Author: Vesselin

First division had its own intrigue – second season of professional football. Perhaps it was not that much a period of adaptation, but a period of sifting out – which clubs were able to find enough money for the new reality. Especially money for long-term stability in a country with no big clubs and small pool of supporters. Copenhagen had too many clubs for professional era, smaller towns with more than one club had perhaps bigger problem. May be that was the reason for rather divided league this season – the outsiders were clear, so were two separate groups of mid-table teams. Looked like a 16-team league was too big for professional football.

Slagelse BI finished last with 16 points.

IK Skovbakken ended 15th with 19 points. The curious ‘personal’ adds on the team’s shirts continued – 9 different firms placed adds, but 4 players apparently nobody wanted… and they were with plain shirts. An illustration of the difficulties Danish clubs were facing – how to run professional club without cash. The previous year all players had adds at least… seemingly, things were not going better and so the fate of the club.

B 1901 was the third club in dire straits – 20 points and out of the league. One of the clubs not able to survive in the new reality, as it turned out. For the moment, only relegated…

Seven so-so clubs were much stronger than the relegated, but nothing more otherwise. Among them was Vejle – one of the strongest Danish clubs a few years back, when football was still amateur. BK Frem topped this group with 30 points, ending at 7th place with 10 wins, 10 ties, and 10 losses. Five other clubs soared high above the bulk of the league – Naestved, the lowest of them, was 6th with 6 points more than BK Frem. None of them contested the title, though. The championship was comfortably won by Esbjerg fB.

A great year for the champions – they finished 6 points ahead of the closest pursuer, naturally with the best scoring and defensive records in the league. They lost only 2 matches and won 18. And it was their 5th title, a nice round number. They had to wait almost 15 years for this one, though – their last title was won in 1965. The long wait perhaps made victory even sweeter.

The new champions of Denmark – perhaps a positive sign that professionalism worked for those quick to adapt: suddenly, new heroes. May be so, may be not – after all, the champions still had the typical Danish squad: mostly anonymous, one or two rising stars. Esbjerg depended on their goalkeeper Ole Kjaer, 25 years old and Danish player of the year in 1978. He also became national team regular after Piontek dismissed Birger Jensen. The other star was the 26-year old Jens Jørn Haahr Bertelsen, voted the player of the year in 1979. The defensive midfielder eventually became much better knwon than Kjaer – but only after 1980, when Piontek’s ‘Danish dynamite’ exploded and the player moved to Italy. Two stars… well, may be three, if Ole Madsen is added – more than enough for winning the Danish championship. And not surprising at all – good players were still dispersed in many clubs of first and second division, there was no consolidation. No trully dominant clubs and hardly a chance for ‘doubles’ – Esbjerg were supreme in the league, but the Cup was entirely out of their reach. And, as a passing note, they should have celebrated harder perhaps: this was the last championship the club won. Of only they knew it…

The Cup final opposed Koge BK to B 1903.

To a point, and excellent season for Koge – winning promotion to first division and also reaching the Cup final: not bad for a second division club? Koge rising again? Evidently.

Of course, they came out on the filed determined to win. And came close… in front of 9800 fans, they scored the only goal of the final. Unfortunately, Peter Poulsen put the ball in the wrong net… Koge lost 0-1.

May be lucky winners, but still winners – the Cup stayed in Copenhagen, firmly in he hands of B 1903. Looked like the club was adapting well to professionalism – they had good league season, finishing with bronze medals. They won the Cup. It was important for survival, especially in the capital city with its many clubs, all competing for money. Winners have best chances?

Helped by Koge’s player, happy Cup winners. Sponsored by Codan, perhaps the most important sponsor in Denmark – trophies ensured future sponsorship as well. Yet, the squad was not all that great… trophies, attracting sponsors, were the key… get the cash, get the money, win again, get more cash, get more players… simple, right? There is no B 1903 today…

The second professional season of Danish football. No visible results yet, if not counting the measures taken by the national team coach Sepp Piontek – he introduced discipline, something disliked by the Danish players. Strange for a Northern nation, but the Danes disliked authority and generally disregarded it. So far, Piontek’s requirements produced one result: the best Danish goalkeeper, Birger Jensen (FC Brugge, Belgium) was out of the national team and never called again. A risky move, but in the long run, a healthy one. With or without Jensen, Denmark was still among the European outsiders. So were the clubs.

The Second Division ended with three more or less familiar winners:

Standing, from left: Kresten Bjerre – coach, Claus Larsen, Søren Grenå Larsen, Ole Christiansen, John Tune Kristiansen, Peter Rasmussen, Kim Truesen, Michael Haagensen.

Crouching: John Jensen, Torben Bastholm, Peter Poulsen, Jan Olesen, Frank Olsen, Arne Rastad.

Koge BK, a really wild club – unpredictable up and downs. Champions just a couple of years back, then relegated, now going up again and quite impressively too.

Lyngby BK were also frequent members of first division. Rather modest, but more likely to play in top flight than in second division.

Lyngby also had at least one player who became well known in Europe – Klaus Berggreen. 21-years old promise, just called to the national team.

Fremad Amager, one of the many – at the time – Copenhagen’s clubs. Founded in 1910, but with modest history. Playing sometimes in first division was just about the best they ever achieved.

The boys were unknown. So were their aims.

The First Division, the only fully professional Turkish league, was divided into three sections during the 1978-79 season – two outsiders at the bottom, three favourites at the top, and 11 more or less equal teams. The surprise was Besiktas (Istanbul), one of the traditional favourites, which sunk down, and ended 9th with 29 points. Izmir, one of the cradles of the Turkish football, lost its leading position years ago – this was no longer news. Goztepe and Altay were mid-table clubs by now. Goztepe, which played in the second level just the previous year had a relatively good season – they finished 10th. Lat in the table was the other newcomer for the season:

First division football was too much for Kirikkalespor – they finished last, earning 18 points. An incidental club.

Samsunspor was the other outsider with 20 points. It was not surprising to see them relegated – it was surprising to see them really weak.

The third relegated club was rather unlucky.

Boluspor was a likely candidate for relegation, but they put the good fight and even finished with positive goal-difference – 33:32. They won 9 matches – another 4 clubs had the same or smaller number of wins – but the at the end Boluspor had 26 points and these four clubs finished with 27 and 28 points. Small, but fatal difference. Boluspor took the dreaded 14th place.

The pleasant surprise of the year was a club similar to Boluspor – relatively new member of the league, modest and expected to be at the bottom or near bottom.

But Orduspor did contrary to expectations – they had a wonderful season, winning 13 and tying 8 games and finishing 4th with 34 points – 2 more than the 5th, Diyarbakirspor. They were not title contenders, but earned a UEFA Cup spot.

The favourites were the usual suspects – Galatasaray, Fenerbahce, and the new powerhouse Trabzonspor. Fenerbahce eventually slipped down – they ended at 3rd place with 38 points, but the title was decided by a single point. It was a battle of attacking vs defensive football. Galatasaray won 17 matches, the most in the league. However, they lost 6. Winning and scoring goals – 47 was also the best league record this season – was not enough. Trabzonspor won only 13 matches – less than Galatasaray and Fenerbahce – but they lost only one. As for ties, they had 16 – more than half of the games they played. Their striking power was nothing to brag about – 34 goals in 30 matches – but their defense was impenetrable – the ball visited their net only 7 times this season. One of the best records not only in Turkey. The careful, defensive, and point oriented approach paid off – at the end Trabzonspor had 42 points and Galatasaray – 41.

Second consecutive year without a title for Galatasaray. Fatih Terim lost again to Senol Güneş on the pitch.

Standing, from left: Güngör, Mehmet Ekşi, Tuncay, Hüseyin, Şenol, Necati

Crouching : Mustafa, Ahmet Ceylan, Serdar, Turgay, Necdet

Trabzonspor were not overwhelming champions, but one thing was made sure – they were not just an accident. 3 titles and 2 Cups in four years firmly established them among the best Turkish clubs and now there were no longer 3 big clubs, but 4.

The Cup was contested by Altay (Izmir) and Fenerbahce (Istanbul). Old rivalry and an attempt of Izmir to restore its leading place in Turkish football. For some reason the two-legged final left little memories… Altay won 2-1 at home, but lost 0-2 in Istanbul.

Fenerbahce won their 3rd Cup – the number strikes as very low. Yet.

 

Turkey still obscure, slowly building, unnoticeable. Entirely outside foreign attention, especially those not in the top league. Clubs like

Karabukspor

Tekirdagspor

Canakkalespor were unheard of.

Genclerbirligispor was one of better known clubs playing second division this year – curiously, like any other club of Ankara.

But such clubs were really the future of Turkish football – making the game more and more popular, training youngsters. Real results were to come years later, but from the bulk of unknown clubs the new members of the top league arrived. Amateur and semi-professional clubs and leagues. From them came the promoted to First Division:

Gaziantepspor

Kayserispor

Caikur Rizespor.

The three were little known at the time.

 

International rules vs tradition – Wales, of course. The Cup final opposed English to Welsh club, both playing in the English championship. Shrewsbury against Wrexham. It was not for the first time, of course – few English clubs participated in the tournament almost from the beginning of the challenge in the19th century. Two-legged final, competitive as ever, if not particularly exciting. The first leg ended 1-1. In the second the English prevailed 1-0.

Shrewsbury won their 4th Welsh Cup. The last time they won it before was in 1977. For lowly Shrewsbury it was just the biggest achievement possible and the only trophy they were ever able to win. And as Welsh Cup holders they were bound to play in the European Cup Winners Cup? Would have been nice, ironic, even a mockery – a never even playing in the first English division popping up in the European tournament when mighty English clubs were left out. But rules are rules… Shrewsbury were not Welsh and they would not represent Wales. Which begs the question what could happen if, say, Cardiff City won the English title? Academic question really, but if English club cannot represent Wales, then Welsh clubs cannot represent England – and leave England without representation in the European Champions Cup? The case was never put to the test. As for Shrewsbury, they were to be satisfied with the Cup. Europe was for others.

The losers got Europe.

Wrexham came close to winning the Cup, but did not. The irony continued – they were going to represent Wales as losing finalist just because they were Welsh club. Instead of English Third Division club – Shrewsbury – Europe got a Second Division one – Wrexham. Go figure.

The other Ireland or Eire was more fun – 3 teams competed for the title, eventually becoming four. This happened because of some irregularities – the record is laconic, but three matches were not quite right and points were awarded to the other team. Curiously, nothing else was changed – just points changed. Drogheda – Finn Harps 0-1, Thurles Town – Cork Celtic 0-1, and Cork Celtic – Limerick 0-0 – the results stayed, but Cork Celtic had 3 points deducted, Finn Harps – two. Thurles Town had two points added, Drogheda also two, and Limerick one. The only club benefiting from that was Drogheda United – thanks to the extra points, they finished with bronze medals. Without them they were 5th. As for Cork Celtic, they were last no matter what. Along with Galway Rovers, they were the hopeless outsiders during the season, settling right at the bottom of the table. Cork Celtic earned 11 points before they were penalized, Galway finished with 13. The 14th, St.Patrick’s Athletic, had 20. No problems at the bottom of the table.

At the top was much more interesting – Waterford, Bohemians, Dundalk, and to a point Drogheda United, fought for the title. Of course, Drogheda laughed at the end, suddenly getting bronze medals, but the biggest laughs belonged to Dundalk and without awarded points too. They finished 2 points ahead of Bohemians, winning their 5th title. It was great season for Dundalk – they reached the Cup final as well.

Waterford were the other finalist, a rival in the championship as well. Two clubs with a chance to win at least one trophy. One perhaps should be sorry for Waterford – they lost everything… pushed back to 4th place because of the extra points Drogheda got and also lost the Cup the final 0-2.

Happy ending of the Cup final – Dundalk got their 5th Cup. They also won their 5th title. It was a double this year – what could be better? May be the best season ever.

Double winners, double joy. Of course, winners have the best – and so it was: Tommy McConville was considered one of the best Irish players not to have joined an English club.

Cathal Muckian was the player Dundalk paid a club record fee to get from Drogheda – 4000 pounds. He justified the money spent. Innocent days… the sum is laughable now. Finally, the midfielder Leo Flanagan was called to play for the Republic of Ireland. So was Muckian. Neither played much for Eire, but considering that the national team was generally made of England-based professionals, it was a recognition of great form. Dundalk were strong and the success was credited to their manager.

Jim McLaughlin was appointed manager in 1974 and immediately became the most successful manager in the history of the club. Champion in his first year, followed by winning the Cup, and finally a double. Dundalk added new jewels to their proud history – they were the first club outside Dublin to win the championship in 1933, they were the first Irish club to win a game in the European Cup in 1963, when they beat FC Zurich in Switzerland. Now they added a double. Yet, it was success in semi-professional league… not much from outsider’s point of view, but interesting nevertheless. The romantic days of football were ending, yet, compared to today’s game, it was still romantic: the players had other occupations really. The champions were otherwise a butcher, a lorry driver, another driver, clerk, technician, bank official, teacher, store manager, company director… try telling that to the players of today. Of course, the players were often ambitious, but that meant going to England – and going to England meant financial stability of the club: in 1977 Dundalk sold three youngsters to Liverpool. To a point, the transfer translated into a great season and the double. To a point, it was a bitter reality – as every other Irish club, Dundalk had no real hopes of becoming really successful club. The best they could do was supplying British football with young talent. One way street… rarely somebody crossed the sea the other way – in this squad, only the goalkeeper Richie Blackmore, born in England, but unable to make it there and he failed at Bristol City, not some big club.

 

Northern Ireland – familiar year: dominant leader, closed league without promotion and relegation, nothing new. Distillery (Belfast) was the weakest club this season – 7 points in total. A team like that should not have been among the best… but it was and the reason was largely preservation of the league itself. Unfortunately, Northern Ireland had the most inconvenient circumstances in the whole Europe. Mere survival of championship, a really sad story. Even the best club was not strong. It was Linfield, of course.

Another comfortable title – pointless to count how many. They lost 2 matches, won 14, tied 6, ended 6 points ahead of the second placed Glenavon.

Since there were no big changes from the squad a year before, the only conclusion is that this team had no good enough players to join English or Scottish clubs. A squad for domestic consumption… and much stronger than the rest of the league.

The Cup final opposed different teams – mid-table ones. Cliftonville vs Portadown. In its own way, a dramatic final.

The quality may have not been high, but it was spirited and tightly contested final. Goals were scored one after another.

Portadown tried hard – it was good to win a trophy, but they were a goal short at the end. 2-3. The Cup stayed in Belfast.

Cliftonville bravely kept their precious advantage to the last whistle. What else to say? Happy winners.

Here they are, Cup and all.

 

Norway preserved their traditional league format and the season perhaps was significant largely for one reason: Viking (Stavanger) played their best season. Arguably, their best ever. The rest was mostly a matter of record. The three best of the Second Division were old clubs, normally playing top league football and now returning from ‘exile’.

Lyn (Oslo)

FK Molde, and

Fredrikstads FK.

Fredrikstads coming on field to face Rade IL. They won 3-2 and proceeded to win until reaching promotion.

In top division the battle for survival involved more or less 8 of the 12 participants. Brann sunk early and never put a fight – they finished last with 10 points. Mjondalen IF struggled too – with 17 points they ended 11th and above them were Hamarkameratene with 18. The three were going down – Skeid Fotball clinched 19 points and survived. Of the last 4 clubs only 2 really competed for the title – Bryne FK and IK Start had their own battle for third place, which IK Start won with 27 points. On top Viking and unlikely favourite, Moss FK raced ahead of the pack, Moss having the best attack, and Viking the best defense. Viking won a match more than their rivals and that settled it: Moss finished with 30 points, Viking with 32.

Viking continued their best decade with one more title.

Standing from left: Tony Knap – coach, Torbjorn Svendsen, Tons Haugvalland (?), Erik Johannessen, Tor Reidar Brekke, Per Henriksen, Trond Ekholdt, Magnus Flatestol, Svein Kvia, Reidar Goa – manager.

Sitting: Bjarne Berntsen, Trygve Johannessen, Inge Valen, Rolf Bjornsen (?), Tonning Hammer, Finn Einar Krogh, Isak Arne Refvik, Cand Andersen (?), Svein Fjelberg.

Viking were the best Norwegian club of the 1970s, no doubt about it – they won their 6th title, and almost all were won in this decade. But they were still hungry.

The Cup final was reached by Viking and Sportsklubben Haugar (Haugesund).

For the lowly Haugar, not playing first division football, the final was huge success – and may be they were able to win it? They had two English players in their team – at times when very few foreigners appeared in Norway and the best clubs did not use any. Haugar tried hard and came close, but lost 1-2. Too bad the modest boys were not able to make a sensation. On the other hand, great for Viking.

Viking’s captain Svein Kvia with the Cup. The third Cup victory for the club from Stavanger. Well done and true vikings – a double. It was their first ever, and although Viking were not overwhelming, they still won everything.

Viking were not famous in Europe, but by 1979 they had a few players becoming legendary in Norway – Svein Kvia, Tor Reidar Brekke, Isak Arne Refvik. Championships, the Cup, they won everything and more than ones.

Albania, hidden behind her own curtain, seemingly stayed the same.

Apolonia (Fier) and

Skenderbeu (Korce) won promotion from Second Division.

Beselidhja and Traktori ended at the bottom of First Division and were relegated. Traktori were pretty much the outsider of the league, winning only 3 matches. Beselidhja had a curious record – 10 wins and 16 losses. Not a single tie. Only the top 4 clubs won more games than them, but gambling ‘all or nothing’ left them a point short of safety. The rest of the league was divided into three distinct groups – the lower one, which was also the biggest, concerned with survival, stretched up and included the 7th placed Lokomotiva. The champions of 1977-78 were part of this bulk, finishing 9th. Above them 4 comfortable, but not aiming higher clubs – Besa clinched bronze medals. And finally two clubs competed, shoulder to shoulder, for the title. 17 nentori (Tirana) had the deadliest strikers in the league, but a single match decided their fate – they had a tie whether their competitors had a win. 35 points, 4 more than Besa, but one behind the champions. Which were well known.

Partizani (Tirana) won one more title.

Hardly a single known name outside Albania. Bunch of national players, the stars of Albanian football of that time Lekbello, Berisha, Lika, coached by former star Pano, but the real interesting thing about the champions was their kit – looked like fashion was finally coming to Albania and the champions were dressed with Adidas. The goalkeepers were left out, it seems, but still a news.

The Cup final opposed the last year champions Vllaznia to the second strongest Albanian club Dinamo (Tirana). The finalists had a weak season, yet, Dinamo was more or less the expected winner. The final was dramatic – it ended 1-1 and replay was scheduled. It also ended in a tie and only in the extra time Vllaznia scored a winning goal – 2-1 and the Cup was theirs.

Thus, provincial Vllaznia maintained unlikely position among the best of the time – champions in 1978, Cup winners in 1979, may be something else the next year?

 

Similar proved to be the result in the ‘championship group’. Almost no changes occurred after the extra matches each team played – TPS Turku exchanged places with Haka Valkeakoski and so did Reipas Lahti and KPT Kuopio. The rest of the group kept their original places – KTP Kotka stayed 8th, KuPS Kuopio – 2nd, and HJK Helsinki – 3rd. HJK did not even bother – they were only 2 points behind KuPS after the first stage, but now dropped to 5 behind. Nobody bothered them from bellow either… All were seemingly satisfied with their original positions. Only KuPS used the new formula to their advantage and run for the title – but they were 3 points behind the leaders and did not manage to beat the odds: KuPS finished still 2nd with 40 points. OPS Oulu did not appear very strong in the last stage, but kept their lead , ending with a point more than KuPS.

Not exactly overwhelming winners, but still historically significant ones – OPS never won a title and they were founded in 1925. At last – a triumph. The team excelled in the preliminary stage – they lost only a match and built 3-point advantage. Since most of the mini-league did not really put an effort in the ‘championship’ stage, rightly calculating that there is nothing to play for, OPS still won 9 points – second best record at this stage. KuPS added 11, but the original lead by 3 points was still sufficient for OPS to stay on top. At the end, it was their defense which made them champions – they lost only 3 matches and allowed the least number of goals in their net.

Champions at last: from left: Kari Soila, Pekka Parviainen, Jukka Rantanen (mv), Ari Jalasvaara (ylhäällä),Eero Rissanen, Matti Ahonen, Juhani Himanka, Seppo Pyykkö, Pertti Pääkkö, Soini Puotiniemi, and Lauri Heikkinen. In front: Seppo Vakkari

No matter how achieved, a grand day in Oulu. First title ever – something to be remembered. To be remembered, but… after changes in the 21st century there is confusion. Today there is a club OPS, but founded in 2006. Is it related to the original OPS is a matter of opinion and legal arguments.

The Cup final opposed Ilves Tampere to TPS Turku. Neither club had a great season, but perhaps the fact that Ilves was threatened with relegation, but TPS had no reason to play seariously at all during the last stage opposed teams with very different motivation and form.

Perhaps TPS were unable to build strength and they lost 0-2.

Ilves Tampere won the Cup – a fine ending of troublesome season. Good for the ‘lynx’, they showed claws when it mattered.