Category: 1981

Mexico. The Second Division reached its climax with the final – it was all about single promotion. The contestants were one absolutely unknown club – Tapatio (Guadalajara) – and one almost unknown, Atletico Morelia. Tapatio hosted the first match and unable to win – 1-1. The second match in Morelia favoured the host team, but it was not an easy game. Atletico won, but minimally – 1-0. It was enough.

Atletico Morelia – the winner of Second Division and thus promoted to First Division.

Top flight proceeded with its own marathon, divided into 4 groups as ever. Fair or not fair, the rules stipulated that the teams with least points in the group stage go to a relegation play-off. Atlas (Guadalajara) had the least points in the league – 27 (Group 1). Their opponents was the last placed in Group 3 – Union (Curtidores), with 30 points. Lean and Atletas Campesinos escaped with 31 points each. Atlas won the first leg of the play-off – 2-0 at home. In the second match the host team won, but Atlas managed to score a goal and survived – 1-2 gave them the edge: 3-2 was the combined result and Atlas survived.

Unlucky Union de Curtidores – one goal decided their fate, despite the fact they had stronger season than Atlas. But rules are rules and Unuon was relegated.

For half the league the season ended with the group stage – among them were 2 clubs normally considered favourites:

Atlante, having three stars in the team – Cabinho (Brazil) and Argentines Ruben Ayala and Ricardo La Volpe, finished 3rd in Group 3 – one point short of qualification for the second round of the championship. Disappointing season. Cabinho, already a legend and considered the best ever foreign player, was the top scorer of the championship for 6th consecutive year, but Atlante was out.

If Atlante missed the second stage unfortunately, America had no chance at all – a terrible season for one of the biggest and most successful Mexican clubs. 11 wins, 14 ties, and 13 losses placed them 4th in Group 1 with 36 points. 12 clubs earned more points than them – disastrous season.

Other clubs were going up: Zacatepec was perhaps the biggest surprise, finishing 2nd in Group 3. Atletico Espanol and Deportivo Neza also had strong first phase – both clubs were new ambitious projects, moving up largely thanks to peculiar Mexican rules, permitting a newly founded club to bye the franchise of someone else. Deportivo Neza was founded in 1978 in the city of Ciudad Neza and bought the franchise of Club de Futbol Laguna. The new club did not play in its home town at first, but in the city of Texcoco – there they had their best years. Until 1987-88, when financial troubles and lack of fans ended the club – it was sold and moved elsewhere. In 1980-81 they finished 2nd in Group 2. Atletico Espanol (Mexico City) finished 1st in Group 1 – they were older than Deprotivo Neza, but like them built artificially – in 1971 a group of Spanish businessmen bought Necaxa and re-named it. So far – so good.

The rest of the qualifying teams were familiar – Toluca finished 2nd in Group 1 behind Atletico Espanol. Cruz Azul won Group 2, leaving Deportivo Neza a point behind. UNAM won Group 4, Guadalajara finished second – quite behind UNAM, but second. Zacatepec was also distant second in Group 3, left behind by the best team in the first stage – UAG. UAG – or Tecos, as they are commonly known – had remarkable first stage: 20 matches without a loss. They finished with 51 points and only one club came close to them – UNAM, with 49.

In a standard championship, Tecos would have been winners, but in Mexico the first stage meant only qualification to the next one. The 8 teams were divided into 2 round-robin semi-final groups. The winners qualified to the final and nobody else. UAG collapsed at this stage, ending last in Group 1.

1.- Cruz Azul 6 3 2 1 5 3 1.67 8

2.- Zacatepec 6 3 1 2 12 8 1.50 7

3.- Toluca 6 2 1 3 5 7 0.71 5

4.- U.A.G. 6 1 2 3 7 11 0.64 4

The ambitious project named Atletico Espanol also finished last, casting doubts about the future of the club. Cruz Azul won the Group 2.

1.- U.N.A.M. 6 4 1 1 12 9 1.33 9

2.- Deportivo Neza 6 2 2 2 4 3 1.33 6

3.- Guadalajara 6 2 1 3 7 9 0.78 5

4.- Atletico Español 6 1 2 3 6 8 0.75 4

Cruz Azul and UNAM were to contest the title – in two legs. Steady season for both teams so far – they were not particularly flashy, but earned enough points to go ahead. Both won their preliminary groups and now won their semi-finals groups. UNAM so far performed better than Cruz Azul, the champions of the previous season. Both teams lost only one match in the second stage, Cruz Azul emphasizing on their defense and UNAM – on attack. Perhaps the different tactics decided the championship – Cruz Azul won the first leg minimally: 1-0. In the second leg UNAM went full ahead and destroyed Cruz Azul 4-1. They were final winners on aggregate: 4-2.

The experienced squad of Cruz Azul was unable to win a consecutive title – perhaps was too old and too careful for that. They came close, they were one of the best Mexican squads at the time, but at the end they lost.

Pumas with more than claws – a second title for UNAM. They were the team for the future too – the young coach Bora Milutinovic won its first championship and he had no other but Hugo Sanchez leading the attack. Young coach and young striker – no wonder UNAM risked attacking football, preferring to outscore the opponents. Their defense was leaky – for instance, they ended with the second worst defensive record the semi-final stage – but they scored more than they received and at the end the title was theirs. Well done, to say the least.

 

NASL showed clear signs of going down under heavy pressure in 1981. No surprise – so far, money were poured down like crazy, but there were no returns. Players were still coming in flocks, but there was noticeable difference: they were somewhat of lesser status than those arriving a year or two earlier. In the same time big names were returning to Europe. Bernd Hoelzenbein (West Germany) and Elias Figueroa (Chile) signed with Fort Lauderdale Strikers and Ivan Buljan (Yugoslavia) joined New York Cosmos, but Franz Beckenbauer left to play for Hamburger SV. Ruud Krol departed quickly to play in Italy for Napoli, and Johan Cruijff was on his way to Europe too – he had just 5 appearances in his last North American season. It was not just players – fr the first time NASL was significantly reduced. Houston Hurricane, Rochester Lancers, and Washington Diplomats folded. Four clubs changed locations – and names. Philadelphia Fury moved to Montreal, becoming Montreal Manic.

Memphis Rogues moved to Calgary, becoming Calgary Boomers.

New England Tea Men – to Jacksonville, becoming Jacksonville Tea Men.

And lastly Detroit Express moved to Washington, DC. Thus, there was once again Washington Diplomats, but it was not the same club – perhaps one of the reasons Cruijff left.

There were no other changes – NASL continued on its disastrous path: the same bizarre rules and championship formula, no focus on youth teams and development of domestic players. By 1981 NASL was seen as a joke by the rest of the world – some crazy circus. The league was doomed. But the championship went on as ever, producing fantastic results: New York Cosmos came first in the Eastern Division with 200 points! They still appeared to be head and shoulders above the rest. Since the first phase of the championship had almost no meaning, the real championship practically started in the ¼ finals – direct elimination left no chances for mistakes and leisurely attitude.

Cosmos reached the final without any troubles – they were particularly superior in the semi-finals against Fort Lauderdale Strikers: two wins 4-3 and 4-1. The other finalist had to fight all the way, going into decisive match at every stage and in the semi-finals – to a shoot-out. Chicago Sting was, to a point, unlikely finalist.

The final of the championship – the Soccer Bowl – was played on September 26 in Toronto, Canada, attracting less than 37 000 viewers. Chicago Sting vs New York Cosmos. Before the match started, Cosmos was the favourite. But regular time ended scoreless and the NASL-style penalty shoot-out followed – the shoot-out started 35 yards from the goal and allowed the player 5 seconds to attempt a shot. The player could make as many moves as he wanted in a breakaway situation within the time frame. The rule explains why only a few goals were scored: only Bogicevic scored for Cosmos. Chicago Sting scored twice. The biggest NASL club lost the shoot-out and the final was recorded as 0-1 loss – another peculiarity of NASL regulations: the winner of a shoot-out was ‘given’ an additional goal, for there were no ties in this championship. Thus, the 1981 final shows 1-0 after 2-1 shoot-out victory. Cosmos lost and the new NASL champion was Chicago Sting.

This New York Cosmos squad was not as star-studded as the one of the previous few years, but still was stronger – on paper – than the rest of the league. But no 5th title… Interrestingly, Neeskens was not among those selected for the shoot-out.

Chicago Sting celebrated its first NASL title – a happy occasion, especially considering who they played against.

For a NASL team, Sting was terribly anonymous. When Cosmos had Chinaglia, Neeskens, Bogicevic, Buljan, Romero, Rijsbergen, van der Elst, Chicago Sting fielded barely known players. Of course, almost the whole team was made of foreigners, but the best known among them were minor players in their previous career: the English goalkeeper Phil Parkes, the Yugoslav defender Ivan Miljkovic, and two Germans, Arno Steffenhagen and Karl-Heinz Granitza, were the only recognizable players. But there is paper and there is reality: some players took more seriously their game in NASL than others, some were simply younger and fitter, some adapted better to the format and eventually the chemistry in lesser team would be better than in a squad made of a big names. Chicago Sting had no big names, but more determined team and they won. And Karl-Heinz Granitza, whose best achievement in West Germany was playing for Hertha (West Berlin) really blossomed in North America – he arrived in 1978, quickly established himself as a league star and played successfully until 1990. He was similar to his compatriot Hubert Birkenmeier, the goalkeeper of New York Cosmos – barely known at home, but one of the best players in NASL. It was great victory of the underdog.

African player of the year. One thing was becoming noticeable in the last few years – continent-wide recognized solid stars. Players, who appeared among the top three steadily, not just because of a good year or the whims of local interests. Ali Fergani of Algeria was voted third – he played for two clubs in 1981: the French Montpellier and the Algerian JS Tizi-Ouzou (JS Kabylie). The success of Tizi-Ouzou propelled Fergani so high, no doubt. Thomas N’Kono was second – he was among the best for a third time. His club – Canon (Cameroon) did not win anything internationally, but the goalkeeper evidently was recognized as a continental star and his performance was no longer hidden. First was voted young attacking midfielder, who, like N’Kono did not play for a winning team, but impressed nevertheless.

Lakhdar Belloumi, 23-years old, was already a regular for the national team of Algeria and the star of GC Mascara. Young as he was, he already played for a good 5 years top level fotball – debuting for GC Mascara in 1976, then moving to MC Oran for two years, then to MC Alger for another two years, and returning to GC Mascara in 1981. For the national team of Algeria, he debuted in 1978 – it was largely his playing for the national team, which impressed the journalists. GC Mascara had nothing to brag about in 1981, especially compared to JS Tizi-Ouzou, but Belloumi was voted number one. The Algerian star was recognized by the world later, of course – only when Algeria appeared at the World Cup finals, but that was normal. Yet, his career was strange – a huge number of African players of the 1970s and before never got a chance to play professional football, but things were changing, especially for the players of Belloumi’s generation. Jumping ahead, Belloumi was one the finest African players of the 1980s – and he never played in Europe. In fact, he played only one season outside Algeria – 1988-89 (12 matches for Al-Arabi SC, Qatar). He was noticed, especially after voted player of the year – Barcelona wanted him before the 1982 World Cup and a few years later, in 1985 – Juventus. Perhaps Juventus’ interest was most important: they wanted Belloumi at the time Platini was the mega-star of the team – and the Algerian played the same position! Belloumi himself explained that the reason for not playing in Europe was the law: Algerian players were not allowed to leave the country before the age of 27. How strictly the law was enforced is hard to judge, but the fact is Belloumi never played for any European club. He is one of the greatest Algerian players of all time, though – and played 101 matches for the national team, in which scored 27 goals.

The African Champions Cup was like ever – clubs withdrew before playing matches, but there was one difference: the Egyptian Al-Ahly did not play at the ½ final, because of the assassination of President Anwar Sadat. Thus JE Tizi-Ouzou of Algeria qualified directly to the final. Lucky Algerians – they benefited from the opponent’s withdrawal for a second time this year. The other finalist had it much tougher – they played all matches up to the final, but they were not a club to be scared: AS Vita Club of Zaire, one of the best African clubs for years. In the ½ final they eliminated AS Kaloum Star from Guinea.

The 2-legged final theoretically favoured experienced Vita Club. But they lost the first leg in Algeria 0-4. It was too much – or the opponents were too good. They won the second leg too – 1-0. Vita Club lost with a 0-5 total and Africa had new Cup winner. You got the name? May be not… yes, the new winners were recorded as JE Tizi-Ouzou. Happy they were, of course.

Captain Mouloud Iboud proudly lifting the African Champions Cup.

Worthy winners – they simply destroyed Vita Club, one of the most dominant winners in the histroy of the tournament. But do not look for a club called JE Tizi-Ouzou . Look for JS Kabylie instead.

JS Kabylie was playing under new name at this time . ‘The Lions of Djurdjura’ were founded in 1928 as Rapide Club de Tizi-Ouzou… but they also show 1946 on their current crest as birthdate. JS Kabylie was renamed JS Kawkabi in 1974 and changed to JS Tizi-Ouzou in 1977 – this name lasted unti 1989. Their success started in the 1970s and after winning 4 Algerian titles, they made it internationally as well. Well done – the victory coincided with the rise of Algerian football, apparently starting one of their best periods in history.

After Mundialito who would care for Africa? The season left bare mark of itself. It was pretty much the same as ever – clubs abandoning tournaments. Eight teams left the Cup Winners Cup. The most dramatic games involved Stationery Stores (Nigeria): three matches were not enough against Al-Ahly (Benghazi, Lybia) in the first round. Stationery Stores prevailed only after penalty shoot-out. The same happened again in the 1/8 finals – this time against CAPS United (Zimbabwe). Curiously, the next rounds were easy sailing and Stationery Stores did not lose a match until the final. The other finalist was Union (Douala, Cameroon). Union had no troubles whatsoever until the semi-finals, where they lost their away match to Secondi Hasaacas (Ghana) 2-3. But the Cameroonians won 2-1 at home and thanks to more away goals qualified to the final. It was two-legged as usual, the first match in Douala. It ended 0-0, giving advantage to Stationery Stores. However, at home they lost 1-2.

Stationery Stores came close to winning the cup – a good testimony of the rising Nigerian football, but at the end they lost. Not ready for success yet.

Union Douala was not a surprise winner – Cameroonian teams dominated the late 1970s. Union itself was no stranger to continental victories: in 1979 they won the African Champions Cup.

The final was played on January 10, 1981 in front of 71 250 spectators, no doubt most of them cheering for Uruguay. Brazil was not shaken, but, like their match against Argentina, it was more than pure football – more than fair-play.

Tempers got the upper hand now and then and no wonder. No goals were scored in the first half. Uruguay got the lead in the 50th minute, thanks to Barrios. Brazil fought back, of course, and Socrates equalized from a penalty in the 62nd minute. 10 minutes before the end Uruguay scored again.

Victorino scored his third goal in the tournament and his most important one – it gave Uruguay the victory.

Uruguay was the champions of champions. Captain Rodolfo Rodriguez proudly lifted the Mundialito Cup and then the team joined its fans in the mots of Centenario.

Victory came with a bath for everybody. It was symbolic ending: the holders of most world titles lost to the very first world champions on the stadium built for the first World Cup.

Brazil was unable to beat Uruguay, just like it happened in 1950. This is not the team from the final, but the one beating West Germany 4-1. Above: Leite, Cerezo, Luizinho, Oscar, Edevaldo, Junior. Below: Tita, Paulo Isidoro, Socrates, Batista, Ze Sergio.

The best among the world champions – Uruguay in its finest. The big hero was Victorino, scoring in every match, finally scoring the goal making Uruguay the winner. It was definitely his finest year – 1980-early 1981 on both club and national team level. Walter Olivera, who unfortunately missed the last appearance of Uruguay at World Cup finals – 1974 – was a winner now. There were up and coming players, becoming known to the world – and becoming key players for Uruguay in the 1980s – de Leon and Diogo. And one very promising midfielder, whose name was misspelled almost all the time he was mentioned – Ariel Krasouski. May be Uruguay took more seriously the tournament than the other teams and had their finest squad, but it was well deserved victory – they won every match, allowed only 1 goal in the whole tournament, but scored 2 goals in every match they played, no matter who they played against.

The aftermath of Mundialito was entirely positive: Argentina was stronger with Maradona. West Germany was very strong, yet, both Argentina and Brazil beat them – South America was not lagging behind Europe. The new Brazil was wonderful – but lost to Uruguay! Evidently, Uruguay was coming back too. As a whole, the teams played open and attacking football, suggesting that the stagnation of the end of the 1970s was over. The teams were generally young and all teams suggested not only healthy new generation, but also rather vast pools of talent, for various stars were not included. South America was coming to leading position in the world, changing their approach, particularly Brazil, which after years of dull ‘European’ football went back to its roots. West Germany too looked like moving away from the physical football to the creative one they played in until 1975. Maradona, Socrates, Junior, Tita, de Leon, Diogo, Krasouski, Ancelotti, Vierchowod, Franco Baresi, Ruben Paz, Ramon Diaz, Barbas, Eder, van Breukelen… the list of new stars were longer, although not everybody played. Add the big current stars – Kempes, Rummenigge, Bonhof, Antognoni, Passarella, Ardiles. And keep in mind those who were left out for one or another reason – Zico, Stielike, Zoff, Schuster. Nothing to fear – it was like the early 70s again: the world was full of exciting young players, it was fun again, and it was going to stay this way. Such were the hopeful conclusions.

And locally –

Roque Maspoli was the hero, coaching Uruguay to victory.

Players and fans celebrated together, a celebration quickly taking over Montevideo.

Football was king – nothing better and more optimistic than that.

The tournament started on December 30 – seemingly, to keep it within 1980. This was the only game played in that year,though. Uruguay vs Holland. In front of 65 000 enthusiastic supporters the hosts won 2-0.

Both goals were scored in the first half, the second by Victorino, pictured here.

On January 3, 1981 Uruguay met Italy. Curiously, the match was attended by 10 000 people less than the one against Holland – strange, since Uruguay is heavily populated by people with Italian roots. The other strange thing was that both teams played with their first kits – blue vs sky blue. Clash of colours, but never mind.

Scirea prepares to tackle Moreira. All in vain – Uruguay scored 2 goals in the second half, Italy – nil. Victorino again scored the 2nd Uruguayan goal. Uruguay took Mundialito most seriously, eager to win it in front of home crowd and quickly reached the final, after beating Holland and Italy.

The last match in Group A was mere protocol. It was attended by the smallest crowd of the tournament – 15 000.

It looks like gritty competitive match and probably was, but there was nothing to achieve. Ancelotti gave the lead to Italy in the 7th minute, Jan Peters equalized in the 15th minute, and that was that.

 

Team

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts

Uruguay 2 2 0 0 4 0  +4 4

Italy         2 0 1 1 1 3   −2 1

Netherlands  2 0 1 1 1 3 −2 1

 

Group B started on January 1 with real thrill: the reigning World champions vs fresh European champions. Argentina vs West Germany. 60 000 came to watch the clash.

Horst Hrubesch in the centre of the action. He scored first – in the 41st minute. West Germany went to the break leading 1-0. The top teams of the world promised drama and drama it was – in the second half things changed. But not before the end of the game – Argentina equalized in 84th minute. Kaltz scored own goal – so far the Germans, not Maradona and Kempes, were the scorers. Two minutes before the final whistle the Argentines scored at last – Ramon Diaz gave the lead to the World champions and this was the final result.

Three days later, when one of the finalists of Mundialito was already known, Argentina met Brazil. Again 60 000 attended, expecting high-class football.

Pride, old rivalry, tempers – a South American derby is always quite combustible and the match was not just football. Maradona in the middle of the action, no matter what kind of action. But he scored at last – in the 30th minute Argentina grabbed the lead and the result stayed in their favour to the end of the first half. The second half started and Brazil scored right away – Edevaldo equalized in the 47th minute and the game ended 1-1. The last group match was the most important, unlike the last game in Group A – so far Argentina was number 1 and West Germany eliminated, but…

Brazil destroyed West Germany 4-1. Traditionally, Brazil always prevailed over the Germans, but this time it was total annihilation.

Schumacher clears just before Tita reaches the ball – despite the result, the clash was fierce and, to a point, repeating Argentina – West Germany: the Germans scored first. Klaus Allofs hit the net in the 54th minute. Two years later Junior equalized. In the 61st minute Toninho Cerezo gave the lead to Brazil. Serginho Chulapa made it 3-1 in the 76th minute and in the 82nd minute Ze Sergio scored the 4th goal. Brazil finished on top of Group B.

 

Team

Pld W D L GF GA GD Pts

Brazil      2 1 1 0 5 2 +3 3

Argentina 2 1 1 0 3 2 +1 3

West Germany  2 0 0 2 2 6 −4  0

 

 

The squads were interesting:

Argentina

Head coach: Cesar Luis Menotti

No.

Pos.

Player

DoB/Age

Caps

Club

1

1GK

Ubaldo Fillol

21 July 1950 (aged 30)

 

River Plate

2

2DF

Luis Galván

24 February 1948 (aged 32)

 

Talleres de Córdoba

3

2DF

Alberto Tarantini

3 December 1955 (aged 25)

 

River Plate

4

2DF

Jorge Olguín

17 May 1952 (aged 28)

 

Independiente

5

3MF

Américo Gallego

25 April 1955 (aged 25)

 

Newell’s Old Boys

6

2DF

Daniel Passarella

25 May 1953 (aged 27)

 

River Plate

7

3MF

Daniel Bertoni

14 March 1955 (aged 25)

 

AC Fiorentina

8

3MF

Osvaldo Ardiles

3 August 1952 (aged 28)

 

Tottenham Hotspur

9

4FW

Ramón Díaz

29 August 1959 (aged 21)

 

River Plate

10

3MF

Diego Maradona

30 October 1960 (aged 20)

 

Argentinos Juniors

11

4FW

Mario Kempes

15 July 1954 (aged 26)

 

Valencia

12

1GK

Héctor Baley

16 November 1950 (aged 30)

 

Independiente

13

3MF

Carlos Fren

27 December 1954 (aged 26)

 

Independiente

14

4FW

Leopoldo Luque

3 May 1949 (aged 31)

 

River Plate

15

3MF

Juan Barbas

23 August 1959 (aged 21)

 

Racing Club

16

3MF

José Daniel Valencia

3 October 1955 (aged 25)

 

Talleres de Córdoba

17

2DF

José Van Tuyne

13 December 1954 (aged 26)

 

Talleres de Córdoba

18

2DF

Victorio Ocaño

9 June 1954 (aged 26)

 

Talleres de Córdoba

Seemingly, Menotti was not taking chanses – this was his best team. Formidable squad – all world champions of 1978, reinforced by Maradona and another bright star – Juan Barbas. No experiments, no trying of different players – curiously, Menotti was taking very conservative approach. The new additions were clearly deep resreves ( Fren and Ocano). There was obvious change of philosophy: two years ago Menotti firmly opposed foreign-based players, making an exception only for Mario Kempes. Now there was no problem… Ardiles, Kempes, and Bertoni were called from Italy, Spain, and England.

Brazil

Head coach: Telê Santana

No.

Pos.

Player

DoB/Age

Caps

Club

1

1GK

Carlos

4 March 1956

 

Ponte Preta

2

2DF

Edevaldo

28 January 1953

 

Fluminense

3

2DF

Oscar

20 January 1954

 

São Paulo

4

2DF

Luizinho

22 October 1958

 

Atlético Mineiro

5

2DF

Batista

8 March 1955

 

Internacional

6

2DF

Júnior

29 June 1954

 

Flamengo

7

3MF

Tita

1 April 1958

 

Flamengo

8

3MF

Toninho Cerezo

21 April 1955

 

Atlético Mineiro

9

3MF

Sócrates

19 February 1954

 

Corinthians

10

4FW

Renato

21 February 1957

 

São Paulo

11

4FW

Zé Sérgio

8 March 1957

 

São Paulo

12

1GK

João Leite

13 October 1955

 

Atlético Mineiro

13

2DF

Getúlio

25 February 1954

 

São Paulo

14

2DF

Juninho

29 August 1959

 

Ponte Preta

15

2DF

Edinho

5 June 1955

 

Fluminense

16

3MF

Paulo Isidoro

3 August 1953

 

Grêmio

17

4FW

Serginho

23 December 1953

 

São Paulo

18

4FW

Éder

25 March 1957

 

Atlético Mineiro

New coach, new team. Brazil was young and very different – the bulk of players was barely heard of in Europe: Socrates, Eder, Ze Sergio, Tita, Carlos, Junior, Serginho… Zico was not included and also Leao – these two omissions clearly suggested change of course, a radical change. As it turned out, Tele Santana was still searching and shaping – neither star was out of his mind, but eventually Leao will refuse to play for Tele Santana. Compared to Argentina, Brazil was unknown dark horse, but the absense of Zico was highly suggestive: Tele Santana was unafraid of leaving the greats star out, which meant that Brazil still had fantastic pool of talent.

 

Italy

Head coach: Enzo Bearzot

No.

Pos.

Player

DoB/Age

Caps

Club

1

1GK

Ivano Bordon

13 April 1951

 

Inter Milan

2

2DF

Franco Baresi

8 May 1960

 

Milan

3

2DF

Antonio Cabrini

8 October 1957

 

Juventus

4

2DF

Claudio Gentile

27 September 1953

 

Juventus

5

2DF

Gaetano Scirea

25 May 1953

 

Juventus

6

2DF

Pietro Vierchowod

6 April 1959

 

Como

7

3MF

Carlo Ancelotti

10 June 1959

 

Roma

8

3MF

Giancarlo Antognoni

1 April 1954

 

Fiorentina

9

3MF

Giampiero Marini

25 February 1951

 

Inter Milan

10

3MF

Gabriele Oriali

25 November 1952

 

Inter Milan

11

3MF

Marco Tardelli

24 September 1954

 

Juventus

12

1GK

Giovanni Galli

29 April 1958

 

Fiorentina

13

3MF

Renato Zaccarelli

18 January 1951

 

Torino

14

3MF

Salvatore Bagni

25 September 1956

 

Perugia

15

3MF

Bruno Conti

13 March 1955

 

Roma

16

4FW

Alessandro Altobelli

28 November 1955

 

Inter Milan

17

4FW

Francesco Graziani

16 December 1952

 

Torino

18

4FW

Roberto Pruzzo

1 April 1955

 

Roma

Italy was also experimenting just a little bit – there was no Bettega and no Zoff. Seemingly, Enzo Bearzot was adjusting his team in accord with inevitable aging, but the changes were small and the emphasis was on young players like Vierchowod, Ancelotti, Giovanni Galli, Franco Baresi just over 20 years of age. But it was not experimental team at all – it was pretty much the team of tommorow, the one aiming at the 1982 World Cup.

Netherlands

Head coach: Jan Zwartkruis

No.

Pos.

Player

DoB/Age

Caps

Club

1

1GK

Pim Doesburg

28 October 1943

 

PSV Eindhoven

2

2DF

Ben Wijnstekers

31 August 1955

 

Feyenoord

3

2DF

Ronald Spelbos

8 July 1954

 

AZ’67

4

2DF

Ernie Brandts

3 February 1956

 

PSV Eindhoven

5

2DF

Hugo Hovenkamp

5 October 1950

 

AZ’67

6

3MF

Willy van de Kerkhof

16 September 1951

 

PSV Eindhoven

7

3MF

Martin Jol

16 January 1956

 

FC Twente

8

3MF

Jan Peters

18 August 1954

 

AZ’67

9

4FW

Kees Kist

7 August 1952

 

AZ’67

10

3MF

René van de Kerkhof

16 September 1951

 

PSV Eindhoven

11

4FW

Pierre Vermeulen

16 March 1956

 

Feyenoord

12

2DF

John Metgod

27 February 1958

 

AZ’67

13

3MF

Michel Valke

24 August 1959

 

PSV Eindhoven

14

4FW

Pier Tol

12 July 1958

 

AZ’67

15

3MF

Toine van Mierlo

25 June 1957

 

Willem II

16

3MF

Peter Arntz

5 February 1953

 

AZ’67

17

2DF

Piet Wildschut

25 October 1957

 

PSV Eindhoven

18

1GK

Hans van Breukelen

4 October 1956

 

FC Utrecht

Holland was perhaps the most different than any participant: the 1980 European fiasco revealed a crisis and obviously a new team was to be made. It was not an easy task, because the key players aged and those still remaining were no longer strong. Ruud Krol was the missing man, but it was clear that Zwarkruis was starting a new team, seemingly based on AZ’67, currently in great form. Some of the new players were more or less incidental – van Mierlo, Valke; others eventually became regulars – Metgod, Arntz, but it was shaky team and really of this selection only Hans van Breukelen became a pillar of the national team. For the moment, he was just a back-up goalie, clearly invited in an attempt of solving long lasting weakness of Holland – no strong goalkeeper. Yet, as much as Zwartkruis was pushing ahead new players, he kept Pim Doesburg as first choise. He was the oldes player at Mundialito.

Uruguay

Head coach: Roque Máspoli

No.

Pos.

Player

DoB/Age

Caps

Club

1

1GK

Rodolfo Rodríguez

20 January 1956

 

Nacional

2

2DF

Walter Olivera

26 August 1952

 

Peñarol

3

2DF

Hugo de León

27 February 1958

 

Grêmio

4

2DF

José Moreira

30 September 1958

 

Nacional

5

3MF

Ariel Krasouski

31 May 1958

 

Montevideo Wanderers

6

2DF

Daniel Martínez

21 December 1959

 

Danubio

7

4FW

Venancio Ramos

20 June 1959

 

Peñarol

8

3MF

Eduardo de La Peña

7 June 1955

 

Nacional

9

4FW

Waldemar Victorino

22 June 1952

 

Nacional

10

3MF

Rubén Paz

8 August 1959

 

Peñarol

11

4FW

Julio Morales

16 February 1945

 

Nacional

12

1GK

Fernando Alvez

4 September 1959

 

Peñarol

13

4FW

Jorge Siviero

13 May 1952

 

Sud América

14

2DF

Nelson Marcenaro

4 September 1952

 

Peñarol

15

2DF

Víctor Diogo

9 April 1958

 

Peñarol

16

4FW

Arsenio Luzardo

4 September 1959

 

Nacional

17

3MF

Jorge Barrios

24 January 1961

 

Montevideo Wanderers

18

3MF

Ernesto Vargas

1 May 1961

 

Peñarol

Uruguay was the dark horse really – the 1970s were lean years and after misereable 1974 World Cup and entirely missing the 1978 World Cup, Uruguay slipped out of world’s attentation. It was expected that Uruguay would be more than willing to win the tournament in front of home croud, but the real strength of the team was quite unknown. Maspoli surely selected the strongest possible team and after Nacional won so much internationally in 1980, Uruguay was taken seriously, but were they really good? Like all others, the hosts were young, except the 35-years old veteran Julio Morales and 28-years old Walter Olivera and Waldemar Victorino. If that was the best squad of the country, then it was clearly a team for the 1980s – Mundialito was really a torunament, featuring those, who will define the 1980s.

Above: Rummenigge, Bonhof, Hrubesch, Schumacher, Briegel, Kaltz.

Below: Müller, Magath, Allofs, K. Förster, Dietz.

West Germany

Head coach: Jupp Derwall

No.

Pos.

Player

DoB/Age

Caps

Club

1

1GK

Harald Schumacher

6 March 1954

 

1. FC Köln

2

2DF

Manfred Kaltz

6 January 1953

 

Hamburger SV

3

3MF

Rainer Bonhof

29 March 1952

 

Valencia CF

4

2DF

Karlheinz Förster

25 July 1958

 

VfB Stuttgart

5

2DF

Bernard Dietz

22 March 1948

 

MSV Duisburg

6

2DF

Hans-Peter Briegel

11 October 1955

 

1. FC Kaiserslautern

7

3MF

Felix Magath

26 July 1953

 

Hamburger SV

8

4FW

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

25 September 1955

 

Bayern Munich

9

4FW

Horst Hrubesch

17 April 1951

 

Hamburger SV

10

3MF

Hansi Müller

27 July 1957

 

VfB Stuttgart

11

4FW

Klaus Allofs

5 December 1956

 

Fortuna Düsseldorf

12

1GK

Eike Immel

27 November 1960

 

Borussia Dortmund

13

2DF

Kurt Niedermayer

25 November 1955

 

Bayern Munich

14

2DF

Wilfried Hannes

17 May 1957

 

Borussia Mönchengladbach

15

3MF

Miroslav Votava

25 April 1956

 

Werder Bremen

16

3MF

Wolfgang Dremmler

12 July 1954

 

Bayern Munich

17

3MF

Karl Allgöwer

5 January 1957

 

VfB Stuttgart

18

3MF

Ronald Borchers

10 August 1957

 

Eintracht Frankfurt

West Germany came with her best – the new European champions instantly became famous and their football was exciting. Of course, a bunch of new players were included, just to taste big football: Immel, Niedermayer, Hannes, Dremmler, Allgower, Borchers, but the starters were the regulars. Stielike and Schuster were not included, but Bonhof was back – largely, showing the depth of current German football: you can leave Stielike out, when having Bonhof. With Schuster it was a bit different, because of his frictions with Derwall, but he was not out of the team yet. No problem, however – there was Magath. Along with Argentina, West Germany was seemingly the strongest team.

Mundialito was taken seriously by all participants, judging by the squads and a great introduction of teams and players defining the 1980s. That was the most optimistic sign, eventually becoming more optimistic, when games started.

 

Copa de Oro de Campeones Mundiales (World Champions’ Gold Cup) – or Mundialito (Little World Cup) – was not exactly official tournament.

It was organized to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first World cup, played in 1930. Hence, it was staged at the same place the first world championship was played – in Montevideo, Uruguay, at the very stadium, built 50 years ago for the great occasion – Centenario. It was to be contested between all world champions so far – they were conveniently 6: Uruguay, Brazil, Argentina, West Germany, Italy, and England. A championship of the champions – sounded great. England, however, declined participation and had to be replaced by Holland. Why Holland? If it was just because of her two silver medals, then Czechoslovakia also had a claim. But it was late substitute and Holland was believed more deserving, because they were most recent silver medalists and one of the best world teams in the 1970s. However, the idea was a bit spoiled… it was to be a grand clash of world champions, not runners-up. Blame it on England. The other problem was the very staging of the tournament – it had to be 1980, so to make the numbers right, but 1980 was full and the tournament only rudimentary belongs to it: it started on December 30, 1980 and finished on January 10, 1981. Not only the larger part of Mundialito was played in 1981, but the winner was decided well into 1981. But there was no other way… the Europeans really commanded the schedule: in their summer of 1980 the European championship was played, after that domestic championship and the continental club tournaments. The calendar was full and no club was willing to release players to some international tournament. The focus of attention was elsewhere for the public too. So, the winter mid-season break was the only time left – but England had no such break and find it inconvenient to participate. How seriously the Europeans took Copa de Oro was another matter – after the grueling fall season the players were hardly at their best, preferring rest. Various new players were included in the teams, yet, the teams played largely with their regulars, so it was not just experimental teams. And South Americans had many unknown abroad players, so it looked like more of shaping new teams than fielding those who hardly ever played only to go through some unimportant tournament. The hosts perhaps took the most serious approach.

But spoiled is spoiled: of course, the opening ceremony welcomes all world champions in their language, but English is not the official language of Holland. Well, Holland was not world champion… the ironies may pile up, but the Uruguayans came to watch great football, not to read. The 6 teams were divided into 2 round-robin groups, the winners to meet at the final, deciding the best among the champions. Each team had a roster of 18 players – that is, the number usually used at Olympic games, but it was short tournament, so there was no real need for squads of World cup size. Group A was composed of Holland, Italy, and Uruguay, and Group B of Brazil, Argentina, and West Germany. Group B was seemingly stronger.

1981

Optimism returned, at least for a part of the year. Suddenly it was like 1971 again, a fresh air in the stuffy football world, seeing decline at the end of the 1970s. Technically, the positive signs belonged to 1980, but really affected the mood for 1981. The European championship ended with bright new West Germany and exciting Belgium, then, at the end of 1980 started Mundialito, bringing more interesting stuff, particularly the new Brazil.

Mundialito was billed as 1980 tournament, but really it was played in 1981. This unofficial tournament fueled more hopes, for West Germany – the strongest and most exciting European team at the moment – was blown away easily by brand seemingly stronger then 2 years ago Argentina with Maradona and brand new Brazil lead by Socrates. The reigning world champions themselves were unable to reach the final and on top of everything Brazil lost to Uruguay at the end. All this easily translated into a whole bunch of teams playing great football and outdoing each other. The players were largely young, freshly discovered talents – none of the great old names played any role anymore. The 1980s were suddenly promising, contrary to ominous predictions, based on the end of the 70s. Football was alive again – or so it seemed.

But there was another big news – perhaps bigger than Mundialito – and it happened in the summer of 1980. Italy opened its market for foreign players. It was expected and anticipated, but finally happened – it changed the European football map instantly. And in the same time the East European countries started to export players Romania, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria joined Poland and Hungary. Since USSR already had an exported player, the last resisting were DDR and Albania.