Football Journey

Central and North America was all about NASL. Talking about hype… statistics and awards. So many of those, it is even pointless to mention most: it looked like no one should have been forgotten and given something. The end of the1970s were the the peak years of NASL, a league going fast to its doom. 24 teams participated in the 12th league season. There were some changes: two teams were relocated. In another country that would mean two clubs seized to exist, but in North America it was just moving a franchise from one place to another… Colorado Caribous, the club with the most garish kit, was no more – there was Atlanta Chiefs instead. Oakland Stompers became Edmonton Drillers – they moved to another country, not just to another city. Two franchises only changed names: Toronto Metro-Croatia became Toronto Blizzard and Cosmos returned to its original name New York Cosmos.

The rules of the championship were almost left untouched, but must be mentioned because they were weird and complicated. 6 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, 0 points for a loss, 1 point for each regulation goal scored up to three per game. Goal-scoring was a combination of goal+pass – 2 points per goal, 1 per assist. The new addition was breaking the tie in the play-offs: if a playoff series was tied at one victory each, a full 30 minute mini-game was played. If neither team held an advantage after the 30 minutes, the teams would then move on to a shoot-out to determine a series winner. The rest was ‘familiar’ – the league was divided into 2 conferences, each divided itself into 3 divisions, consisting of 4 clubs each. Every team played 30 games in the first phase – a mix bag of games played against their divisional opponents and some others. 8 clubs were going to the conference play-offs and here was the first little obstacle. The top 2 of each division was understandable… plus 2 of the three 3rd-placed teams. Points determined those, so the team with least points among the 3rd-placed was out. Practically, only 4 of the 12 members of each conference were out of the race after the first stage. The play-offs proceeded with 2 regular games and a mini-game after that, if there was a tie. Direct elimination followed to the conference final. The winners of each conference played a single match league final – the Soccer Bowl. The championship was played largely in the summer, ending on September 8th. The schedule, added by the lax transfer rules, made the usual mess – players changed clubs during the season, came on loan from other clubs, or moved to NASL after there European and South American seasons finished. The league always trumpeted its ‘world’ status, so the biggest emphasize was on foreign players – to the point to be impossible to tell who was legitimate import. Naturalized Canadians were presented often – but not always – as Canadians; naturalized or just born overseas Americans were most often presented as foreigners. The results were even comic, for there was a Japanese player according to NASL this year – in reality, a guy with american parents and thorough Anglo-Saxon name, who was born in Japan, having no other relation to the country. The Yugoslavians – arguably, the second biggest group of players after the British – were the most complicated case: most were Yugoslavian born, yet, listed rather frivolously as Yugoslavians, Americans, and Canadians – real citizenship seemingly was not important to the league. Since proper team-building was never practiced in NASL, the closest to it was the current coach, also a foreigner, convincing the club’s brass to get a bulk of players of his own country – thus, many teams had distinct flavour: British, Yugoslavian, and in 1979 – Dutch. For in 1979 a famous coach finally arrived in NASL – Rinus Michels was hired by Los Angeles Aztecs and with him – a bunch of Dutch players. Transfers, then… or what looked like traditional transfers. Since the list was enourmous every summer, only what appeared to be the biggest ones will be mentioned. Johan Cruyff signed with Los Angeles Aztecs – wait a second: he retired from the game in 1978. Well, he came back – without mentioning retirement, as if never announced. Wim Suurbier arrived in Los Angeles too. Plus three more Dutch players, hardly known, but Dutch – Leo van Veen, Thomas Rougen, and Hubert Smeets. Thus, Los Angeles Aztecs were clearly based on Dutch sceleton. Cosmos bought their usual group of big names – Dutch stars Johan Neeskens and Wim Rijsbergen, the Brazilian full back Francisco Marinho, the Iranian full back, so impressive at the 1978 World Cup, Andranik Eskandarian, and… almost annonimous West German goalkeeper, who played largely second division football to this moment – Hubert Birkenmeier. Neeskens and Birkenmeier were clearly not on the same level, but… Birkenmeier quickly established himself as the best NASL goalkeeper, so may be he was more important player in the history of the league than his famous teammate.

In short time Birkenmeier became the top NASL goalkeeper – nobody remembers him in Germany, but in USA he became a legend.

Of course, the league was full of famous names: here is a brief sample: Horst Blankenburg, Arno Steffenhagen, Wim van Hanegem, Peter Ressel, Jorgen Kristensen, and Dick Advocaat were all with Chicago Sting. Except Advocaat, the rest won huge number of domestic and European trophies in the 1970s. Then again everybody known who Advocaat is nowadays. Bjorn Nordqvist and Willie Morgan played for Minnesota Kicks. Alex Stepney and Antonio Simoes for Dallas Tornado. Salif Keita, Artur, Alhinho, and Jordao – for New England Tea Men, which seemingly chose Portuguese sceleton. Peter Lorimer was with Toronto Blizzard. David Nish with Tulsa Roughnecks. Alan Hudson and Harry Redknapp with Seattle Sounders. Clyde Best with Portland Timbers. Miralem Fazlic, Julio Baylon, and Piero Prati with Rochester Lancers. Phil Parkes, Kevin Hector, Willie Johnston, Allan Ball, and entirely unknown yet Bruce Grobelaar with Vancouver Whitecaps. Trevor Francis with Detroit Express. So far – relatively clear, but: Joszef Horvath (Washington Diplomats) and Laszlo Harsanyi, Hugo Sanchez, Leonardo Cuellar, and Julie Veee, all of San Diego Sockers were not so. The Mexican stars Sanchez and Cuellar were loaned to the Sockers after the end of the Mexican season – or may be even before the end? The three Hungarians are difficult to figure out – were they legally allowed to play abroad or were they refugees? Looks like Hungary started exporting players after the 1978 World Cup – largely, in 1979. But the trio played abroad before that and most likely were defectors. Horvath arrived from Rot Weiss (Essen, West Germany), where he played in the 1977-78 season. Harsanyi joined San Diego in 1978. As for Julie Veee, this is not his real name, but the one he chose to use when he left Hungary – he was clearly a defector, eventually became US citizen and even played for the national team of USA. Yet, listed as Hungarian in the NASL records – but American when he played in Europe, for he moved often from one continent to another. Big names, not so bi names… who is not familiar with the names above can just Google them and find out. Perhaps the most famous new arrival this year was Gerd Muller. If not the biggest, at least the most emblematic.

Gerd Muller displaying his new shirt – contract signed with Fort Lauderdale Strikers. On his right, the old star of the team – one George Best. Well, who can dream of more lethal strikers than Muller and Best together? Note the number Muller got – 15. Strange, for NASL heavily promoted ‘brands’ – and Muller’s ‘brand’ was number 9. The other option was 13 – the number he used at the 1970 and 1974 World Cups. The new number was not one associated with Muller. Then again, George Best played with number 3 this season. Eventually these two got one more famous addition to help them from the midfield – the Peruvian star Teofilo Cubillas. Jumping ahead, he had excellent season. Muller too, but the picture above was a hint of the life in NASL:

Soon Muller was photographed enjoying American life. Doesn’t look concerned with the next game… NASL was really well paid good time for aging stars. A bit of football and back to the pool with glass in hand – George Best was the master at that. Gerd Muller was starting to enjoy his booze too… eventually becoming an alcoholic, just like Best.

As for the less important than drinking activity – playing football – this photo shows something unthinkable: Muller vs Beckenbauer. They never played against each other before 1979. The famous teammates, fond of each other, creating fantastic moments for years together, now were opposing each other. And both using new, unfamiliar numbers. Well, this was NASL summerized in three photos – no wonder European and South American players loved it. George Best summed it once upon a time: one can spent hours everyday in the bar and nobody will ever bother him with nasty press. After all, socker players were never real stars in North America – the press covered baseball, american football, basketball, ice hockey. Golf and tennis players, boxers were more important too – and socker players enjoyed almost anonymous, but rich life to indulge in their vices. British players liked their drink, Neeskens his drugs, and so on – and nobody cared. Life was great and to hell with football.

Two changes in 1st division for the new season – one was normal, the other – peculiar.

Club Deportivo Zacatepec (Zacatepec city, Morelos state) was the 2nd division winner the pervious season and promoted. It was a quick return to top flight for the ‘Caneros’ (‘Sugarcane growers’) – although their best years were in the 1950s, usually they played in first division. Relegated in 1976-77, they came after a season in the lower division.

The second new name was really new: Deportivo Neza.

The club was founded in 1978 and was member of the top division without even playing a single official match. This was possible in Mexico because of peculiar rules – a combination of traditional football rules and US rules. The Mexican league, like professional leagues in USA, sold franchises and that was what the participating clubs owned. And had the right to sell. The franchise was the whole thing – not the name, not the location. As a result, clubs appeared and disappeared, popping in different cities and confusing forever fans and historians. After the 1977-78 season ended the city of Neza bought the franchise of Club de Futbol Laguna. Deportivo Neza was founded and took the place of now defunct club in first division. Go figure… was there continuation or was it something entirely new? Deportivo Neza itself did not last long -in 1982 the club – or the franchise? – was sold and moved to Tamaulipas, becoming Correcaminos UAT. Years later Deportivo Neza was resurrected and today plays in the Mexican 3rd division. Meantime Correcaminos was gone and the cities of Neza and Laguna had been quite regularly represented in first division. Tracing who is who is very difficult – Mexican teams are often written either as just city names or by their nicknames, both suggesting continuation, not different entities. Just looking at final tables, it seems that Neza has long, long history. In the same time Deportivo Neza and, say, Toros Neza have nothing in common… or may be they have… Anyhow, the system provided a way around traditional rules of ascent, a parallel system of going up – a club may go up from the bottom of the system, from league to league, via standard rules of promotion. Or may bye a franchise and become a member of first division without the difficulties of having to play at all. The ‘Coyotes’, as Deportivo Neza were nicknamed, chose the quick way – as many other short or long lasting clubs… or franchises?

New ‘Coyotes’ were hardly new as a roster at their debut. They impressed no one in their first season. At the end, what mattered was only that: there was no more Club de Futbol Laguna and there was Deportivo Neza. The beloved cliché of sports journalists – ‘writing history’, ‘re-writing history’, ‘the rest is history’ – hardly apply in the Mexican case: precisely history is difficult to uncover and as for ‘writing it’… the ‘Coyotes’ were apparently not great writers.

The Mexican league was subdivided into 4 groups of 5 teams each. All teams played twice against each other, as everywhere in the world, but every group had separate table. The top two teams of each group went ahead, the rest finished the season. The team with least points among the bottom placed in the groups was relegated. Deportivo Neza finished last in Group 4 – so much for ‘writing history’ – but escaped relegation. Veracruz from Group 1 finished with 23 points. Club Social y Deportivo Jalisco (Guadalajara) – now defunct – had 28 in Group 2, and Deportivo Neza – 30 points. Hardly a memorable start, but at least the Coyotes escaped relegation. From the teams unable to go ahead perhaps the unluckiest were Atlante and Puebla.

Atlante, old club from Mexico City, was normally expected to perform better – clubs from the capital should have more money than others and therefore better teams. But Atlante finished 4th in Group 1.

Puebla finished 3rd in Group 3.

The winners were mixed bag – some typical favourites, some inreasingly getting stronger young clubs, and some surprises. Zacatepec, just coming back from 2nd division, was one of the surprises. Monterrey and America were the top two in Group 1, UNAM and Atletico Potosino from Group2, Cruz Azul and Toluca – Group 3, and UANL and Zacatepec – Group 4. If a normal table was made, Cruz Azul would have been 1st – they had the most points, 51, followed by UANL with 48. Monterrey and America, however, would not be among the best teams in such a table – they earned less points than two clubs taking 3rd places in their groups.

The second stage divided the 8 group winners into 2 quarter-final groups – the winners of each going to the final. Cruz Azul were overwhelming in Group 1. UNAM clinched first place in Group 2 thanks to better goal average. UANL were unlucky 2nd, but they would have been 2nd if goal-difference was the decisive factor too. Zacatepec was the worst team at this stage, but still it was a good season for the newcomers.

The final opposed clubs from the capital – the old and popular Cruz Azul vs rapidly becoming leading and very popular UNAM, better known as Pumas today. It was not to be their year – they were unable to beat Cruz Azul at home and the scoreless tie seemingly benefited the opposition. But in Mexico City ‘home’ games meant little, if anything at all – the second match was the real final, winner takes all. This time Cruz Azul, nominally the host, scored 2 unanswered goals. 0-0 and 2-0 – the champions were dressed in blue.

Cruz Azul triumphed with their 6th title.

UNAM had Hugo Sanchez and Leonardo Cuellar, but Cruz Azul was perhaps the better squad. A bunch of Mexican stars, who played at the 1978 World Cup finals: two defenders – Guillermo Mendizabal (b.1954) and Ignacio Flores (b. 1953) and two midfielders – Horacio Lopez Salgado (b. 1948) and Gerardo Lugo Gomez (b.1955). Ignacio Flores is a club legend – he played only for Cruz Azul during his long career – 1972-1990. 18 years is no joke. The Mexican stars were helped by the usual foreign group of players, who were not international stars, but fitted well in the Mexican league – three Argentinians and one Paraguayan were part of the champion team. Jose Miguel Marin (b. 1945) was reliable goalkeeper, who arrived in Mexico in 1971 and stayed for 10 years. At the time of his arrival he was a member of the national team and played 2 matches for Argentina in 1971. The second Argentine was a defender – Miguel Angel Cornejo (b. 1952) – who played 5 seasons for Cruz Azul (1977-82). The most recent arrival was the midfielder Jose Luis Ceballos (b. 1953) – he came just before the season and instantly helped his new club to win the title. He was also the player with the shortest stay – only 2 seasons. In attack Cruz Azul had a Paraguayan: Carlos Jara Saguier (b. 1950), who arrived in 1975. He was also the only national team player among the foreigners – he played for Paraguay from 1970 to 1981. For Cruz Azul he played until 1983. The team was not world famous, but solid one it was. The title was well deserved – Cruz Azul dominated the league from the start to the end of the season.

North America was worth mentioning only because of Mexico and NASL. NASL was more then a threat to Mexican football – not only all foreign interest was focused on it, but the close proximity made it very easy for US and Canadian clubs to lure Mexican players. But nothing really dangerous happened in 1978-79: the stars stayed at home, particularly Hugo Sanchez and Leonardo Cuellar. Not only that, but Mexico acquired world-class star may be for the first time – Dirceu, the leader of Brazil, moved from Vasco da Gama to America (Mexico City). This was big: stars even old rarely joined Mexican clubs – and Dirceu was at his prime!

Dirceu with America jersey. A world class star in Mexico.

So, the league looked even stronger, despite the 1978 World Cup fiasco. Second division proceeded as usual – that is, entirely outside foreign interest. Atlas (Guadalajara) and Club Deportivo Cuautla (Cuautla) reached the final of the championship, deciding the single promotion.

CD Cuautla is practically unknown club, although they do exist to this very day. They were formed in 1952 and their earliest years were their best, for they played in the 1st division from 1955 to 1959, when they were relegated and played 2nd division football practically for ever since. They tried to return to top flight, of course – in 1971-72 Cuautla reached the 2nd division final and lost it to Atlas. Now it was their second attempt – against the same adversary. Cuautla hosted the first leg and lost it 1-2. It was over… almost. In the hostile Guadalajara they fought bravely and managed 1-1 tie. Close, but they lost for a second time the battle for promotion to Atlas.

Atlas, normally 1st division member, was relegated in the 1977-78 season and were eager to return to their rightful place. Unlike Cuautla, Atlas had been one of the stronger Mexican clubs and a constant member of top division. They came back quickly, but were not overwhelming champions – modest Cuautla gave them hard time. Yet, all finished well and Atlas won the promotion, just like in 1971-72.

Peru joined the three group winners and the semi-finals opposed the reigning South America champions to Chile. Brazil played against Paraguay. And expected to win. The other winner was not so easy to predict, but perhaps Peru was favoured – they played well at the World Cup 1978, which Chile did reach. Peru had few well known around the world players too. However, Cubillas, Sotil, and Oblitas were not in the team. In front of 50 000 fans, Chile surprisingly won in Lima. Carlos Caszely scored both goals for his team.

He silenced the home crowd in the 36th minute. Mosquera equalized in the 71st, but it was Peruvian day.

Caszely (third from left) scored a second goal in the 76th minute and was substituted 4 minutes later. Peru lost at home and the chances of repeating 1975 were next to nothing.

The losers in Lima, from left: Rubén Toribio Díaz, Guillermo La Rosa, Roberto Mosquera, Jaime Duarte, César Cueto, Freddy Ravello, Jorge Olaechea, José Velásquez, Germán Leguía, Eusebio Acasuzo, Héctor Chumpitaz. More was expected from this team, but still there was one more match. No miracle happened in Santiago, where 75 000, largely Chileans, saw a bitter battle and two players were sent off – Rojas (Peru) in 33rd minute, and Figueroa (Chile) in the 40th. No goals were scored at all and Peru was eliminated. Chile went to the final.

Meantime, Brazil visited Paraguay and lost 1-2 in Asuncion. Once again there was new attacking line: Jair, Socrates, and Eder. Zico was out again. So was Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani. Falcao was the key midfielder, supported by Chicao and Tarciso. So far, Brazil was not impressive at all and may be changes were badly needed, but there were too many changes. It was different midfield and attack almost every match. And nothing worked… Brazil was 0-2 after the first half and managed to score a goal at last in the 79th minute. Palinha, who replaced Jair, scored the only goal. The strikers performed poorly again – Eder was also replaced. Yet, nothing really terrible – the match in Asuncion was expected to be difficult, but Brazil managed to lose by a goal. Now Palinha and ZeSergio – the substitutes in Asuncion – were regulars, Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani was back, with Falcao and Tita, and Marco Antonio started as left full back. Marco Antonio, world champions from 1970, and member of the 1974 world cup team, was out of favour for some time – and suddenly he was back again. Zico was out, though… Coutinho was clearly uncertain of his team, constantly made changes, keeping only Leao and the central defenders as regulars. Too many changes… no stability, and no clear idea. The experiments did not work so far – and did not work again. Falcao opened the score in the 29th minute. Two minutes later Milciades Morel equalized. Socrates scored from a penalty in the 61st – 2-1 Brazil. The advantage lasted only 7 minutes – Romero equalized again and the tough Paraguayans kept the tie to the end: 2-2. Brazil, instead of champions, were eliminated.

Perhaps Claudio Coutinho was really to blame – his team was far from great at the 1978 World Cup. This time he experimented too much, without success – he used 37 players in 6 games. Some choices were strange, mildly said. There was no really promising line and even he introduced a whole bunch of players soon to become world-famous, they became famous under another coach – Socrates, Falcao, Eder had to wait a few more years. Zico was in and out of the team – supposedly the greatest player of his generation was hardly the leader Brazil needed. Unfortunately, Carpeggiani was not either, contrary to what was expected from him after his impressive 1974 World Cup. 1979 was yet another disappointment, as the whole decade was for Brazil.

Chile vs Paraguay. Unexpected finalist, but well deserving to be there. Paraguay had won Copa America once – in the distant 1953, Chile – never. Chilean football was going up, but it was the same with Paraguayns: Olimpia (Asuncion) won Copa Libertadores this very year and the national team depended heavily on Olimpia players. The other slight advantage was individual – Chile depended on aging stars – Figueroa and Caszely. Paraguay – on rising stars, particularly Romero, considered at that time more talented than Maradona. The final was played as the whole tournament – two legs, home and away games. Paraguay hosted the first match – and won it with confidence 3-0. Romero scored twice and Victor Milciades Morel added the third.

The new heroes scoring and enjoying themselves.

28.11.79 Asunción, Defensores del Chaco

 

PAR – CHI 3:0 (2:0)

 

(40,000) Luis Gregorio Da Rosa URU

 

PAR: Fernández – Espínola, Paredes (79 Cibils), Sosa, Torales – Torres (62 Florentín),Kiese, Romero – Isasi, M.Morel, E.Morel

CHI: Osbén – Galindo, Valenzuela, Quintano, Escobar – Rivas, Soto, Bonvallet (46 Estay) -Rojas, Caszely, Fabbiani

 

1:0 Romero 12, 2:0 M.Morel 36, 3:0 Romero 85.

A week later Chile needed a win to stay alive – the rules stipulated a third match, if the finalists won one and lost the other match. The hosts clinched 1-0 victory, thanks to early goal. Two players were sent off in the 17th minute – Eduardo Bonvallet (Chile) and Eugenio Morel (Paraguay). It was not a friendly match… Chile was not overwhelming, but the struggle had to continue.

CHI – PAR 1:0 (1:0)

 

(55,000) Ramón Barreto URU

 

CHI: Osbén – Galindo, Valenzuela, Figueroa, Escobar – Rivas, Bonvallet, Rojas (85 Neira) -Caszely, Fabbiani (56 Estay), Véliz

PAR: Fernández – Solalinde, Paredes, Sosa, Torales – Romero, Kiese (46 Florentín), Talavera (80 Cabañas) – Isasi, M.Morel, E.Morel

 

1:0 Rivas 10

 

sent off: Bonvallet (17) / E.Morel (17)

There was nothing new about a third match – during the 1970s it was common to play a third final match in South America to decide winners at last. It had to be on neutral ground – in Buenos Aires, a week after the match in Santiago. Only 6000 attended… a tiny number for continental final, but in Argentina nobody cared much for either Chile, or Paraguay. Both teams battled, unable to score. Extra time was played to no change. 0-0.

11.12.79 Buenos Aires, José Amalfitani

PAR – CHI 0:0 (0:0, 0:0, 0:0)

 

(6,000) Arnaldo César Coelho BRA

 

PAR: Fernández – Espínola, Paredes, Sosa, Torales – Florentín, Kiese, Romero – Pérez(85 Cibils), M.Morel, Aquino (61 Torres)

CHI: Osbén – Galindo, Figueroa, Valenzuela, Escobar – Rivas, Dubó (90 Estay), Rojas – Caszely, Fabbiani (61 Yáñez), Véliz

No winner… But there was – goal-difference was the next decisive factor. And it was in favour of Paraguay! One can imagine the joy.

Unable to score a goal for 210 minutes – two matches plus overtime – Paraguay were champions of the continent. Thanks to their home victory. One can pity the Chileans…

Chile was not a great team, but not bad one either and the boys gave their best, Unfortunately, they came only second. One can be sorry for Figueroa and Caszely, who were getting old empty-handed. It was almost their last chance to win a trophy with the national team. Still, second in South America was a big achievement – the first silver medals for Chile.

Paraguay were of course happy with the cup in their hands. A second South American title ranked them immediately 4th most successful country on the continent.

Modest champions from a modest country. Paraguay really depended on small group of players and used almost the same regulars from the start to the end of the championship.

These are the main heroes: standing from left: Juan Espinola, Juan B. Torales, Flaminio Sosa, Carlos Kiese, Roberto Fernandez, Roberto Paredes.

First row: Aldo Florentin, Milciades Morel, Osvaldo Aquino, Amado Perez, Julio Cesar Romero.

Little known, all playing for Paraguayan clubs, and lead by equally unknown coach – Ranulfo Miranda. Eight players from Olimpia, which already won Copa Libertadores and was going to add the Intercontinental Cup to the trophy room. It was fully Paraguayan year – winning everything and adding a world class star as well – Julio Cesar Romero. ‘Romerito’ had excellent tournament and had the edge over younger Maradona: he was champion of South America. Maradona played a little bit for early eliminated Argentina… quite a difference. New champion, new star – that was the sum of Copa America. For Paraguay – perhaps the best year in the history of her football. As a legacy… this championship was quickly forgotten. Nothing really exciting, may be more disappointment. If one is not Paraguayan, of course.

The big international championship of 1979 was Copa America – the oldest continental championship. For a second time it was organized without a host – the 10 countries were divided into three groups and the winners went to the ½ finals. Plus the champions of the previous tournament – Peru – which entered the competition directly in the ½ finals. Home and away matches were more difficult to stage and the competition took quite a long time – from July 18 until December 11. Even before any match was played there was something strange: Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay were the traditional powers, winning almost all tournaments and therefore – the constant favourites. But Uruguay was in decline during the 1970s. Argentina on the other hand were fresh world champions. Under normal circumstances, they and Brazil should have been the finalists and winner – one of them, Argentina more likely. There was no way for such final – Argentina, Brazil, and Bolivia were together in Group 2. One was to be eliminated early, opening the road to easy victory to the other. However, the tournament was traditional mystery to outsiders – the relative strength of the smaller countries was entirely unknown. The big three often used players little known outside South America, so routinely their squads appeared experimental. Occasionally, it appeared that the favourites were not very interested – judging by the players they used. Copa America had little coverage outside the continent, but still – there was Brazil, and there was Argentina – the former vividly remembered from 1978 when they won the world championship, and the latter – eager to get revenge and prove better, for Brazil ended without losing a match at the World Cup and felt wronged by the suspect Argentinian victory over Peru, which eliminated Brazil. That much was calculated and expected… and it was not to be really.

Group 1 – Chile, Colombia, and Venezuela. Easy to predict group… Venezuela was the outsider, Colombia – not strong enough, Chile – on a slight ascent. All depended on Chile – if they played well, no problem. If they did not, may be Colombia had a chance. Colombia had no stars… the only recognizable name was their coach: the Yugoslavian Blagoje Vidinic, once upon a time a famous goalkeeper, known for coaching Morocco and Zaire at the World finals in 1970 and 1974. Nothing surprising happened – Venezuela tied her home games, thus leaving things as they were expected to be: the clash between Chile and Colombia was decisive. Colombia won at home against Chile – 1-0. The last three matches were simple to calculate: both favourites had to win big against Venezuela and Chile had to win somehow their home match against Colombia. Very likely goal-difference would to be decisive factor. Chile had small advantage: they hosted Venezuela after Colombia and the last match of the group was also in Santiago. Colombia won 4-0 against the outsiders. Chile, knowing already how much they had to score , won 7-0. Now they had to beat Colombia in Santiago – and they did: 2-0.

1. Chile 4 5 2 1 1 10-2

2. Colombia 4 5 2 1 1 5-2

3. Venezuela 4 2 0 2 2 1-12

Chile won the group phase.

Group 2 – Uruguay, Paraguay, and Ecuador. With Uruguay in bad shape, there was a chance for Paraguay, Ecuador been the outsider. So, similar situation to Group 1. Ecuador hosted the opening matches. The similarities with Group 1 ended right here: Paraguay clinched 2-1 victory in Quito. Uruguay had the slight advantage, knowing the result, and, therefore, knowing what to play for – a victory. It was 2-0 before the 10th minute of the match… but not for Uruguay. They eventually scored from a penalty – in the 79th minute – but Ecuador missed a penalty meantime. Clearly, Uruguay were in bad shape – it was not just unfortunate day. They needed to win all following matches after such start – Paraguay already had a 2-point lead. And they increased it to 4 points after easy 2-0 victory at home against Ecuador. Then Uruguay hosted Ecuador – and won, but with difficulties: 2-1. The direct clash between the neighbours was to decide everything… Uruguay had a bit of advantage: the first match was in Asuncion. It went well… Paraguay played with 10 men since the 35th minute, when Ovelar was sent off. No team managed to score, but the tie favoured Uruguay – they needed a home win. But Paraguay had their own ambitions, they scored first in Montevideo and the hosts struggled for a long time. The last ten minutes were dramatic – Uruguay finally got the lead. They equalized from a penalty in the 53rd minute, and in the 83rd Paz scored a second goal. 2-1 and only seven minutes in front of home crowd – the chances of Paraguay were slim. If any… In the 88th minute Morel equalized, turning the wheel again and this time Uruguay had only a tiny chance: 2 minutes to go and they had to score. They did not. Eugenio Morel was the hero – he scored both goals for his country and qualified Paraguay.

1. Paraguay 4 6 2 2 0 6-3

2. Uruguay 4 4 1 2 1 5-5

3. Ecuador 4 2 1 0 3 4-7

Paraguay to the ½ finals.

Group 2 was to be the big clash and drama, perhaps the final before the final, for the battle between Brazil and Argentina most likely would have precluded the championship. And a drama it was… Bolivia hosted Argentina and won 2-1. It was strange Argentina… only Passarella, Diaz, and Lopez were from the team winning the World Cup a year earlier. Most players were entirely unknown – Vidalle, Saporiti, Gaspari, Larraquy, Fortunato, Castro, Gaitan, Coscia… looked like Menotti gave a break not only to his champions, but to their reserves too. Did not appear as trying some new players as a part of developing the winning squad – it looked like sheer arrogance, a victory so certain, there was no need even to field half-good players. Brazil visited La Paz next – the approach of Claudio Coutinho was very different from Menotti’s: Brazil had some new players, but it was not rag-tag squad. Zico was not in the team, but Paulo Cesar Carpeggiani was back. The new – and unknown – names were only three: Pedrinho, Nilton Santos, and Juan. The rest of the team were either well established stars like Leao and Roberto Dinamite, or rising stars like Ze Sergio, blended with regulars from 1978. Like Argentina, they scored first. And like the match against Argentina, Bolivia did not give up, equalized, and then scored second and winning goal.

Turning point: Aragones beats Leao from a penalty in the 36th minute – 6 minutes after Roberto Dinamite gave the lead to Brazil also from a penalty. Not only a big upset, but complete destruction of the expected: suddenly modest Bolivia was leading with 4 points. Entirely unknown Bolivian player beat the reigning world champions and the team with most world titles in history. Perhaps the best known name of the Bolivian team was the coach – Ramiro Blacutt. Back in the early 1960s, he had successful playing career, including a season with Bayern (Munich). A historic name – if not the first South American to play in West Germany, certainly he was the first Bolivian to play there. But there was more, much more – he was a regular of the Bolivian squad which won Copa America in 1963! They disturbed the eternal status quo of South America for the first time since 1953. Five countries won the championship until then, but Bolivia was the only pariah to ever win it – so far. It looked like a second miracle happening again with Blacutt in the centre of it. Bolivia had good schedule too – the next match was between Argentina and Brazil, then they played their two away matches, and the last match of the group was the 2nd meeting of arch-enemies. One thing was sure: scheming was impossible between Argentina and Brazil – even if one of them was already gone and the other needed points to prevail over Bolivia, there would be no favours. Brazil vs Argentina at Maracana – time for revenge! Brazil fielded stronger team – Zico was back, but the troubles of the attacking line were easy to see. Coutinho chamged all strikers from the ill-fated visit to La Paz. Instead of Renato, Roberto Dinamite, and Ze Sergio – Tita, Zico, and Palinha. Menotti made only one significant change – Maradona was on the field. The team was still very weird, but jumping ahead, it was the team Menotti chose to use for this tournament. Hard to tell why – the world champions of 1978 were not only far from old, but most of them were the key players at the next world finals in 1982. It did not look like building a new squad – almost none of those used in 1979 became a long-lasting Argentine national team player. Actually, these boys left no trace. Yet, even if they were third-rate, Brazil is enough motivation for an Argentine , and the team fought – Brazil scored first, then Coscia equalized. But that was all… Tita scored a second goal early in the 2nd half and Brazil won 2-1. Only if every remaining match ended with victory of the host country Argentina had a chance to win the group on goal-difference. Most likely the world champions were already eliminated…

Argentina won easy 3-0 over Bolivia, Passarella scoring in the 1st minute, and Maradona scoring the last goal. Brazil had to win too, but not by much – they did: 2-0. It was just perfect for Argentina 1-0 until the last minute, when Zico scored the second goal. No miracle – Bolivia finished their campaign with 2 wins and 2 losses and negative goal-difference. Brazil was leading the group before the last match, but Argentina still had a chance – they hosted direct clash and needed a victory. Any victory… There was no Maradona among the starters, but this time a current star – the biggest Argentine star at the time perhaps – was included: Bochini. Brazil responded in kind – Socrates, the rapidly rising genius was on the field for the first time in this championship. Falcao, another new talent, came out as a substitute. The new Brazlian attacking line – Zico, Socrates, Ze Sergio – proved to be really dangerous at last: Brazil got the lead twice, Socrates scoring both goals. Argentina managed only to equalize – Passarella restored the equilibrium in the 38th minute, and Diaz equalized again in the 71st. The world champions were not able for anything else… 2-2. They were out, Brazil went ahead.

1. Brazil 4 5 2 1 1 7-5

2. Bolivia 4 4 2 0 2 4-7

3. Argentina 4 3 1 1 2 7-6

 

Venezuela had two big news in 1979: new champion and second level championship. Eight clubs participated in the first second level tournament, but there was no promotion yet. Just for the record, the participants: Aragua FC, Atlético Portuguesa, Endeca-Lara, Falcón FC, Industriales de Oriente, Petroleros del Zulia, Polisport-Lara, Unión Deportiva Valera. The first division remained closed league, so it hardly mattered who won the second level.

The professional first division had the typical for South America tw0stage formula: standard league championship at first, and then the top 6 clubs proceeded to the second stage mini-league. Nothing was carried over from the first stage, not even bonus points – there was third stage: a play-off between the champions of the first two championships. The only surprise to outsiders was Portuguesa FC, the champions of the previous 4 years: they barely qualified for the second round, having just a point more than Deportivo Italia, which finished 7th. The the reason for the sudden decline became clear: Portuguesa FC had financial difficulties and owed money to the Venezuelan Football Federation. Unable to pay its due, the club was disqualified and Deportivo Italia went to play the final stage instead of Portuguesa FC. The league was more or less equal – at least 8 of the members. After them was Deportivo Portugues, neither here, nor there – they fell behind the top 8, yet, were much stronger the bottom three, leaving Valencia FC 5 points behind. Three outsiders – Valencia FC , 10th with 16 points, the forgotten by now Miranda-Canarias (Los Teques) – 11th with 11 points, and the absolute outsider Atletico Falcon (Coro) last with only 8 points. So much for the bottom of the league, which finished the season early.

On the top single point divided positions and Deportivo Tachira clinched the first place with 29 points. ULA Merida was 2nd with 28, Deportivo Galicia – 3rd with 27 points. Deportivo Tachira was a surprise, but first stage meant only qualification for the final, so they were not expected to play very hard in the second phase.

The battle in the second stage went between the above mentioned three teams, Deportivo Italia, replacing Portuguesa FC, Atletico Zamora , and Estudiantes (Merida). Most likely, Deportivo Tachira and Deportivo Italia were expected to be the weaker teams at the final, but it was not so: Estudiantes (Merida) were.

Estudiantes did not win even a match in the second stage: they lost five games and tied the other five, thus finishing last with 5 points. Atletico Zamora were barely better than Estudiantes – and also entirely out of the race for first place: they earned 6 points, but won 2 matches.

The rest of the final group were pretty much equal in strength – 2 points divided 1st from 4th at the end, and head-to-head record determined the winner. Deportivo Italia competed well, but finished 4th with 11 points. ULA Merida was 3rd with 12 points. Deportivo Tachira and Deportivo Galicia finished with 13 points.

Deportivo Galicia, with the help of Peruvian imports, had the best goal-difference in the mini-league: 17-7. Yet, they finished 2nd… head-to-head record benefited Deportivo Tachira. Both clubs had exactly the same records otherwise: 6 wins, 1 tie, 3 losses. Tachira had 15-7 goal-difference and elsewhere would be 2nd placed team, but local rule made them winners. Since they won both stages, there was no final play-off – Deportivo Tachira won the title.

The champions were not overwhelming victors: they won the first stage by a point and only head-to-head record gave them 1st place over Deportivo Galicia in the second stage. One can say the boys just fought well and wit ha bit of luck came on top by tiny margin. Mat be not great winners, but instant legends, for this was the very first title the club won.

At the time, their log had no 5 stars included, of course – they just got their first. They also continued the dominance of young clubs in the national championship – since 1975, the Venezuelan champions were very, very young clubs. Deportivo Tachira was founded in 1974 – a bit later than Portuguesa FC, who won 4 titles in a row, starting in 1975. It took only 5 years of existence for the club from San Cristobal to triumph. The credit goes to their founder: in 1970 Italian immigrant Gaetano Greco founded amateur club in San Cristobal – Juventus, named after the famous club from Turin. The original colours followed the name – black and white. Greco noticed that not only the city, but the whole province had no professional team and swiftly changed things by founding a new club in January 1974– Deportivo Tachira. It was new club, yet… not entirely new, for it was based on Juventus – players were moved to the new club, named at first Deportivo San Cristobal. The colours were blue and white – the colours of Italy. This did not last long – in January 1975 the club was renamed Deportivo Tachira – so to represent not just the city, but the whole province, and the colours changed to yellow and black. The new colours also represented the province, but additionally they were preferred by the Uruguayan coach Jose ‘Pocho’ Gil – a Penarol (Montevideo) fan. The changes proved to be final – name and colours remain. The beginning was on grand and ambitious scale and only few years after foundation the young club won its first title. Thus, they got – and deserved it too – the nickname El equipo que nació grande ( the club which was born big). As a final note, this was their only second season playing oficially under the name Deportivo Tachira – the club was renamed in 1975, but played in first division as Deportivo San Cristobal until 1978.

 

Ecuador had the smallest league in South America – 10 teams. Yet, they played more games than the members of the West German Bundesliga: 36 vs 34. Like everywhere else, the championship had two separate stages, with a twist: both stages were played as standard league championship and the top 3 teams of each tournament went to play a final mini-league stage deciding the champion. But the bottom 2 clubs of each stage were relegated immediately, so the last 2 of the first stage were replaced by 2 promoted clubs for the second stage. The teams on the top got bonus points, with which they entered the last decisive tournament – the stage winners – 3 points, the 2nd placed – 2, and the 3rd placed – 1 point. This formula made more sense than any other variation used in South America. Half of the league members were from Quito – exactly 5 clubs. After 18 rounds, the final table of the first stage was may be curious for Ecuadorians, but foreign observers were hardly able to make much sense of it – Ecuadorian football was unknown outside South America.

Bonita Banana (Machala) finished last and was relegated – the club does not exist for so long, it hardly left even traces of information about itself. People perhaps are familiar with the name just because they bye bananas – the fruits still carry little stickers with this very name of the producing company and very likely the club represented this very company, but did not last long. Down they went to oblivion, along with a stronger club – El Nacional (Quito) finished 9th. Two better known to foreigners clubs – Emelec and Barcelona – had weak first stage, finishing 5th and 7th. The top three places were occupied by Universidad Catolica (Quito) – 3rd, LDU (Quito) – 2nd, and Deportivo Cuenca (Cuenca) – 1st, and perhaps surprise winners. The trio qualified for the final stage and the second stage was not very appealing to them: the only question was one of relegation – the three clubs had only to play good enough to avoid the relegation spots.

Manta (Manta) and Aucas (Quito) were promoted and played in the second stage. Evidently, Quito was the big football center of the country and no matter what, half of the league consisted of Quito clubs – one went down, but immediately another went up. Newcomers usually are not expected to shake a league, but there was a bit of surprise this year: Aucas was the more famous of the two promoted, but it was not them changing the status quo. In fact, Aucas were what was expected a newcomer to be: weak. They tried their best, but finished 9th – and down they went as soon as they joined first division. Last in the second stage was Deportivo Quito – this was a surprise, for Deportivo had strong first stage, missing qualification spot only on worse goal-difference. They were 4th and expected to be strong again and try to go to the final. But they simply collapsed in the second stage, earning just 9 points – the worst team performance this year.

Deportivo Quito – instead of trying to win the title, they were relegated.

Up the table, the winners of the first stage predictably played only to stay above relegation zone – they took 6th, 7th, and 8th places, saving strength for the final stage. It was not good year for Barcelona – once again they finished in mid-table. The little known newcomers Manta were the big surprise of the stage – they finished 3rd. Brave performance and sudden chance to win even the title. It was also the only club going tot he final stage with negative goal-difference – a mere curiosity, for the finalist carried only bonus points to the final. Tecnico Universitario (Ambato) finished 2nd and Emelec waa very strong this time – they were first, with record 25 points: the best record of both preliminary stages.

The final mini-league had awards for two teams – the title, of course, was most important, but 2nd place was too, for whoever took it represented Ecuador in Copa Libertadores. Deportivo Cuenca apparently exhausted itself in the first stage of the championship – they were weak in the second stage and even weaker at the finals: dead last, 2 points behind the 5th team, even with their 3 bonus points. Actually, only two clubs competed for the title.

LDU finished 5th. 10 points was really nothing.

Tecnico Universitario finshed 4th, also with 10 points, but better goal-difference than LDU.

Manta was great – they finished 3rd, with 3rd best performance at the final stage – they earned 10 points, 2 more than LDU and Tecnico Universitario. Their bonus point moved them above the rivals, entering the stage with 2 bonus points. Manta was not a title contender at all, but still it was fantastic season – they were not even in the league when the opening stage of the championship started, and finished with bronze.

The battle for the title was Quito rivalry: Emelec vs Universidad Catolica. Seemingly, both clubs played careful strategy so far – Universidad Catolica was satisfied with qualifying for the finals in the first stage, which Emelec practically missed, concentrating on the second stage. Both teams gave their best at the final stage and Universidad Catolica was a bit better than Emelec – they won 15 points to the 14 of their rivals. But… bonus points were favoring Emelec and Universidad Catolica finished 2nd.

Heavy price paid for careful overture: Universidad Catolica perhaps saved their strength for the final stage, but not excelling earlier cost them the title.

Emelec triumphed thanks to winning the second stage – the 3 bonus points gave the title, but it was not undeserved. Emelec had strong second and final stage, a bit different approach than the minimal one of Universidad Catolica.

5th title for Emelec and their first since 1972. Great year for one of the most popular Ecuadorian clubs. Once upon a time workers from Ecuador Electric Company – Empresa Electrica del Ecuador – formed a little club of heir own. They named it after their employer – EmElec. Nothing much at first, but soon things changed, not without help from the company. The club became popular and professional, one of the strongest in the country. But they had difficulties winning – they routinely came close, yuet, losing at the end, earning the nickname ‘Los Eternos Vicecampeones’ – eternally second. Which naturally irritates fans. Winning a championship perhaps meant more for the club and the fans than to others – and 5th title was great success, coming after long wait.

 

 

The ½ finals were even better geographically – both were local derbies: in Santa Cruz Oriente Petrolero seemingly overcome their city rivals Blooming 4-2 and 1-2. Goal-difference did not count at this stage, though. In La Paz The Strongest and Bolivar were entirely tied – both matches ended 1-1. The finalists had to be decided in one more meeting. This time Oriente Petrolero won 2-1 and The Strongest prevailed at last – 3-1.

No luck for Bolivar – the first two matches against The Strongest did not prove they were weaker. Standing, from left: Carlos Conrado Jiménez, Ricardo Troncoso, Waldino Palacios, Jesús Reynaldo, Ramiro Vargas, Edwin Céspedes.

First row: Carlos Espínola, Carlos Aragonés, Luis Gregorio Gallo, Carlos Borja, Miguel Aguilar.

Blooming tried their best, but they were a bit weaker than Oriente Petrolero during the whole season.

Championship final at last. Two-leg final. At home, The Strongest won 2-0. Oriente Petrolero took revenge when they hosted the second leg – also 2-0. Drama to the end – like the semi-finals, two matches were not enough. Decisive play-off was played on neutral ground – in Cochabamba – and Oriente Petrolero extracted minimal victory: 2-1.

Strong, but not the strongest this year. The Strongest finished second.

Excellent season for Oriente Petrolero – they won their 2nd title. It was not an easy victory, but at the end they prevailed. For a young club – they were founded in 1955 – not bad at all. Originally, they were just a workers club, named after their neighbourhood – Oriente – and their prime employment – The Bolivian oil company (YPFB). Clubs with such modest beginnings rarely go up, but this guys did, evolving into professional club. Counting titles is difficult in the Bolivian case, for there were different championships – at first, the championship of La Paz, itself moving from amateur to semi-professional status; then championship including three provinces (Torneo Integrado, including La Paz, Cochabamba, and Oruro); then national semi-professional league – and the first title in 1971 was in this tournament. Because of the many changes, even the club counts 1979 as their first national title. Yet, Bolivia lists championships – and winners – since 1914 and no matter what qualifications are given, the list is steady. According to it, Oriente Petrolero was Bolivian champion once before and this was there second title. Complicated story, but one thing was sure: Oriente Petrolero established itself among the top Bolivian clubs – and remains among them to this very day.

Bolivia had strange championship even by South American standards – it went through 3 stages before the final play-offs, and in the 3rd phase 2 clubs not members of first division were added. The season itself was the third since the Bolivian federation organized professional league. Like many other countries, professionalism did not mean introduction of or even legalizing those who played for money – professional players were nothing new and all foreigners were strictly professionals – but rather structural and other requirements: professional league made of professional clubs. Yet, it was not a classic league. It was made of 15 clubs this season, divided into 2 groups for the opening phase of the championship. One team was relegated – seemingly, combined record of 2 or more seasons determined the unfortunate club. Standard league tournament was played at first and the top 5 clubs of each group proceeded to the second stage. At the end of this phase, two things deserved notice: the first was the weak season of the one of the best known Bolivian clubs – Jorge Wilstermann finished 6th in Group A.

The boys from Cochabamba exited early the championship – a surprise.

The second note is also about a club from Cochabamba: Bata.

If the name and the logo appear familiar, it was not coincidence – it was founded in 1941 by the famous Czechoslovakian show-making firm. A factory club with various sections. Almost to the end of the 1950s Czechs were club Presidents. One may think that the fate of the company, which had to close operations at home and owners, engineers, and workers fled from Czechoslovakia when the Communists took power, would close the club in distant Bolivia – but it was not so. Bata was never leading club and even rarely played top league football, but exists to this very day. As for location, it is a bit confusing: the club is often listed representing Cochabamba. But there is not only a city, but also a province with the same name… Bata was founded and located in Quillacollo, where the shoe factory was. This city today is part of Greater Cochabamba and may be already was in the 1970s. The pride of Quillacollo made it to first division, as they did for awhile in the 1960s, but seemingly survival was their only aim. Here is the confusing part: Bata finished 5th in Group B and proceeded to the second phase. Normally, this should be the end of the story: relegation should concern the lowest 5 clubs eliminated in the first phase. But Bata was relegated… unless a combined record of the last 2 or 3 season determined relegation, nothing explains why Bata went down. Anyhow, world-famous shows do not mean strong football team.

The Bolivian league in general represented 6 cities – La Paz, Cochabamba, and Santa Cruz had 4 league members each and Sucre, Potosi, and Oruro had a single team each. Small, but not unusual geography – the big clubs and their local and inter-city rivalries were concentrated in those places from the early days of the game in Bolivia. It was familiar picture, which seasonal strength varied a bit. Along with Jorge Wilstermann, San Jose (Oruro) and Always Ready (La Paz) exited the championship after the first phase. Always Ready was in a decline since the beginning of the 1970s, gradually losing their historic position. In Group B the eliminated were also old clubs – Stormers (Sucre) and Aurora (Cochabamba). The shift of power was taking place since the late 1960s: younger clubs, tied to the oil industry were pushing back historically strong clubs – Oriente Petrolero (Santa Crus) and Petrolero (Cochabamba). Both were at the top of Group A. Along with them, traditional big clubs kept their positions – The Strongest, Bolivar, and Municipal, all from La Paz, and Blooming (Santa Cruz). The rest of the best during the first phase may be just had a good season – Real (Santa Cruz), Independiente Unificada (Potosi), and Guabira (Santa Cruz). Bata was the 10th team going ahead. The group winners of the first phase got 2 bonus points to start the second phase with, and those taking 2nd and 3rd place – 1 point.

The second phase was also played in 2 groups in a standard league format. The top two teams of each group moved to the third phase . Bonus points played no role in Group A – The Strongest and Oriente Petrolero took the top places anyway. Even with their bonus point Petrolero (Cochabamba) was still only 3rd. Guabira and Bata were hopeless outsiders, Bata ending last with 3 points.

This was not the year for the teams from Cochabamba – Petrolero was the strongest, but this stage was the end of the road.

Group B was more dramatic – only Real (Santa Cruz) was out of the race, the other 4 clubs fought bitterly for the coveted top spots. Two finished with 9 points and two – with 10. Here bonus points played a role – Municipal stayed competitive thanks to their bonus point – yet, finished 4th because of worse goal-difference. Independiente Unificada were the second strongest team in the group – only they and Bolivar earned 9 points during this stage. But they had no bonus points and finished 3rd. Blooming finished 2nd thanks to their 2 bonus points. As for Bolivar, they took 1st place thanks to their bonus point, but would have qualified for the next stage even without the bonus: on goal-difference. They were the only team in the group with positive goal-difference.

Third phase next… again 2 groups of 3 teams each. Four teams going ahead to… the semi-finals.

Well, 4 clubs already went through two phases. The other two were not members of first division and were included at this stage. Strange rules. No doubt, the newcomers went through many stages to reach this level, but competing with all other clubs of the country did not automatically mean they deserved to have a chance to win the national title: the question is a simple one – what was the point of having first division when some obscure team, playing against weaker teams can win the championship?

The newcomers were both from La Paz –

Ferroviario and

31 de Octubre. Smaller clubs, to be sure, but at this stage everything was possible in theory. At least geographically there was no trouble: at this stage, the competition was reduced to 2 cities – 4 clubs from La Paz and 2 from Santa Cruz. Easy on the pocket… Bolivian clubs were not rich, travel in South America was considerable expense. As for strength, the newcomers proved to be no threat – both were just punching bags. They managed a combined record of 2 ties, scored 3 goals, and received 22. Evidently, there was no point of including such teams in the late stage of the national championship – the theoretical threat to first division was only theoretical, but why placing such teams so high anyway? There presence had nothing to do with competitive football – this phase was entirely redundant: the best four of the previous phase went to the semi-finals.

 

Torneo Finalizacion was much more complicated: at first, something close to regular league was played – 14 teams played 21 rounds. The top 8 teams moved to the second stage. Few surprises here: Tolima was still at the bottom and out – 13th. The worst team was however Deportivo Independiente Meddelin…

Standing, from left: Mario Gutiérrez, José Velásquez, Leone, Zárate, Escobar.

Crouching: Mauricio Salazar, Pérez, Londero, Hugo Sotil, Ponciano Castro, Mejía.

DIM at the very bottom. Hugo Sotil too… only three years ago Catalunians demanded from the brass of their beloved Barcelona to include Sotil in starters… in 1979 such demand seemed meaningless.

Deportivo Cucuta was 12th and also out of the race.

Standing, from left: Américo Ortiz, “ Gringo” Palacios, Rodrigo Cosme, Francisco Nieto, Rando “ Tomate” Gómez, Rogante.

Crouching: “ Burrito” Gonzalez, Manuel Rosendo Magan, Victor Nicolás Cocco, Arnoldo Iguaran, Gustavo Contreras ( Kinesiologist).

Note Contreras – South Americans were either ahead of time, or used fancy names for their medical stuff. Kinesiologists came to European teams much later. Apparently, the kinesiologist did not help much.

The biggest losers of this stage were Once Caldas, who were 3rd in Apertura. Now they plummeted down to 11th place. Curiously, they finished with positive goal-difference – 34-28.

Just the opposite happened to Deportivo Pereira – they had miserable Apertura: 12th. But in the opening stage of Finalizacion they finished 3rd. The rest of top 8 teams were pretty much the same as they were in the Apertura, taking pretty much the same positions with exactly the same leaders – Deportivo Cali was 2nd with 27 points, and America – 1st with 31 points. But points mattered no more than qualifying to the second stage, where the top 8 were divided into two round-robin groups. Well, here logic leaves us… Millonarios, 8th in the first stage was out. Once Caldas was in… why is hard to tell: perhaps Apertura was taken into account.

Millonarios – the best known to Europeans Colombian club had very weak year – twice 8th and out. Was it fair, though to exclude them from the second stage after finishing higher than Once Caldas? They were not alone:

Deportes Quindio finished 6th in the first stage. True, they were only 10th in the Apertura, but played well in the beginning of Finalizacion. Yetm they were out – Independiente Santa Fe, 9th, went ahead.

It was here when the tournament started in earnest. Two teams of each group were going ahead to the third stage. In Group A America had difficulties for the first time this year. 2 wins, 2 ties, 2 losses, negative goal-difference – 6-7. Luckily, two of the rivals ended with 5 points and America took 2nd place – and qualified. Atletico Nacional and Deportivo Pereira were the unlucky ones – they missed qualification by little, but in a sense it was fair – both clubs really played well only recently, having mediocre Torneo Apertura.

Standing, from left: Raúl Ramón Navarro Paviato, Alejandro Estanislao Semenewicz, Víctor Emilio Luna Gómez, Héctor Javier Céspedes Carrillo, Francisco Antonio Maturana García, Iván Darío Castañeda Zapata.

Crouching: Pedro Enrique Sarmiento Solís, Aldo Fernando Rodríguez, Hernán Darío Herrera Ramírez, Osvaldo Marcial Palavecino, Jorge Ortíz Jiménez.

Semenewicz was out, Maturana was out, Palavecino was out… Atletico Nacional perhaps played too carefully so far and to switch to another gear was impossible. Or may be they were not in great shape to begin with. On the other hand Atletico Junior excelled – so far, they were not impressive, seemingly satisfied with just going ahead. But now the team went full ahead and finished 1st with 8 points. They lost just one match. Group B had bigger surprise. Once Caldas, going down since the beginning of Torneo Finalizacion, finished last. Deportivo Cali, so far the second strongest team in the country, finished 3rd … 1 win, 1 loss, and 4 ties – they were suddenly out.

Deportivo Cali should have been title contenders, but were out instead. Bad luck or their form dropped just when it mattered most? Union Magdalena and Independiente Santa Fe went the opposite direction – sluggish Apertura, better first stage of Finazicaion, even better second stage. Both teams seemingly had better timing, coming to the peak of their form when it was really important. Both ended with 7 points, Union took the 1st place thanks to better goal-average.

And finally the final stage – again a round-robin tournament, with double importance: the winner, if different from America, was going to the seasonal final. However, if America won Finalizacion, then the top teams in the final group were going to Copa Libertadores. Atletico Junior proved to be the outsider – apparently, their strength lasted only until they reached the final. Once here, they lost 5 of their 6 matches. They got a single point – ironically, when visiting America. The other three clubs fought equally and goal-difference decided the winner.

Union Magdalena finished with 7 points – and took 3rd place. They outscored all others, but unfortunately earned 1 point less than their rivals.

America and Independiente Santa Fe finished with 8 points each. The ending of Torneo Apertura was repeating… this time goal-difference decided the winner and it was again America.

Excellent finish for Independiente Santa Fe, but they had to be satisfied with 2nd place. Bad luck . But they secured Copa Libertadores spot.

America won Torneo Finalizacion and since they also won Torneo Apertura, there was no final play-off to decide the title – it was theirs.

Standing, from left: Wilson Américo Quiñónez, Luis Alegría Valencia, Gabriel Chaparro, Aurelio José Pascuttini, Luis Eduardo Reyes, Carlos Alfredo Gay.

First row: Horacio Ferrín, Juan Manuel Bataglia, Gerardo González, Jorge Ramón Cáceres, Alfonso Cañon.

For America it was historic year – they won their first title! It was not overwhelming victory – America was perhaps lucky to come first in both parts of championship, but first they were both times. If anything, they were consistent – except for the shaky second stage of Finalizacion, they were at top form the whole year. Scoring was not their best side – their top scorer Jorge Ramon Caseres was 8th with 19 goals: Juan Jose Irigoyen scored 36 and his Millonarios was a mediocrity, also playing fewer games than America. Defense was the much stronger side of America, but whatever it was, they won all the way. Gabriel Ochoa Uribe must be credited with the success – he arrived this very season from Millonarios and immediately won the title. True to his reputation – he already had 7 titles as a coach. And his 8th was not the last – whatever he won with Millonarios and Santa Fe, he would double with America. Great years were just beginning for the Red Devil, as America is known.