Group 2. England, Holland, USSR, and Eire.
England.
Manager: Bobby Robson
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Peter Shilton
(1949-09-18)18 September 1949 (aged 38)
98
Derby County
2
2DF
Gary Stevens
(1963-03-27)27 March 1963 (aged 25)
23
Everton
3
2DF
Kenny Sansom
(1958-09-26)26 September 1958 (aged 29)
83
Arsenal
4
3MF
Neil Webb
(1963-07-30)30 July 1963 (aged 24)
7
Nottingham Forest
5
2DF
Dave Watson
(1961-11-20)20 November 1961 (aged 26)
11
Everton
6
2DF
Tony Adams
(1966-10-10)10 October 1966 (aged 21)
11
Arsenal
7
3MF
Bryan Robson (captain)
(1957-01-11)11 January 1957 (aged 31)
66
Manchester United
8
3MF
Trevor Steven
(1963-09-21)21 September 1963 (aged 24)
23
Everton
9
4FW
Peter Beardsley
(1961-01-18)18 January 1961 (aged 27)
24
Liverpool
10
4FW
Gary Lineker
(1960-11-30)30 November 1960 (aged 27)
32
Barcelona
11
3MF
John Barnes
(1963-11-07)7 November 1963 (aged 24)
39
Liverpool
12
3MF
Chris Waddle
(1960-12-14)14 December 1960 (aged 27)
34
Tottenham Hotspur
13
1GK
Chris Woods
(1959-11-14)14 November 1959 (aged 28)
12
Rangers
14
2DF
Viv Anderson
(1956-07-29)29 July 1956 (aged 31)
30
Manchester United
15
3MF
Steve McMahon
(1961-08-20)20 August 1961 (aged 26)
3
Liverpool
16
3MF
Peter Reid
(1956-06-20)20 June 1956 (aged 31)
13
Everton
17
3MF
Glenn Hoddle
(1957-10-27)27 October 1957 (aged 30)
50
Monaco
18
4FW
Mark Hateley
(1961-11-07)7 November 1961 (aged 26)
28
Monaco
19
2DF
Mark Wright
(1963-08-01)1 August 1963 (aged 24)
20
Derby County
20
2DF
Tony Dorigo
(1965-12-31)31 December 1965 (aged 22)
0
Chelsea
Traditionally, a favourite. Although by now largely by inertia – England already built a tradition of disappointment. But it played well at the 1986 World Cup and the team looked serious, and the coach was great, and England had excellent qualifying campaign. Group 2 seemingly was tougher than Group 1, so England was not pronounced absolutely sure leader, but it was felt that they will go ahead – second, if not group winners. A lot depended on the current health of Bryan Robson, Hoddle, and Waddle – they had a long history of injuries.
Holland.
Manager: Rinus Michels
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Hans van Breukelen
(1956-10-04)4 October 1956 (aged 31)
35
PSV
2
2DF
Adri van Tiggelen
(1957-06-16)16 June 1957 (aged 30)
24
Anderlecht
3
2DF
Sjaak Troost
(1959-08-28)28 August 1959 (aged 28)
3
Feyenoord
4
2DF
Ronald Koeman
(1963-03-21)21 March 1963 (aged 25)
23
PSV
5
3MF
Aron Winter
(1967-03-01)1 March 1967 (aged 21)
6
Ajax
6
2DF
Berry van Aerle
(1962-12-08)8 December 1962 (aged 25)
6
PSV
7
3MF
Gerald Vanenburg
(1964-03-05)5 March 1964 (aged 24)
22
PSV
8
3MF
Arnold Mühren
(1951-05-02)2 May 1951 (aged 37)
18
Ajax
9
4FW
John Bosman
(1965-02-01)1 February 1965 (aged 23)
12
Ajax
10
3MF
Ruud Gullit (captain)
(1962-09-01)1 September 1962 (aged 25)
34
Milan
11
3MF
John van ‘t Schip
(1963-12-30)30 December 1963 (aged 24)
16
Ajax
12
4FW
Marco van Basten
(1964-10-31)31 October 1964 (aged 23)
19
Milan
13
3MF
Erwin Koeman
(1961-09-20)20 September 1961 (aged 26)
10
KV Mechelen
14
4FW
Wim Kieft
(1962-11-12)12 November 1962 (aged 25)
15
PSV
15
2DF
Wim Koevermans
(1960-06-28)28 June 1960 (aged 27)
1
Fortuna Sittard
16
1GK
Joop Hiele
(1958-12-25)25 December 1958 (aged 29)
4
Feyenoord
17
3MF
Frank Rijkaard
(1962-09-30)30 September 1962 (aged 25)
26
Zaragoza
18
2DF
Wilbert Suvrijn
(1962-10-26)26 October 1962 (aged 25)
6
Roda JC
19
3MF
Hendrie Krüzen
(1964-11-24)24 November 1964 (aged 23)
3
Den Bosch
20
3MF
Jan Wouters
(1960-07-17)17 July 1960 (aged 27)
14
Ajax
A big revival, due to the great new generation led by Gullit, van Basten, and Rijkard. Rinus Michels was back at the helm – another asset. Yet, the long lasting decline and missing both the 1984 Euro and the 1986 World Cup kept observers cautious – Holland had good chances of going ahead, but not certainly. Memories of failures waited heavily against the team.
USSR.
Manager: Valeri Lobanovsky
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Rinat Dasayev (captain)
(1957-06-13)13 June 1957 (aged 30)
77
Spartak Moscow
2
2DF
Volodymyr Bessonov
(1958-03-05)5 March 1958 (aged 30)
67
Dynamo Kyiv
3
2DF
Vagiz Khidiyatullin
(1959-03-03)3 March 1959 (aged 29)
42
Spartak Moscow
4
2DF
Oleg Kuznetsov
(1963-03-22)22 March 1963 (aged 25)
26
Dynamo Kyiv
5
2DF
Anatoliy Demyanenko
(1959-02-19)19 February 1959 (aged 29)
65
Dynamo Kyiv
6
3MF
Vasiliy Rats
(1961-04-25)25 April 1961 (aged 27)
23
Dynamo Kyiv
7
4FW
Sergei Aleinikov
(1961-11-07)7 November 1961 (aged 26)
41
Dinamo Minsk
8
3MF
Gennadiy Litovchenko
(1963-09-11)11 September 1963 (aged 24)
32
Dynamo Kyiv
9
3MF
Aleksandr Zavarov
(1961-04-26)26 April 1961 (aged 27)
23
Dynamo Kyiv
10
4FW
Oleg Protasov
(1964-02-04)4 February 1964 (aged 24)
35
Dynamo Kyiv
11
4FW
Igor Belanov
(1960-09-25)25 September 1960 (aged 27)
22
Dynamo Kyiv
12
2DF
Ivan Vyshnevskyi
(1957-02-21)21 February 1957 (aged 31)
6
Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk
13
2DF
Tengiz Sulakvelidze
(1956-07-23)23 July 1956 (aged 31)
47
Dinamo Tbilisi
14
2DF
Vyacheslav Sukristov
(1961-01-01)1 January 1961 (aged 27)
3
Žalgiris
15
3MF
Alexei Mikhailichenko
(1963-03-30)30 March 1963 (aged 25)
7
Dynamo Kyiv
16
1GK
Viktor Chanov
(1959-07-21)21 July 1959 (aged 28)
7
Dynamo Kyiv
17
4FW
Sergey Dmitriyev
(1964-03-19)19 March 1964 (aged 24)
6
Zenit Leningrad
18
3MF
Sergey Gotsmanov
(1959-03-27)27 March 1959 (aged 29)
25
Dinamo Minsk
19
2DF
Sergei Baltacha
(1958-02-17)17 February 1958 (aged 30)
44
Dynamo Kyiv
20
3MF
Viktor Pasulko
(1961-01-01)1 January 1961 (aged 27)
6
Spartak Moscow
The Soviets were considered perhaps a bit weaker than England and Holland, but not at all to be discarded. Their performnce at both 1982 and 1986 World Cups were fondly remembered, there was sense that such a team would finally be able to climb higher. On the other hand, a lot depended on the form of Dynamo Kiev, which was incosistent. And similar to England, there were a number of players often injured – Bessonov, Baltacha, Demyanenko. Some of the selected players looked strange to foreign eyes – Pasulko, Dmitriyev, Sukristov, Vishnievsky – but they were mere reserves. Oleg Blokhin was out of the team – expected, due to his age, yet, it was somewhat a handicap, since everybody was used to see him in the team and consequently measure the team by that. Since the group was without a clear leader, the chances of USSR were good, although largely for the second place.
Eire.
Manager: Jack Charlton
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
1GK
Packie Bonner
(1960-05-24)24 May 1960 (aged 28)
23
Celtic
2
2DF
Chris Morris
(1963-12-24)24 December 1963 (aged 24)
5
Celtic
3
2DF
Chris Hughton
(1958-12-11)11 December 1958 (aged 29)
36
Tottenham Hotspur
4
2DF
Mick McCarthy
(1959-02-07)7 February 1959 (aged 29)
27
Celtic
5
2DF
Kevin Moran
(1956-04-29)29 April 1956 (aged 32)
36
Manchester United
6
3MF
Ronnie Whelan
(1961-09-25)25 September 1961 (aged 26)
26
Liverpool
7
3MF
Paul McGrath
(1959-12-04)4 December 1959 (aged 28)
23
Manchester United
8
3MF
Ray Houghton
(1962-01-09)9 January 1962 (aged 26)
15
Liverpool
9
4FW
John Aldridge
(1958-09-18)18 September 1958 (aged 29)
15
Liverpool
10
4FW
Frank Stapleton (captain)
(1956-07-10)10 July 1956 (aged 31)
63
Derby County
11
3MF
Tony Galvin
(1956-07-12)12 July 1956 (aged 31)
24
Sheffield Wednesday
12
4FW
Tony Cascarino
(1962-09-01)1 September 1962 (aged 25)
5
Millwall
13
3MF
Liam O’Brien
(1964-09-05)5 September 1964 (aged 23)
6
Manchester United
14
4FW
David Kelly
(1965-11-25)25 November 1965 (aged 22)
3
Walsall
15
3MF
Kevin Sheedy
(1959-10-21)21 October 1959 (aged 28)
13
Everton
16
1GK
Gerry Peyton
(1956-05-20)20 May 1956 (aged 32)
24
AFC Bournemouth
17
4FW
John Byrne
(1961-02-01)1 February 1961 (aged 27)
14
Le Havre
18
4FW
John Sheridan
(1964-10-01)1 October 1964 (aged 23)
4
Leeds United
19
2DF
John Anderson
(1959-10-07)7 October 1959 (aged 28)
15
Newcastle United
20
4FW
Niall Quinn
(1966-10-06)6 October 1966 (aged 21)
9
Arsenal
The outsiders. Eire, so was felt, achieved more than they were worth by qualifying to the finals. Tough fighters, but without much class and even lucky to reach the finals. Jacky Charlton used ‘primitive tactics’ and had vocal opponents in Ireland, but another coach was unlikely to do better – Ireland never had enough strong players for a formidable team. They were going to play with great spirit, that was sure, but hardly compensating the lack of quality players. What they could do, though, was to frustrate and kill somebody else’s plans and that was the role expected from them – whoever underetsimated them was going to pay a high price.
Manager: Franz Beckenbauer
Manager: Azeglio Vicini
Manager: Miguel Muñoz
Manager: Sepp Piontek
The European Championship finals were the big event of the year, of course.
The mascot Berni looked childish, but there was nothing childish in the organization and the venues. The Euro final tournament was played in Munich, Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt, Hannover and Gelsenkirchen. The final was going to be in Munich, as usual when West Germany hosted big events. As promised to the Communist countries, West Berlin was excluded, although only USSR reached the finals from the Eastern Block – in any case, it was largely the Soviets making trouble over West Berlin, even during ‘perestroika’.
Born in 1967, the midfielder debuted for the club he was the product of – West Ham United. It was natural – his talent was already noticed during his progress in the youth system of ‘the Hammers’, so barely 20-years old it was time to start playing professionally. A great talent, but also a talent of the current times and their understanding and demands. If Platini debuted 18-years old and even that was a bit late, for he came to professional club from a smaller one, Ince was thought still too young and fragile at 20 – that was the difference between 1972 and 1986. Careful with the youngsters – they were not ready for professional clash with full grown men and may burn out. Too young to trust them, but then if not playing them, they will never be ready and burn out by inaction. 20 years seems agreeable risk, 18 – not at all. Unlike Platini Ince was physically strong and fit, a born fighter. The rest was also different – Ince was a product of the 1980s football – hard worker, a team player, good overall, but not exceptionally skillful and imaginative. Not a free artist, surely. Of course, all that was not immediately clear or even important – at the time, he was just a youngster who made his strong debut. He was ‘the Gov’ner’ yet, that came years later, but his debut was fine, thus an important stepping stone not just for his own career.
Trademark gestures and success will come soon, though. Paul Ince debuted on November 30th, 1986 against Newcastle United. West Ham lost 0-4… hardly the day to remember.
April 1987 – Platini captained France in the home game against Iceland. France won 2-0, which was the only win of the 1986 World bronze medalists in this year. It was a team going through changes and going down. Platini apparently sensed what was coming – and left after a victory. Excellent timing.
Soon after he announced his retirement from the game – Juventus finished 2nd in the championship and was not the great winning team anymore. Platini was not enough to keep neither Juventus, nor France on the top in the turbulent time of rebuilding. His timing was right. And there was another factor, largely unnoticed at the time – he looked healthy, but injuries were taking their toll. His career was not all that rosy, as it appeared to be from aside – he was playing professional football 15 years already. And because he was a great star, nobody remembered that he played football by chance – 15 years later, his body alone remembered. He did not mentioned this reason when he announced his retirement after the match against Brescia in June 1987 – he said “I played for Nancy because it was my hometown club and the best in Lorraine, for Saint-Étienne because it was the best team in France, and for Juventus because it is the best team in the world!” instead. Sounds great, but the begining was not so – he was unable to make a trial with Metz because of injury. A second trial failed with terrible medical verdict: breathing difficulties and weak heart. He was not only not to play for Metz, but very likely not to play professional football at all. But he did and in 1972 debuted for Nancy – it happened thanks to a hat-trick he scored earlier for the reserve side of the club and he made his first appearance for the first team on May 3, 1973 against Nimes. And soon he was a regular.
Yes, we remember Platini with number 10, but at the beginning he had to play with other numbers – 8, sometimes 11. Number 8 seems right, though – for he was primarily a playmaker, although not entirely – rather, an attacking midfielder-playmaker, something between classic number 8 and 10. Yes, he made the first team, but Nancy was playing in the Second Division – quite well, as it happened, but for Platini it was not a steady climb up: he suffered heavy injury, a double fracture of his left arm in March 1974 and missed the rest of the season. Nancy was going back to Second Division meantime.
Another setback was inevitable military service – although he served largely in Army team, he was not regularly available for Nancy. But he served together with his old friend, the goalkeeper Moutier, with whom he trained his famous (later) free-kicks. And after the Army – new setback: booed by Laval fans and angered by that, he scored three goals and injured again himself in the effort. Another season was going to be cut short… however, initial reports proved untrue. At least for awhile, for two weeks later he had to leave the field injured in the Cup semi-final against St. Etienne. Nancy lost it 1-4, he scored the only goal for his side. A string of injuries, but when he was healthy, his talent was very noticeable.
Which earned him a place in the French Olympic team – with them, he played at the 1976 Montreal Olympics. And that in turn earned him his first professional contract – Nancy signed him for 2 years.
And now he debuted for the national team of France. Still the young broom, wearing number 8, against Czechoslovakia in 1976, on March 27th. It was the debut of both Michel Hidalgo at the helm of France and his most memorable player. The match ended 2-2, but this time there was no setbacks, no doubts – a star was born. Platini scored his first goal for France in his first match from his trademark free-kick. And France was only going up after that.
From shaky talented youngster to bright young star, acclaimed around Europe.
From mere hopeful, happy to have his photo next to the current stars – the Revelli brothers – in 1973 to playing along them in 1976 and outshining them.
With him in the center France qualified to the 1978 World Cup finals – for the first time since 1966.
And Nancy was not doing badly with him either – in 1976 he was already wearing number 10.
However, he won the French Cup with number 9. At the time, he was the captain of Nancy and France was going to play at the 1978 World Cup.
And performed well in Argentina – both France and Platini made impression, even if they eliminated in the preliminary group stage. And once again misfortune… it was their bad luck to have no required reserve kit for the game against Hungary and played with borrowed shirts from a local club. France and Platini with unfamiliar green-white stripes.
Stardom has its own demands – Nancy was too small for Platini and St. Etienne was rebuilding, determined to stay best. Platini was part of the new team, joining them in 1979.
Playing along with Johnny Rep was great, winning was great, but… St. Etienne with Platini was not the great team of mid-70s. They failed to reach the international success of the previous generation. Still, for Platini was big step up – this time he was winning championships! And was a hot property too – around 1978 not only St. Etienne was interested of obtaining him, but real interest built up after 1980 when Italy opened its market for foreign players. Juventus, Inter, Arsenal, Napoli, Barcelona, Valencia were interested – for one or another reason, the next move happened in 1982, when France played excellent World Cup, lead by Platini – he already a big international star, his status amply confirmed by the great performance of France. Juventus was the next stop and with them – both domestic and international success. “We bought him for a morsel of bread and he put foie gras on top of it!”, said Gianni Agnelli, then the President of Juventus. Admiration was mutual, although the first season was rather shaky and remained so until Platini and Boniek rebelled against the coach’s tactics and required different style of playing, more suitable to their great abilities.
And in 1984 France won the European title – the highest success of this great squad, lead by Platini. Winning at last! Winners! Platini was the best European player, one of the very best in the world. He was 29 – that was perhaps the key: he was getting old, inevitably beginning to think of the twilight of his career, feeling old and new injuries – how long he could play without becoming a disgrace, for great things were expected from great stars and nothing less. The 1986 World Cup was a disappointment, for France again failed to reach the final – played great and failed… In 1987 Boniek was no longer with Juventus. Both the national team of France and Juventus were going into the process of rebuilding – the old great stars were stepping down and the new boys were not quite right. Times were changing too, bringing new leaders and stars – Argentina won the World Cup, lead by Maradona, Napoli, also lead by Maradona, was reaching its peak. Juventus and France were at the other side of the curve, going down… it was the best moment to retire: his teams were still strong, respected, not a mockery of themselves. Platini call it a day. He played for three clubs:
Nancy – 1972-79: 181 games and 98 goals,
St. Etienne – 1979-82: 104 games and 58 goals, and
Juvenus – 1982-87: 147 games and 68 goals.
For France, he played 72 games and scored 41 goals between 1976 and 1987. Add 7 games and 4 goals for the French Olympic team. And lastly he played one more national team match – in 1988 he was persuaded to come out of retirement by the Kuwaiti Emir and on November 27 played 21 minutes for Kuwait in a friendly against USSR. The match ended 0-2, which was not surprising. However, it was official game – and it is a bit of mystery how it counts, for technically Platini could not represent Kuwait by FIFA rules. But he played, the game apparently did not create any fuss or threats with sanctions for Kuwait. That was the last official match Platini played, so his retirement came when? In 1987 or in 1988? Never mind.
He stepped out of his football boots to step in another kind of shoes – that of a coach first and administrator later and this part of his life did no go plausible, respectful, and adorable, so let remember the player and not the administrator.
Cyprus – last, as expected. 0 1 7 3-16 1 point.
Poland – 4th. It was a fact: this was very inferior team compared to the one of 1974. Having chance to win the group was only that – a chance, much depending on stumbles of others. 3 2 3 9-11 8 points.
Hungary – 3rd. Like the photo of Poland, this is picture of their home game against Holland – which, like Poland, they lost, 0-1. This sums it all – the real class showed in direct games and in them chance was not a factor. 4 0 4 13-11 8 points.
Greece – 2nd. Here chance worked in their favour – to the point of entertaining hopes for winning the group. But depending on chance was not enough… 4 1 3 12-13 9 points.
Finland – 4th. Modest, but brave. 1 1 4 4-10 3 points.
Wales – 3rd. What can you say? Pity Jan Rush… However, they do not give up, which is admirable. 2 2 2 7-5 6 points.
Czechoslovakia – 2nd. They had a chance to win, but, frankly, such a team did not deserve to win. Of course, some good players here – but also many not so good. That was all Czechoslovakia had at hand at that time – nothing like the 1960s and 70s, when there was plenty of talent. In the 80s there was simply not enough. 2 3 1 7-5 7 points.
Denmark qualified to the Euro finals. The 1980s was their decade – great generation. Small, but wonderful. Aging already, but very experienced and as every small squad there was the advantage of players knowing each other inside out. Given their limited resources, one can understand why they struggled occasionally – especially against relatively modest, but decent teams. Yet, they deserved to reach the finals and not just because they were everybody’s darlings. 3 2 1 4-2 8 points.
Luxembourg – last as ever. Only they were not the expected decisive factor of the group, but not their fault. 0 1 7 2-23 1 point.
Scotland – 4th. Not in good shape, surely, but they became the decisive factor of the group – first killing the chance of Belgium, second – those of Bulgaria. If anything, they played with heart… just about everything Scottish football had at the moment. A very long moment, unfortunately, seeming without end. 3 3 2 7-5 9 points.
Belgium – 3rd. This squad was from the early months, when they appeared to be on the right track (4-1 at home against Scotland). From left to right: Stephane Demol, Philippe Desmet, Nico Claesen, Erwin Vandenbergh, Franky van der Elst, Georges Grun, Enzo Scifo, Leo Clijsters, Frank Vercauteren, Patrick Vervoort, Jean-Marie Pfaff. To a point, the inevitable decline is shown here – how long those players can play ? Decline in terms of the great team which emerged in 1980. From bigger perspective – nothing really terrible : Belgium always managed to come back with small group of good players. They were not Italy or West Germany with huge pool of talent and had to do with little – and little had crucial moments when in need of replacement. Scotland gave them good chance, Scotland took it away… 3 3 2 16-8 9 points.
Bulgaria – 2nd. Another failure, coming right after disappointing World Cup finals. A long list of objections to coach (the same Christo Mladenov, whp spoiled the 1974 World Cup finals), selection, attitude can be made – and it was made back then in Bulgaria in the aftermath of the shocking loss from Scotland – but what is perhaps the really important lesson of this failed campaign is about the stupidity of scheming and calculating. Playing for a ‘sure point’ against British team… 4 2 2 12-6 10 points.
Eire – or Republic of Ireland, the winners. This is the squad which tied Belgium in Brussels at the beginning of the qualifications. Pretty much all Ireland had – not much, but playing with big hearts. Lady Luck helped them – disguised as Scotland, which in way qualified the Irish by eliminating in two strokes Belgium and Bulgaria. Yet one can dismiss the Irish as just lucky team – they were modest, their tactics were considered primitive, they had only a handful of decent players, their bets known stars – Frank Stapleton and Liam Brady – were dangerously aging, but these boys gave the best they could, sometimes even more than that. In a way, Eire deserved most to win, because with them at least one thing was sure – they will give their best at the finals. Declining Belgium and rather Scotland were suspect about meaningful performance in 1988 and Bulgaria… well, it had history of pathetic performances at big finals, so better without them. In any case modest Irish lost only once in the ‘iron group’, which was recommendation in itself. 4 3 1 10-5 11 points.
Predictably, Albania finished last, losing every match they played. 0 0 6 2-17 0
Austria ended 3rd – it was also pretty much expected: although Austria had a bunch of good player, the golden generation of the 1970s was retired or too old by now and the team was in relative decline. However, the Austrians were still tough enough and managed to spoil the Romanian chances in the last game – it was 0-0 in Vienna. 2 1 3 6-9 5 points.
Romania lost in the last minute… Standing from left: Laszlo Böloni. Silviu Lung, Stefan Iovan, Rodion Camataru, Adrian Bumbescu, Miodrag Belodediçi. First row: Georghe Hagi, Marius Lacatus, Michael Klein, Dorin Mateut, Nicolae Ungureanu. Spain and Romania were old foes – they were grouped together quite often in qualification groups. This time Romania had its own golden generation with increasingly high-profiled Hagi as a leader. And as usual Spain and Romania went shoulder to shoulder to the end – the group winner was to be decided in the last games, played at the same time – Spain was hosting Albania and Romania was visiting Austria. Goal-difference was in favour of Romania, so any victory was going to qualify them. Spain needed enormous victory – at least by 10 goals. Thus, memories of the shameful win with the ‘right’ result in the previous qualifications for the 1984 Euro came back. But Albania was not Malta – or at least that was concluded after the game: the Albanian fought somewhat and lost by only 5 goals. There was no ‘helpful’ Malta, but there was helpful Austria – the Austrians played for their honour, which meant playing for a draw and to achieve that they went into frustrating killing of time. Austria wanted to avoid loss and thus they worked for Spain – Romania was unable to score and lost the race by a point: 4 1 1 13-3 9 points.
Whether Spain deserved to qualify is another matter – the team was not so great and had some problems, particularly in attack, where apart from Butrageno there was practically nobody worth mentioning. The key strikers of the leading clubs were foreigners and it came to unusual decision to include Paco Llorente, who was mere reserve in Real Madrid. But the team managed to prevail over Austria and Albania and the real decisive games were against Romania – at home they won 1-0, using every possible mean to achieve that, including superstition: the match was played in Sevilla, because there Spain qualified at the expense of Holland by beating Malta 12-1. By the way, Sevilla stayed the official city for home qualifications 11 and half years! With great difficulties Spain won at home, but in Bucharest Romania practically destroyed them – 3-1 does not luck scary result, but Romania played excellent football and Spain looked ugly weaklings in comparison. But the points were equal before the last group matches and Austria eliminated Romania. Still, Spain proved tough as ever and against results one can hardly argue: 5 0 1 14-6 10 points.
Malta – last, as expected, but got 2 points, which was kind of successful campaign for them. 0 2 6 4-21 2 points.
Switzerland – 4th, also pretty much as expected. From left to right: Roger Wehrli, Heinz Hermann, Georges Bregy, Alain Sutter, René Botteron, Christian Matthey, Charly In-Albon, Alain Geiger, Claudio Sulser, Erich Burgener, André Egli. 1 5 2 9-9 7 points.
Portugal – 3rd. Here is one of the strange formations they fielded because of the scandal – in view of that, may be not so bad performance. 2 4 2 6-8 8 points.
Sweden – 2nd. This is the team which won over Italy in Stockholm and placed Sweden on top of the table – top, left to right: Glenn Strömberg, Thomas Ravelli, Glenn Hysén, Peter Larsson, Lennart Nilsson, Stig Fredriksson. Bottom, left to right: Johnny Ekström, Robert Prytz, Ulf Eriksson, Roland Nilsson, Hans Holmqvist. Not a bad team, but inconsistent. 4 2 2 12-5 10 points.
Italy – hardly a great squad, but the Italians were often able to sneak themselves in when nobody was taking them seriously and did it again. 6 1 1 16-4 13 points.
Norway finished last. Top row from left: Roste Fossen, Andersen, Ahlsen, Thoresen, Bratseth, Kojedal.
Iceland – 4th. Improving, having well respected stars, but as the result against East Germany shows, still modest team. Came ahead of Norway – that was the measure of success. 2 2 4 4-14 6 points.
France – 3rd. A disgrace, but inevitable… Henri Michel announced well in advance that he is going to build new team. After the 1986 World Cup Bossis, Giresse, and Rocheteau announced their retirement from the national team. Tigana was also planning to quit, Platini was hinting the same – Michel succeeded in persuading both stars not to go yet, but it was partial success: Platini said that he is staying in the national team only because it needed help, but will not be always available. He was not going to play the first game in Reykjavik for sure. France still had some teeth left, but as a whole they performed miserably, winning only once – at home against Iceland, which was also the last game Platini played for France and three months later he announced his full retirement from the game. 1 4 3 4-7 6 points. Ahead of Iceland only on better goal-difference…
DDR was always a tough opponent, but mostly trouble maker than a real contender. This time, though, there was a bright new generation of which Kirsten and Thom were rapidly rising, eventually becoming huge stars in the 1990s. Suddenly there was a team capable of matching the great team of 1974 and they compteted with USSR for top position – the direct clash between them decided the group winner and DDR lost the battle after losing 0-2 away in April 1987 and then unable to beat the Soviets at home in October 1987, 1-1. The East Germans played the last group game and won the away match against France, but it was only for pride – USSR already finished their games and was unreachable. 4 3 1 13-4 11 points.
USSR was expected favourite and possible winner and they delivered. No matter what problems and frictions existed, the Soviets had great generation and great, no matter how controversial, coach and managed to steer clear of big trouble. The French collapse helped too, but as a whole, team USSR was well prepared and focused and even without really outstanding performances, they managed to win game after game. It was strong and very experienced team – most of all that. Practically, Dinamo Kiev plus the great goalkeeper Dassaev. A handful of other players Lobanovsky used for a long time too, but as the picture above shows, no more than 2-3 of them at a time. In the crucial games against DDR – three of the 13 used were from other clubs in the home match; four of the 13 used in the away game. Against France: 5 from 13 in the first match and 4 from 13 in the second. Practically, there were no debutantes – Tishtenko and Lossev played a single match each (well, Tishtenko only half a match, for he was substitued at half-time); Dobrovolsky – twice (once substituted). Only once more than one newcomer played – Dobrovolsky and Lossev started in the home match against France, but Dobrovolsky did not finish the game, substituted in the 70th minute. Gaps were usually filled by Dinamo’s players – injured Demyanenko was replaced by his midfield teammate Ratz, for instance. In any case Lobanovsky preferred versatile players, capable of playing different positions like Bessonov, Sulakvelidze, Alleynikov, and Khidiatullin to those playing strict positions. Team USSR rarely shined during the qualifications, but always got what they wanted and that only counts – at the end of the day, they did not lose a game. 5 3 0 14-3 13 points.
Turkish football was improving, but still was unable to narrow the gap – predictably, Turkey finished last. 0 2 4 2-16 2 points.
Northern Ireland left little evidence of their campaign – this is not even a picture from the qualifications, but still one around the 1986 World Cup, yet, it suits the purpose: with its limited resources, the Irish were hardly able to make brand new team – it was practically the same they used at the World Cup minus retired Pat Jennings. Hence, a photo with Jim Platt… who was not a newcomer at all. And that sums it all, for lovely Northern Irish short of heroics were almost nothing. Ordinary modest campaign and predictable 3rd place. 1 1 4 2-10 3 points.
Yugoslavia – 2nd, as expected. As a whole, the 80s were shaky decade for the Yugoslavs – they still had plenty of high-profiled stars, but somehow never all of them coincided in time and never enough for really strong team. Still, not a team to be ignored, but… at best second-best. This squad is point in case – standing from left: Zoran Vujović, Srećko Katanec, Mauro Ravnić, Ljubomir Radanović, Faruk Hadžibegić, Mirsad Baljić. First row: Borislav Cvetković, Fadilj Vokri, Zlatko Vujović, Mehmed Baždarević, Marko Mlinarić. Some already aging, others not at their peak yet, and few obviously ordinary for there were nothing else. Strong enough to beat the likes of Northern Ireland and Turkey, but not up to the real test – they lost both games with England. It was particularly humiliating at home: 1-4! 4 0 2 13-9 8 points.
There was already a pattern, which probably blinded the British somewhat and nobody else: England was superior in qualification groups, which suggested a revival of great years and may be new success at last, but then at the finals – bland nothing. England, however, did not play badly at the 1986 World Cup and if not for the shameful goal Maradona scored with his hand… that obscured reality: England certainly played better than ever did since 1971, but not brilliantly. Stubborn old deficiencies remained in their approach to the game. The great qualification campaign was to a big degree wrongly taken as a revival. The future looked bright… Tony Adams and David Seaman were already noticed, that was the shining future… But nobody can argue successfully against formidable statistics: 5 1 0 19-1 11 points.
Rabah Madjer (Algeria and FC Porto, Portugal) was practically undisputed first with 130 points. At 29, he was well known and respected name in Africa, having played for his native Algeria since 1978, but it was his recent success in Europe which propelled him to the top. Of course, he impressed at home first, playing for NA Hussain Day/MA Hussain Day 94 games in which scored 58 goals between 1975 and 1983. That helped him to a contract with Racing Club (Paris) in 1983, where he stayed until the end of 1985 season – which he finished loaned to another French side: Tours. So far – nothing much, really… Racing Club was still in the lower French leagues. But his transfer to FC Porto changed things significantly – now it was a team competing for titles and Algeria had impressive World Cup finals. But it was really 1986-87 season putting him in the spotlights, particularly the famous cheeky goal scored at the European Champions Cup final against Bayern with which FC Porto won the trophy. It was long climb to the top, but well deserved, although recognition was largely due to a stellar moment. Now even his memorable goal against West Germany at the 1982 World Cup was recycled – Madjer was really something: he steadily destroyed Germans, the best measure for greatness. Yet, it was a bit of a bitter success: he missed the Intercontinental Cup final, which FC Porto won without his help and three lucrative contracts did not materialized – Inter (Milan) dismissed him after discovering serious injury at the medical check, Bayern wanted him quite seriously, but nothing happened at the end and Johan Cruijff was furious with his bosses in Ajax for making FC Porto canceling the negotiations. Yet, FC Porto was seemingly willing to part with Madjer, for they loaned him to Spanish Valencia – which did not work well and Madjer was back after playing a few months for Valencia. So, 1986-87 was a period of both triumph and frustration, but nevertheless the highest point in the long career of Madjer – and voted number one in Africa confirmed it.
Heroic season for Al-Hillal (Omdurman), but there was difference of class at the end. Still, they made kind of sensation by reaching the final.
Well deserved victory of Al-Ahly, which continued their triumphal march: after 3 consecutive Cup Winners Cup wins, they won the Champions Cup. This was remarkable run: from 1982 to 1987 Al-Ahly played African final every year and lost only the Champions Cup final in 1983 to Asante Kotoko. They won so far 1 Champions Cup (1982) and 3 Cup Winners Cup (1984, 1985, and 1986). Now they won their 2nd Champions Cup, rapidly becoming the best African club ever.
Hard to lose unbeaten, but rules are rules… Esperance Sportive de Tunis went home empty-handed.
Lucky perhaps, but the flagship of Kenyan football finally got international success – Gor Mahia reached a final for the first time and won the Cup Winners Cup. Historic victory for both club and country.