Football Journey

First division, supposedly the best of Soviet football. The league was to be of 18 teams next season and only one team, the very last, was to be relegated. Easier life for many clubs… the new rule of only 8 ties providing points was bothersome, for it went against old, deep habits to play for 0-0, but perhaps a remedy was found just as quickly: if before clubs shared points, quietly tying matches and scoring early goals when there were points for scoreless ties, now it was just a bit of a gamble, but not much: what was needed was only an agreement for exchanged home victories – you get 2 points at home, then I got my 2 points when you are visiting. How big corruption was in Soviet football nobody can tell, but the new rule suddenly changed the picture: for the first time since the late 1960s ties were few. Also few were the clubs slow to adapt to the new reality: five clubs lost points because of extra ties. Torpedo (Moscow) suffered most – they tied 11 matches and lost 3 points. Goal scoring did not improve, though, casting doubt on the effectiveness of the new rule – the idea was to open up the stale Soviet football, to make it modern, and that meant more than reduction of ties: attacking football, aimed at victory, demanding goals. At least in Europe. In USSR change of rules was needed to force clubs to even think of winning. The change worked, perhaps not to the greatest expectations, but worked. What did not work was a league of too many unambitious clubs – and this fact makes the decision of enlargement of the league very strange. What was hoped was unclear – bigger league meant safety for various clubs concerned only with one thing: to be in the league. At least two benefited immediately – since only one club was relegated this season, by hook and crook 4 weak clubs survived. They came dangerously close to the 16th place, but at the end took a deep breath of relief: Kairat (Alma-Ata), 12th with 25 points, Neftchi (Baku), 13th with 23 points, Ararat (Erevan), 14th with 22 points and Lokomotiv (Moscow), 15th with 21 points too. Lokomotiv was unlucky to tie a 9th match and lost a point as well – under standard rules they would have been a place above Ararat, with 23 points. But all those survived – Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk) got the short stick. They earned only 21 points and finished 16th – last and relegated. Not a team to be missed… The rest of the league was positioned pretty much as ever – the Moscow clubs in the upper half of the table; smaller provincials in the lower half, Chernomoretz (Odessa) and Zenit (Leningrad) right in the middle, but most teams were fairly equal in strength, weakness, and lack of ambition, so no big gaps between their points appeared. Zarya (Voroshilovgrad) and Ararat (Erevan) were steadily going down since each club won the title in the first half of the decade and the decline continued. Perhaps Torpedo (Moscow) disappointed – they finished 8th and even if the rules gave points for every tie, no matter how many, they were not to climb higher than 6th place. Yet, Torpedo was well rounded and balanced squad, playing nice football, one of the best squads in the league – or so it looked like.

Crouching from left: Petrov – masseur, Khrabrostin, Filatov, Sakharov, P. Yakovlev, Vanyushkin, Khudiev.

Second row: Zarapin, Mironov, N. Vassiliev, Prigoda, Buturlakin, Nikonov, Suchilin, Zhupikov, Ivanov – coach.

Why this team was not a title contender, but mid-table finisher is a bit mysterious. It may have been because of the difficult character of the former great Soviet star Valentin Ivanov, who was demanding, but not so good coach. Tense relations between coach and team are often decisive factor, but there was perhaps more important reason: Torpedo never had the means of the other Moscow clubs and was not able to recruit or keep the best players. This squad was was typical – good players, but not extraordinary ones. Well balanced team, but without a big star capable of leading and inspiring his teammates. Individually, every player was perhaps ranking third or forth in the country at his position. They were respected, some even were included in the national team, but it was a team of second-raters and such teams may be solid and occasionally win, as Torpedo did in the fall championship of 1976, but usually they stay exactly in mid-table. A bit sad, a bit annoying – Torpedo started the year well, winning the winter indoor tournament in Moscow, thus rising hopes. On grass they did not do much.

Much better performed Spartak (Moscow). They finished 5th, which was hardly a success, considering the history of the club. Yet, it was, for they just came back from Second Division, the team was radically remade, and this was the first season of the new Spartak in top flight. They did well and were met with approval – the new Spartak had fresh approach, played attractive football, and the players were noticed.

Dinamo (Moscow) was 4th – they lost the bronze medals because of the new rule, having 10 ties. Not very impressive, Dinamo stayed on top largely because most of the other clubs were weak. Above them were Shakhter (Donetzk), a representative of the fresh air in Soviet football. Shakhter was similar to Torpedo – always in the shadow of Dinamo (Kiev), they had limited choice of recruiting top players. But good selection built bit by bit a descent team. Not top players, but unlike Torpedo, the Ukrainians had few strong personalities, particularly the centre-forward Vitaly Starukhin, providing leadeship and inspiration. Perhaps they were not able to reach for the title, but came close, were dangerous team, and whoever underestimated them paid a bitter price.

So, at the end two clubs competed for the title. The final table is misleading – the champions finished 4 points ahead of the silver medalists, who were just a point better than the third placed Shakhter. If all points counted Dinamo (Moscow) would be third, just a point behind the second. It looked like very tied race, judging by the final points, but in reality it was a race between two clubs – Dinamo (Kiev) and Dinamo (Tbilisi). It was also very unusual race – Dinamo (Kiev) started sluggishly and were in midtable for quite a long time, but eventually shifted into another gear, steadily climbed up , and if the championship was longer very likely they were to win it. As it was, they paid the price of their sluggish first third of the season. Of course, Lobanovsky – indirectly – argued that his training plan was fine and if the schedule was not against them, Dinamo had to win. Stupid Federation scheduled the season wrongly, starting it when Lobanovsky’s team was not yet in top form, and finishing it right when Dinamo was at its peak. It was perfect excuse, for his plan aimed at reaching top form one or two months after the start of the season – no matter what schedule the Federation made, it would be wrong by such reasoning. And just in case this excuse failed, Lobanovsky had another, unbeatable trump in his sleeve: irresponsible players not following his instructions. Can’t argue with that… argue, not argue, Dinamo was trailing the whole season and finished second.

Their namesakes from Tbilisi argued nothing – they took the lead early and stayed on top to the end of the season, losing first place once or twice, but never slipping lower than second. The competition dropped back, losing steam quickly, and Kiev spend half the season simply recovering the ground they lost in the beginning. Dinamo Tbilisi were old darling, always a pleasant and attractive exception of the stiff and dull Soviet football. Highly skilful, artistic, entertaining, attacking team for years, always considered a high scoring team, which did not correspond to their actual records, but the belief was powerful. So, it was very nice to see them on top. Dinamo were constantly strong, but so far won the title only once, in the distant 1964. Their second was much deserved and enjoyed.

The champions, almost close to their perfect line-up: standing from left: Vitaly Darasselia, David Gogia, Aleksander Chivadze, Vakhtang Koridze, Revaz Chelebadze, Manuchar Machaidze-captain, David Kipiani.

First row: Vladimir Gutzaev, Gocha Machaidze, Tengiz Sulakvelidze, Ramaz Shengelia, Tamaz Kostava.

A nice blend of experience and young talent, coming close to its peak. Perhaps the central defender Shota Hinchagashvili (missing on the photo) was the most important player this year. The former left full-back was successfully moved to the middle of defense and there he flourished – tall, elegant, very dependable centre-back with excellent vision, he commandeered not only the defensive line, but also organized attacks. He was paired with Piruz Kanteladze (also not on the photo), a mighty duo in the center of defense. The full-backs were another story – the initial regulars suffered from heavy injuries: Nodar Hizanishvili, followed by Ilya Ruhadze. David Mudziri lost his form and also had to be replaced. Thus, Gocha Machaidze was moved back from midfield, and the little known reserve Tamaz Kostava took the right side position. The improvisation worked excellently. The experienced 30-years old David Gogia was stable between the goalposts – Dinamo was fine in the back, but its strength was midfield and the strikers. Koridze and Daraselia were the main power, particularly Daraselia, and the captain Manuchar Machaidze. Depending on occasion, Chivadze played as defensive midfielder or Kipiani moved a bit back. Ahead were Gutzaev on the right wing and Shengelia on the left, with Kipiani in the centre – not a typical centre-forward, but rather coming from deeper back, and combining excellent scoring skills with playmaking. Unpredictable, constant danger for opposite defenses, operating on wide field, a magician with the ball, and great passer, Kipiani was if not the best Soviet player, at least the most attractive and creative one. But he was left behind by constantly improving Shengelia this year, who was voted player of the year. Shengelia was not the only new big star – Chivadze and Sulakvelidze were rapidly improving, Gabelia was competing with Gogia. Revaz Chelebadze and Vakhtang Kopaleyshvili were also pushing for a place in the starting eleven. Most were young players – a big hope for the future, and best of all – not an empty promise. Chivadze, Sulakvelidze, Kipiani, Shengelia became regular national team players for many years. Hinchagashvili, Gabelia, Chelebadze, Gutzaev, and others also played for USSR.

The coach Nodar Akhalkatzi was the maker of this team – as a native Georgian, he was best for a Georgian team: he understood his countrymen, he shared their free-wheeling, creative,and joyous approach to the game. He did not stifle them with geometric tactical schemes, but let them improvise and play as they felt. And this was the weakness of the team… the players loved to keep the ball and were often carried away by flashy dribbling. Opportunities were often sacrificed in the name of artistry. Gutzaev was the main offender – may be the reason he never became a true big star, and rarely was included in the national team of USSR. As most technical teams, Dinamo were not tough physical fighters and had difficulty responding to close physical play. They were also moody and if the things were not going their way, often broke down. As a whole, Dinamo was a bit naïve squad, lacking tactical variety – what they played, no matter against whom, was essentially the same attacking technical football. Akhalkatzi was seen as the prime reason for that – may be rightly, may be not, but he was considered rather plain coach, unable or unwilling of introduction of tactical variety. Disciplined and physical European teams usually managed to block Dinamo, often helped by the individualistic tendencies of Gutzaev. Dinamo Kiev too. More or less, it was enough to cover closely the Georgian players, to leave them without free space. But not many teams, especially in USSR, were able to do that – Dinamo was not overwhelming leader this season, yet, consistent, prevailing, collecting points, and in great form. Worthy champions and great news for the future, for they were generally young and very talented. 17 wins and 8 ties gave them the title. Dinamo lost only 5 matches and no matter how strong Kiev were in the fall, still Tbilisi finished with 4 points more than the enemy.

Second Division played standard champion – no innoventions and experiments here, which was odd, since the leagues above and below played under different rules. The championship brought little enthusiasm and lots of critical observations. It was the season when least away games were won in the history of the league: only 54. Ties were not predominant results, yet, attacking football was not the aim either – most teams depended on home victories, played carefully and without hazard. ‘Fear of mistakes’, was noticed – the players preferred quickly to pass the ball to somebody else, just to avoid risks. The games were dull, ambition was entirely lacking. Another historic ‘first’ happened – 11 points divided the 4th and 5th placed clubs at the end. So big divide was seen only as massive interest in safe, uneventful existence in second division. Most clubs were accused for a long time of that. Same with individual players – the number of noticeable ones was tiny. Most just kicked the ball around year after year. Zhalgiris (Kaunas) distinguished themselves with seasonal record of 19 ties – that is, exactly 50% of their total championship matches. This kind of football paid off… Zhalgiris finished 7th. Far away of relegation fears and in the upper half of the final table – good season! Most clubs were just like that: here is Kuban (Krasnodar), 6th in the final table – a place above Zhalgiris thanks to more wins, but behind Terek (Grozny) because Terek had better head-to-head record (the three clubs finished with 41 points each, 11 less than the 4th placed Karpaty).

Third row, from left: V. N. Sereda – team director, V. Vassiliev, A. Bagapov, V. Shitikov, A. Semenyukov, V. Zhivotikov, V. Lavolin, M. Mironov, A. Artemenko, V. A. Grokhovsky – coach.

Middle row: ?, K. Rzhepishevky, S. Andreychenko, V. G. Korolkov – head coach, V. Batarin, A. Chugunov, A. Rybak.

First row: V. Kazakov, A. Ploshnik, Yu. Chebotarev, V. Fursa, V. Koretzky, Yu. Ter-Oganessyantz, E. Polovinko, Yu. Semin, V. Korovkin.

Of course, not big names here, but few players used to play in top division. Chugunov, Rybak, and the future top Russian coach Yury Semin exemplified the typical case: good players, perhaps capable of much more than playing second tier football, but lacking any desire to do so. Quite satisfied to be big fish in a small pond and not to be troubled with anything else.

Down the table things only became more pathetic. Feeling safe, Kusbass practically lost interest and got 0 points in their last 6 championship games. They finished 16th, sharing points with Uralmash. Why bother, since nobody was to be relegated this year? The last three were known in advance – the suddenly plummeting Spartak (Ordzhonikidze – today Spartak Vladikavkaz) was 18th, Dinamo (Leningrad), once upon a time strong first division club, but already ailing for years, 19th, and the miserable Kolkhozchy (Ashkhabad) dead last. No surprise at all – Dinamo played with relegation for years, and finally doomsday arrived. Kolkhozchy meandered between second and third division constantly and when in second was practically subscribed for the last place. Now they were in heaven… last, but staying in the league. A luxury, serving no purpose at all.

At the end only four clubs were interested in something different than sedentary life, but even they were nothing special. Freshly relegated from first division Karpaty (Lvov) ended 4th. It was the only team introducing young talent – S. Yurchishin, A. Bal, G. Batich, and Ya. Dumansky, but it was not enough. Sergey Yurchishin was considered almost the most promising young player at the time, but instead he became one of the biggest failures of Soviet football. Andrey Bal went in the opposite direction, becoming one of the great players in the 1980’s Dinamo Kiev and USSR. Presently, the quartet was too young, inconsistent, and inexperienced and Karpaty was unable to earn promotion. In fact, it was not the team as such, but just these four players impressing observers and they were only future promise.

Dinamo (Minsk) finished 3rd. Inconsistency plagued them – the team wasted too much time going up and down the league and when finally decided to attack the top, they just lucky there was no competition. Dinamo Minsk changed the coach and the climb was due to the new one – Eduard Malofeev, at the beginning of his career. Under him, Dinamo improved, but too late for anything better than third place. Going up only because the Federation decided on three promotions this year. Lucky Dinamo.

Second ended SKA Rostov, usually a top flight club. More or less, expected candidate for promotion. Not an interesting team – perhaps only more ambitious than the usual league members. If they had anything, this was young and exciting forward and prolific scorer – Sergey Andreev. He was just becoming known, but soon he was to play for the national team. As for this year, he was the top second division scorer with 20 goals.

SKA Rostov – happily returning to first division. Not very promising in 1978, but eventually they improved later.

Krylya Sovetov (Kyubishev) were the champions. Not overwhelming ones, finishing with 56 points. Two more than SKA, earned from 21 wins and 14 ties. As true champions, they did not lose many games – only 3. Perhaps defense was their strongest line. Like SKA Rostov, they failed to impress. Commentators were skeptical – both winners historically played badly the next year, Particularly Krylya Sovetov, which were typical ‘unsettled’ club – too strong for second level, too weak for top flight.

Proud champions! Sitting from left: Yu. Kutuzov – team doctor, V. Kirsh – coach, G. Fridlyand – team director, V. Solovyov – assistant coach, S. Yarkin – masseur.

Middle row: A. Rotenko, A. Blokhin, Yu. Pilipko, N. Shtukin, A. Bytkin, G. Lisenchuk, V. Mazalov, V. Abramov, V. Losev.

Third row: V. Panfilov, A. Kupriyanov, A. Arutyunyan, R. Sibgatullin, Yu. Elisseev, V. Kuznetzov, A. Fetissov, A. Galiulov.

Mostly fading players, who already failed to survive in First Division. Perhaps the top name was Yury Elisseev – in 1972 he won the Soviet title with Zarya (Voroshilovgrad) and was included in the national team for a short time. By now, getting old and not at all great… able to score goals in second division, but as far as first was considered… Krylya Sovetov actually appeared weaker then Dinamo and SKA Rostov. Winners of the league, promoted, but most likely only to come back after a year or two.

None of the promoted was seen as up and coming team. None was seen as any meaningful addition, improving the top league. All three were found short of talent. They were just slightly better and livelier than the bulk of dour and dull second league clubs.

USSR next, almost by default. 1978 was miserable year – the national team once again failed to qualify for the World Cup finals, the clubs participating in the European club tournaments were eliminated early and ingloriously – this applies largely for the 1977-78 cups, for the one-year season USSR had by necessity included the next year European cups in the evaluation of their own season. Domestic football was not all that lively and was criticized on every level. Special wrath was reserved for Lobanovsky and his whining: he was once again immuned from sense of guilt. Dinamo Kiev was eliminated by Malmo FF (Sweden), an easy opponent in theory, after the ‘guru of attacking football’ fielded 6 defenders! Nothing wrong with his tactics, said Lobanovsky – what was wrong was a long list of guilty parties in the Federation. Wrong calendar, reluctant to permit his team to train abroad in the spring administrators, bad climate, too many domestic games, the list was wrong – and Lobanovsky wright, but getting no understanding and help. Observers did not agree with him at all and accused him of nepotism. Third division clubs were accused of scheming and ignoring the rules – Soviet Federation never stopped changing the rules in the 1970s and now third league had an age limit: their squads had to be mainly made of young products of their youth systems and only a few players over 25 years were allowed in the squads. The clubs bitterly opposed that – on one hand, if going up to second division they had to start entirely new team, for the youths would be too weak among older players; on the other , those were smaller provincial clubs and hardly had enough talent at hand for competitive football. The clubs schemed, asked for ‘incidental’ permissions to use more players of older age – critics found the practices corrupt, irresponsible, and sabotaging the rules. Second division was found not only of low quality, but almost entirely disinterested in more than just playing there, a chronic problem, which in tern affected negatively first division football – few talents were to be found in the lower league. First division was not great either, scoring low as ever, most clubs hardly improving, concerned only with keeping their place among the top 16 clubs. Most of all that was not new at all, but there were positive changes too, almost for the first time since 1970.

The new rule, limiting draws seemingly worked – for the first time ties were not the dominant result. The new rule gave points only for 8 ties – above that nothing. The clubs quickly found a way to avoid the rule, but still the number of ties diminished: only 5 clubs ended with more than 8 ties and measly 3 clubs finished with 10 or more. One club fell victim of the rule and was relegated, but as a whole the limit of ties benefited more attacking football and the old mentality of securing a point cracked a bit. A bunch of young talents appeared, largely in Dinamo (Kiev), and they were different, modern players. Lastly, the country ended with new champion and it was the most attractive team – another crack at the dominant dullness. The positive changes were present, not overwhelmingly, but present nevertheless and they promised better future. The wind was turning.

The mammoth third division contributed in its own, however small, way to the positive changes. 135 clubs divided in 6 Zones, the smallest of 21 teams and the Zones with 24 each. By far, these were the championships with most matches per season, but so far they hardly helped the development of Soviet football – the three promoted clubs most often came back to third level in short time. And nothing really promising in this year winners – Fakel (Voronezh), Metalist (Kharkov), Spartak (Nalchik), Zvezda (Perm), Alga (Frunze), and Traktor (Pavlodar). All played a bit – and unsuccessfully – in the second division before. Looked like familiar fodder, only in bigger quantity, for the second division was enlarged to 24 clubs for 1979 and all 6 were promoted. But it was not so – Fakel and Metalist were at the beginning of their ascent. Both clubs soon reached First Division. Metalist not only was to stay firmly in top flight, but was to become one the best Soviet clubs in the 1980s. Did not look like that in 1978, but it was fine news for many that one old clubs was climbing up a bit.

Metalist (Kharkov), champions of Ukraine and Third Division – Zone II. First row, from left: Vladimir Zhuravchak, Nodar Bachiashvili, Victor Shalenko, Leonid Tkachenko, Stanislav Bernikov, Genady Likhachev, Valentin Kryachko, Nikolay Aleshin, Vladimir Linke.

Standing: Robert Mkrtchan – team director, Roman Shpodarunok – administrator, Vladimir Bulgakov – assistant coach, Mikhail Tzybrivsky, Sergey Malko, Sergey Sapeshko, Rostislav Potochnyak, Aleksandr Nikishin, Vyacheslav Dvurechensky, Genady Degtyarev, Evgeny Lemeshko – coach, Aleksandr Kossolapov, Mark Pisarenko – team doctor.

Metalist won perhaps the toughest Third Division Zone, where most of the club were Ukrainian easily – the second best, Kolos (Nikopol), lagged 8 points behind. The winners won 29 matches, tied 12, and lost 3. Scoring was not their strongest side – 66 goals in 44 matches – but their defense was excellent – they received only 20 goals. Of course, third division teams never attract much interest, but the seeds of the future were planted: the coach Lemeshko and Sergey Malko were to become very well known in a few years time. In 1978 their aim was still going to Second Division – and they succeeded.

The Cup of France was also surprising – none of the bigger clubs reached the final. It was contested between Nancy and Nice. Mid-table clubs really, complimenting the unusual championship to a point. And it was really the year of the small guys – Nancy won the Cup, clinching 1-0 victory. Michel Platini scored the golden goal and his club triumphed.

OGC Nice was the favourite on paper – as far as finals can be argued in advance, Nice was stronger.

Giullou, Huck, J. Jouve, Toko, the two Yugoslavian stars Katalinski and Bjekovic, and Baratelli still the first choice of France between the goalposts – admirable names, to which Nancy had a single response, Platini. History also favoured Nice – 4 times French champions and twice Cup winners. On the negative side, Nice was gradually fading club. The great years were in already distant past – all trophies were won in the 1950s. In the next decade Nice went into violent convulsions and was relegated twice. Came back in 1970 and since then stayed in first division, but slowly declining: the club had much better team in the early 1970s, almost with champion’s potential. By 1977-78 there were few left and they were aging. In a way, Nice was fascinating club: it was quite clear that they were not great and had no money for grand ambitions. But they maintained a number of top players, including foreigners of high status. May be status was the real aim at Cote d’Azur, not playing – the names not always justified themselves with performance. May be beach life was more tempting, but it looked like that Nice was the end for foreign stars. Nice was coming near victory at best – and the cup final was no exception: they reached it, had better chance, and lost the Cup. Not by much, but lost it. The steady decline continued just like that – not very obvious, not by much, but going on.

Nancy was different story. First of all, it was new club.

Association Sportive Nancy-Lorraine, as the full name hardly ever used is, was formed in 1967. Back than FC Nancy collapsed and the new club had to replace the expired. There was nothing ambitious in the new creation – a modest club, which had no money for big plans. Second Division was most likely place for Nancy and there they stayed quite often. Naturally, an young club would not have time to collect trophies, but modest club was not expected to triumph anyway. And they had nothing until 1974-75, when Nancy won the Second Division – their first trophy, not ranking very high by any standard. Their first real trophy came in the spring of 1978 – and it remains the only one today. Very likely nothing will change in the future, so 1978 stays as the most outstanding year in the club’s history. Hats down to the small club!

 

The boys did not look like winners – Rouyer was a national team player, yet, not a regular; may be Curbelo was above average; the ‘obligatory’ African player, without which no French team seemed like French team, Pokou. The centre-forward Laurent Pokou N’Dri, from Cote d’Ivoir, joined Nancy in the summer of 1977, but was no newcomer to French football – he played for Rennes before. Like most Nancy’s players, hardly a star… Nancy had very little to oppose to Nice or any other club. But this little was very special: Michel Platini, already hailed as a great European star. With him Nancy won the second division, with him the club performed well and actually climbed the ladder of first division to respectful 6th place in this very season. With him Nancy reached the Cup final. And he put the finishing touch as well, scoring the winning goal at the final. Platini was Nancy – it was already very rare in the 1970s a single player to win matches and elevate his club, but it happened with Nancy. It was painfully clear that Platini deserved better teammates, stronger club, and Nancy was not able to surround him with worthy teammates, and therefore, would not be able to keep him, but so far his presence was more than sufficient. A winning presence. It was great for the club and may be more for Platini – it was his first trophy too.

Four clubs competed for the title this season. Least serious was Olympique Marseille. The club had policy different than any other in France: not exactly building a strong squad, but buying every year stars. High rotation more or less kept Marseille among the favourites, but did not make them real contender or memorable. Four new players arrived before the start of the season – the French national team striker Marc Berdoll from 1. FC Saarbrucken (West Germany), the midfielder Anders Linderoth from Sweden, another forward, Michel N’Gom, with dual citizenship – French and Senegalese, and rather anonymous Spanish midfielder Christian Fernandez. Not very impressive bunch, but still consistent with Marseille’s habits. With Tresor, Bracci, Emon, Beretta, and Zvunka, they had, at least on paper, enough class. On the field it was a bit different – most of the names were already just names: aging, declining, no longer a big threat. Marseille was good enough to stay among the best clubs, but at the lower end. 47 points, 70 goals scored, 41 received, 20 wins… stable 4th – 3 points above Bastia, 3 points bellow bronze medals.

‘Challenger’ which was not. Crouching from left: Boubacar, Linderoth, Berdoll, Bacgonnier, Emon.

Standing: Tresor, V. Zvunka, Bracci, Baulier, Migeon, Fernandez.

The other three clubs were entangled in the real battle for the title. Three point separated champions from bronze medalists. Racing Strasbourg finished 3rd with 50 points. The year before Strasbourg was in Second Division – a big surprise to see them competing for the title and great success for the club.

Quietly, Strasbourg assembled good team – Dropsy and Specht were national team material, Novi, Gemmrich, Piasecki, and Dugueperoux were respected solid players, the Austrian Heinz Schilcher provided the ‘magic touch’ every former Ajax player brought to their new club. Raymond Domenech was added for the season. The future great coach Ivica Osim came back to Starsbourg for his last season as a player. The Yugoslavian was already 36 years old and not a starter anymore, but very likely he contributed with brain – Strasbourg had young coach, also 36, who just arrived from Xamax (Switzerland). An enigmatic name – Gilbert Gress. Once upon a time he refused to cut his hair and was left out of the going to World Cup finals French national team. The year was 1966 and Gress was the star of Strasbourg. But he played his best years in West Germany, for Stuttgart, and hardly ever was called to play for France. He ended his career in Switzerland, doubling as player-coach of Xamax. He came back to his original club in 1977 – effectively, his first year as a coach. Young, ambitious, with fresh ideas, without the burden of old habits, and very likely helped by Osim in tactical scheming. Strasbourg soared at once, achieving a rare success for newcomer to the league.

Familiar name got the silver medals – Nantes. Stable and strong during the decade, perhaps the best one for the club, Nantes was constant contender. No exception this season – they lost the title by a point. Disappointment perhaps, but not a big one – they were strong, may be a bit unlucky, but consistent and there was no trouble coming. Nantes was the only club in the league with really strong defense – they permitted 26 goals in their net, the single club achieving less than a goal per game average. Scoring was not their forte, though… typical for defensive minded teams and perhaps the reason they lost the title in the attacking French league. Nantes scored 60 goals – not bad, not exactly ‘catenaccio’, yet, the champions cored 19 goals more and 7 other clubs scored more goals than Nantes. Paris SG, ending at 11th place, scored 75. Tied defense perhaps was wrong, surely not enough, but Nantes was not to be dismissed – they were to try again the next season for sure.

 

The secret of Nantes was its transfer policy – they did not wait until their starters retired as Lyon; did not bet on few new stars every season to keep them afloat like Marseille; did not carefully changing a single player as Saint Etienne. Nantes acted boldly, not afraid to reshape the squad, discard still strong stars and include promising youngsters. Yes, Henry Michel, Hugo Bargas, Bertrand-Demasne were still the skeleton of the team as they were five years ago, but meantime time others established themselves so smoothly, nobody even noticed when – Bossis, Amisse, Rio. Rampillon, Baronchelli, Osman, Pecout were strong and very likely the next to go, replaced by the likes of Van Straelen and Sahnoun. Transition was so smooth it did not look like transition at all – the squad above was technically from 1976-77. Almost the same team played in 1977-78 – minus Triantafilos. Robert Gadocha is missing on the picture, rather symbolically – like Triantafilos, the Polish star was getting old and 1977-78 was his last season with the club. Nantes was not obsessed with the past at all – Gadocha was more or less relegated to second fiddle and young intriguing player was inserted in the starting eleven: Oscar Muller. Twenty years old midfielder, born in Argentina, but in Nantes since 1974. The youth system of the club, that is. Muller was – and is – listed as Argentine, but he also acquired French citizenship and played for the youth national teams of France. The future was secured – Gadocha was almost out, Michel and Bargas had numbered days, but no problem – there were Bossis, Rio, Amisse, Muller, a new skeleton already existed.

The title was won by a single point by both likely and unlikely club – AS Monaco. Chameleon club, Monaco – it was impossible to say how they will perform. Hardly favourites, yet, they were already twice champions. But Monaco was also capable of sudden failures – only two years ago they were in the second division. Back then Monaco had a team somewhat too strong for second level. Now they had a team not exactly expected to win a title. There was no telling how Monaco would perform. Somehow they fancied to be strong in 1977-78, still surprising performance by essentially the same players who played second league football almost yesterday.

An unusual club – representing France and another country in the same time. Of course, Monaco is just a city-state and there was no way for so small place to have a league. Monaco still had no national team and does not participate in tournaments for countries. It has only the club AS Monaco and when strong, represents France. Amusing in a way and belonging to this small category of clubs playing in the championships of counties different from their own. Given the financial reputation of the principality, AS Monaco should have been rich club, employing stars and constantly strong as a result – alas, it was not the case and hard to tell why. There was inconsistency – sometimes the club was better financed and soared, sometimes it was neglected and immediately went down. Formula 1 racing was clearly more important than football in the golden city. Things were fine this year, however – Monaco suddenly played well, especially at away games. They scored a lot, ending with the best seasonal record of 79 goals. Defense did not interest them – 46 times the ball ended in their net – but the attacking style was very sufficient when visiting. May be Monaco was underestimated by the other clubs, but if so, they paid heavy price – Monaco collected point after point and without been dominant, grabbed the title. Their third. Back in the 1970s three titles was quite a lot, especially in France, never monopolized by two or three clubs.

The heroes of 1977-78 were mostly home heroes – not a bad squad, yet, hardly a special one, and clearly not ‘dynastic’. They deserve another picture largely because it was not team able to stay on top.

Strange champions… the big star was of course Delio Onnis, the great Argentine goalscorer, who never disappointed. Another striker was solid national team choice, who went to play at the 1978 World Cup – Dalger. The captain Petit was also included in the French national team now and then. The young goalkeeper Ettori was rising, soon to become the preferred goalie of France. So far, he was making enough impact – he edged the experienced Chauveau from the starting eleven. Two more foreigners may be provided class, but were not great names – both were mild curiosities, though. Heriberto Correa, experienced 28-years old defender with dual citizenship – Argentina and Paraguay. Hardly known, not interesting for the Argentinian national team coach, but good enough for Monaco. At least this season, for Correa did not last all that long with the club. The other was also with dual citizenship – Raul Nogues, 25-years old forward, completing the free scoring striking line. Because of his name, normally he is thought French – in passing, for Nogues was not exactly famous, especially outside France. He is always listed as Argentine in statistics. Nogues came to France in 1972 and stayed. An Argentine, but not quite – a closer look at squad info (and only there) reveals that he played for youth national teams of France. So he was naturalized, which explains why Monaco featured three foreigners in their first eleven when rules permitted only two. Anyway, the strong players of the champions finish with him – the rest was rather run of the mill. Some better, some worse, some somewhat promissing, some suspect. Monaco was disjointed team of two very different groups not really complimenting each other. It was not a squad able to stay on top, unless getting about five stronger players. Yet, it was not a typical ‘one time wonder’ either – they were entirely unpredictable. Onnis alone was capable of destroying any team. Weak defense made not only winning suspect, but staying in first division. Impossible to tell what this team could do. May be a bit lucky champions, but champions.

Above those threatened with relegation was the vast comfort zone of the mid-table clubs. Comfort for some, distress for others. Some were rising, others went the opposite direction. Paris SG so far was unable to materialize its ambitious project – the club spent money, bought players year and year out, but so far they were no more than mid-table club. This year they finished 11th , not a surprise. Bordeaux and Lyon, endangered by relegation and only dreaming of the ‘comfort zone’, presented opposite cases: Bordeaux finished low, but they already started their new team.

On the surface, it was a rag-tag team, combining rising players like Giresse and Bergeroo, dependable foreigners like the German Gernot Rohr and the Swisse star Jeandupeux, and various ‘hit and miss’ players of little note. The club was still searching and trying to find the right formula – they added the well respected Cameroonian Jean-Pierre Tokoto, formerly of Paris SG, loaned for the spring half of the season Spanish striker, Alfredo Megido Sanchez, from Real Betis. No results yet, but the seeds of the great team of the early 1980s were planted.

Lyon was the opposite case – their solid team of the first half of the 1970s inevitably aged, key players were retiring one after another, but the club missed the right moment for rebuilding and was hit hard as a result. A new team was practically started in 1977 and the jump-start was rather lame.

This is the squad with which Lyon finished the 1976-77 – pretty much the same team struggled in 1977-78, memorable largely for their unusual red kit. Domenech departed for Strasbourg, the rest were at hand. Aime Jacquet was hired to coach them – 36 years old, at the beginning of his illustrious career, and, at the time, a big risk. Young, inexperienced coach is always closely scrutinized and found at fault… but, on the other hand, the choice was right: building a new team needed a coach with fresh ideas. Whatever these ideas were, the new recruits were hardly the kind of players to carry them on. The 30-years old Yugoslavian defender Rajko Aleksic was good, but neither a big star, nor in his prime. He played for Yugoslavia in the very distant 1968, during the successful European Championship campaign of his country. He played a total of 2 games and was never called again. Hardly the player able to propel Lyon to glory. The other recruit came from Strasbourg – there is confusion about him, for some sources tell he came to Lyon in 1977, others say 1978 – in order of invigorating the midfield. The name is Giora Spiegel. A 30-years old Israeli of modest abilities. It was not really a start of a new team, rather the cleaning of the stable was not finished yet.

The third club to drop significantly down was Saint Etienne. Surprisingly, they finished 7th. Not a factor in the championship, although the team still won 18 of their 38 fixtures. They lost 14,though. A crisis? It was inevitable – the great squad of Robert Herbin was old as a squad. Same players for years, hardly going to become stronger if the future, very familiar to every other club in France, may be tired. Herbin made small, well thought changes, but the team reached its peak in 1975 and it was time for radical change. The problem was classical – individually, the players were old, save for a few, they were well tuned to each other, there was no reason to touch a winning team with reserves, who had played for France. No reason, as long as they were winning… but they were not winning, the signal was clear, and it was just a matter of coach’s vision and bravery.

Not a team of losers… the very problem! The policy of carefully made small changes exemplified by Zimako – a squad like that perhaps had no room for anything radical, just a new player now and then. Almost automatically one dismisses the very thought of replacements – replace who? Only Farison was at retiring age… But… Merchadier and Repellini reached their peak a few years back and by 1977-78 were more or less reserves. Rocheteau, P. Revelli, and Santini were missing scoring opportunities for years and everybody knew it. It was high time for something larger than inclusion of one new player because somebody retired. It is debatable whether rebuilding had to begin an year or too earlier, but now the signs of decline were sharp. There was no time for waiting, hesitating, giving one more chance – it was now or never. It was painfully sad to see these players gone, but there was no other option, if the club wanted to stay on top. Lyon was scary reminder of what procrastination leads to.

Three clubs went the opposite direction – Strasbourg, Monaco, and Bastia. Ascending fast. Which one was the most surprising is difficult to distinguish. The first two no long ago played in the second division. Bastia was no stranger to second level football and when playing in first division was unimpressive squad, living dangerously near the relegation zone. But they made the biggest French transfer in the summer of 1977, getting one of the top world stars Johnny Rep from Spanish Valencia. His impact was immediately felt as if the not-so bad team was spurred.

 

Descent team even without Rep – Ognjen Petrovic, Larios, Guesdon, Orlanducci, Vezir – but with the added class of the Dutch forward, Bastia experienced perhaps their greatest ever season. They reached the final of the UEFA Cup and climbed to 5th place in France. Not a title contenders, but coming close. One of the nicest surprises of the season. The only question was about the future – were they able to keep their best players and preserve good form? Or were they to be one-time wonder.

Other intricate questions about foreign players appeared along with the vast drama of the championship . French rules were typical for the time – two foreign players may appear in a single match. But a list of foreigners playing in any given year was larger and more than two often appeared in the same game. Most of them were Africans from former French colonies, thus, considered domestic. Some were with dual citizenship, some were not. Some played for the national teams of their countries, some did not. It was not so clear why almost all of them were equalized to French players – there was always a tiny minority of Africans considered just foreign players, to whom the rules applied. Some other players – South Americans and Eastern Europeans – naturalized and once French citizens they were no longer foreign. Yet, they were listed as foreign in statistical books – and looked like some were subjected to the rule for foreign players. France was not as confusing as Spain, but still it was difficult to figure out who was French and who was import. France was traditional big importer of foreigners, so they were many, playing at almost any level of the football pyramid. Some were famous, some not at all – the variety made for strange contrasts sometime. To a point, the class of the imports decided to current fate of a club. Smaller clubs depended more on their foreigners than the bigger ones, but the imports were not the all-decisive factor.

The season had unfortunate outsider anchored at the last 20th place – Rouen. Years ago Rouen was more esteemed member of first division, but in the1970s they were almost constant outsider, more likely to be relegated than soar. And relegated they were, finishing the season with measly 18 points. No wonder – they lost 26 matches. The 19th club had 14 points more.

The more than modest squad practically explains why they finished last – some known names, like Horlaville, but no stars. The picture is a bit misleading: Rouen got two well known players in the summer of 1977 – the forward Yves Triantafilos from Nantes, and the former Yugoslavian national team defender Petar Krivokuca from Iraklis (Thesaloniki, Greece). Both were past their prime, though. Not much of a help. The other foreigner was Jorge Trezeguet, an Argentine, born 1951. It is very doubtful he was remembered in home land, unless one recalls scandals – Trezeguet, an ordinary player, moved from club to club without making enough impression, but he was involved in a doping scandal in the first half of the decade. At first he was found guilty and penalized, then he was considered innocent and the penalty was voided. But doubts lingered and since he was not a star, clubs became reluctant to hire him. He went to France. Once again he was not exactly a revelation on the pitch and perhaps most French were not even aware he was a foreigner: he was not making headline news and his name is French. He eventually naturalized, or so it appear nowadays, for is often mention as ‘French-Argentine’. May be so, may be not – he returned to Argentina eventually. But he was French enough… for his famous son David Trezeguet is French. All of that had no positive impact on Rouen… Right after the season’s end Triantafilos packed for Greece, where he made his name in the beginning of the 1970s – apparently, second division was not to his taste, but he was not his former self either and ended in modest Kalitea.

Above them seven clubs fretted to the last moment. Three ended with 31 points, three with 32, and one with 33. Half of them were usually found in similar situation at the bottom of the table – Nimes (13th), Valenciennes (14th), and Troyes, getting the short stick this time – 19th and relegated. Reims was steadily sinking in the 1970s and their 15th place was hardly a surprise – by this year, Reims was quite similar to three clubs already mentioned. Bordeaux was not in great health in the 1970s, yet, hardly the outsider they were this season – 16th, with 32 points and the worst goal-difference among the clubs with same points. The last two clubs from the unfortunate group were different – Lyon, normally strong, suddenly plummeted down. May be accidentally, may be as a result of wrong transfers, hard to tell. Lens was traditionally unpredictable – one of those French clubs playing great one year and awfully the next. Going straight from the top of the league to relegation and from second division – to almost title contenders. This season the only concern of these seven clubs was survival and it was more of survival of luckiest, not of the fittest. At the last day three four clubs breathed easy, escaping by one or two points. Three clubs ended with 31 points – only one was to survive. It was Lyon, thanks to rather good goal-difference: 56-59. For Lens and Troyes it was mere protocol, since both were relegated – Troyes had the worst goal-difference and took the 19th place.

To a point, it was surprising that Troyes had a chance of survival – their team was very similar, if not worse, than Rouen’s. Troyes fought bravely, considering the team they had, but unfortunately lost the battle.

If Troyes had no team to speak of, Lens was different.

Surely not a great squad, but no doubt a descent one. A mid-table quality, nothing fancy, but nothing pathetic either. Daniel Leclercq, Bousdira, Elie, the former Polish international Joachim Marx… and Didier Six, the exciting winger, playing for France and often seen as better option than Rocheteau. And the old Uruguyan defender Juan Martin Mujica, who was there and not there, playing about 5 matches in two years, a far cry from his good performance at 1970 World Cup. Inconsistent as ever, this year Lens just went down. Yet, the same team just as easily would have aiming at the medals… Lens were – and pretty are – an enigma. They fought for survival, came close, but it was terrible season first and foremost. From the three relegated, Lens was the only club with good players and expected to gain promotion the next year. Troyes and Rouen were most likely to stay down, unless buying a whole bunch of new better players.

Interesting season in France – her football on the rise, competitive and attractive game, interesting players. Not the strongest championship in Europe, but certainly better than most. Large second division, divided into two groups of 18 teams each. The groups were not exactly constant – division was more or less geographical, but almost every year some clubs were moved from one groups to the other. The number varied for no obvious reason, but this provided some suspense – the new clubs in every group were often much more than the usual promoted and relegated newcomers. Three clubs were relegated to third level. The champions were promoted and the second placed competed for the third promotional spot. With so many clubs in second division, the better known names had some advantage, but various smaller clubs existed more or less comfortably untroubled by neither ambition, nor fear of relegation. Dunkerque was one of those:

They finished 4th in Group B without aiming at promotion. Not challenging the more ambitious, just occupying the comfort zone.

Some league members were hardly known even at the time and disappeared from sight long ago. Big league was good for such tiny clubs – it was the highest achievement, possible only because of the structure. However, it was more than questionable how much the country’s football benefits from large league full of small small clubs, often not able to sustain professional teams for long.

SR Saint Die was a typical example – they finished 11th in Group A. It was hard to pay attention to such clubs in real time, let alone remember and recall them after years. Two such clubs were relegated from Group A: SR Haguenau, 17th, and RC Fontainebleau, 18th. Both settled early on the bottom, far behind the 16th club – it happened to be Toulouse, which escaped relegation not because they had 9 points more than SR Haguenau, but because the second promotion to First Division was won by Group B. Toulouse ended 16th on goal-difference – 5 clubs finished with 30 points. Survival was on the mind of most clubs – three points divided the risky 16th place from the respectful 8th, taken by Avignon, recently playing in First Division.

Similar was the situation in Group B: AS Poissy (16th), US Noeux-les-Mines (17th), and Stade Malherbe Caen (18th) were relegated, but all of them gave up long ago. FC Limoges was securely sitting on 15th place with 5 points more than AS Poissy. Up to 6th place there was relative comfort without earning many points, yet, among the sedentary clubs was Stade Rennes, at 12th place, just relegated from First Division. Clubs like Rennes were perhaps more representative than the unknown little clubs: a rather large group of ‘unsettled’ clubs, moving up and down frequently. Unlike other countries, where the ‘unsettled’ are typically too strong for second division, but too weak for the first, the French clubs moved up and down differently: a club may finish high in the table one year, but suddenly perish the next. Then jump up again. Rennes played well only few years back, now it had difficulty competing with clubs like AS Poissy. At the same time recent members of second division were at the opposite end, deciding the French title. Yet, recently relegated clubs lived quite comfortably in second division – the competition was too weak to put them in real trouble. Dispersed in two groups, they had little competition and were inevitably bound to return to top flight. Thus, Group A gave the appearance of a race between three clubs, but SC Angers, just relegated, easily won.

Angers earned 49 points from 21 wins and 7 ties. They lost 6 games. Not exactly overwhelming winners, but it was enough – they finished 3 points ahead of the next pursuer.

Standingfrom left: Janin, Brulez, Heslot, Citron, Amersek.

Crouching : Brucato, Guillon, Felci, Augustin, Cassan, Gonfalone.

Angers slipped down, but were up again after a single season – they did not even change their squad, depending on two Yugoslavians – Vili Amersek, who came from Olimpija (Ljubljana) in 1976, and Miroslav Boskovic (not on the picture), who arrived from Partizan (belgrade) in 1975. Normally, Yugoslavian professionals were good and reliable, but those two were not exactly stars – yes, they helped Angers, but were getting old, and were not the kind of players able to elevate their club much higher. Angers was returning to top flight, but the possibility of coming back to second level was more than a possibility.

Second finished RCFC Besancon – three points behind Angers, but also three points ahead of 4th placed SC Toulon.

Now, for Besancon this was a success – unlike Angers, they were not regular first division club. Having a chance of going up was like a dream come true, but it was just a dream…

Standing from left: Bruder, Viscaino, Gazzola, Raymond, Bagnol, Traoré.

Crouching : Masson, Dralet, Sanchez, Bedouet, Martinez.

Anonimous, typically second-division squad, unable to really challenge Angers, let alone something stronger. At the end, Besancon did not get promotion, which was disappointing for their fans, but made FC Toulouse very happy: Besancon staying in the group meant only two clubs were relegated, not three. Besancon missed, Toulouse survived.

Group B was tougher: three clubs competed for promotion – Lille, relegated in 1976-77. and two Parisian clubs, eager to return to first division – Red Star and Paris FC. Four points divided success and failure at the end. Red Star failed – their relative weakness was largely in attack: they scored 58 goals during the season, but the competition scored over 70.

Lille Olympique triumphed at the end with 51 points. Best attack and second-best defense, 21 wins and only 4 losses. Going ‘home’ after one year in purgatory.

Unlike Angers, Lille tried to change their team – they recruited two new experienced foreigners: a curious player from Luxembourg, Gilbert Dussier, who was born in Zaire (Congo Kinshasa), and played already in West Germany and France. He came from Nancy and lasted only this year, moving to Belgium after the end of the season. Dussier hardly ever stayed longer then a season in the same club. The other one came from Antwerp (Belgium), but he was Yugoslavian – Zarko Olarevic. Unlike Dussier, the forward stayed, becoming a key player of Lille. Along with the re-enforcement some good players were at hand – Pleimelding, Simon, Dos Santos. Good enough professionals, a first division material. Lille looked stronger than Angers, perhaps the best of the promoted, but hardly capable of more than fighting for survival in the top league. Strong enough for winning second division.

Paris FC finished second, missing direct promotion, but still having a chance.

Paris FC was relegated from First Divison in 1973 and finally were strong enough to try a return. If ‘return’ is the right word… for the young club with strange history, leading to scandals and a split, giving birth of Paris Saint Germain, probably lost even hatred for Paris SG, taking ‘their’ place among the best French clubs by now. Paris FC only hoped to establish themselves at top level and may be then they would think of some real development. So far, they failed in their first attempt. It was their second chance, which they did not miss – at the expense of Besancon. Going up… the club was hoping, but in vein. Hope was strong at the end of 1977-78 season.

Hope is one thing, reality quite another. Paris FC already was financially limited. Back in the summer of 1977 they recruited only one player. True, they had few – may be not very ambitious, but good enough – players, like the goalkeeper Charrier, B. Lech, Lhoste, Bourgeois. Nothing exceptional, so some additions were badly needed. But there was only one – Nebojsa Zlataric (not on the photo), taken from Marseille. The Yugoslavian striker was supposed to bring some class… whether he did is debatable: he was out after the season’s end. Paris FC clinched promotion, but it was clear that they needed better players. At the end, Lille and Paris FC provided more interesting data about Yugoslavian export rules than French football: by 1977 the old rules regulating Yugoslavian export eroded to almost absurdity. Still national team players, the best Yugoslavs, that is, had to wait until reaching 28-years of age and were required to serve in the Army before getting permission to play abroad. But.. not everybody was subjected to the rules and lesser known players may be not at all. Olarevic (Lille), good, but not star player, was 27 and already played in Belgium. Zlataric was 24 when arrived in Paris, but he already played 2 years for Marseille. In fact, he played more in France than he did in Yugoslavia. Back home, Zlataric appeared in a single season with the jersey of small, hardly heard of lower tier club – Macva (Budva). Olarevic at least played for Vojvodina (Novi Sad) before moving abroad. Strange anyway, for when top players often had to wait for years, losing chances to play for great clubs as a result, little known players were easily moving to the West. Zlataric very likely did not even ask for permission, judging by his age. And he benefited by the strong reputation of Yugoslavian football – he was recruited by Marseille. Alas, he failed – either not so talented, as hoped, or lazy, or who knew what. At 24, he was stepping down, to second division. And he never became a big name player. Did not last in Paris FC either.

May be the big clubs exhausted themselves in the championship and the European tournaments, may be with the new crop of talented players the whole Belgian football was on a higher level, or may be the old ‘logic’ of cup tournaments was at play, but none of the big clubs reached the Cup final. Instead, mid-table, rather small and insignificant clubs appeared at the final – SK Beveren and Sporting Charleroi. Beveren got some notice, for they finished 5th in the championship – strong performance, if not excellent. Charleroi, however, ended 12th – nothing remarkable. But both teams excelled in the Cup, making their way to the final.

Beveren won 2-0.

To a point, playing at the Cup final was a success for Sporting Charleroi. To a point, it was not – they were not a force in Belgian football, yet, occasionally, they were able of a strong season. Sadly, they lost.

Standing from left : Mathy, Jacobs, Cloquet, Dekker, Van Toorn, Gebauer.

First row : Esgain, Royet, Vermeir, Iezzi, Bardaux, Bucci (supporter).

And their squad reveals why they lost… it was a typical mid-table Belgian team. No stars, not even half-stars. Sporting had no real sporting argument… they left an interesting picture, though: with apparently faithful supporter, Mr. Bucci. Nice recognition of the ’12th player’, usually anonymous, if photographed at all. Still, it was a team full of foreigners – 10 in total. Only the former Yugoslavian national team defender Enver Hadziabdic was known, but the veteran was well beyond his prime. The rest was mostly amusing names – the obligatory Dutch players, Chris Dekker and Mathijs van Toorn,, the anonymous Polish goalkeeper Andre Sumera, very likely a defector, for he was too young and entirely unknown for a legal transfer, an inevitable Congolese player – Victor N’Sengi-Biembi, the expected Austrian – Gerhard Bohmen, the also expected West German, Rainer Gebauer, and the mysterious Italian Antonio Iezzi. The last and biggest mystery was Muchel Esgain – a white player, but listed as Congolese. And among all that unknown players there was a young talented reserve, barely 18 years old, who was to be a star after a few years – one Alex Czerniatynksi. Too young to change the fate of his club in 1977-78.

 SK Beveren were amusing winners at first – it looked like chancy victory, taking advantage of big clubs not paying enough attention, and at the end facing pretty much equal squad. At least outside Belgium it did not matter who won – both finalists were little known and they were not the type of clubs going to challenge the status quo. In retrospects, though, the win of Beveren was not so chancy – the club was quietly building strength and confidence. The same team was to produce a sensation very soon. It was sensation in 1977-78 too, but somewhat underestimated. Actually, there was no way to take them very seriously – Anderlecht, FC Brugge, and even new Standard were full of professional stars. They had world-class players. Beveren was semi-professional club – some of its players had other jobs, including a veteran defender working at the docks, a stevedore, playing football part-time. Nobody was going to take such team seriously, but it was also very brave achievement: so rare and unusual was semi-professional club to succeed in the world dominated by professionals. Most importantly, this was the first ever trophy won by SK Beveren. So far, their biggest success was winning the Second Division twice – in 1966-67 and 1972-73.

 

Fantastic year for the modest club, but they were different team than Sporting Charleroi – they had rising players, with big potential still not fully revealed. Jean-Marie Pfaff was between the goalposts since 1974 – soon he was to be discovered as one of the top keepers in the world. The barely 20-years old Dutch Wim Hofkens will be playing for Holland in 1983. Marc Baecke – for Belgium. Jean Janssens already played for the Belgian national team. The club may have been semi-professional, but still employed foreigners – one more Dutch, Patrick Verhoosel; a German – Heinz Schonberger, and an Argentine – Saul Lisazo. It was a curious mix of veterans and youngsters, but the young players were really the strong ones. Contrary to common sense, Beveren was not to be one-time wonder. And most importantly, it was a fine example of the new rise of Belgian football – the young hopefuls were not many, but popped up in many clubs and made an impact. Two of them belonged to the Cup finalists – Pfaff and Czerniatynski. Pfaff enjoyed his first trophy, just a taste. Beveren also tasted success – and liked it very much.

First division. Clear outsiders at the bottom – two clubs with pathetic records. Only 4 wins each in a league generally playing attacking football. The outsiders were doomed early.

FC Boom finished last with 15 points. Nothing surprising – they rarely played at top level and when they did, the whole aim was escaping relegation. Hide and seek game, not lasting long.

KSV Cercle Brugge took the 17th place with 16 points. Normally, they were stable first-leagers, occasionally coming close to peril, but relegation was not exactly expected from them. Very poor season they played and had to accept the blow: safety was 8 points out of their reach at the end. Relegated clubs are pitied only by their own fans and nobody else, yet, it was a bit sad to see a city derby gone – Cercle Brugge was no longer a match for their neighbours, FC Brugge, but still a loss.

A large group of weak, but untroubled clubs, more or less waited for something better in the future – untroubled by fears of relegation, but having no squads for anything better than lounging in the lower half of the table. Five clubs, the lowest, KV Kortrijk, with 24 points, and highest, Charleroi, with 29 points at 12th place.

Another group occupied the real comfort zone between 11th and 5th place. SK Beveren was 5th with 40 points and KSV Waregem was 11th with 32 points. Rather equal clubs, not really able to do anything else than bumping into and edging each other. Such clubs exist anywhere and perhaps the Belgian ‘bulk’ was typical – clubs with few either fading or rising stars. Both suppliers and receivers of the top clubs.

KSV Waregem, 11th this season, was typical of this group: standing from left: DeMesmaeker, E. Denorme, A. Saelens, L. Millecamps, J. Dreesen, M. Millecamps.

First row: Giba, M. Devolder, R. Haleydt, H. Delesie, A. Koudizer.

Anonymous squads, having an occasional good player – Luc Millecamps, for instance. Talent was hard to keep, but Luc Millecamps became internationally famous playing for Waregem. For new recruits second division was the likelier source. Giba exemplifies that: he also played for KAA Gent and captained it, which brings the question of reliability of pictorial material: KAA Gent above is from 1977-78 – Zoltan Varga did not play anymore after this season. Waregem’s photo is also labeled 1977-78… unless Giba changed clubs in mid-season, something rare and even unlikely at the time, one of the pictures is wrong.

Perhaps the Belgian league was just too large for a small country with small pool of talent – 14 out of 18 first league clubs were entirely out of the race for the title. But it was exciting race – normally, two or three clubs really competed. This years they were four and the race was tight to the very end. And this was the big optimistic change. Anderlecht and FC Brugge were in top form, successful in Europe, and a fair match of the biggest European clubs. Standard (Liege) spent most of the 1970s in decline, but now had a new bright team and was back in the race. And K. Lierse SK, usually a modest club, had a splendid season. These four clubs left the rest in league far behind – the 5th placed was 7 points behind the 4th – but the difference between the champions and the 4th was only 4 points. The quartet played attacking and high-scoring football. The highest number of wins in the rest of the league was 15 – the lowest of the top 4 had 20. The lowest number of goals scored of the top four was 69 – the highest in the rest of the league was 59. Surely, these four clubs outclassed the rest, but in the same time they appeared very up to date clubs, playing open football, not scheming and fearing anybody. Pleasure to watch.

Lierse finished 4th with 47 points. Certainly their squad was short on big talent and may be enthusiasm carried them that far, but it was not a bad team at all.

 

Unlike most Belgian clubs, Lierse did not depended heavily on foreigners. They had only one – the Portuguese forward Raul Aguas. The real strength was young Belgian talent – Janssens, Leo De Smet, Walter Ceulemans, his younger – only 20-years old – brother Jan Ceulemans and even younger Erwin Vandenbergh (or Van den Bergh), born in 1959. A teenager practically. These group obviously inspired their rather modest teammates and was enough to challenge the big clubs. And, if Lierse was able to keep their stars and add a few more, they had great chance to become really remarkable. The future depended on money and planning, but Lierse was already significant sign of change in Belgian football – a new vintage of excellent players was emerging and already making an impact.

Standard finished with bronze – they ended with 2 points more than Lierse, a point short of second place, and two points short of the title. Historically, this was hardly remarkable year for Standard, but it was a great sign of recovery. The 1970s were bad years for the club – it suffered from long decline, was late to rebuild the aging squad with which they entered the decade, and lost their position as one of the two best Belgian clubs. Given the weakness of the rest of the league, Standard never sunk low, but struggled and not a factor in championship race. This year was entirely different and most importantly – the new young team was shaped and it was clear that these boys were to be going up and up.

 

Gerets, Renquin, Preud’Homme – the world was yet to hear about them, but these were staple names in the 1980s. The difficult name of the goalkeeper was to trouble fans and journalists until 1996! Obvious talent – Michel Preud’Homme was just 18 in 1977-78 season, who benched the well known Belgian national team keeper Christian Piot. At 30, the best age for goalkeepers, Piot had to give way to a mere teenager – this speak loudly of the qualities of the youngsters in Standard. Eric Gerets already captained the team – another recognition of young quality. But it was not all – Standard was well rounded and had quite a long reliable bench. Still, it was mainly young team – the 22-years old Siguirvinsson from Iceland was also to be very well known in the 1980s. The 24-years old West German striker Harald Nickel was also making a name for himself – he was the top scorer of the season with 22 goals. Like his Belgian teammates and Siguirvinsson he was soon to be asked to play for West Germany – he did not last, unfortunately, unlike his teammates, but still moved from Standard to better contracts in the Bundesliga. These were the great hopes for the future, young talented players already making the skeleton of Standard. They were complimented by competent and experienced bunch – the 28-years old Austrian national team striker Alfred Riedl, who was the best scorer of Belgium in 1974-75; the 31-years old West German Helmuth Graf; Christian Piot, still a prime choice for the Belgian national team; the Yugoslavian Josip Keckes; and the Hungarian defector Yuli Veee (real name Gyula Visneye), who already was statistical nightmare – listed as Hungarian, Belgian, and US American, not to mention the problem with his two names, one of which a whimsical confusion. And not to mention where he really played, for he shuffled between Europe and North America and was found in different clubs in the same year, depending on the month. Lastly, Standard had a very good coach – Robert Waseige – thus, entirely matching Anderlecht and FC Brugge. It was clear Standard was just coming back, was rising, and was to stay and compete for the title for a long time.

Anderlecht finished with silver, thanks to their 50 points. One point better than Standard, one point behind FC Brugge. Anderlecht was flying high – excellent team, carefully adjusted every year, great coach – Raymond Goetals – and great stars.

 

To go player by player would be redundant – Anderelecht were famous. It was also the year of their second Cup Winners Cup. May be playing both domestic championship and the strenuous final rounds of an European tournament was too much and they had to sacrifice the league title? Hardly a strong argument – FC Brugge was in exactly the same situation. The national team of Holland perhaps had a reason to grumble for not having star players and coach on time for World Cup preparations, but Anderlecht had enough experience and depth to fight for he title along with competing in Europe. It was a ‘Dutch team’ – Arie Haan, Nico De Bree, Johnny Dusbaba, Rob Rensenbrink, Ronny van Poucke – but the Belgian part was not at all to be dismissed as mere helpers: half of the regular Belgian national team. Add the Dane Benny Nielsen and the Congolese (or Zairean, for his home country was still called Zaire) Jean-Claude Bouvy for ‘spice’. Strong, well balanced squad, in its prime. One of the most exciting to watch teams of the time, one of the very top in Europe. To beat them was a privilege. To beat them was not a matter a luck, but a matter of real class.

FC Brugge had it and clinched the title at the end of the exciting race between three great clubs and three great coaches. Lierse was tough opposition too, only not all that famous, so the success of FC Brugge has to be really appreciated – Ernst Hapel was pressured by the Dutch federation to start training Holland for the World Cup. Meantime, FC Brugge had two tournaments to win – the European Champions Cup and the Belgian championship. They lost the European cup, but not in disgrace, and still outfoxed the domestic enemies. It was dramatic victory by a point – Anderlecht had much better goal-difference and equal points were to leave FC Brugge second. The champion’s defense left much to be desired – they allowed 48 goals in the 34 season’s matches, the worst record among the title contenders. Anderlecht allowed exactly ½ less – only 24. Eleven clubs had equal or better defensive record than the champions – telling only that FC Brugge was shaky in its own half. But they had the best scoring record in the league – 73 goals. An anomaly, when compared to their European performance, clearly marked by tough defense and almost Italian approach: defensive football, waiting for occasional counter-attack. They scored little and hardly allowed any goals in their net. May be that was all because of Hapel – his team had two faces, depending on the opposition. Credit to the great tactician, but the players were to be credited too – for understanding and executing very different tactics, changing from one to the other in a single weak. Worthy champions of wonderful and dramatic race. And more – it was their third consecutive title. Belgium was theirs.

Standing from left: Jensen, Bastijns, Volders, De Cubber, Leekens, Vandereycken.

Crouching: Soerensen, Cools, Lambert, Sanders, Courant.

Another team no needing much introduction, but deserving perhaps one more look:

 

Lovely Puma kit – their home blue and away white. The huge strange numbers of the sponsor’s name, looking more like uniform element than advertizement. In the battle of kit makers, Puma topped Adidas in Belgium. As for the team, just like Anderlecht, FC Brugge continued to shape its squad, thus making one more interesting opposition – if Anderlecht were Dutch, FC Brugge were Danish: to Jensen and Le Fevre (who departed in 1977, but captained FC Brugge the previous two years) one more was added – Soerensen. The Danes were not as famous as the Dutch, but they bested them three years in a row. Of course they were not alone – big group of Belgian national team players: Lambert, Bastijns, Cools, Leekens, Volders, Van der Eycken; the defector from Hungary and former national team player of the same country Ku; the Austrian national team player Krieger, going to the World Cup finals soon; the English striker Davies; the former Holland-Under 21 goalkeeper Barth. Coached by Hapel, FC Brugge firmly established itself in Europe and Belgium.