Author: Vesselin

If the Golden Shoe award, chancy as it was, appeared fair this season – the top three were remarkable, constant, and well known scorers for years – the European Footballer of the Year award was not so. The problems started after 1974 – aging stars and no truly outstanding players. Habits were also playing a negative role – young talent did not get many votes, but old reputation was preferred. What largely counted was technically the previous season – voting took place at the end of the calendar year, but the autumn was practically ignored: votes were largely based on the end of the season, on winning teams, especially those winning international trophies. 1978 was problematic year mostly because Europeans did not really impress at the World Cup finals – those who did were unfortunate enough to play for teams early eliminated. There was not a single exciting player like Cruyff and Beckenbauer before 1975. It was uncertain choice – pros and cons were more or less equal, it was trying to figure out a better one of a bulk of equals… And for a first time in the 1970s (if not in the whole history of the award) the best player did not win anything with his club and country. 30 players were voted for and what a mixed group they were! What a display of ‘reasoning’ too… local sentiments (Joao Alves, Benfica), recognition of emerging new talent (Hansi Muller, Didier Six), impressive World Cup discoveries (Paolo Rossi, Antonio Cabrini, Zbigniew Boniek, Archie Gemmill), some strong performance of players compared largely with their domestic rivals (Marian Masny, Slovan Bratislava, Zdenek Nehoda, Dukla Prague, and Peter Shilton, Nottingham Forest) or on international club level (Fracois van der Elst, Anderlecht). As a shiny example of confusion stays to this very day in the international statisticians site the club Boniek was ignorantly listed back in 1978 – Stal (Mielec), a club he never played for. The mistake is somewhat understandable: Boniek was really discovered at the 1978 World Cup finals and his club was almost unknown outside Poland – Widzew (Lodz). Later, when Boniek was real mega-star, his early days were more or less unimportant – and the mistake stays. Anyway, nobody of the mentioned so far got many points – most finished with 1 or 2. Yet, the list is strange – no Spanish players for instance. True, Spain did not impress at the World Cup, but some were no worse than Alves or Masny. Few Italians and they got little points – Antognoni was not chosen by anybody. Playing for smaller clubs clearly was no help – Platini, although considered one of the fastest rising stars and having impressive World Cup, got just a single point. Playing for Nancy and the fact that France was unfortunately, but still early eliminated at the World Cup worked against him. Archie Gemmill ended with more points than Platini, seemingly because of his fantastic goal against Holland at the World Cup. The Germans paid heavy price for their dismal World Cup performance – Karl-Heinz Rummenigge got a single point. Sepp Maier was not voted for at all – but Shilton, still ‘shaky’ in the English national team (Clemence was preferred) got 9. From the emerging stars only Paolo Rossi was recognized – he was 5th with 23 points. The checkered Scottish performance obviously affected the points Dalglish got – 10 – although he had excellent season with Liverpool. He shared 8th place with Alan Simonsen, the European player of 1977 – the Dane played no worse than the previous year… Some had dismal season and yet appeared on the list – Cruyff and Neeskens. Some had strong year and got almost nothing – Franco Causio. But the desperate search for somebody truly above the rest was most obvious at the very top. Roberto Bettega was overlooked… he ended 4th with 28 points, but he was at his peak, Juventus was strong and Italy played surprisingly well at the World Cup finals. Near him were Rossi – 5th, and Ronnie Hellstrom and Ruud Krol, 6th with 20 points. Hellstrom excelled at the World Cup finals, yet Sweden did not go far, was less impressive than France and Scotland, and at club level Kaiserslautern was hardly a winner. Anyway, Rob Rensenbrink got 50 points – the combined number of Bettega and Rossi. Yes, he was strong with Anderlecht, but hardly the most memorable player of Holland at the World Cup. He failed to replace Cruyff, as it was expected, and in general was less exciting than 4 years earlier. Three journalists voted him best in Europe, but this was good only for a distant 3rd place. The race was between two players Hans Krankl and Kevin Keegan. Krankl got 81 points – selected first by 8 journalists. Keegan was voted number one by 9 – neither was really best in the minds of the voters… On the positive side, Krankl was the best scorer in Europe, had wonderful World Cup, and was in perhaps at his peak. On the negative – Austria, as good as it was, did not reach the top 4 at the World Cup and Rapid (Vienna) won nothing. But look at the rival.. Keegan was a big news in 1977-78. He was still adjusting to German football and new teammates. Hamburger SV won nothing. England did not even qualify for the World Cup finals. The most memorable moment of the season was the European Super-cup final, which Hamburger SV and Keegan lost 0-6 from his former teammates of Liverpool, now lead by Kenny Dalglish. Compared to the previous few years, Keegan had rather weak season… but since nobody was really excellent this year and negative arguments against practically everybody were easy to find, Keegan seemingly got points on reputation – a recognition of a star of high caliber since 1974, who so far got no award. Did not seem right, yet, it was pretty much the same in 1977, when Simonsen emerged as the best player – and without any drop of form the same player was ignored in 1978. Of course, not everybody thought Keegan best, but point here and a point there added to a total of 87. In general, the voters settled on Keegan and Krankl – 22 out of 26 put those two on their lists.

Kevin Keegan – the new European footballer of the year. An ironic photo somehow – Barcelona’s duo seemingly laughing at the pink shirts… Keegan was questionable winner. Not because he was not a top-notch player, but because his season was not great. May be Roberto Bettega deserved to be number one, but points count and Keegan was proclaimed best.

The Golden Shoe. That no striker playing in Italy, England, Spain, or USSR had a chance to win the award was certain for years – the best scorers were coming from middle-range championships, where strikers actually had chances to score… the top three cane from such championships, but they were recognized as great and regular scorers already. Ruud Geels (Ajax) was third with 32 goals. The Argentine striker of Paris Saint Germain, Carlos Bianchi, ended second with 37 goals. The Golden Shoe went to the Austrian Hans Krankl. He scored 41 goals – a record still unbeaten in Austria.

Hans Krankl in dark shirt getting ahead of the defender once again.

Already a familiar name around Europe, Krankl had his best season so far – at the end of the season he had scored 160 goals in 205 championship matches played for Rapid (Vienna) since 1970. Add the 27 goals he scored in 26 matches in 1971-72, when loaned to Wiener AC (Vienna). Add that he was vital part of the revival of the Austrian national team, constituting with Bruno Pezzey and Herbert Prohaska the backbone of the strong and exciting Austrian team if the late 1970s. Krankl was at the age considered the best for footballers – 25 years old, with plenty of experience, yet, with many years to play and refine his skills. He was the top scorer of Austria for a third time, after 1974 and 1977, and already was voted Austrian player of the year 3 times (1973, 1974, and 1977). Perhaps curiously, Krankl lacked trophies – with Rapid he won a single one: the Austrian Cup in 1976 – but he was still young. A really outstanding season, capped by Krankl’s wonderful performance at the World Cup finals in the summer of 1978. And prolific scorer like him was not to be missed by the big clubs – Barcelona got him fresh from the World Cup to replace no other but Johan Cruyff.

 

Malta at last. Hardly any real changes at the bottom of the football world. Two relatively unusual clubs won promotions from Second Division.

Qormi FC, formed in 1961 from the amalgamation of Qormi Youngsters and Qormi United, was small club even by Malta standards. They debuted in First Division in 1967-68 and so far played a total of five seasons, quickly relegated back to second league football. Their 6th attempt to establish themselves in top flight was coming, but most likely it was not to be different than the earlier ones.

The other promoted club was a newcomer.

Founded in 1950, Ghaxaq FC was unheard of club belonging to the village with the same name in South-Eastern Malta. Their biggest success so far was exactly this promotion. As for surviving in first division, it was unlikely, yet, a great moment for the tiny club.

The bottom of the 10-club first division was occupied by real outsiders: the combined record of both clubs in the relegation zone was still lower than the 8th placed St. George’s.

Birkirkara earned 8 points this season and finished 9th. Hardly a surprise – the club was really weak before 21st century.

Vittoriosa Stars, hailing from the town of Birgu, was one of the oldest Maltese clubs – founded in 1906 – but with checkered history. Winners they were not. Second division is more likelier place for them than top league. Their season was pure misery – they won a single match and tied two… 4 points. Birkirkara finished with 8, and St. George’s at 8th place was a real giant with 13 points… The name of the last team in the league sounded as a cruel joke.

Not much excitement up the table. More or less, two club competed for the title.

Sliema Wanderes finished 3rd with 24 points, but they were not really participating in the race for the title. Rather, bronze was their aim, besting Floriana by a point and Hamrun Spartans by two. The rest of the league was far behind.

Hibernians (Paola) won 11 matches, tied 4, and lost 3. With 26 points, they were well above the bulk of the league and competed for the first place. But they lost it and had to be satisfied with silver.

Maltese players were practically unknown outside the island, but perhaps Muscat rings some bells… local heroes often mean nothing abroad.

Hibernians were strong, but Valletta FC were stronger. 12 victories, 4 ties, and only twice they lost. They were best in all departments: scored the most goals in the league by far – 44 (Hibernians with second best strikers, still scored under 40 – 39 goals). Their defense was supreme: only 6 goals they allowed in the 18 matches of the season. Floriana had the second best defense – 13 goals. At the end, Valletta finished 2 points ahead of Hibernians: their lead does not correspond to the overwhelming numbers they made, but in a tiny league it was not really possible to build large lead.

Once again champions – their 8th title. And it was not all.

Valletta FC reached the Cup final. The other finalist was Floriana. They had rather weak season – 4th in the league – and winning the Cup was important for one of the most successful Maltese clubs.

Floriana had enough ‘argument’ – a whole bunch of players with very well known names in Malta – Micallef, Farrugia, Sultana, Xuereb, some of them really clans, for they produced top players for many generations. The boys fought hard, but lost the final 2-3.

The dramatic final was won by Valletta FC and they finished with a double. From a distance – nothing surprising: whatever foreigners knew about Maltese football, was Valletta FC, for they were regular champions and participants in the European club tournaments in the 1970s. The most famous Maltese club… to their 8th title, they added 5th cup.

All trophies to the strongest, right? More national team players here; more ‘dynastic’ names too – two guys named Farrugia… add two more playing for Floriana and one with Hibernians colours. Well, those playing for Valletta got all the trophies. The victories of Valletta FC appeared normal, traditional, unchanging… how wrong. Valletta FC were not even nearing the success of two other clubs: 8 titles and 5 clubs was really nothing compered to Floriana’s 24 titles and 14 cups, and Sliema Wanderers’ 21 titles and 15 cups. Valletta FC were clearly the best Maltese clubs in the 1970s and remained so, but their victories were relatively new and they had long way to go… in fact, the lead of the other two clubs was so massive, even now, in the second decade of 21st century, Valletta FC is behind.

Luxembourg.If there is anything to say, it must be that most of the 12-strong league was equal and generally fighting to avoid relegation: all clubs bellow 3rd place were involved in that – at the end 5 points divided the 4th, Etzella (Ettelbruck) from the last two.

Stade Dudelange finished last with 18 points.

Spora (Luxembourg) was 11th, also with 18 points. Both clubs, but especially Spora, knew better days, but past is past and now it was going down to second division. They missed survival by a point. Spora ended with very curious record: they had positive goal-difference – 49-47 – something not even unusual, but unique for a relegated club (only the top three clubs had positive goal-difference!), and their attack was the third strongest in the league.

The Second Division was won by clubs who were not strangers to top level football:

Aris (Bonnevoie), normally playing in the first division, and

Young Boys (Diekirch), a club which had livelier presence before the Second World War, but after that faded away. To a point, a surprise climb up and may be not long lasting.

Up the table there was little excitement – two clubs competed for the silver medals – Red Boys (Differdange) lost the race by a point, settling for bronze with 25 points.

The best known internationally club, Jeunesse (Esch/Alzette) clinched silver medals with 26 points and the country’s spot in the UEFA Cup, but that was the maximum this season – Jeunesse was not a contender.

A sole club dominated the championship from start to end. They won 13 matches, tied 6, and lost 3 – the best league record by far. Their goal-difference was also best: 55-33, outscoring everybody else, and having second-best defensive record. Overwhelming champions with no equals.

Progres (Niedercorn) – true to their name and confidently winning… their second title. The first one was won long time ago – in 1952-53 – so one can imagine the joy.

Outside Luxembourg the names meant plain nothing, but at home it was another matter: Progres reached also the Cup final. There they met Union (Luxembourg).

Union had measly season – they ended 6th in the championship, quite low for one of the usual title contenders, hence, the desire to compensate for the lost season was big. And may be they were seen as favourites – traditionally, stronger club than their opponents. But it was not to be… Union scored a goal, but Progres responded with two and won the final.

Empty-handed this year – Union or US Luxembourg, as they are also frequently called, were still to play in Europe: as losing cup finalist, they were to represent the country in the Cup Winners Cup. Small consolation…

Progres receiving the Cup – it was their 4th. Previously, they won it in 1932-33, 1944-45, and 1976-77. Two consecutive cups – a rare achievement anywhere.

Surely, Progres enjoyed strong period, but in fact this was their finest moment ever: a double, their first and their last. The Cup they never won again, so it is only right to say that this squad is the best ever the club had. A legendary team on its own right.

 

Albania, behind her own impenetrable curtain, was dark enigma at that time. Nothing came out (and nothing came in) – in the sporting aspects: occasional international game was the only glimpse of Albanian sports, including football. Final tables was practically the whole information. Even today the period is dark – few pictures emerged. One thing was known, though: Albanian football was weak. The top league was going to be enlarged for the next season – from 12 to 14 teams – so only one club was relegated in 1977-78 and three clubs were promoted.

Of course, promotion concerned the best three in the Second Division.

Besa (Kavaje) won the second division – champions in their own right.

Besa was joined by Besëlidhja (Lezhë) and Naftëtari Qyteti Stalin. Nothing really to tell about the best of second level football… except the third club with curious and possible only in Albania by the end of the 1970s name: this club was named and renamed.

It hails from the town of Kucove, was quite old by Albanian standards – found in 1926 – and was related to the petrol industry. Still exists, but ‘Stalin’ was dropped years ago.

Four clubs fought the battle for survival in the first division. The battle went to a play-off after the end of the regular season – Traktori Lushnjë and Lokomotiva Durrës escaped unharmed with 19 points each, but Labinoti Elbasan and Skënderbeu Korçë had only 18 . Skenderbeu had better goal-difference, but the Federation decided on play-off. The relegation play-off was dramatic, judging by the results – both legs ended scoreless. Over time changed nothing and penalty shoot-out followed.

Labinoti clinched 6:5 victory, double sweet for it was extracted in Korce, the home of Skenderbeu.

Skenderbeu, one of the oldest Albanian clubs, went down.

At the top of league something else happened – the clubs from Tirana, normally favourites, were out of the race for the title. 17 Nentori was actually 6th.

Partizani finished best – 3rd – yet, they were not contenders with their 25 points. Provincial clubs bested the capital city, something rare.

Luftëtari (Gjirokastër) with a point more than Partizani finished second, but they hardly challenged the champions. Yet, it was a great season for the club.

The most successful and perhaps the only provincial club traditionally rivaling the teams from Tirana won the titles.

VLLAZNIA (SHKODËR) won 10 matches, tied 9, and lost 3. Their goal-difference was 32-19. Best record in the league, naturally, but significantly so: it was difficult to beat squad – Luftetari, Dinamo (Tirana), and Flamurtari (Flore) ended with 6 losses. Partizani lost 8 matches – that is, 1/3 of the total 22 championship games. The defensive record of Vllaznia was best in the league, but strangely shared with the clubs at the very bottom – Labinoti and Skenderbeu also received just 19 goals. As for the attacking record, Vllaznia had no equals – only two clubs scored 30 goals: Partizani, a round 30, and the champions 32. Perhaps not an overwhelming champions, but still Vllaznia finished wit 3 points lead.

This was the 5th title for Vllaznia and 3rd in the 1970s, after 1971-72 ans 1973-74. Strong decade for the club, one of the consistently strong teams.

The Cup finals opposed Dinamo (Tirana), one of the regular favourites, but having relatively weak championship, against Traktori (Lushnjë). Traktori was not among the best Albanian clubs – quite old, founded in 1926, they had been renamed after Albania became Communist in 1945 and not only once. In 1958 they were named Traktori for the second time, but the ‘progressive’ name helped little. When playing in the first division, they were found in the lower half of the table. The club won absolutely nothing, except the Second League championship in 1960. Now they had a chance for a real trophy. And they tried hard – the first leg of the final ended 0-0. A very promising result, for the match was play in Tirana. Unfortunately, in the second leg Dinamo scored a goal and kept their fragile lead to the end. No miracle happened.

Dinamo (Tirana) won their 9th Cup.

 

Cyprus played her largest ever league – 16 teams. There were 15 the previous season and one more was added, as planned, bringing the league to the most common format. The motivation behind the reform was clear – big league meant more players playing more competitive matches. Thus, eventually the quality of the players should rise… never fully convincing argument, countered by exactly opposite proposition: small league concentrates the best players into few clubs, making each stronger and the best playing against the best must boost quality. At the end, neither argument is really convincing – in part because they leave lower levels of football pyramid inadequate. In Cyprus, the situation was very much alike in Finland, Iceland, other small and not populous countries: tiny town and villages often had more than one club, which dispersed talent widely without making most clubs stronger. Paphos had two first division clubs – APOP and Evagoras – for instance. Larnaca had three. So Limassol. Plus the derby of the exiles – Famagusta, in the Turkish part of the island since the civil war partitioning the country in the 1960s, had two clubs in the league, Anorthosis and Nea Salamina, both homeless and temporary borrowing location in the Greek part. Their situation is still the same in the 21st century. Such league was obviously depending on momentary form of any club, here the picture differed than the one in the Scandinavian states: Cyprus traditionally had two dominant ‘super-clubs’ – Omonia and APOEL. Nicosia ruled and the enlargement of the league became immediately counter-productive: more championship games simply meant more easy wins for the top two, making the gulf between them and the rest of the league bigger, not smaller. Lastly, the enlargement of top flight decreased the number of relatively good teams bellow – the fact that only one club was relegated and only one was promoted from the second league pretty much recognized the desperate situation. It also decreased even temporary ambitions for most clubs: small enough, now they were satisfied just with staying in the league – and now it was easier: only one spot was dangerous and with many games between relatively equal teams, it was not very difficult to achieve mediocre security. The relative parity was represented well in the final table: there was no clear outsider, every club was able to get many points, but the more familiar names still got more… the last in the league ended with exactly half the points of the 4th. But they also lost the battle for survival by a single points and two more clubs barely escaped (APOP and Evagoras – the teams from Paphos finished 13th and 14th). Digenis Akritas Morphou were lucky – 15th with 19 points.

Halkanoras Dhali got the short stick – 18 points placed them last and relegated. An young club, founded in 1948, Halkanoras were absolutely unknown – Dali or Dhali is the name of their home, either a village near Nicosia, or outskirts of the capital. There presence among the best was brief and due entirely to the enlargement of the league – they played a grand total of 2 seasons there, coming in in 1976, when the league was enlarged from the traditional 14-club format to 15, and relegated the next year. Never to return…

Poor Halkanoras was to be replaced by the Second Division winners:

Omonia (Aradippou). Slightly better than Halkanoras, but not much… a typical ‘in between’ club, which meandered between first and second division, never lasting long in top flight, but still too good for the lower level. Not exactly a club adding quality to the top league.

Above Halkanoras the teams were spread gradually, climbing up a point or two, and reaching the ‘climax’ with Pezoporikos (Larnaca) at 3rd place.

Bronze medals were a success, no doubt about it, but it was strictly domestic success – Pezoporikos prevailed over clubs more likely to finish on the podium – Paralimni and Anorthosis – and triumphed over city rivals Alki and EPA, but was not for a second threatening the real favourites – with 37 points, they were 4 points behind the silver medalists.

Which were familiar, usual, predictable, expected… APOEL (Nicosia). The bulk of the league did not bother APOEL for a second, but… they had a weak season, unable to challenge their arch-enemy. APOEL ended 10 points behind the champions.

It was not even two-horse race – Omonia was overwhelming.

22 wins, 7 ties, and a single loss. 77-15 goal difference. Omonia had no rivals.

It was even pointless to count their titles anymore… the team was full of Cypriot national team players, led by the great goal-scorer Kaiafas – but the names meant nothing outside Cyprus. It was just the best team on local scale.

As good as Omonia were, they were unable to win a double – Omonia did not reach the Cup final. APOEL did and also AEL (Limassol), otherwise having a dismal season (12th in the league).

There was no doubt about the desire of AEL to win and they fought bravely, but the opposition was not only classier – APOEL had their own ambitions, especially when they were not able even to challenge Omonia in the championship. AEL distinguished themselves by losing minimally – only 0-1. A final, but not a cup…

As for the winners – they were not overwhelming winners, but still got the cup. True, the final was dragged into overtime and it was very difficult to score, but eventually they scored the golden goal.

APOEL saved the season – cups still counted back then. Not just a small compensation for not even running for the title. Difficult victory, but a victory, bringing them back to relative parity with Omonia. The old status quo remained unchanged – the big clubs from Nicosia dominated the Cypriot football. Of course, APOEL had a good number of national team players, but they had no player like Kaiafas – that is, no player known outside the island. Perhaps that was the whole difference between the two enemies and it was huge difference… at home.

 

First signs of improvement in Iceland – few players appearing in foreign championship. Scotland, Denmark, it was not much yet. Icelandic players really built reputation in the 1980s – these were still tiny first steps. As a whole, Icelandic football was becoming sturdier, tougher, but still very easy to beat. As for domestic championship, they loved their football on the island and the small clubs playing in small leagues were at least not in peril similar to other small continental clubs. Ups and downs were frequent, of course – typical for fairly even amateur leagues.

KR Reykjavik won the second league. One of the most successful Icelandic clubs, they had some hard time, dropped to second level, but now were coming back. The oldest Icelandic club, founded in 1899, was not to stay down for long.

Second placed and also promoted were Haukar Hafnarfjördur.

Haukar were insignificant, compared to KR Reykjavik – moving up to first division was big achievement for them. Not bad anyway – just try to find their home town on a map… and Haukar was not the only club in Hafnarfjördur either. It is a miracle that a place like that can have a club at all – yet they had more than one. Haukar was found in 1931 and is much better known for its handball team, not for their football section. Sweet season – even in mild-mannered Iceland it was a matter of pride to better one’s city rivals.

For Haukar went up and at the same time FH Hafnarfjördur finished 9th in first division with 10 points. Were they able to get a point more, a village derby would have been played in 1979, but no. FH were relegated. Having 3 points more than the last team was no consolation.

UB Kopavogur were dead last. They had one more victory than FH – 3 in total – but 7 points was the worst league record. One of clubs rarely playing top level football – more or less, naturally did not last long and went down.

Reykjavik, the capital city, was represented by 4 clubs in first division, and except Trottur, these were traditionally successful clubs – Fram, Vikingur, and Valur. Yet, it was not a race between the ‘big boys’ from the capital. Fram and Vikingur were weak this year; Trottur – just happy to escape relegation. In fact 8 of the 10 league members were not even close to the favourites – the bronze medalists, IB Keflavik finished 9 points behind the 2nd placed. Enourmous gap, considering that it was achieved after only 18 championship games.

It was not surprising to see IB Keflavik high in the table, but in reality they were their almost by default – just having a point more than others.

It looked like a two-team race, but it was not – the silver medalist were superior to the rest of the league, scored more goals than anybody else – 47, lost only 2 matches… and finished 6 points behind the champions. Not contenders at all – rather, staying alone: much stronger than the league and much weaker the real contenders.

IA Akranes got the silver, but may be it was just a bit weaker season. The club was one of the strongest Icelandic clubs in the 1970s and won the title in 1977.

Thus, only one club was left – Valur Reykjavik.

Not surprising at all to see them at the top – the club already won 15 titles. They were consistently strong – the first title was won in 1930, their last – in 1976. Valur won championships in every decade and perhaps the 1950s were their weakest, for they won only once, in 1956. There was drought between 1967 and 1976, but clearly it was over. Valur did not lose a single match this season. A single tie prevented them from finishing with perfect record of straight wins. Their defense was impenetrable – only 8 balls crossed their goal-line. Their strikers were second-best in the league – only IA Akranes scored more, but not much more: 47 to Valur’s 45. Absolutely dominant champions. Such supremacy suggests a double…

Valur reached the Cup final, where they faced the second best this year, IA Akranes. Given the supremacy in the league, the final was not to be big deal. Perhaps… IA Akranes had their own ambitions and pride, they won 1-0. No double for Valur, but what a success for IA: they won their very first Cup!

Historic vintage for IA Akranes, but the names are a bit of a mystery… Sitting, from left: K. Thordarsson, Stefansson, Hakonarsson (?), Sveinsson, Gudjonsson, G. Thordarson, Olafsson, Einarsson (?), Sigurdsson (?), Hardarsson (?).

Standing: Valtisson (?) – administrator, Alfredsson, Halgrimsson (?), Akselsson, Petursson, Thorbjornsson, Engilbertsson (?), Bjornsson, Gundlandsson (?), Halldorsson, Kirbie (?) – coach.

Some national team players here, some familiar names – but one cannot be sure, for Icelandic names are quite the same – Petursson, Gudjonsson, Thordarson, so many have such names and were some of present here becoming well known professionals in Europe, or not, cannot be easily established. But no matter – IA Akranes more than compensated for not having been contenders this year: first ever Cup is a great achievement.

 

Finland was arriving at inevitable changes – the old amateur system was beginning to crack. It was increasingly difficult to maintain teams – the financial pressures were getting stronger and stronger. And the sad process of disintegration took place: clubs merging or giving up competitive football, some were changing names as part of restructuring, all desperate attempts to keep the game afloat, which are still at work. As a result, from a time distance Finnish football is very puzzling – unfamiliar names and hard to tell what is the relation of the old clubs to the contemporary ones. One thing is certain – many cities, rather small, had more than one club playing in the best two divisions back in the 1970s. Oulu had 2 clubs in first division and one in second. Kokkola – one in first and two in second. Turku – 2 in first division. So had Kuopio. Lahti – one in first and one in second. Mikkeli was the same. Helsinki, the likeliest city to have more than one club at top level, had 2 in first divison – less than much smaller towns. It was clear that most of the ‘redundant’ clubs will disappear – and they did. Ikissat (Tampere) merged with TaPa under entirely new name – Ilves. This club won promotion to the first division this season. KIF (Helsinki) changed its name to Kiffen, although the club itself remained KIF, as if deliberately – to confuse foreigners. SePS (Seinäjoki) also renamed itself to Sepsi-78. More footnotes are in order, unfortunately, but for the moment changes seemed to work: Sepsi-78 tried hard to win promotion to first division, finishing 3rd in the Second Division. 4 points ahead from the 4th, MP Mikkeli. Not a small advantage in 12-club league, but quite short from promotion too – the winners finished 3 points clear of Sepsi-78.

The top two spots were decided on goal-difference – two clubs ended with 31 points. KTP Kotka got the second place, enough to return to top flight.

The newly formed Ilves (Tampere) clinched first place, immediately showing ambitious teeth. Aparently, the combined strength of two clubs worked: Ilves started with a title. A second division winners, but still a good beginning. As for KTP, probably they were not disappointed by the season either, for they still won promotion.

First division was divided into 4 groups of teams – a curious partition of small 12-club league, but most teams were secure no matter what: two clubs were hopeless outsiders from the start of the season – even their combined record was only good for the last place.

OTP Oulu was last with 6 points. They won just one match… A relatively young club, founded in 1945, it was already doomed – the neighbours OPS were older, having bigger fan base. And Oulu had other clubs too… the agony was long, but there is no OTP today: in 2002 they plus few other clubs merged into AC Oulu.

A point better than OTP was Kiffen. They had twice the number of victories of OTP – two.

Kronohagens Idrottsforening (abbreviated KIF) are old – formed in 1908. As most continental clubs, it is all-sport club and the football section is just one among many. In the ancient past, KIF won three titles – back in the 1910s. By the 1970s it was no longer a force – not in Helsinki, let alone Finland. They changed the name to Kiffen, as fans called it anyway, but the big change brought nothing… they were relegated. 7 points were 10 points short from safety. The drop continued – Kiffen exists still, but can be found in Third Division.

With outsiders so weak, the rest of the league had nothing to worry about. Four clubs seemingly just went through the motions. Three more – TPS Turku, OPS Oulu, and MiPK Mikkeli – just distanced themselves from the rabble, building a 5-point advantage by the end of the season, but had nothing to do with with the title: they were also 5 points behind from 3rd placed club. Three clubs competed for the title and at the end 2 points separated the champions from the bronze medalists.

Haka Valkeakoski finished 3rd, not a surprise – they were usually strong in the 1960s and 1970s, one of the more familiar names in Europe, for they often played in the European cups.

KPT Kuopio finished second with 32 points – a point better than Haka, and a point away from the title.

This was the best so far season of Kuopion Pallotoverit, as their full name was – or Koparit, as they were also known. They played quite regularly in first division, but also were no strangers to relegation. A great season, but this is a club not to be found today… they disbanded in 1990.

The title was clinched by a point – HJK Helsinki finished with 33 points. Thanks to winning most matches in the league – 13. They did not excell in anything else – KPT Oulu lost the same number of matches, 2; TPS Turky scored more goals than the champions – 57 to HJK’s 52; almsot half the league had better defensive record than the champions, including the 10th placed Pyrkivä Turku. HJK received much goals than their pursuers – 29. Hada allowed 19 and KPT only 15. But no matter – HJK enjoyed the final victory.

HJK were not exactly ‘the big, dominating club’ of Finnish football, but were consistently strong and often winning trophies. So, one more… as for the squad, the names mean very little: Jouko Soini, Atik Ismail, Adil Ismail, Juha-Pekka Laine, Risto Salomaa, Dan Högström, Martti Holopainen, Ari Lehkosuo, Matti Kinnunen, Eero Virta, Juha Dahilund, Pasi Rautiainen, Henry Forssell, Jorma Virtanen, Olli Isoaho, Kalle Niemi, Miikka Toivola. Two foreign names here – Atik and Adil Ismail, most likely naturalized immigrants, for the amateur Finnish clubs had no means to import players. Shirt sponsorship was already common – an obvious effort to bring some cash to the clubs. Good for the boys, though – winning a championship counts.

The Cup final opposed Reipas Lahti to TPS Kuopio. An excellent season for TPS – they were at the top at both championship and cup. Perhaps the best season ever, but… without a trophy. The Cup final was two-legged – Reipas won 3-1 the first match and tied the second 1-1. The best season of TPS meant no trophy – twice second, twice coming very close to winning, but no. Still, given the history of the club – a big success.

In the 1970s it was quite normal to see Reipas winning something or at least coming close to winning. Strong years of the ancient club, founded in 1891. They were weak in the championship this year, finishing 9th, but won the Cup. A purely historic record remains today: neither of the 1978 Cup finalists exists now.

 

Northern Ireland – the second oldest league in the world, but what a sorry state… Obscurity. Twelve semi-professional clubs competed in closed league, no promotion and relegation, and hardly any decent players. There was much ups and downs, yet, the league was more or less dominated by the two ‘big clubs’ from Belfast – Linfield and Glentoran. Belfast was represented by few other clubs – Crusaders, Cliftonville and Distillery – but they played smaller role. Even the big clash between Catholics and Protestants was more likely to happen in Glasgow, not in bullet ridden Belfast. And nothing really new happened on Northern Irish stadiums this year. Ballymena United was the absolute outsider – last with 10 points, but nothing to worry about since there was no relegation to a lower division.

Up on top – not much either.

Glenavon (Lurgan) were 3rd – comfortably third, 3 points ahead of the next pursuer, but not even dreaming of higher place – they finished 6 points behind the silver medalists. Which meant only one thing: no UEFA Cup for Glenavon – Northern Ireland had only single allotment.

Second place meant playing international games, however briefly. It was taken by usual suspects – Glentoran.

The squad is only a matter of record, as ever, but the season was not very strong – Glentoran were much stronger than the rest of the league, but were not contenders. Except for the derby, they did not challenge Linfield.

So it was a one-horse race. Linfield lost a single match during the campaign. They had no rivals. Won 19 out of 22 total matches, outscored the league by far – 65 goals. The second best was Glentoran with 59.

Linfield finished 6 points ahead of their rival and collected their 31st title. But it was not all – the champions also reached the Cup final. The other finalist was curious one: Ballymena United, the weakest team in the league.

A relatively young by Irish standards modest club, founded in 1928, Ballymena United never won anything. A club normally found in the lower half of the league table – the only thrill the local derby with Coleraine. A dismal season, suddenly compensated by progress in the Cup. Ballymena had a chance… before the match was played. They lost 1-3.

They lost, predictably, but they lost to the champions and thus, as Cup finalists, got to play in the European Cup Winners Cup. Bit success for the lowly club. But this is almost everything to be said about the ‘Braidmen’ – dissatisfaction and increasingly sinking reputation of the Cup Winners Cup were based on participants like Ballymena United. The other thing which should be mentioned is the the clubs kit – perhaps the first club in Northern Ireland using shirts advertisement.

As for the winners, it was their 31st Cup. A curious parity – 31 titles and 31 Cups, won at the same time.

A double, supremacy in everything, record numbers of wins – such achievers are usually legendary. And perhaps this squad is legendary in Belfast. But nowhere else… it is modest, anonymous team. Few players appeared for Northern Ireland, but left no lasting memories. Perhaps Peter Rafferty is the best example – the star of Linfield played only few matches for the national team and did not attract the interest of English or Scottish clubs, even those of lower divisions. The crème of Northern Ireland never played at home, it is easy to draw conclusion about the strength of the supreme champions.

 

Norway, modest as ever, but not without intrigue. The Cup final opposed Lillestrom SK and Brann.

Lillestrom, led by their wonderful star Tom Lund, prevailed – 2-1 – and won one more trophy. The strongest years of the club continued.

The championship was a bit different than usually – Norwegian football had no overwhelming favourites, teams appeared quite equal, but this season the 12-club league split into three distinct groups. Three clubs fought their own battle at the bottom, trying to reach the save 10th place. Molde FK were the lucky ones at end with 12 points. The previous year they were at the top of the table, but such changes of fate or strength were common. At least Molde escaped relegation. By a point – the other two clubs finished with 11 points each.

Having better goal-difference, Lyn (Oslo) finished 11th. No matter – relegated they were. One of the oldest clubs in the country, founding member of the Football Association of Norway in 1902, champions and Cup winners, but all was history and quite ancient history too. The last success was the double in 1968. The decline of the club representing upper middle class was not temporary – it turned out to be long and painful. The relegation was not even the worst moment, but rather an early signal that Lyn was permanently losing its leading position. Perhaps to the joy of their city rivals, Valerenga, the working class club.

Last finished the opposite kind of club like Lyn.

Steinkjer FK had no glorious past, not even memorable one. The club played rarely and briefly in first division. Old they were, founded in 1910, but their existence was marked by a single triumph: the second place in 1961-62 championship. Soon they was back in second division and after ten years there they were finally promoted in 1977. 1978 was not good at all – this happened to be the last time Steinkjer played top league football. Outsiders…

Six clubs occupied the middle of the table – relegation was not a concern (the weakest of the group finished 6 points ahead of Molde), not disturbing the leaders either (the gap between 3rd and 4th place was 5 points). Only Brann deserves mentioning of this group – they reached the Cup final and also they were the top scoring team in the league with 52 goals. They finished 5th.

The last group battled for the title. Two familiar contenders – Viking (Stavanger) and Lillestrom, perhaps the best Norwegian clubs of this decade. No surprise seeing them on top. The trird club, although familiar name, was a surprise. IK Start (Kristiansand) were not often at the very top, so bets were on the obvious rivals. Viking finished 3rd with 31 points. Above them ended Lillestrom thanks to better goal-difference. The champions had 2 points more – 33 – and they were the underdog: Start. True to their name to the finish.

One more old club – Start was founded in 1905 – but nothing more. Regular members of the first league, sometimes among the best, but so far not a single trophy. And may be Viking and Lillestrom did not take them seriously, given Start’s history. May be the other contenders were preoccupied with fighting each other and did not pay attention to the dark horse. Whatever it was, Start collected point after point and at the end had the most.

First time champions! Such squads are usually remembered and called legendary… unfortunately, Norwegian players meant nothing outside their home country. No names… but champions! Well done. Yet, they were unusual – lower levels of world football were marked by high scoring at that time. Norway was not an exception as a whole – her champion was, though. Given the numbers, Start appeared clearly defensive-minded team. Their strength was at the back – they received only 13 goals in 22 championship games. The next best record was 22 – shared by Lillestrom and Viking. But the attack… Start scored just 30 goals. Only three clubs scored less – the relegated Lyn and Steinkjer, and the 7th placed Bryne. Yet, Start won the most matches this championship – 13. Strong defense paid out.