Group B. Argentina, USSR, Romania, Cameroon.
Argentina
Head coach: Carlos Bilardo
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Nery Pumpido*
30 July 1957 (aged 32)
N/A
Real Betis
2
MF
Sergio Batista
9 November 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
River Plate
3
FW
Abel Balbo
1 June 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Udinese
4
MF
José Basualdo
20 June 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
VfB Stuttgart
5
DF
Edgardo Bauza
26 January 1958 (aged 32)
N/A
Veracruz
6
FW
Gabriel Calderón
7 February 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Paris Saint-Germain
7
MF
Jorge Burruchaga
9 October 1962 (aged 27)
52
Nantes
8
FW
Claudio Caniggia
9 January 1967 (aged 23)
N/A
Atalanta
9
FW
Gustavo Dezotti
14 February 1964 (aged 26)
N/A
Cremonese
10
MF
Diego Maradona (c)
30 October 1960 (aged 29)
73
Napoli
11
DF
Néstor Fabbri
29 April 1968 (aged 22)
N/A
Racing Club
12
GK
Sergio Goycochea
17 October 1963 (aged 26)
N/A
Millonarios
13
DF
Néstor Lorenzo
28 February 1966 (aged 24)
N/A
Bari
14
MF
Ricardo Giusti
11 December 1956 (aged 33)
N/A
Independiente
15
DF
Pedro Monzón
23 February 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
Independiente
16
DF
Julio Olarticoechea
18 October 1958 (aged 31)
N/A
Racing Club
17
DF
Roberto Sensini
12 October 1966 (aged 23)
16
Udinese
18
DF
José Serrizuela
16 June 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
River Plate
19
DF
Oscar Ruggeri
26 January 1962 (aged 28)
50
Real Madrid
20
DF
Juan Simón
2 March 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Boca Juniors
21
MF
Pedro Troglio
28 July 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Lazio
22
GK
Fabián Cancelarich
20 December 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Ferro Carril Oeste
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Ángel Comizzo
27 April 1962 (aged 28)
N/A
River Plate
*Following a rupture of goalkeeper Pumpido’s tibia and fibula, the Argentine team was authorized to replace him with Comizzo, who joined the team as third goalkeeper.
Under increasing criticism, coming even from the President of Argentina, Billardo was not in great mood most of the time preceding the finals – he had to explain, excuse, explode… but there were facts hard to ignore: shaky form, injuries, pretenses of players, but mostly inevitable aging and sometimes lack of worthy replacements. Argentina often used long and early training camps and 1990 was no exception: Billardo settled camp in Italy early, which kind of kept the flock of increasingly hostile journalists at bay, but it was only a group of 9 players. ‘It is not easy to train free-kicks when the one who should kick the ball in in Madrid and and the receiver of the high ball is in Nantes’, was the tone of Billardo. Eventually, one by one, the players ended their club championship and gathered together. Maradona even lost wait, which particularly pleased Billardo – it was a positive sign. The biggest troublemakers were shaved off (Valdano, Diaz), others seemed pacified, the team was getting into shape and started scoring goals. No matter what troubles Argentina presented, it was big favourite – it was reigning champion, the magic of Maradona and Billardo had a strong spell on everybody, thus, the group favourite.
Soviet Union
Sitting from left: M. Nassibov – masseur, A. Zavarov, V. Ratz, S. Myshalov – doctor, N. Simonyan – team chief, V. Lobanovsky – coach, Yu. Morozov – assistant coach, I. Yaremchuk, I. Dobrovolsky, V. Lyuty, V. Bessonov. Second row: O. Sokolov – masseur, R. Dassaev, S. Gorlukovich, I. Shalimov, O. Kuznetzov, V. Chanov, A. Zygmantovich, A. Borodyuk, V. Broshin. Top row: A. Uvarov, V. Khidiatullin, S. Aleynikov, O. Protassov, A. Tzveyba, G. Litovchenko, A. Demyanenko, S. Fokin.
Head coach: Valeriy Lobanovskyi
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Rinat Dasayev (c)
13 June 1957 (aged 32)
90
Sevilla
2
DF
Volodymyr Bezsonov
5 March 1958 (aged 32)
77
Dynamo Kyiv
3
DF
Vagiz Khidiyatullin
3 March 1959 (aged 31)
55
Toulouse
4
DF
Oleh Kuznetsov
22 March 1963 (aged 27)
49
Dynamo Kyiv
5
DF
Anatoliy Demyanenko
19 February 1959 (aged 31)
79
Dynamo Kyiv
6
MF
Vasyl Rats
25 April 1961 (aged 29)
46
Dynamo Kyiv
7
MF
Sergei Aleinikov
7 November 1961 (aged 28)
61
Juventus
8
MF
Gennadiy Lytovchenko
11 September 1963 (aged 26)
54
Dynamo Kyiv
9
MF
Oleksandr Zavarov
20 April 1961 (aged 29)
38
Juventus
10
FW
Oleh Protasov
4 February 1964 (aged 26)
60
Dynamo Kyiv
11
FW
Igor Dobrovolski
27 August 1967 (aged 22)
13
Dynamo Moscow
12
MF
Aleksandr Borodyuk
30 November 1962 (aged 27)
5
Schalke 04
13
DF
Akhrik Tsveiba
10 September 1966 (aged 23)
3
Dynamo Kyiv
14
FW
Volodymyr Lyutyi
24 April 1962 (aged 28)
2
Schalke 04
15
MF
Ivan Yaremchuk
19 March 1962 (aged 28)
16
Dynamo Kyiv
16
GK
Viktor Chanov
21 July 1959 (aged 30)
21
Dynamo Kyiv
17
MF
Andrei Zygmantovich
2 December 1962 (aged 27)
34
Dynamo Minsk
18
MF
Igor Shalimov
2 February 1969 (aged 21)
0
Spartak Moscow
19
DF
Sergei Fokin
26 July 1961 (aged 28)
3
CSKA Moscow
20
DF
Sergei Gorlukovich
18 November 1961 (aged 28)
15
Borussia Dortmund
21
MF
Valeri Broshin
19 October 1962 (aged 27)
2
CSKA Moscow
22
GK
Aleksandr Uvarov
13 January 1960 (aged 30)
1
Dynamo Moscow
Expected to finish second in the group and go ahead quite far. For many it was the best Soviet team ever, a formidable squad which could even reach the World Cup final. Such a view was based on the promising performance of team USSR during the 1980s, crowned with silver medals at the 1988 European championship and Olympic gold in the same year. By now not only Lobanovksy was a big name, but a big number of his players – and because of that deeper look was somewhat ignored: the whole political situation in the USSR, the aging of most key players, the lure of playing abroad, the difficulties of adjustment to playing abroad, the peculiarities of Lobanovsky’s approach. The injury of Mikhailichenko was a big blow to the team – and after the World Cup seen as the biggest cause for the lame performance – but it was not as simple as that. To say this was the strongest team of USSR means only to follow familiar names – all of the stars were at hand (without the relative newcomer Mikhailichenko, of course), but those were regulars for about 10 years now and aging quite dangerously. Demyanenko and Bessonov were not only over 30 now, but they accumulated so many injuries that were no longer the same dependable players, if capable to play at all. The key foreign-based stars had troubles of adjusting to their professional life in foreign lands (Dassaev, Zavarov) and lost form and concentration. Those still playing at home had foreign transfers on their minds, so their concentration was also shaky. Lobanovsky always played Dynamo (Kiev) as a base for the national team, so later accusations that he changed his approach to the peril of the team were wrong: there were 10 current and former Dynamo players in the squad. Add to them those, who Lobanovsky used for years already – Dassaev, Khidiatullin, Aleynikov, Zygmantovich, Gorlukovich – and the old concept was at work: Lobanovsky treated the national team as a club team – same players, with few additions and adjustment as time goes by. His usual dislike for wider range of players and ignoring whenever possible a selection based on Spartak (Moscow) was both easier and more difficult to avoid criticism this time: easier, because the Baltic republics and Georgia already left the Soviet football, so nobody could blame the coach for leaving out of the team players from these regions. More difficult, because the usual core of players was not very big and the additions were quite questionable, looking like hastily included only to make the numbers (Uvarov, Broshin, Fokin), yet, some promising players were ignored (Salenko, from Lobanovsky’s own Dynamo Kiev). And on top of everything was the new unknown situation Lobanovsky found himself – in the past the dictatorial coach had no problems: in the Soviet reality domestic championship would be stopped or rescheduled, so the national team will have the training camp Lobanovsky wanted. Neither players, no clubs could refuse his orders, even if clubs had to use replacements in important games because their stars were training with Lobanovsky. Now, suddenly, one had to negotiate with foreign professional clubs when wanting players for the national team and these clubs could refuse to release their players or make them available only in the last minute – it was entirely unknown reality and Lobanovsky was not prepared for it. It could be said that this was one of the biggest reasons for the teams problems: Lobanovsky was unable to imagine that Dassaev and Zavarov could be out of form and look for other options – he based his team on them and that was that, even when annoyed that he can’t train the team with them. What happened later only uncovered how problematic, if not entirely wrong, was this team, but before the start of the World Cup it was though a formidable team, surely the second finisher in the group. As it turned out, this was the last time team USSR appeared at the World Cup – but that was entirely unknown and unthinkable early in 1990.
Romania
Head coach: Emerich Jenei
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Silviu Lung (c)
9 September 1956 (aged 33)
65
Steaua București
2
DF
Mircea Rednic
9 April 1962 (aged 28)
74
Dinamo București
3
DF
Michael Klein
10 October 1959 (aged 30)
78
Dinamo București
4
DF
Ioan Andone
15 March 1960 (aged 30)
49
Dinamo București
5
MF
Iosif Rotariu
27 September 1962 (aged 27)
11
Steaua București
6
DF
Gheorghe Popescu
9 October 1967 (aged 22)
18
Universitatea Craiova
7
FW
Marius Lăcătuș
5 April 1964 (aged 26)
38
Steaua București
8
MF
Ioan Sabău
12 February 1968 (aged 22)
21
Dinamo București
9
FW
Rodion Cămătaru
22 June 1958 (aged 31)
74
Charleroi
10
MF
Gheorghe Hagi
5 February 1965 (aged 25)
59
Steaua București
11
MF
Dănuț Lupu
27 February 1967 (aged 23)
7
Dinamo București
12
GK
Bogdan Stelea
5 December 1967 (aged 22)
3
Dinamo București
13
DF
Adrian Popescu
26 June 1960 (aged 29)
1
Universitatea Craiova
14
FW
Florin Răducioiu
17 March 1970 (aged 20)
3
Dinamo București
15
MF
Dorin Mateuț
5 August 1965 (aged 24)
45
Dinamo București
16
MF
Daniel Timofte
1 October 1967 (aged 22)
4
Dinamo București
17
FW
Ilie Dumitrescu
6 January 1969 (aged 21)
9
Steaua București
18
FW
Gabi Balint
3 January 1963 (aged 27)
24
Steaua București
19
DF
Emil Săndoi
1 March 1965 (aged 25)
8
Universitatea Craiova
20
MF
Zsolt Muzsnay
20 August 1965 (aged 24)
6
Steaua București
21
MF
Ioan Lupescu
9 December 1968 (aged 21)
4
Dinamo București
22
GK
Gheorghe Liliac
22 April 1959 (aged 31)
2
Petrolul Ploiești
Talented coach and players, but relatively unknown yet. Romania did not play at World Cup finals after 1970, and such absences usually relegated teams bellow those who played at them in recent years. Thus, Romania was expected to finish third and go ahead only with luck. The only real problem was the absence of the very strong central defender Belodedici, but nothing could be done about it – he defected to Yugoslavia and for that was sentenced to jail: to include him in the tam meant huge trouble not only for the player. Political problems aside, team Romania was strong and well balanced and Hagi was already a big star.
Cameroon
Head coach: Valeri Nepomniachi
No.
Pos.
Player
Date of birth (age)
Caps
Club
1
GK
Joseph-Antoine Bell
8 October 1954 (aged 35)
N/A
Bordeaux
2
DF
André Kana-Biyik
1 September 1965 (aged 24)
41
Metz
3
MF
Jules Onana
12 June 1964 (aged 25)
6
Canon Yaoundé
4
DF
Benjamin Massing
20 June 1962 (aged 27)
N/A
Créteil
5
DF
Bertin Ebwellé
11 September 1962 (aged 27)
16
Tonnerre Yaoundé
6
DF
Emmanuel Kundé
15 July 1956 (aged 33)
82
Prévoyance Yaoundé
7
FW
François Omam-Biyik
21 May 1966 (aged 24)
34
Stade Lavallois
8
MF
Émile Mbouh
30 May 1966 (aged 24)
38
Le Havre
9
FW
Roger Milla
20 May 1952 (aged 38)
56
JS Saint-Pierroise
10
MF
Louis-Paul M’Fédé
26 February 1961 (aged 29)
40
Canon Yaoundé
11
FW
Eugène Ekéké
30 May 1960 (aged 30)
N/A
Valenciennes
12
DF
Alphonse Yombi
30 June 1969 (aged 20)
N/A
Canon Yaoundé
13
DF
Jean-Claude Pagal
15 September 1964 (aged 25)
N/A
La Roche Vendée
14
DF
Stephen Tataw (c)
31 March 1963 (aged 27)
29
Tonnerre Yaoundé
15
MF
Thomas Libiih
17 November 1967 (aged 22)
N/A
Tonnerre Yaoundé
16
GK
Thomas N’Kono
20 July 1956 (aged 33)
57
Espanyol
17
DF
Victor N’Dip
20 August 1967 (aged 22)
16
Canon Yaoundé
18
FW
Bonaventure Djonkep
20 August 1961 (aged 28)
49
Union Douala
19
MF
Roger Feutmba
31 October 1968 (aged 21)
N/A
Union Douala
20
MF
Cyrille Makanaky
28 June 1965 (aged 24)
N/A
Toulon
21
MF
Emmanuel Maboang
27 November 1968 (aged 21)
N/A
Canon Yaoundé
22
GK
Jacques Songo’o
17 March 1964 (aged 26)
38
Toulon
Cameroon was the group outsider – yes, how they played in Spain was well remembered, but that was 8 years ago and the current team compared to the old one was found lacking a lot. It had experience – 10 professionals in France and Spain – but almost all of them played for small clubs. Roger Milla was pretty much the point showing Cameroonian troubles: the inclusion of 38-years old player, who already retired and did not play any kind of organized football, was both exotic and desperate – largely, it meant lack of enough talent in the country. And that was the prime reason for his invitation to the team, no secret at all. Various political maneuvers were also at play, including the old and uncomfortable rivalry and mutual dislike of each other between the great goalkeepers N’Kono and Bell. That aggravated by a third very good goalkeeper – Songo’o. Difficult to defuse tensions, for the keepers had their own supporters in and around the team and it much more than personal rivalries. Milla was also difficult to deal with. The team was quite unbalanced – too many keepers, but not enough good players at other positions, and it was very difficult just to keep the team from falling apart and exploding into internal fights. Thus, it looked like Cameroon had no chance at all in this group.