Author: Vesselin

First division did not present more optimistic picture than the second. Small countries with limited pool of players as a rule concentrate the best available talent in few bit clubs and Holland was no exception – traditionally, the top players were found in the usual three suspects, to which AZ’67 was added. But AZ’67 were rather separate and atypical case. For the troublesome state of Dutch football around 1980 it is better to take a look what the rest of the league had. The fate of many a club depended on the feet of veterans… Rinus Israel (b. 1942, PEC Zwole), Aad Mansveld (b. 1944, FC Den Haag), Dick Schneider (b. 1948, Go Ahead Eagles), Tommy Kristiansen (Dane, b. 1953, Go Ahead Eagles), Gerrie Kleton (just because he was a member of the great Ajax vintage, now – Haarlem), Pleun Strik (b. 1944, NEC Nijmegen), Jan Jongbloed (b. 1940, JC Roda), Theo de Jong (b. 1947, JC Roda), Dick Nanninga (b. 1949, JC Roda), Pim Doesburg (b. 1943, Sparta), Louis van Gaal (b. 1951, just because he became a famous coach – Sparta), Ruud Geels (b. 1948, Sparta), Willem van Hanegem (b. 1944, Utrecht). True, the stars played abroad to the usual destination for Dutch players – Belgium – another two attractive destinations were added – USA/Canada (NASL) and England after 1978, but the bulk of the league depended on a small group of very old local players. But compared to this group, the number of promising youngsters appeared pitiful… Ruud Gullit (b. 1962, Haarlem), Edo Ophof (b. 1959, NEC Nijmegen), Adrie van Tigellen (b. 1957, Sparta), Danny Blind (b. 1961, Sparta), Martin Jol (b. 1956, Twente), Hans van Breukelen (b. 1956, Utrecht), and the Norwegian Hallvar Thoresen (b. 1957, Twente). The future certainly did not look bright. And it was clear that none of the promising youngsters will play for their current club for long. Currently, Holland had not a generation capable of maintaining the high standards set by Cruyff and company in the first half of the 1970s. Which affected negatively the top clubs too – the big three were still the best in Holland, but already lost their leading position in Europe. The same happened to the national team this very year at the European finals. The league itself was divided into three groups this season – four above the rest, a big bulk of middle of the road teams, and 6 at the bottom trying to escape relegation. Three outsiders were unlucky – or simply worse than the others.

Haarlem finished last with 24 points.

Third row, from left: Jaap Elzinger, elftalleider, Frank Kramer, P.D.J.M. Huyg, P.L Th.M. De Jong, R. Boersma, E.M. Metgod, Ruud Gullit, Jan Frantz.

Middle row: A. Van Der Ban, E.L. Melgers, C.C. Verkaik, G. Kleton, F.W.M. Reuser, Cees Duindam. Sitting: D.A. George, K.L. Masefield, T. Hendriks, B. Hughes,A.M.F. Haar, W.P.T. Balm.

Ruud Gullit had to play second division football before becoming world-famous stars of the 1980s.

Vitesse finished 17th with 25 points – hardly a big surprise, for the club was outsider at that time.

NAC (Breda) was the unlucky 16th – with 27 points, they were relegated because of worse goal-difference than 3 other clubs – NEC (Nijmegen), PEC Zwole, and Sparta (Rotterdam).

Sparta was the best placed among the outsiders – 13th.

Of the small clubs, the bulk of the league better than the outsiders, but not in the same league with the best, Utrecht was the best.

Top row from left: v. Breukelen, Tervoort, v.d. Vlag, Carbo, de Kruyk, Rietveld, Stroomberg.

Middle row: Han Berger, Wildbret, Cabo, du Chatenier, v. Doorn, Streuer, v. Tamelen, Norbart, v. Oostrom, Verkaik, Okhuysen

Sitting: Rietveld, Flight, Gozems, Wouters, Adelaar, Kruys, Witbaard.

5th place most certainly was great achievement for Utrecht, but they had 4 points less than the 4th and were 5th because of better goal-difference – slowly declining since 1975 Twente in its current shape was still better than almost the whole league.

So, 4 clubs were above the rest – nothing new in Holland, except the best teams were not a reason for optimism. There supremacy was preserved largely because they were able to get the best players of the country. Of the four, two were in disarray, and one was a special case.

Feyenoord was 4th and rightly so – signs of coming crisis were noticed around 1975 and after that they were on the slippery slope. Compared to Ajax, Feyenoord missed the moment for starting a new team – Ajax constantly sold the top players and thus was also constantly looking for replacements of the stars. Feyenoord had no such approach and when the great stars moved abroad, retired, or were just too old to play outstanding football, the club was caught unaware. They started rebuilding late, from scratch, and in disadvantage – the new talent was limited in numbers and currently more successful clubs were more attractive to the youngsters. By this season a single player remained from the great older vintage – Wim Jansen. 34-years old defensive midfielder… hardly the player to build a team around and let him lead. Vaclav Jezek, the other famous name, made Czechoslovakia European champion in 1976, but in Feyenoord produced no magic may be because of the very small number of really talented players. Rene Notten, aging himself, was not a big star anyway and failed to satisfy Ajax a few years earlier. Ton van Engelen was the third veteran, perhaps making the fans wonder why Trejtel was dismissed: already 30 years old, van Engelen spent most of the 1970s as a back-up of the best Dutch goalkeeper Jan van Beveren in PSV Eindhoven. The rest of the key players were much younger and still rather ‘promising talent’ than established stars: Michel van de Korput, Ben Wijnstekers and two foreigners: the Icelander Petur Petursson and the Danish defender Ivan Nielsen. Both eventually became well-known players, but in 1979-80 were just raw unknowns. With such a squad, there was no surprise Feyenoord had nothing to do with the title and finished 4th.

Now PSV Eindhoven aged and automatically declined a bit, but they were different than Feyenoord – perhaps because PSV was the last internationally successful Dutch club, or may be because they never had such grand figures like Cruyff and van Hanegem, replacing veterans was easier and young players willing to join. PSV suffered largely by their own movers and shakers: Rene and Willy van de Kerkhof in particular, but also those veterans, who were beyond their peak for years already – Lubse, van der Kuylen, and van Kraay. Van Beveren was perhaps declining too, for he was no longer called to play for Holland – when Cruyff quit the national team in 1977, it seemed that the goalie will be willing to play regularly, but curiously he was no longer called. PSV had a big group of current stars completing the team: Huub Stevens, Ernie Brandts, Jan Poortvliet, Piet Wildschut, and the young hopeful Erwin Koeman, but there was no flair – the switch of flamboyant, fast, and risky football they were famous for in the first half of the 1970s, was gradually replaced by rather dull, strict, physical football of the van de Kerkhof twins. Their stamp was very clear – all younger players were of the same ilk and almost all of them – defenders. It was exactly the current generation of Dutch players – well prepared, tough, competent, but dull and unimaginative. Unfortunately, it was not a great generation and PSV struggled without really great players, and went down a bit.

Third row from left: Reker (ass. trainer), Harry Lubse, ?, Huub Stevens, Ernie Brandts, Jan van Beveren, Willy Heijink (ass. trainer)

Middle: Jac. v.d.Ven (verzorger), Piet Wildschut, Adri van Kraaij, Willy v.d.Kuijlen, Erwin Koeman, Willy Janssen, René v.d.Kerkhof, Cees Rijvers (trainer)

CrouchingValke, ?, ?, Adrie Koster, Jan Poortvliet, Willy v.d.Kerkhof.

Good enough for 3rd place, a point better than Feyenoord, but out of the title race.

Which was lost by the only optimistic happening in Holland – AZ’67 by 3 points.

This was the most successful championship season of the club so far. Also, this was the most promising team at the moment, but in the same time AZ’67 was a special case and not taken entirely serious. The record shows astonishing climb: the club won Second Division in 1971-72 and debuted in First Division the next season, in which barely survived, finishing 15th. But after that it was only going up and – 7th in 1973-74, 5th in 1974-75 and 1975-76, 3rd in 1976-77 and 1977-78, and 4th 1978-79. And Az’67 won the Cup in 1978. Yet, the club was hardly ever mentioned, let alone considered a big news. Perhaps staying out of scrutiny helped, but there was a sense it was a special project, a bit of artificial development, which prevented permanency. Success depended on special blend – AZ’67 took discarded veterans from other clubs and added young talent missed for one or another reason by the big clubs. This season started with Eddy Treytel and Hugo Hovenkamp as veteran anchors. The rest of the team was much younger, but already the current stars of Holland – Ronald Spelbos (b. 1954), Johnny Metgod (b. 1958), Jan Peters (b. 1954), Peter Arntz (b. 1953), Kees Tol (b. 1958), and the fantastic scorer Kees Kist (b. 1952). Add two talented imports: Kristen Nygaard (Denmark) and Kurt Welzl (Austria). But one thing was not missed by any careful observer: apart from Kist, AZ’67 did not have home-grown players – all were bought from elsewhere. Thus, the future depended on the ability of the club to sign players of good quality, replacing those who will inevitably move away, for AZ’67 was in a position to prevent neither Dutch giants, nor foreign clubs offering more lucrative contracts. How long would be possible to keep ‘constructing’ teams was the question, leading observers to be cautious about AZ’67. And in the same time it was the only really improving team in Holland and more importantly – the team playing attractive football, close to the standard set by the great Dutch players of the first half of the 1970s.

As good as AZ’67 were, they were still beaten. Ajax finished first with 22 wins, 6 ties, 6 losses – 50 points and 77-41 goal-difference, which was worse than AZ’67’s, but Ajax won 2 more matches than their rivals. Tradition and deeper squad were perhaps the keys to success – Ajax really won the tile away from home: AZ’67 earned 17 points from away games, Ajax – 21. And this was so far the clear shortcoming of AZ’67 – all of the Dutch big clubs were more successful at away matches than the mavericks.

By now, it was even pointless to count Ajax’s titles – some other aspects were more important. There was a single survivor of the great team of the early 1970s – Ruud Krol. This was his last season in white and red, though – more than reminder that new team should have been made since 1975. But so far Ajax struggled – no new version came even close to the earlier standards. Of course, they were too high a hurdle to be easily overcome, but no new team even relatively close to the old Ajax emerged so far. Transition was painful, players were hired and fired, and the only result was that Ajax lost its strong position in international football. This version was neither well-shaped, nor particularly strong – just like every other version since 1974. Without Krol, this team was left with leading veterans like Piet Schrijvers and Pim van Dord – a far cry from the golden days of Cruijff and Keizer. The newcomer was famous and arrived from Real (Madrid) – the Danish star Henning Jensen – but he was one more example of what did not work so far: after Cruijff was sold to Barcelona in 1973, Ajax visibly changed their concept – earlier the formula was finding young promising players either in smaller Ducth clubs, or in their own youth system. After 1973 Ajax was buying well known names, but old – probably hoping to build a new team around them. Results were mixed and certainly not long-lasting. Henning Jensen’s arrival showed continuation of this ill-fated policy – to the point that not many people remember him playing for Ajax. Of course, Ajax had bright talent as ever – Tahamata, La Ling, Schoenaker, Meustege – but none of them ever became a big star and a true leader. To a point, the best discoveries were foreigners – Soren Lerby and Frank Arnesen, both Danish. They were recruited so young and unknown, that they could be considered a product of Ajax, but they were not Dutch… and more importantly, it was unlikely they will stay for long. On one hand, Ajax never changed its policy of selling profitable players; on the other hand – foreigners were naturally less loyal, especially to a club, which lost its veneer. At best, Ajax was strong enough for the domestic championship, especially when PSV Eindhoven and Feyenoord were not in great shape.

Decline of Dutch football was detected earlier, but in 1980 it was definite: Holland was just a mediocrity at the European Championship finals. A glance at the season just finished before the finals tells why: the great old generation aged, but it was still the decisive force. The next generation, at its prime by now, lacked similar class, but the most troublesome sign was the absence of talented youngsters. Second Division of any country is hardly an indicator of the health of the game, but the handful recognizable names were all veterans – Joop van Daele (b.1947, Fortuna), Cees van Ierssel (b.1945, Heracles’74), Kalle Oranen (b. 1946, Heracles’74), Dick Helling (b. 1950, Volendam), Gerrie Muhren (b. 1946, Volendam). Even the foreigners, less famous than their Dutch counterparts, were ancient – the Yugoslavians Kristo Mitrovic (b. 1946, Vlaardingen) and Mikan Jokanovic (b. 1946, VVV Venlo). Not a single young player became recognizable name in the future. Ideally, lower divisions should supply the top league with promising players – there were no such here. The few more or less shapely clubs dominated the league – FC Den Bosch, 4th, finished 8 points ahead of Cambuur, 5th. 19th and last was the hopeless outsider, too weak even for a weak league.

SC Amersfoort ended with 19 points – 7 less than FC Vlaardingen, 18th.

At the top of the table everything evolved around promotion rules: the champions moved directly to first division. The following 4 clubs had a final promotional tournament between themselves for the second spot – to a point, this stage was a recognition of the weakness of the lower league: no matter how good season one club may have had, it was not truly stronger than the clubs right after it. Four clubs were superior during the season, but still there no real competition – FC Groningen was far above the rest.

With 57 points, they left the next team far behind – 6 points behind. No worries for a second. Groningen was relegated from first division in 1973-74 and finally managed to climb back, but whether they would stay among the best or not was another matter – and a problem for the next season.

Volendam, just relegated from top flight, finished 2nd with 51 points. Also with 51 points, but worse goal-difference, Wageningen finished 3rd. FC Den Bosch was 4th with 50 points. These the clearly superior clubs, but he final promotional tournament needed 4 participants, so the 5th placed club by default became one of the top league teams. Cambuur with 42 points, but it was not the points giving them a chance of promotion – Cambuur were lucky to have better goal-difference than De Graafschap. But luck can go only so far when there is no some class. Cambuur played well in the fianl tournament, quite equal to 3 of the participants, yet finished last with 5 points. De Graafschap, having better goal-difference than Cambuur, took the 3rd place. Volendam bested Cambuur and De Graafschap by a point, but it did not matter at all since only the winner got promotion.

FC Wageningen were obviously the best team at the final tournament – they finished with 8 points from 4 wins and 2 losses. Two-point difference does not look a big deal, but one has to consider the number of the teams – when they are only 4, 2 points spells out superiority. The combined record of the lower clubs was 5 wins. Wageningen were the only club with perfect home record – 3 wins. A good season all-together, crowned with promotion to the top league, which they left in 1974-75, finishing at the last place. Like Groningen, Wageningen’s real test would be the next season – happily promoted for the moment. The newly promoted clubs had no players to speak of – the only somewhat classier player was

Sammy Morgan of FC Groningen. Between 1973-75 he played 40 games for Aston Villa – the pinnacle of his career, but keep in mind that Aston Villa was in the second division at that time. He also played 18 matches for Northern Ireland – the last of them in 1978, but that was that for international football, since Morgan was born in 1946. One old and so great even when he was young player for two newly promoted clubs… way too little to hope for miracles in first division.

Not only Hearts had troubles – other well known clubs were in the dark too.

George Best makes a pretty picture, but only a picture… he was not real help for struggling Hibernian.

Perhaps this is the only interesting fact about the team at the time: a rather early and still unusual for Scottish team shirt-adds. And nostalgic reminder of once upon a time famous football gear maker. Rather symbolic… Best and Bukta going down together. And Hibernian too – they finished not only last, but were hopeless this season: 18 points in 36 games, only 6 wins. The club above them had 8 more points!

Which was also nothing. Dundee was only stronger than Hibernian – they had no chance of survival, finishing 7 points less than 8th placed Kilmarnock.

Kilmarnock – 8th at the end, well behind the teams above, but never in danger of relegation.

Dundee had difficulties even before Hearts and the reduced premier league was too small to accommodate a struggling club – Dundee were relegated in 1975-76. Managed to come back after winning the second division in 1978-79, but was too weak a team to secure a place among the best – down they were going one more time.

Another club was in trouble too – Glasgow Rangers. They finished 5th! The last time they were so low in the table was in 1964-65. To a point it a telling comment on the state of Scottish football at the time – seemingly, declining. Which, of course, does not diminish the success of some clubs.

St. Mirren finished with bronze medals. Excellent season for a club without big names and one playing second division football in 1976-77. Their picture is also a telling document of the lax spirit of those years: everybody is dressed in Umbro, except the goalkeeper, sporting not only Adidas, but a jersey originally belonging to the Norwegian national team. The kit makers did not have yet the iron grip in clubs and players. However, as good as St. Mirren were this season, they were not contenders – Celtic finished 5 points ahead of them.

The race for the title was between two club and single point decided it – Celtic was 2nd with 47, but even if they managed 48, they would have stay second because of worse goal-difference. The champions scored more goals and received less than Celtic. It was dramatic victory for a club, which was well known, but… hardly successful. To a point, Scotland had almost a brand new champion – Aberdeen.

Here they are – the exciting new Scottish champions! Their victory was dramatic, but significant, especially from the distance of time. First, it was the 2nd title won by Aberdeen so far – and the first was won in the long gone 1954-55. This was great for club and fans, but there far more important aspects to it. First, Aberdeen had a group of bright emerging stars, who defined Scottish football in the 1980s – Steve Archibald, Gordon Strachan, Willie Miller, Alex McLeish. With such a backbone, Aberdeen started their greatest period of all time. This is the second important point, but it was naturally unknown in 1980. Third, this season could be considered the true beginning of fantastic career of a man who became a legend long time before his retirement – Alex Ferguson was the young and only promising coach and mastermind of the champions. Of course, he was noticed already, so Aberdeen hired him, but Aberdeen – not Celtic or Rangers! And he made them champions instantly. And with him Aberdeen achieved a lot more, and on and on he went to his present godly reputation. This was the true significance of the 1979-80 season – and perhaps the only optimistic sign in Scottish football.

Aberdeen won the title, but were they to stay on top? Were they really strong or just one-time wonder? So far, they were not overwhelming – won the title with difficulty, and… lost the League Cup final.

Aberdeen reached the final like they did in 1976-77 and faced Dundee United, having so-so season so far. Both finalists had curiously weak opponents in the semi-finals – Dundee United destroyed second division Hamilton Academical 6-2, but Aberdeen struggled against a team which was not a member of the professional leagues – Greenock Morton. The future champions eventually prevailed 2-1. At the final, on December 8, 1979, Aberdeen was met by equally ambitious foe and after overtime the result was 0-0. A replay was scheduled for December 12 and this time Aberdeen was thrashed 0-3.

Dundee United were not bad, but hardly strong – they were merely better and more stable than most league members, which is not much to say about a league of 10 members. But a cup final, especially on British Isles, was entirely different matter and Dundee United naturally had no fear. ‘The Arabs’ had quite a lot at stake – they never won a trophy before and now felt they had a good chance. This was a time later named the ‘Jim McLean era’ – under his coaching, the club was quietly improving and finally the efforts brought real results and more joyous events were yet to come, but 1979-80 season was rightly a historic one: at last, the club won a trophy.

The FA Cup final opposed the big eternal enemies. Aberdeen lost the semifinal 0-1 to Glasgow Rangers, proving that no matter how good, they were not really superior – or at least not yet. Celtic had it easy – they hosted Hibernian, and the outcome was no brainer: 5-0. A final between the arch-rivals needed no speculations, introductions, and predictions. Rangers, having a weak season, were perhaps hungrier, but this would have been a factor against other opponent, not Celtic. Naturally, the atmosphere was great – if about 55 000 (combined) attended the League Cup finals, over 70 000 came to support their clubs at Hampden Park. Regular time ended scoreless and only in overtime a single goal was scored – McCluskey drove the nail in the coffin of Rangers.

Rangers really had an awful season – the previous two years they won the five trophies shown on their picture – 1 title and 4 cup. This year – nothing!

As for Celtic, joy at last.

Of course, club and fans expected trophies, but to a point they just saved face. Celtic lost the title, was not a factor in the League Cup – by the usual standards, disappointing season. So the FA Cup was a must. To overcome the arch-enemy was another motivating point, so it was not so bad at the end. Both Scottish giants were not in great shape, and compared to raising Aberdeen and Dundee United looked dangerously stagnated, but the Scottish predicament was such that no matter how good smaller clubs were, they would be at par with the big two at best. Celtic was in better shape than Rangers – perhaps this was more important.

Scotland had two big news in the 1979-80 season – one at the beginning and the other at the end of the season.

George Best signed with Hibernian. Exciting? Well, ten years ago this would have been the news of the world – not it was just a ‘big local news’. Best himself evaluated this contract just as one more club trying to cash on his name in his autobiography. Perhaps he was not far from the truth, considering the agreement: he was free to live in London, catch a plane to Edinburgh to train with the team on Friday, play the next day, and fly back to London right after the match finished. The result of such agreement was predictable… often Best did not show up at all. His total record with Hibernian is 17 matches and 3 goals. But this was not all – as many other British players at the time, he was really under double contract: with Hibernian and after April 1980 with San Jose Earthquakes of NASL. Schedules of two leagues overlapped, creating immediately a conflict: Best moved back to USA before the end of Scottish season, then he was late for the start of the next Scottish season. The second return of Best to British Isles was one more fiasco, but under the circumstances predictable one: Hibernian got full gates a match or two, but since Best was not really part of the team, the excitement dried up just as quickly. One more sad chapter in the life of self-destructive genius and no benefits for the game. The other news was much better – it was the actual beginning of a legend, but all in good time.

The Scottish Division Two – the third level – was won by same city rivals:

East Stirlingshire, fonded in 1881 and based in Falkirk, finished 2nd with 49 points. A point better than them was Falkirk FC.

Why the pots with some green stuff would be anybody’s guess, but Falkirk were champions of Division 2. Both clubs of the city were moving up to Division 1, replacing the losers of this season:

Clyde FC finished last, 14th, and

Arbroath FC – 13th. Both clubs were relegated, of course. Better things at the other side of the table, but for only two clubs – the second level championship was not competitive this year. Two clubs were way above the rest, assuring their promotion and concerned only with the first place as a matter of a pride.

Airdrieonians -commonly shortened to Airdrie – lost the race for the top place. They finished with 51 points, 7 more than 3rd-placed Ayr United. Airdrie lost their first division place when the top league was reformed and reduced to 10 teams in 1976 – this was the first time they were moving back to the top league since. Well done, even without finishing first.

Airdrie was bested by 2 points – Heart of Midlothian ended champions of Division 1. 20 wins, 13 ties, 6 losses, and 58-39 goal-difference.

A second division champions, but champions nevertheless – the trophy counts. Hearts were relegated the previous season, but were too strong for the lower level, and managed to go up right away. As for staying in the top league… it was a worrying question. Since the reduction of the top division, the club was relegated in 1976-77, promoted in 1977-78, relegated again in 1978-79, and now – promoted one more time, but those were bleak years for the club. And far from over yet.

The Cup final opposed the losers of the championship: Benfica vs FC Porto. Bronze vs silver, both teams ambitious to win a trophy. As often is the case between equal rivals, the final was tight and won minimally by Benfica 1-0.

FC Porto ended well the season – second in both championship and cup tournament. But second is not first… they lost twice minimally. A good team, but not great and perhaps not polished yet. But FC Porto established firmly itself among the very best Portuguese clubs and clearly was going to be a constant factor.

Benfica won the Cup and thus saved the season, but they fooled no one: the team was not so great, it needed new and better players, if Benfica wanted to live up to its reputation. At the moment, they were losing steam in Portugal and were not a leading club on European scale. As a whole, Benfica, FC Porto, and Lisbon shared the same problem – very few stars. Portugal needed a new strong generation of players and so far there were none.

1979-80 season was nothing special – the Portuguese First Division was sharply divided into two groups: the top 4 clubs and the rest. The top itself was divided into three distinct parts, which tells enough about competitiveness. A bit of trivia, then. Sporting (Lisbon) won all home games they played. FC Porto finished the season with unique record: they allowed only 9 goals in 30 matches! And interestingly they received less goals on away matches – 4. Benfica was the highest scoring team by far – 79 goals, 12 more than Sporting. Varzim was the only team without a win away from home. Ties were not in vogue – only 4 clubs tied 10 or more matches, Estoril had the most – 11.

One club seemingly improved this year.

Belenenses (Lisbon) finished 5th, suggesting perhaps recovery, but was the club going to recover its once upon a time strong place remained to be seen.

One club was a hopeless outsider, finishing last was 13 points – Rio Ave.

Rio Ave – dead last in the league.

The battle for survival went between 4 clubs Beira Mar, Estoril, Leiria, and Vitoria (Setubal).

Usually, Setubal was found in the upper half of the table, but they had weak season and fought for survival – lucky to escape relegation with 23 points, which placed the 12th. The other three participants in the race for survival joined Rio Ave in relegation.

Leiria – 13th with 21 points.

Estoril – 14th, also with 21 points, but worse goal-difference. This team distinguish itself with the worst scoring record in the league – 18 goals.

Beira Mar – 15th with 20 points.

At the top of the league, Boavista continued its good run – late 1970s were great years for the club and the 1980s started well.

Boavista finished 4th with 37 points – 3 points ahead of Belenenses and thus separated from the bulk of the league, but 8 points behind the bronze medalists. Apparently, Boavista was unable to build and maintain really strong squad, but nevertheless helped shaping the new Portuguese establishment: the opposition between Lisbon and Porto.

Benfica got the bronze medals – a miserable season by their standards. They ended 8 points ahead of Boavista, and had the highest scoring strikers in the league, but finished 5 points behind the silver medalists.

Two clubs contested the title and the pursuit was close to the end. Curiously, home record separated the winner from the loser. FC Porto won 13 home matches and tied 2 – and lost the title by 2 points, for Sporting Lisbon had perfect home record – 15 wins. Both teams had the same away records.

Standing from left: Eurico, Fraguito, Jordão, Barão, Meneses, Bastos, Vaz.

First row: Marinho, Manoel, José Eduardo, Manuel Fernandes (captain).

Great victory for Sporting, but it was not a great squad – Jordao and Eurico were practically the only stars.

One more look at the champions, this time at their full squad – they deserve it, for Sporting was out of the spotlights for the most of the 1970s.

With few familiar names in it, the Portuguese Second Division is not really worth detailed report – except for the winners. Three kinds of winners actually – the winners of the three zones, directly promoted to first division; then the tournament between them, deciding the second league seasonal champion; and finally the mini-tournament between the second placed for the 4th and last promotional spot. In the zones, the only competitive race happened in Zona Centro, but Zona Norte was without outstanding leaders: there the gap between the winner and the next team was the smallest.

Penafiel finished first with 41 points – 3 more than Fafe and Chaves.

Standing from left: Mascarenhas, Quim, Cerqueira, Celton, Kikas, Barbosa.

Crouching: Belo, Valter, Alberto, Faia, Abel.

No famous players here, naturally – eventually Quim became fairly known and reached the national team, but it was later. But it was fantastic season for Penafiel – Futebol Clube Penafiel is a relatively young Portuguese club, founded in 1951. So far, they managed to climb to the second level and winning a second division zone was their biggest success so far. The next season they were going to debut among the top, and trying to survive, but for the moment it was simply great.

Zona Centro was a close pursuit between two clubs. Academica (Coimbra) and Academico (Vizeu) – also known as CAF – were head and shoulders above the rest of the league, leaving the third placed Oliveira do Bairro 11 points behind. One point decided first and second – CAF with 46 points. Academica triumphed with 47.

Perhaps the best known club of the Second Division, Academica struggled in the 1970s and became quite familiar with the lower level of Portuguese country. But they did not give up and constantly tried to move back to the top division.

The boys in black succeeded to win promotion – well done and dramatically too, but the real test was going to be the next season.

Zona Sul had one overwhelming favourite from start to end – Amora. They finished 6 points above better known Lusitano Evora.

Like Penafiel, Amora Futebol Clube never played in first division before, but it was much older club than Penafiel, founded in 1921. Their first success, their first promotion. But it was not all:

The three zonal winners played between themselves to decide the Second Division champion – a matter of pride only, for they all won promotions already. Here Amora FC finished first, a point ahead of Academica (Coimbra).

Standing from left: José Martins, Gonçalves (Masseur), Veiga, Mourinho (coach), Durives Pereira (President), Helder, Luis Manuel, Albuquerque, Armando, Mira, Carlos Alberto

First row : Joel, Arnaldo, Tateu, Milton, Vitor Manuel, Vieira, Peixoto, Paulo Oliveira, Nando.

So far, the most successful squad in the history of Amora FC – at large, the players were nobodies, but not so locally – at home, they were heroes. Legendary heroes.

The three second-placed teams competed for the last promotional spot. Fafe from Zona Norte, a bit lucky, for they finished 2nd thanks to better goal-difference; Academico (Vizeu) from Zona Centro; and Lusitano (Evora) from Zona Sul. Lusitano failed, winning just a single match, so Fafe and CAF really competed. CAF won 3 of the 4 matches and Fafe – 2. With 6 points CAF finished first and won the promotion.

The last promoted club: standing from left: Ângelo (adjunto), Rodrigo, Basto, Ângelo, Professor José Moniz (coach), José Manuel, Sobreiro, Ramon

Middle row: Carnoto (masseur), Mário Vasconcelos (adjunto), Rui Nery, Penteado, Emanuel, Hélder, Chico Santos, Gerúsio, José Pereira

Sitting: Vinagre, Alberto, Águas, Inaldo, Simões, Arnaldo, Nelito.

Clube Academico de Futebol (Vizeu) finished on a high note – they missed direct promotion by a single point, but clearly were the best second-placed team in the division – the only one competing for the top spot in any zone. Good form through the whole season and better squad than most second division clubs was well rewarded at the end. Both clubs sporting the unusual at the time colour black – Academica (Coimbra) and Academico (Vizeu) – were relegated in 1978-79, but managed to return to the top division after a single season in purgatory.

Switzerland continued searching for the optimum formula – after the league was reduced to 12 clubs, a new enlargement started. 14 teams played in 1979-80 and the formula of the championship was new: after the first standard phase, the top 6 clubs entered a final phase. But the rest of the league finished with the first phase – there was no more promotion/relegation tournament. The standings were final and the last 2 clubs were relegated. The top two of normally played second league were promoted.

FC Bellinzona won the second division championship. With 38 points, they clinched first place by a single point difference, but otherwise it was remarkable season – the champions did not lose even one match: 12 wins and 14 ties. Impeccable defense – just 14 goals received. Bellinzona was returning to the top league apparently strong.

FC Nordstern (Basel) finished second – strong period for the small club, although they were not really competitive when playing with the best. But they were strong in the second league – missed first place by a single point, but finished with the best striking record – they scored almost twice as many goals than the champions. And they were without rivals – third placed Winterthur was trailing 5 points behind, not a challenger.

The first phase of the top league – and final for most participants – had a hopeless outsider:

FC Lugano is not even worth mentioning – they won only one match and tied 5. The rest was losses… and they were last with 7 points.

More competitive, but still outsiders, FC La Chaux-de-Fonds finished with 17 points. Three points less than the 12th finisher, Xamax. Down they went with Lugano.

After the first phase the top 6 moved to the final phase, carrying half of the points they earned in the first stage. This was also the trouble, noticed in the previous years, and forcing the Federation to change the format again: some clubs had nothing to play for. Servette, Grasshopper(s), and FC Basel were the top three after the first stage. There was a bit of a gap between them and the next three – FC Luzern, FC Zurich, and FC Sion. It was pretty much clear that the lower three would just go through the motions, having no real chance to win the title. Servette was seemingly the favourite after the first stage – they lost only 3 matches and finished with 2 points lead. Which was reduced to 1 point after the initial points were halved… and the top three started the final phase almost equal. Now Servette stumbled, perhaps spending its energy in the first phase of the championship.

FC Luzern distinguished itself with seemingly not paying attention to the final phase – in the 10 final games, they tied a single match and lost the rest, scoring 4 goals and receiving 38 – more than they received in the 26 matches of the first stage. Clearly, not interested…

FC Zurich was at good form at the final stage and pushed as much as they could, but the handicap of the first stage prevented them from coming even close to the medals.

The battle for the title was between the initial top three clubs – or may be just between two of them, for Servette underperformed.

Top row from left: Locca (Coach), Piet Hamberg, Gerald Coutaz, Peter Pazmandy (Trainer), Roger Cohannier (Präsident), Comte (Artzt), Jean-Luc Martin, Serge Trinchero, Lucio Bizzini

Middle row: Karl Engel, Charles Dupuis, Favre (Pfleger), Guy Dutoit, Christian Matthey, Gianfranco Seramondi, Claude Milani

Crouching: Franco Cucinotta, Gilbert Guyot, Claude Sarrasin, Umberto Barberis, Jean-Yves Valentini, Claude “Didi” Andrey, Marc Schnyder.

It was not a big flop, but Servette lost 4 matches in the final stage and got 11 points – less than their competitors, which at the end place them 3rd, losing silver on worse goal-difference.

Grasshoppers, 3rd in the first stage, moved a place higher in the final stage. 13 points were the second best performance in the final, which only equalized them with Servette – but they had better goal-difference and got the silver medals.

FC Basel was strong second in the first phase, finishing 2 points behind Servette. Halving the initial points for the second stage reduced the gap to one point and FC Basel seemingly kept their best for the most important part of the championship. They excelled in the final group, finishing on top with 14 points. Thus, their combined record was also best – 33 points. Two more than the rivals had.

8th title for FC Basel – a strong ending of successful decade.

 

Well done, but… it was largely anonymous squad. In recent past Basel had some more recognizable names. The obligatory 2 foreigners did not ring a bell at all: the French midfielder Serge Gaisser (b. 1958), and the West German striker Detlev Lauscher (b. 1952). The big figure was the coach – Helmut Benthaus, a West German, already recognized as the one responsible for Basel’s success. Which was also the liability: it was very unlikely a good coach would stay with relatively small club for long. 1967-80 are considered the best period in the history of Basel and the end of it depended on the coach – it came in 1982, when Benthaus left. But the sign was in the air already: the squad was almost anonymous and decline was inevitable.

The Cup final opposed not the favourites of the championship, but small fry. FC Sion to Young Boys (Bern).

Young Boys played and lost the cup final the previous year. To reach the final right away was quite a surprise for a club of the lower half of the league for years. This year they finished 10th , so there was not much to the team even by Swiss standards.

FC Sion was 6th after the first stage of the championship and had to play in the final phase. There Sion entirely gave up, which means they concentrated on the Cup. Neither opponent was particularly strong, but a final is a matter of matching ambitions. FC Sion prevailed 2-1. Young Boys lost the finals in two consecutive years and FC Sion won their 3rd cup.

FC Sion, founded in 1909, was never among the leading Swiss clubs, but in the historic scheme – not so bad either, for most clubs never won even a single trophy. A rare success, but success. The team was nothing to speak of – perhaps Bregy was the biggest star. Two foreigners, similar to those playing for Basel – that is, hardly heard of. A veteran French defender Jean-Claude Richard (b. 1946), and a more interesting midfielder – Marian Cernicky (b.1953), a Czechoslovak player, who debuted this season. The previous season he played for Lokomotiva (Kosice) and this is what makes his case interesting and mysterious. In general, Czechoslovakia cautiously started exporting players in 1980. At first they were veterans with well known names, who played for the national team for years. The pattern of every Eastern European country. Cernicky was slightly younger – as a rule, almost every Communist country permitted players over 28 to play abroad. He never played for national team and in Czechoslovakia was practically anonymous player, playing for small club. Possibly, he was a defector. But he played for Lokomotiva the previous season and for Sion – right the next season. Normally, defectors missed at least a year, suspended by FIFA for their ‘illegal’ leaving of the original club. What was the true story is so far impossible to uncover: Cernicky was very close – yet, under – the usual age permitting export. He moved to Switzerland so close to the accepted year of Czechoslovakia beginning the export of players – yet, before that year. He was entirely unknown player – but USSR, Bulgaria, Romania started their exports with players off the public radar. Whatever the truth, Cernicky started successfully his career in Switzerland – with a cup. The last and bigger interesting thing was the coach of FC Sion – a debutant coach, winning a trophy in his very first coaching year. As a player – a Swiss legend and well known in Europe: Daniel Jeandupeux. Barely 31 years old. Misfortune explains his early start of coaching – he did not recover from a badly broken leg in 1977 and missed his last two years with Bordeaux. The injury lead to early retirement – and the switch to coaching was immediately successful. Success was not good for FC Sion – the club was unable to keep Jeandupeux, who was invited to take over his former club FC Zurich right after winning the cup. And in Zurich he tried to return to playing – he was registered as playing coach in the next three years, but the injury was too bad and he played only 2 games, in which he scored 1 goal. A great success for FC Sion, but trivia and gossip are perhaps the most interesting part of their story.

The Cup final confirmed the transitional state of Hungarian football at that time: the new strong teams were not sos strong to dominate and the old feet were still good enough. Vasas vs Diósgyõri VTK – old feet vs provincial disturbers of the status quo.

Vasas was still having big names – Meszaros, Muller, Varadi, Zombori, Torok. Getting long in the tooth, but not at all to be dismissed, especially at a time when oldish stars were placed on the international market. Vasas was seemingly the favourite.

Paper is one thing, real football – something else. Vasas lost the final 1-3.

Standing from left: Szabó Géza vezetőedző, Szabó, Tatár, Salamon, Oláh, Kádár, Veréb, (középen) Szántó, Borostyán, Kerekes, Kutasi, Tóth István gyúró.

Crouching: Fekete, Teodoru II., Szalai, Görgei, Fükő.

Happy and proud Cup winners!

Diosgyiori VTK (Miskolc) did it again – they won their first cup in 1977 and added a second one in short time. No doubt, the best years of the club. Therefore, a legendary squad – which was not bad at all. Yet, it was a provincial team without much future: in the championship they finished 12th, which was their rather typical position. It was a wonderful team only on local level and it was unlikely they would be able to keep their best players for long. But they won over the long-established stars of Vasas, added a second cup – a sign of a transitional period: smaller clubs with younger squads were pretty equal to the big clubs, depending on aging stars.

 

Hungary was still running its largest first division – 18 clubs – which, given the general decline of the game in the country, perhaps explains the comfortable existence of most clubs. Three clubs were far below the rest in 1979-80.

Good for clubs like DMVSC – or Debrecen – the lowest of the ‘comfortable’: they finished 15th, just above relegation zone, but with 30 points they were never in trouble. The 16th finished with 22 points.

MAV Elore (Szekesfehervar) finished 16th and went down, thus reducing the first division derbies by one. Videoton was running strong, MAV Elore did not – perhaps understandable situation in a smaller city: not enough money to keep two relatively strong clubs.

Salgotarjan, as the club was popularly known, finished 17th with 20 points. Relegation was hardly a surprise – SBTC was lowly club and no stranger to lower division football.

The weakest of the weak was not match even to the other outsiders, finishing with 15 points.

Pecsi VSK was a newcomer, which did not last, as expected. The only thing about their departure from the league was the end of the novelty of provincial derbies: Szekesfehervar lost its derby this season and so did Pecs.

Pecsi MSC, traditionally the stronger club of Pecs, finished like they ever did – in mid-table. Unlike getting stronger Videoton, PMSC just kept their usual level. Their smaller neigbours PVSC did not develop into a rival.

Weak season for Ferencvaros – they finished 6th with 39 points – three more than Pecsi MSC at 7th place.

Videoton ended 4th with 43 points and a point better was Vasas.

Bronze medals for Vasas – they were still going relatively strong.

The title was a contest between Ujpesti Dosza and Honved. Honved had the edge and won the championship 3 points ahead of Ujpesti Dosza. May be Honved took advantage of the shaky generational change of their rivals, but it was historic victory.

Third row, from left: Weimper, Varga, Lukács, Kocsis, Pál, Kozma.

Middle row: Tóth Kálmán gyúró, Paróczai, Garaba, Nagy A., Dajka, Esterházy, Fejes, Tichy Lajos vezetőedző.

Sitting: Menyhárt, Pandúr, Melis, Bodonyi, Pintér, Gujdár.

On one side, it was a victory of the Army over the Police – the traditional rivalry in the Communist countries. It was part of the revival of the Army clubs in Eastern Europe at the end of the 1970s. On the other hand, this was the first title won since 1955! It was their 6th and the number is surpirzing, considering that the old Honved was closely associated with the great ‘Flying Magars’ of the 1950s. But the Hungarian Revolution in 1956 cut the wings of Honved in more than one aspect: not only stars emigrated, notably Ferenc Puskas, but the political changes diminished the powerful status of Honved – a status clearly seen as Stalinist creation. It took 15 years for Honved to come back.

Honved were strong indeed, but were to return to a dominance? Was it a beginning of second golden period? They had a team of contempary stars, unlike the aging Ujpesti Dosza and shaky Ferencvaros. But it was not a great team – Guydar and Pinter were leading players for some time, but never the best at their positions in the country. Garaba, Kozma, Bodonyi, Dajka, Menyhart, Poczik… not a bad bunch, but somewhat unfinished, not the prime stars. Much more perspective squad, compared to Ujpesti Dosza, but not great one. It all depended on further development – Honved returned to the top of Hungarian football, but really strong years were yet to come.