong clubs – Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Real Zaragoza – suddenly elevated smaller clubs.

The league debutante Almeria finished 10th. Excellent season for almost anonymous club. Of course, they benefited by the weakness of the traditionally strong, but never mind. The team depended on 5 South Americans – the typical for Spanish clubs combination of Argentines (Daniel Pavon and Ricardo Martinez), Paraguayans ( Rolon and Oscar Lopez), and the odd Brazilian (Odair). Some of them were surely oriundi – to have that many foreign players did not make sense otherwise.

Salamanca finished 9th , a point better than Almeria. The big star of this vintage was a newcomer – the Paraguayan striker Carlos Diarte, who arrived from Valencia. Diarte never achieved European fame, but in Spain he was a star – one of the first crop of foreigners, he arrived in 1973, when he was just 19-year old.

Real Betis ended 5th , 2 points behind Barcelona. Up and down club, but this season clearly up and once again coming on top of their rivals Sevilla.

Yet, none of the clubs above was really rising – they simply had a good season, most likely not to be repeated. The rising clubs were two: Sporting Gijon and Real Sociedad.

Sporting Gijon bettered Barcelona by a point and got the bronze medals. Gijon jumped from 14th place the previous season to 3rd, leaving for the first time the lower half of the table. The team was not made of famous players, but it was sturdy, well rounded, and lead by a big star – Quini. Enrique Castro, known as Quini, was already the top Spansih striker and a goal-scoring machine. He was the top scorer of the league this year with 24 goals. In attack, Quini was helped by newly added Aguilar, who had been a starter of Real Madrid for years. The formula was good in general: individually, the players were not so great to attract the appetites of the big clubs. Sporting was strong as a team, but there was a question mark: Quini. It all depended on how long he will stay with the club – of he moved the scheme was liable to collapse. And the danger was real: Sporting had no means to keep a superstar. Thus, Sporting Gijon was up and coming, but continued rise depended largely on Quini.

The other ascending club was entirely different: Real Sociedad had an young and very talented generation, almost entirely home-made. The bright youngsters were still only hopefuls, so they were not yet a target for the big clubs. But they were going up and there was no doubt that this squad will be a decisive factor in Spanish football very soon. Real Sociedad run for the title this season and lost it by a point. They lost only one match! They also had the best defensive record by far – Real Sociedad allowed only 20 goals. Real Madrid and Barcelona shared the second best record, receiving 33 goals each.

The club from San Sebastian had their best season ever, but still the feeling was that this achievement will be outdone soon. So far, Lopez Ufarte and Zamora were recognized as almost full-fledged stars, but already the big name – and captain of the team – was the goalkeeper Arconada. He debuted in 1973 and by now was experienced, yet still young – just 26 years old, which for goalkeepers is not even the peak. No wonder Real Sociedad received so few goals – Arconada was rapidly becoming one of the best European goalkeepers. Perhaps luckily for the club, Arconada appeared when the big clubs had the previous generation of solid keepers still playing well (Iribar, Reina, Sadurni). By 1979-80 the veterans were gone, those of the immediate next generation aged (Garcia Remon and Miguel Angel), Arconada was national team regular, and Real Sociedad was rising – no point to go elsewhere. And he did not – he was in the right club at the right time. His greatest years coincided with the greatest years of Real Sociedad. The best was still to come. As for the picture, Real Sociedad here is dressed in their second kit – since their usual colours will fly for quite some time, let see their lesser known second option.

At a glance – nothing new: Real Madrid champion once again. But it was difficult victory – Real Madird prevailed by a single point, winning a tough race from start to the end. A happy end, but the future did not look bright – Real Sociedad was breathing in the neck of mighty Real Madrid. But for the club and the fans only victory counts – and this season gave them a double, so everybody was happy.

The usual suspects, dressed in blue: standing from left: Garcia Remon, San Jose, Cunningham, Benito, Pirri, Camacho.

First row: Stielike, Juanito, Del Bosque, Garcia Hernandez, Santillana.

What can one say? A famous squad. The top Spanish players of the 1970s plus Stielike, already recognized as an international mega-star, and fresh strong addition in Cunningham, who apparently settled well. With Vujadin Boskov at the helm, everything looked just fine. The future was also seemingly bright: Stielike and Cunningham provided a backbone for the years to come. But this team won the championship with difficulty and was far from overwhelming. And as great as these players were, Real Madrid was reduced to domestic victories – internationally, the 1970s were poor. And even poorer was the performance of the Spanish national team, which was based largely on Real’s stars. Stielike and Cunningham had few trophies with their previous clubs and nothing with their national teams. Real was strong, no doubt about it, but not all that strong – the point was not missed by the administration. It was a very successful season, but with a grain of salt.

 

Perhaps three moments characterize the 1979-80 Spanish season best – two transfers and the Cup final. The Cup final not only opposed a second division to first division team, but most importantly two sides of one and the same club. The transfers mark the high and the low of players’ luck and more. The first transfer announced the arrival of the best ever Uruguayan scorer Fernando Morena to Spain.

Morena was arguably the best Uruguayan player of the 1970s, famous for a long time, and arriving to Spain with a fantastic record: in his previous 6 years with Penarol he scored 162 goals in 140 matches. What was unusual then? Two things: first, he was coming to Europe quite old, approaching his 28th year. Of course, playing for famous club like Penarol seemingly explains his late transfer, but given the political and economic situation of Uruguay in the 70s confronts such explanation: tough military regime and terrible economic situation were the realities leading to great exodus of players. The military Junta was not interested in football, so the clubs were in poor shape and short on money. It is strange that a player of such a caliber stayed at home that long. May be too long… Morena was perhaps less known abroad in 1979 than in 1974. He signed with Rayo Vallecano, not with any of the big clubs. Not even with the solid middle Spanish clubs, but with a small one. Hardly a transfer for a star – rather, for a faded star, former star, or just a journeyman. Lesser players had better and more lucrative careers with Spanish clubs – Fernando Morena did not last long in Europe and was hardly noticed.

The other transfer was the very opposite: one day in the summer of 1979 a young guy knocked at Real Madrid’s door and tell them he wants to play for them. This was unheard of case,especially for a club like Real – it was taken for granted that the famous Real can have only policy: ‘you don’t call us, we call you’. Yet, the player persuaded the club to give him a try, was found more than good enough and Real decided to sign him – which meant buying him from his former club to the tune of 960 000 English pounds! It was a story so unusual, it became the big news in the summer of 1979: it was not just that a player offered his services to Real Madrid. What made it so exciting story was that the player was young, fairly unknown, and came from England.

Laurie Cunningham – pictured here in his early days with Leyton Orient – was born in 1956 and played professional football since 1974, but it was just by the end of the decade when he climbed to some fame. That is, after he moved from Leyton Orient to rising West Bromwich Albion in 1977. In 1979 the talented left-winger fulfilled his dream – he was included and debuted for the national team of England – but whatever he was so far was only a bright hopeful. Hardly a big star and almost unknown outside England. His daring move to Madrid instantly made him famous and expensive – West Bromwich Albion certainly jumped on the opportunity and hiked his price. Real Madrid was impressed enough to pay and Cunningham became the first ever English player to play for Real Madird. Not only that, but he was black – at the time when black English players were still few and just breaking into the national team. There was some luck too: Real Madrid did not have a second foreigner at the moment and Cunningham was instant starter. A transfer in sharp contrast to Morena’s – a oldish player, all but forgotten by now, went to a small club, but the young fairly unknown Englishman moved to the biggest club in the world and became a big star even before playing an official match for Real. As for what was real and what was inflated… Morena played for Uruguay from 1971 to 1983; Cunningham played for England 6 times, all of them during the 1979-80 season, did not make the team for the European finals in 1980, and was never called again. But that is visible when looked from a distance – at the time, Cunningham was the wonder in everybody’s mind and mouth.

Once the summer was over, it was back to business and the heat of the transfer market was replaced by the heat of the championship. The gritty Second Division had no big names to attract attention, but it had rules worth mentioning – B teams of clubs were allowed to participate in the leagues, only having no right to play in the same league with their A team. The rule was not new at all and mostly concerned the big Spanish clubs – Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao often had their B team in the Second Division. Normally, information of Second Division came with the note that so-and-so teams cannot be promoted, if they finish at the top of the league. As it happened, this season there was only one B team playing in the second level, and it was different. Different by name – if B teams appeared just as that: Barcelona B or Atletico Madrid B, and so on, Real Madrid visibly had no such team. Instead, there was Castilla CF. A small club, which was taken by Real. The name was preserved, but this was the B team of Real Madird and like any other B team, had no right of playing in the same league with the first team. That is, Castilla CF would not be promoted to First Division. Nothing to worry, though – they finished 7th. The problem came from another angle. Castilla CF had a good run, others faced disaster – especially from today’s perspective.

At the end of the table and relegated finished: Algeciras CF – 20th, Gimnastic de Tarragona – 19th, Deportivo La Coruna – 18th, and Celta Vigo – 17th. Strange to see La Coruna and Celta going to Third Division today, but back then neither club was even well known. Similar to modest Algeciras really. Gimnastic was also of the same ilk, long ago reduced only to a name of historic importance.

Second Division was largely made of similar clubs – most had played in first division, but never a big role. They moved up and down, depending on momentary luck. They were not particularly strong – Castilla, the second team of Real Madrid, was 7th with 40 points. The champions of the league finished with 47. That is, pretty much on the level of Real’s B team – but the top three were promoted.

CA Osasuna ended 3rd with 44 points and got the third promotional spot.

In Basque, the name means ‘health’ – in the sense of ‘strength’ or ‘vigor’. As for performance, Osasuna so far played 8 seasons in First division and 13 seasons in Third Division since their foundation in 1920. Their most successful years were between 1955 and 1960, when they enjoyed the longest run in First Division – 4 consecutive seasons, reaching the 5th place in 1958-59. However, their last visit to Third Division was 1976-77. The home city of Osasuna – Pamplona – is world-famous, but not for football. Osasuna did not play first division football since 1963.

With 45 points Real Valladolid finished 2nd.

Founded in 1928, they had a bit better history than Osasuna – played longer in the top league and only once in the third division. But like Osasuna, they did play in the First Division for a long time – since 1964.

With 19 wins, 9 ties, and 10 losses Real Murcia won the Second Division. 2 points ahead of Real Valladolid and not the best in anything – Osasuna won more matches and scored more goals, Castilla and Alaves allowed the same number of goals.

The oldest of the promoted teams – officially founded in 1908 – ‘Los Pimentoneros’ (Paprika-men) had the same kind of history as the other two. Their longest run in first division was 3 seasons – from 1944 to 1947, and the they were in 3rd division in 1976-77. But they played in the top league in 1974-75, unlike their rivals, which did not such joy for a log, long time.

Happy winners, well done, good for them, and so on. Yet, neither club appeared much different than previous winners of Segunda – smallish clubs, lucky to be among the best, and struggling to last more than season.

 

 

The Cup final opposed Roma to Torino – a replay of 1963-64 final, the last time Roma won a trophy, after tough 0-0 match, which had to be replayed and only then Roma prevailed 1-0. The finalists were quite equal in 1979-80 – strong running Torino and up and coming Roma, neither team strong enough to win the championship. Since both teams were pretty much matched, there was no favourite. The final was played in Rome, which gave – on paper – the edge to Roma, but on the field there was no edge: the final finished 0-0, the overtime kept the parity, 1963-64 was repeating itself entirely, except that there was no longer replay, but penalty shoot-out. Back in 1964 Roma prevailed by a single goal – and the same happened in 1980: Roma won the shoot-out 3-2.

Standing from left: Terraneo, Claudio Sala, Volpati, Graziani, Pileggi, Vullo.

Crouching: Patrizio Sala, Pulici, Salvadori, Mandorlini, Pecci.

Coming close does not count… Torino lost.

Standing from left: Romeo Benetti, Turone, Ancelotti, Pruzzo, Di Bartolomei, Santarini.

Crouching: Scarnecchia, Maggiora, Amenta, Bruno Conti, Paolo Conti.

By names, Roma was perhaps a bit stronger than Torino and also they were the rising team, but in reality both opponents were equal. Shoot-outs are always a lottery – Roma was lucky winner. For the fans, it was great moment, of course – a trophy at last! Waiting since 1964 for one! But perhaps the most important aspect of the victory was confirmation of the rise of Roma.

 

 

Italian football as a whole was not in great shape to begin with, but the Totonero scandal made this season very difficult for evaluation. It was easier to judge declining clubs and the stagnated ones, but which were improving and perhaps rising? Under the dark shadow of fixed matches, there is no certainty and clarity.

Ascoli finished 5th , a great season for the small club, but one-time wonder at the end. Ascoli had no impressive players, suggesting they could stay among the best.

Perhaps the only club emerging with promising squad at the end of the 1970s was Roma.

With Liedholm at the helm, Roma somewhat quietly was going up. Since the club was not a factor for many years, no attention was focussed on it – Lazio was the Roman news during the 1970s. Roma finished 7th this season, thus continuing to stay under the radar, but a group of strong players was already gathered: Benetti, Spinosi, Tancredi, Pruzzo, De Sisti, and especially Di Bartolomei and Bruno Conti. It was not a finished and polished team, but it had strong backbone. It all depended on what the club would do in the following years – so far, there was no reason for paying close attention: the key players were quite old and perhaps over the hill. Solidity was achieved, it was a matter of adding quality. Roma was not yet ready to concur.

Without a truly ascending team, the top of the table was occupied by familiar names – traditionally strong Milan and Inter, plus the good since 1974 Torino, and the best Italian team of the 1970s Juventus. Milan finished 3rd, but was relegated for its involvement in Totonero.

With 35 points, Torino finished 4th. Led by Graziani, Claudio and |Patrizio Sala, Pulici, Pecci, Torino was still very strong, but the leading players were familar since 1975 and no new younger names emerged since then – Torino more or less reached its peak and only maintained its position.

Juventus finished 2nd, 3 points behind the champions. They won the most matches this season – 16, but unfortunately lost too many – 8. Seven of the losses were away matches – in itself, nothing unusual in a league heavily depending on home turf, but only 2 clubs lost more away games than Juventus – Catanzaro (14th) and Pescara (16th). Juventus played a bit more open football than the typical Italian team, but such approach required stronger strikers and Juventus fell short in this department: Bettega was the key figure and he was getting a bit old.

The team sticking to tradition won the title – 14 wins, 13 ties, 3 losses. Try to win at home, get a point away – the tired conservative formula. Inter did not risk and perhaps it was wise aprroach considering what kind of players they had.

Bordon, Baresi, Altobelli, Oriali – younger players, just becoming first rate stars. A bit unfinished team, a bit short of full great team, especially if compared to Juventus. But younger and hungrier. Not very exciting on the pitch, but fighting for the point and getting it. May be lucky a bit too – except Juventus, there was no well-rounded team in the league. As a team, Inter needed quite a lot to measure up to the teams it had in the 1960s – it was largely a promising team and no more. In itself, the victory was important one – the 1970s were terrible years for Inter and the last title they won was in 1970-71. At last they added one more – their 12th. Looked like revival was starting and the victory was excellent moment to reinforce the team, to add a few more classy players. There was a problem, though – seemingly, Inter decided to go for young talent, which was right. It was just that there was not plenty of young talent in Italy, especially strikers.