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FREE KICK - The´Footy´News
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SOMOS LOS CAMPEONES |
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Yes – WE
ARE THE CHAMPIONS. Our adopted country of Spain were
convincing winners of Euro 2008. As I stated in my last
article, my loyalties were lying with Spain and as the
tournament progressed, the more I enjoyed their wonderful
football. The only game in which they did not really shine
was their final group game when they had already qualified.
Manager Aragones made eight changes but they still managed to
defeat defending champions Greece with a late goal from Guiza,
the top scorer in La Liga last season.
In the
Quarter Finals they faced the Italians who played with such
negative tactics that frustrated the Spaniards and millions of
TV viewers. One kept expecting the Azzuri to break away and
score from a set piece, such was the strength of Toni at
centre forward. Although they did have some chances from such
scenarios, the combined efforts of Sergio Ramos, Puyol and
Marchena managed to snuff out the danger. The game eventually
went to penalties and luckily for followers of real football,
Cesc Fabregas scored the winning penalty after some heroic
goalkeeping from skipper Iker Casillas.
On to the
semi-finals to face the vastly improved Russians who Spain had
already beaten 4-1 in the opening game. Since that match the
Russian side had played some great football, especially in the
quarter final defeat of the super Dutch side. Ironically
Russia were being coached by former Dutch coach Gus Hudinck.
The Soviet side never quite got their act together in the semi
and goals from Xavi, Guiza and Silva eased la selección into
the final to face the eternal tournament threat, Germany. As
on many other occasions, the men from the “Vaterland” improved
as the tournament progressed and were, as ever, very hard to
beat. In the first 20 minutes it looked very much as though
Michael Ballack´s troops could overrun the Spaniards. However,
Spain thereafter started to take control, playing some
wonderfully controlled football. The outstanding Fernando
Torres eventually broke the deadlock when he latched on to a
wonderful through pass from Xavi, brushed aside Lahm and then
lifted the ball over the out-rushing Lehmann, into the net.
At that moment the whole of Spain shook with the loud cheering
and dancing. My wife and I were in the cinema in Alhama
watching the match with another three hundred fans and the
atmosphere was electric. After the goal Spain continued to
play some great football, outplaying the increasingly
despondent Germans.
At the
final whistle, the cinema disgorged a mass of hysterical
football fans onto the streets of Alhama to join others in the
bars and cafés to watch the eventual trophy presentation. We
celebrated in a bar in the middle of the town, watching an
endless stream of cars, scooters and motorbikes circling the
town centre. The singing, chanting and flag waving cacophony
went on until the early hours of the following morning.
Scenes such as these were taking place throughout the country
and oh how the Spanish can party. Absolutely wonderful!
From the
point of view of a lover of good football, Spain were the team
most deserving of the title Campeones. My final viewing from
this super tournament was watching on TV the Spanish squad´s
homecoming to Madrid. The scenes were quite spectacular and
the players were in an unbelievably happy state, as was their
sometimes rather gruff and much berated Luis Aragones. Well
done sir.
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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COME ON, UP YOU.....?? |
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I am
writing this article at the conclusion of the second round of
matches in Euro 2008. So far I have managed to watch
every match, thanks to my understanding and football
appreciating wife. Most of the games I have enjoyed very much,
with some really good open games. In virtually all the
matches I have been pretty relaxed as I have no great
attachment to any of the teams, there being no home countries
in the tournament. I wonder which countries other Brits will
support? Having a typical perverse Scottish attitude to
football tournaments, I support anyone who is playing England.
I get the feeling that many of my English friends, including
my Editor, are happy to see anyone beat Germany! How do you
decide who to “support” when there are no British clubs
involved? For some it may well be the country with players
from their favourite teams at “home” in the U.K. If that is
the case there will have been plenty of interest in the games
as there are/were no less than 43 players from the Premiership
in the tournament, plus 4 from the Scottish Premier League.
It is interesting to note that the 13th
match between Italy and Romania was the first in Euro 2008 in
which a Premiership player was not involved. However, for
some club supporters there could be a real dilemma as a number
of them had players playing with a variety of countries.
Take
Arsenal for instance; they had seven players representing six
different countries :- Johan Djourou and Phillipe Senderos (Switzerland),
Jens Lehrman (Germany), Cesc Fabgregas (Spain), Lukasz
Fabianski (Poland), Robin van Persie (Netherlands) and William
Gallas (France). Aston Villa fans could lend their support to
either Netherlands or Sweden with Wilfred Bouma and Oloff
Mellberg, carrying these respective colours. The “blue” side
of Manchester would also be torn between Fernandes (Switzerland),
Corluka (Croatia) and Isaksson (Sweden). Likewise, Pompey had
their trio of Milan Baros (Czech Republic), Niko Kranjcar (Croatia)
and Lassana Diarra (France). Wiganites would be forced to
choose between Mario Melchiol (Netherlands) or Andreas
Granquists (Sweden). The same choice would be made by ´Boro
fans as their Riverside heroes Tuncay Sanlo and Emanuel
Pogatez were turning out for Turkey and Austria respectively.
However, the choice for Liverpool fans was a fait bit easier
with four of their five representatives included in the
exciting Spanish squad – Pepe Reina, Alvaro Arbeloa, Xabi
Alonso and golden boy “El Niño” Fernando Torres. The fifth was
Netherlands´Dirk Kuyt.
The “Red
Devils” of Manchester United have four of their stars on show,
but have to choose from Portugal ,Cristiano Ronaldo and Nani,
Netherlands’ Edwin van de Sar or the frenchman Patrice Evra.
However, the doubts being raised about Ronaldo´s future as a
Red might put them off the Portuguese. The Stamford Bridge
aficionados, not surprisingly, have the largest number of
players on show, with possible attachments to four countries.
The scrum-capped ‘keeper Petr Cech is the Czech Republic
number one, France have Nicolas Anelka, Claude Makelele and
Florent Malouda. There is also the sole German, Michael
Ballack, but they are never the favourites of the English.
However, it is Portugal with Ferreira, Bosingwa and Carvahlo
in their line up which may persuade Pensioner fans to give
them their support. This may be more the case as the
tournament goes on with Phil Scolares being unveiled as the
new supremo and the news that Deco will also be there next
season. Scottish fans could also support, or otherwise,
Poland, Greece or Romania. Celtic have Poland´s outstanding
‘keeper Artur Boric, and the Greek Samaras, although given my
previously mentioned perverse views on such matters and given
my loyalties lie with the Blue side of Glasgow, neither of
these two nations would get my support. Romania´s claim for
Scottish support rests on the shoulders of Marius Nicolae of
the mighty Inverness Caledonia Thistle! It would be remiss of
me not to record the other Premiership players who are
strutting their stuff at Euro 2008. Bolton Wanderers have
Stelios Grannakopoulis – no wonder he wears only his first
name on his jersey! Birmingham City fans can cheer on Sweden
with Sebastian Larsson in their ranks. Reading have Marek
Mestejousky turning out for the Czech Republic, whilst
Southampton have their Marek - Sagenowski wearing the Polish
colours. Blackburn Rovers´ fans will be delighted by the
performance of their Andre Ooijer in the Netherlands´ defence.
Freddie Ljunberg might have some support from both Arsenal and
West Ham for the Swedes. It is questionable whether the
Geordies will be too keen to support a Turkish team containing
the departed Emre! Of course English fans could also cheer on
Turkey with their English born and ex Sheffield United player
Kazim Kazim, whilst the good people of Ashton-under-Lyne
surely support the Italians with their own Simone Perrotta in
the Azzuri midfield.
My own
support goes to my adopted country of España with also a
degree of support for the Netherlands for both their wonderful
football and past links with Rangers.
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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RANGERS EUROPEAN FINALS |
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I am writing this article in a state of excitement and
disbelief. My elder son has just been on the telephone
from Scotland telling me he could get me a ticket for the UEFA
Cup Final for £250.00! Now, I have never paid anything like
that for a match ticket, nor did I ever think I would.
However with the game only three days away, two days before my
66th
birthday, it seemed a good idea. My ever understanding wife
checked out flight details and found I could get an early
morning flight to Edinburgh on the day of the match. Both my
sons live within easy reach of the airport, so we can join up
there and head for Manchester. So here comes some self-indulgence
in writing about my team.
This will
be Rangers´ fourth appearance in a European final, the
previous three being in the now defunct European Cup Winner´s
Cup. Our first venture was in the inaugural tournament when
we defeated Ferncvaros (Hungary) 5-4 and Borussia München
Gladbach (Germany) 11-0.
In the
semi final we faced Wolverhampton Wanderers, who were still a
top club in English Football. The first leg at Ibrox saw
Rangers win 2-0 with goals from Alex Scott, later to play with
Everton, and Ralph Broad who had a spells with both Sunderland
and Manchester City. In the second leg, over 30,000 Bluenoses
headed to Molineaux, to see their side hold the Old Golds to a
1-1 draw. Alex Scott, playing centre instead of his usual
right wing position, scored Rangers´goal and Peter Broadbent
equalised for Wolves.
In the
two legged final Rangers met Fiorentina, but lost their home
leg 0-2 and the away game 1-2. In the final leg Rangers had
been awarded a penalty when 1-0 down, but Eric Caldow missed
after a long delay by protesting Italians. Not only were the
players crowding around the referee, so were two of the
Italian coaches on the field. As Caldow was taking the kick,
the Fiorentina goalkeeper was about three yards off his goal
line.
Season
1996-97 saw two Glasgow clubs in the European finals; that
team from the East end of the city won the European Cup. The
following week Rangers faced Bayern Munich in Nurenberg. On
the way to the final, the Teddy Bears defeated Glentoran (Northern
Ireland) 5-1, Borussia Dortmund (Germany) 2-1; Real Zaragoza (Spain)
2-2 (Rangers won on the toss of a coin); Slavia Sofia
(Bulgaria) 2-0
In
Nuremberg for the final, Manager Scot Symon persisted in
playing reserve right back Roger Hynd at centre forward. This
giant of the man was a nephew of Bill Shankly and was a whole
hearted player and did manage to score in the last league
match of the season against Celtic. The Cup Final was only
his third game in that position. The gamble did not pay off
as Bayern Munich got the only goal in the 19th
minute of extra time.
The
1971-72 season again saw Rangers competing in the Cup Winner´s
Cup and again they progressed to the final by the following
route: Rennes (France) 2-1; Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) 6-6
(won on away goal); Torino (Italy) 2-1. In the semi final,
Bayern Munich again stood in Rangers´way but on this occasion
they were overcome. A superb draw (1-1) in Munich followed by
a brilliant 2-0 victory at Ibrox with goals from Sandy Jardine
and Derek Parlane booked the ´Gers their place in Barcelona to
face Moscow Dynamo. On a brilliant night for the club, two
goals from Willie Johnstone and one from Colin Stein took the
Cup to Glasgow.
This
season´s road to the final has been amazing, qualifying for
the UEFA Cup by virtue of their third place in their Champion
League´s group, has seen them conquering the following clubs:
- Panathinaikos (Greece) 1-1 (Rangers win on away goal);
Werder Bremen (Germany) 2-1; Sporting Lisbon (Portugal) 2-0;
and Fiorentina (Italy) 0-0 (Rangers won 4-2 on penalties in
Florence)
Am I
excited at the prospect heading to see the final, instead of
watching on T.V? Well at 3am on Tuesday morning my wife found
me searching in a sports bag stored under the bed, to find my
1972 Rangers replica shirt! By the time you read this the
game will be long over, but win or lose, I am going to enjoy
the occasion with my two sons. “Follow, follow, we will follow
Rangers.”
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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ENGLANDS CENTURIONS |
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When
Fabio Cappello awarded David Beckham his 100th
cap for England for the game with France in Paris on 26
March, the former Manchester United player joined a select few
who had gained a century of caps for England. The first to
reach the century was Billy Wright of Wolverhampton Wanderers,
who played for England from 1946 through to 1959. The golden
haired wing half/centre half gained a total of 105 caps,
captaining his country on ninety occasions. He made his debut
for Wolves as a 15 year old and took over the captaincy of the
club when only 22 years old. With Wolves he won three League
Championships and one F.A. Cup medal. He was the backbone of
the club side in the early days of floodlit friendlies against
the top continental clubs, Honved, Spartak Moscow etc. I was
fortunate enough to see this golden boy on one occasion when
England came to Hampden Park in 1954 to beat Scotland 4-2.
This was my first international match and Billy Wright was
still in his prime as an excellent wing half. It is
interesting to note that he was never cautioned or sent off
during his long career. His England career started in January
1946 in a 2-1 victory over Belgium and concluded in June 1959
in the U.S.A with an 8-3 victory – his 105th
appearance. During his England career he played in 70
consecutive internationals. Bobby Charlton of Manchester
United notched up 106 caps between 1958 and 1970, scoring 49
goals in the process – the highest ever England marksman.
Bobby won his first England cap against Scotland at Wembley on
19 April 1958 and scored in his side’s 4-0 victory. His final
game for England was in May 1970 against Colombia in a
friendly, won 4-0. Along with his brother Jack, he collected
a World Cup winner´s medal in 1966 and a year later he won the
elusive European Cup with his club. He also collected
winner´s medals in the F.C. Cup and the Football League (3).
The late
great Bobby Moore amassed a total of 108 caps between 1962 and
1973. Having joined West Ham as a 15 year old, he developed
through their youth ranks, making his first team debut at 17
as a replacement for his mentor Malcolm Allison. Bobby made
his England debut at 21 in a 4-1 victory in Peru. He stepped
up to the captain´s role a year later in the absence of Jimmy
Ainfield, then took over the arm band for good in 1964. Like
Bobby Charlton he won a World Cup medal in 1966. As captain
of England he was an inspiration to all his team mates and he
really was the golden boy of English football. The vast
majority of his playing career was with the Hammers who he led
to Wembley victory in the 1964 F.A. Cup, 1965 European Cup
Winner´s Cup. After playing for West Ham in 544 games he
moved to Fulham and guided them to the F.A. Cup final in 1975
..... against West Ham! The Hammers did their old skipper no
favours, winning 2-0. Bobby´s final cap came against Italy
in November 1973 when England lost by the only goal of the
game. In 1991 Bobby was operated on for cancer of the colon,
then on 24 February 1993 he tragically died of bowel cancer at
the age of 51. A statue of Bobby Moore has been built at
Wembley to commemorate the immense contribution he made to
football in England and the world. Peter Shilton is the all
time record holder for English caps, having represented his
country on 125 occasions between 1970 and 1990. Although this
is an amazing record, it could have been even greater. During
the latter part of his career he shared goalkeeping in England
teams with Ray Clemence who gained 61 caps. At club level he
made a total of 1005 appearances between 1966 and 1997, having
made his debut for Leicester City, his home town, at the age
of 16. The number one keeper of City was Gordon Banks, who
was England´s World Cup winning custodian, but he lost his
City place to Shilton the following year and he moved to Stoke
City. Shilton made his England debut in November 1970 in a
3-1 victory over East Germany and gained his final cap in a
2-1 defeat by Italy in the play off for 3rd
place in the 1980 World Cup. His club record is well worth
recording: Leicester City (280), Stoke City (110), Nottingham
Forest (202), Southampton (188), Derby County (175), Plymouth
Argyle (34) Bolton Wanderers (1), Leyton Orient (1). His
honours at club level were one League Championship, two League
Cup wins and two European Cup winners medals.
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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MORE CUP MAGIC |
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Readers may recall my article in the December 07 issue of
the NWMG commenting on the F.A. Cup and relating some of the
facts from ‘Motson’s F.A. Cup Odyssey’. Well, following this
year’s Quarter Final results there may be a need for a follow-up
volume!
Rarely
have the F.A. Cup semi-finals been so open with any of the
four participating clubs quite capable of lifting this Holy
Grail of English football at Wembley in May. As you read this,
the finalists will be known, but as I write this the teams
have only just won their way through to the semi-finals. Both
of these games are to be played at Wembley, the first occasion
this has happened, and this has caused some controversy. Many
traditionalists feel that this somewhat detracts from the
ambition of playing the final at Wembley. I know that in
Scotland it has been normal practice for both Scottish Cup
semi finals to be played at Hampden Park, Scotland’s national
stadium. However, in England the visit to Wembley for the F.A.
Cup final has always been seen as the pinnacle of a player’s
career.
Some
interesting facts arise regarding this year’s semi finalists:-
It is 100
years since three clubs from outside the top flight reached
this stage of the competition – Wolverhampton Wanderers,
Southampton and Fulham (Newcastle United were the other team
and they lost 3-1 to Wolves in the final
No matter
who wins the cup, they will be the first club outwith the Big
Four (Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea) to
win it since Everton in 1995.
Either
Barnsley or Cardiff are certain to be the first club outwith
the top league to reach the final since Millwall in 1994.
If
Portsmouth fail to win the cup it will be the first time since
1980 (West Ham beat Arsenal) that a team from a lower division
has won it Barnsley and Cardiff City have reached the semis
for the first time since their sole cup winning success . 1912
and 1927 respectively
If
Cardiff City win the cup they will not be allowed to take
their place in the UEFA Cup for being a Welsh Club, and Wales
having their own national association – they cannot represent
England
So –
prediction time! Who do I fancy to lift the Cup at Wembley in
May? Going by F.A: Cup history, the odds are firmly on West
Bromwich Albion. The Baggies have won the cup on five
occasions, the most recent being 1968 (my God – that’s 40
years ago!) The other three clubs have each won it on one
occasion. This season’s results in relation to goals scored
and conceded also favours the Baggies who have netted 16 and
conceded 4, giving them a +12 goals difference. The Bluebirds
from Wales have a +7, with Pompey and Barnsley on +4.
However,
one has to look at current form and the standard of teams
beaten on the road to Wembley. On this thread West Brom are
the weakest, having not yet played a team from the Premier
League. Cardiff and Pompey have both beaten one top league
side – Middlesborough and Manchester United respectively. The
Tykes have dumped two of the “Big Four” – Liverpool and
Chelsea, and on both occasions won on merit. Having avoided
Portsmouth in the semis, I think I will tip Barnsley to go all
the way and lift the cup. What a happy day that would be for
both Dicky Bird, former cricket umpire, and chat show star
Michael Parkinson – two of the most celebrated Tykes fans.
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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A SLEEPING GIANT |
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The
above title is an oft ill used term for once big, successful
clubs or potentially so, that have not reached that
potential or have fallen on hard times. Quite often the clubs
in question had their glory years in the late 19th or early
20th centuries. Huddersfield Town, three times League
champions under Herbert Chapman, and Preston North End, twice
League champions in the early days, almost invincible, “Proud
Preston” are now not quite so invincible. Both of these clubs
are good examples of great clubs now run of the mill. Aston
Villa and Everton are in another category, as they have both
had revivals over the years, and indeed, have also had some
success in European tournaments. Once again they are looking
to bright futures with Martin O’Neill and David Moyes, their
respective young, eager managers. Leeds United are a more
recently successful club who have gone into the sleeping giant
mode, if not indeed terminally ill!!
However,
in my opinion, the real “Sleeping Giants” of English football
are Newcastle United (sorry! Sunderland Makems!). Given that
their major triumphs in League and Cup were in the early and
mid 20th century, their huge support continues to gather at St
James’ Park. They really do amaze me, their blind faith,
loyalty and hunger for success really does deserve to be
rewarded.
The
return of Kevin Keegan as manager may just be the key to their
real awakening. Apart from their 1969 success in the Inter
Cities Fair Cup, when, in my opinion, they were very lucky to
beat Rangers in the two leg semi-final, they have been trophy-less
since 1955. However, during Kevin Keegan’s first time in the
manager’s chair between February 1992 and January 1997, the
team he had built and nurtured was taken over by Kenny
Dalglish. This transition was as smooth as when Kenny
replaced Kevin at Liverpool on the latter’s departure for SV
Hamburg. The reason for Kevin resigning his post at Newcastle
was never really explained, although there was obviously great
pressure in the job. This was best evidenced when he exploded
during a television interview towards the end of the previous
season after Newcastle had frittered away a commanding lead in
the League to Manchester United. The Reds boss was at his
psychological baiting best, which must have got to Keegan.
No doubt
Kevin Keegan will have matured even more now and will have
“the bottle” for the job in hand. However, what a manager
really needs is time – something they rarely get these days.
It is very interesting to note that the managers with the best
“wins percentage” during their time managing Newcastle United
since the 1970´s with a 54.98% and 46.36% rate respectively,
are Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson. Both had approximately
five years in the post! Arthur Cox was in charge for three
and a half years with a 44.97% win rate and is now Kevin
Keegan´s second in command. For the knowledgeable Geordies
reading this, I must point out that the best % rate of wins is
held by Jack Carter who had an unbeatable 100%. John was in
charge for three days between the reign of Sir Bobby Robson
and Graham Souness. Played one, won one! Having already
mentioned the great support for their team, given some
promising signs, they will give Kevin Keegan time and show him
the patience to finally bring back the glory days to St.
James´ Park.
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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MY FOOTBALL CLUB |
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Readers may recall my article in the October 2006 edition
of NWMG bemoaning the take over of many English clubs by
foreign owners with little or no interest in the game itself.
I also lamented the fact that so many clubs were moving
further and further away from the ordinary fans. A number of
clubs have recently been bucking that trend by forming
Supporters Trusts, allowing fans’ voices to be heard in Board
Rooms, although the fans still do not own their clubs.
I am
delighted to bring you the news of a really great initiative
in which the fans really do own their club! My Football Club
was launched on 26 April 2007 with the aim of attracting at
least 50,000 members who were prepared to put up £35 each,
which would go towards buying an existing football club. All
subscribers would be joint owners of the club with a say in
team selection, transfers, development, etc. Once the target
figure of 50,000 was reached, members would be asked to pay up
their £35. Within two days of the launch 250 had registered.
On 1 May the BBC website carried a story about the project and
within ninety minutes, registration reached 1200. By 20 May
the halfway point of 25,000 had been reached and by the end of
July, 50,051 had committed themselves to the idea.
Those who
had registered and paid up were asked to vote on which club
they wanted to buy, and at the beginning of August the top
five on the “wish list” were 1. Leeds United, 2. Nottingham
Forest, 3. Cambridge United, 4. Accrington Stanley, 5.
Brighton and Hove Albion. Clearly members were looking
towards clubs which had some history and come on hard times.
However, most members felt that it would be best to take over
a club that was not too much in debt. Some also felt it would
be better to take over a lower or non-league club and take
them up through the leagues, like a Wimbledon or Gretna!
Between August and October, nine clubs had approached My
Football Club to discuss the idea. After a great deal of talk
and examination, an agreement in principle to take over
Ebbsfleet United was settled. The club currently play in the
Blue Square Conference, one below the Football League 2.
The club
is based at Stonebridge Road, North Fleet, Kent, and was known
until May 2007 as Gravesend and North Fleet F.C. Originally
two separate clubs, Gravesend United formed in 1893 and North
Fleet, formed in1890, they merged in 1946 and opened their
Stonebridge Road ground. The ground has a capacity of 5,248
with 4,000 of these standing places. There are plans in hand
to build a new ground in the vicinity.
The
club’s main sponsor is Eurostar, which is appropriate as the
new Ebbsfleet International railway station is very near the
ground. At present the journey from Charring Cross takes 55
minutes with a five minute walk to the ground. With the
opening of the new line it will take 15 minutes from St.
Pancras.
Apart
from the existing population in and around Gravesend and North
Fleet, there are plans to build 3,000 new homes and to create
20,000 new jobs in the area with the development of the
International railway station.
At the
time of writing, Ebbsfleet sit in eighth position in the Blue
Square league, just three points away from the play-off
places. There certainly seems to be great potential for the
club. Hopefully full agreement for the take over will be in
place by the time you read this article.
If you
want to join in this great adventure, log onto
www.myfootballclub.co.uk. You may want to drop me an
e-mail and we could consider setting up a Murcia branch of
Ebbsfleet United Supporters Club!
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
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FOOTY NEWS - HOME
INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 1883/84 - 1983/84 |
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Following the failure of all four “Home” countries to qualify
for Euro 2008, there have been calls for the reformation
of the Home International Championships. This tournament
spanned 100 years of British football and was a most important
tournament in the days prior to the World Cup and European
Championships. However, the demands of these two tournaments
saw the demise of the British tournament, when England,
followed by Scotland, intimated that the 1984 tournament
would be their last. Both Wales and Northern Ireland felt
slighted and ironically, Northern Ireland won the final
championship, with Wales second! So let us take a look back
at some of the eventful years of this first International
Tournament. For the purpose of this article, the year
mentioned is the year the tournament was completed, eg 1954-55
would read 1955.
The first
competition was in 1884 and won by Scotland, who also won it
for the next three years as well – on one occasion shared with
England. England’s first title was in 1888, with Wales
winning in 1907 and Ireland taking it in 1914. At this time
the Ireland team was chosen from the whole of the island. The
total victories over the years were - England 54 (including 20
shared); Scotland 41 (including 17 shared); Wales 12 (including
5 shared) and Ireland/Northern Ireland 8 (including 6 shared).
The 1902
tournament is sadly remembered for the “Ibrox Disaster” during
the game with England on April 5th,
when the stands collapsed, resulting in 26 dead and over 500
injured. The game was replayed at Villa Park, Birmingham and
resulted in a 2-2 draw.
In 1928
Wales ran out winners, dropping only one point. England were
going through a bit of a poor run since the end of the Great
War (1914-18), They had only managed to share the title once
in the past eight years, and reached their nadir, losing all
three games. The final nail in their coffin was the Wembley
clash with Scotland, who themselves had just lost to Ireland.
The Scottish team contained only two survivors from the
Ireland game, Dunn of Hibernian at inside right and on the
left wing the Wee Blue Devil, Alan Morton of Rangers. The
unfancied Scots overwhelmed their larger, more robust English
opponents to record a 5-1 victory. The team has ever since
been known as The Wembley Wizards.
1950 saw
the Home tournament being a qualifying group for that year’s
World Cup tournament in Brazil. FIFA allocated the top two
teams a place in the Finals. Prior to the final game at
Hampden v England, the SFA announced that they would only go
to Brazil if they topped the table. A Roy Bentley goal gave
England a 1-0 victory and the Scots stayed at home as they
only finished runners up! This was also the last time that
players from the whole of Ireland were selected by the IFA.
England
won the 1955 championship by hammering Scotland 7-2 at Wembley,
with Denis Wilshaw of Wolves slotting home four goals past the
hapless Aberdeen ‘keeper Fred Martin.
The
following year was overshadowed by the Munich air disaster
which took the lives of eight Manchester United players and
fifteen other people. Three of the dead, Roger Byrne, Tommy
Taylor and Duncan Edwards, had played in the games against
Wales and Northern Ireland, big Duncan scoring in the 2-3
defeat by the Irish at Wembley. Jackie Blanchflower, who was
very badly injured in the crash, was in the Ireland team that
day, probably the highlight of his international career.
Goals
galore were scored in the 1961 championship which England
won: Northern Ireland 2 England 5; Wales 2 Scotland 0;
Scotland 5 Northern Ireland 2 ; England 5 Wales 1; Northern
Ireland 1 Wales 5; England 9 Scotland 3! 1967 saw Scotland
gaining some revenge when they won the title by defeating
England 3-2 at Wembley. This was England’s first defeat since
they had won the World Cup a year earlier. We Scots,
naturally, declared ourselves as World Champions.
The 1981
tournament was declared void as both England and Wales refused
to travel to Belfast due to “the Troubles”, fearing for the
safety of their players, officials and supported. Some said
that this was a great pity as there never had been, indeed
never was, a problem with sporting events.
And so in
1984 the curtain came down on this wonderful tournament after
a century of excitement and drama.
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
|
|
FOOTY NEWS - A ROSE BY ANY
OTHER NAME |
|
It is
Spain Day. It is wet, and as we Scots would say “Gie dreich?”.
I also have to think about a topic for football article I have
to write before the rapidly approaching deadline (and my
editor is very demanding!) I go into my study and look around
my book cases to get some inspiration and come upon the
Football Club history section and spot a very slim volume
entitled “Inverness Citadel”. Although this club is now
defunct, it brings to mind three other senior clubs from that
city or citadel - Thistle, Caledonian (Caley) and
Clachnacuddin. What wonderful names! The first two have now
merged to enter the Scottish League as Inverness Caledonian
Thistle, the longest titled football club in the country.
O.K. we
have an abundance of United, City, Rovers, Albions, Wanderers
etc all usually preceded by the town or area they represent.
However, sometimes there is no real clue as to where clubs
play. For example, in the Scottish League we have St Mirren (Paisley),
St Johnstone (Perth), Hibernian (Edinburgh) and Albion Rovers
(Coatbridge). Then again, some club names give you false
information. Grimsby Town do not actually play there but in
Cleethorpes; Partick Thistle have not played in that area of
Glasgow since 1909, but play in Maryhill district.
Looking
out of my study window, the rain is falling, the sky above the
Sierra Espuña is heavy and the wind is blowing, so my thoughts
turn me back to my native Scotland for comfort. The Scotland
of my youth, when there were coal mines in Ayrshire, Fife, the
Lothians, Lanarkshire and Stirlingshire. There were also
steel works in central Scotland. Both these industries and
areas bred strong men who worked in tough and often dangerous
jobs. Outwith their working hours their brief leisure time
was spent having a pint, racing greyhounds or pigeons and of
course, football. Whether playing, managing or spectating,
many of them formed the powerful Committees that ran Scottish
junior football clubs. This is a class of football which does
not exist in England. The clubs are semi-professional and
have their own leagues and national cup competitions and run
separately from the Scottish Football Association.
In this
grade of football, clubs from the aforementioned areas of
Scotland spawned clubs with names so unlikely for teams
consisting of coal miners and steel workers. One of the best
known names, due to the fact that the legendary Bill Shankly
played for them, was Glenbuck Cherry Pickers. However, there
are other more successful and equally colourful club names in
Scottish Junior Football. Here are some in Alphabetical order
- Arbroath Victoria, Bonnyrigg Rose, Carnoustie Panmuir,
Comrie Colliery (?), Craigmark Bruntonians, Dundee Violet,
Dondonald Bluebell, Hill of Beath Hawthorn, Irvine Meadow,
Kirkintilloch Rob Roy, Lochee Harp, Lochgelly Albert, Montrose
Roselea, Newtongrange Star, Ormiston Primrose, Royal Albert,
Rutherglen Clencairn, Shotts Bon Accord. Other clubs that I
recall from my refereeing days include St Monance Swifts,
Loanhead Mayflower, Easthouse Lilly, Boglilly Bluebell,
Benwwhat Heatherbell and Bridgeton Waverley.
Funnily
enough, whilst I love the names of long existing clubs, being
a traditionalist, I hope the recent practice of re-naming
rugby clubs, especially Rugby League clubs, does not happen in
football. Can you imagine Manchester Red Devils, Black
Country Wolves, Hull Tigers, Coventry Godivas, etc? How could
I have been so boring to have called the club I founded as a
14-year-old Park United!
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk
|
|
KEEPING TO THE LETTER OF THE
LAW |
|
With
the new football season only weeks old, decisions, or more
correctly, non-decisions by referees already have my blood
pressure soaring. I am not, however, solely blaming the
referees, nor indeed the players, but the law makers and those
who are assigned to oversee the referees. OK so maybe I am
getting to be a grumpy old “Victor Meldrew” look-a-like (and,
according to my wife) act-alike! Although it is approaching
40 years since I first passed my referee’s exams, the 17 Laws
of the Game have not really changed much! Indeed, the
Football Association’s website on the Laws of the Game states
“The
original laws have changed only marginally over the years”.
Now we are talking about a period of over 150 years! Apart
from the Laws of the Game, and I stress the word LAWS, there
are also International Board Decisions, which seek to clarify
some aspects of the Laws. There are no references by the
International Board regarding the constant breaking of the
Laws I am going to address. Let us start by examining parts
of the Laws which I consider to be breached on a very regular
basis at every level of football all over Europe and probably
worldwide.
Law 3 - Player’s Equipment
Each goalkeeper wears colours that distinguish him from other
players, the referee and the assistant referees
- well, I
must be colour blind, although I was not so when tested by the
FA or the referees et al. are, or they are failing in their
duty? Over the past few seasons I have seen goalkeepers
wearing tops so close to the colour of their own team or their
opponents, that it is most difficult to distinguish keepers
from outfield players. This is especially so at corner kicks.
At least twice I have seen the keeper asked to change his top
at half-time. Why wait? The Laws allow for the referee to
instruct the keeper to change before the game or at any time
thereafter.
Law 8 - The Start and Restart of Play
Procedure
All players are in their own half of the field
The
ball is in play when kicked forward
Watch for
this the next time you see a game. There will almost
certainly be 2 forwards standing about the centre mark. One
will be correctly in his own half, the other will be standing
in the opponent’s half, facing his own goal. He will be
waiting for his colleague to kick the ball forward to him and
he will in turn pass it back to another team mate. Only one
Law broken here. However, horror of horrors, last week at a
top class game on TV, the forward in the opponent’s half
kicked the ball BACK to start the game! Surely the breaking
of this most basic Law at the start of a match sets the tone
for the remainder of the game.
Law 12 - Fouls and Misconduct
Sending-off offences
When a player……...6. uses offensive or insulting or abusive
language and/or gesture
Is
telling a referee or his assistant to “f… off” or calling them
a “wa..er”, not offensive, insulting or abusive? With close
up TV pictures clearly showing players mouthing such phrases,
even the non-trained lip reader can recognise what has been
said. If for some reason the referee does not, or chooses not
to, hear the offender, surely the beaks who scout video
replays, must take some action. Or on this one am I being old
fashioned and failing to recognise such phrases as “industrial
language?” Come on refs and others, apply the Laws or let the
Law makers change them to suit modern practices, God forbid
the latter!
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk |
|
FOOTBALL FUNNIES |
|
Here are some funny football player anagrams…
Alex
Ferguson / Sex organ fuel
Paul
Merson / Lump on arse
David
Ginola / A livid gonad
Stan
Collymore / Measly control
Peter
Shilton / Enter hot lips
Peter
Beardsley / Beery plastered
George
Best / Go get beers
Fabrizio
Ravanelli / Evil Brazilian afro
And some funny footy quotes…
“What
will you do when you leave football, Jack...will you stay in
football?”
“Both
sides have scored a couple of goals and both sides have
conceded a couple of goals”
“Dumbarton player Steve McCahill has limped off with a badly
cut forehead”
“And
Arsenal now have plenty of time to dictate the last few
seconds”
“What I
said to them at half-time would be unprintable on the radio”
“For
those of you watching in black and white, Spurs are in the all-yellow
strip”
“Nearly
all the Brazilian players are wearing yellow shirts. It’s a
fabulous kaleidoscope of colour”
“Ronaldo
is always very close to being either onside or offside” |
|
TOP CLASS FOOTBALL RETURNS
TO MURCIA |
|
Imagine having great players such as Ronaldinho, Messi,
Raúl, Cannavaro, David Villa, Canizares et al playing less
than half an hour’s drive from your home! Well, that is what
is available to me this coming season with Real Murcia having
gained promotion to La Liga. Their super new stadium, La
Condomina, will host games involving some of the greats of
world football. Real Murcia returns to the top flight after
three seasons in “la Segunda”. When I moved out to Spain in
March 2004, Real were in the top grade and I had hoped to go
and watch them on a regular basis. However, the omens were
not good as one of the only items broken during my household
goods being brought out was the Real Murcia mug that I had
bought on an earlier visit! That, plus the fact that they had
lost too many games, contributed to their relegation at the
end of that season. As regular readers know, I took up
coaching the goalkeepers of my local club de futbol, Alhama,
and have done that for the past three seasons. I have now
hung up my boots, packed away my gloves and put my coaching
manuals back on the shelf, and am now free to go back to
merely watching football. Along with a couple of ex-pat
friends, I have managed to purchase a season ticket for Real
Murcia for the coming season. In preparation for the new
season, I have been doing a wee bit of research into my new
club and I would like to share this with you. The club was
originally formed in 1908 as Murcia FC and played in white
jerseys. They are, in fact, the tenth oldest club currently
in Spanish football. The oldest is Recreative Huelva founded
in 1889.
In 1920,
the club name changed to Levante de Murcia and they donned
apple green shirts. A year later they were back to Murcia FC
adopting their current red shirts, although they then wore
blue shorts. It was not ;until the 1971-72 season that they
adopted the name Real Murcia Club de Futbol and by this time
they were wearing the red shirts with white shorts. Having
entered the national league structure 70 years ago, they have
spend five years in the 3rd division, six in Segunda “B”,
forty nine in Segunda and seventeen seasons in the top
division. In the lower divisions they have often reached the
number one spot but their highest in the top league is
eleventh. If they can achieve that next season, that would be
outstanding. In fact, if they avoid being relegated that
would be a great achievement. It is interesting to note that
the club’s first “manager” was a “Mister Thomson”, suggesting
he most likely was British. Further research on this will be
carried out soon. In recent years, the main British
connection was when John Toshack, the former Cardiff City and
Liverpool centre forward, was manager. His reign was quite
brief and not very successful. The current “entrenador” (head
coach) is Lucas Alcaraz, who led his club to promotion in his
first season with the club. His previous managerial
appointments include Xerex, Racing Santander, Recreativo and
Granada. Up until last season, the club played at La
Condomina, which was close to the town centre and adjacent to
the bullring. Most of the seating there was on concrete steps
and it had a capacity of only 16,000. The Nueva Condomina is a
top class modern stadium, just off the Autovia, and has double
the capacity of the old ground. The demand for season tickets
has been tremendous and my friends and I were lucky to get our
hands on them, even though we had to pay
€500
for them!
The
season starts on Sunday 26 August with a home fixture with
Zaragoza and then on the 16 September, Atletico Madrid are the
visitors to Nuevo Condomina. This gives me a wee problem as
up to now Atletico have been my favoured team in La Liga! On
the ultimate game of the season we could be facing a league
championship decider when FC Barcelona are ‘welcomed’ to
Murcia. You can download the coming season’s fixtures from
www.soccer-spain.com.
This is a very good English language site on Spanish
football. If you can get the chance to see a game, take it -
you will really enjoy the experience. I’m off now to learn
the words of “Corazon Pimiento” the Real Murcia club song!
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk |
|
HEY BIG SPENDER |
|
As I write this article, mid-July, Fernando Torres has
signed for Liverpool for £17 million and other big transfers
are in the offing. Possible Tevez to Manchester United? This
prompted me to examine the history of record transfer fees in
British football and the following are some of the key
milestones.
In 1905 Sunderland paid Middlesboro the sensational sum of
£1,000. Following this transfer, questions were asked in
Parliament about such a vast sum being paid for a footballer.
The next key transfer was in 1928 when Arsenal were building
their first great side. Their target was David Jack of Bolton
Wanderers, an outstanding English internationalist, who had
scored the first ever goal at Wembley Stadium. The Lancashire
club wanted £13,800 - almost double the then current highest
transfer fee. Arsenal eventually captured their man for
£10,890.
Denis Law then featured in three of the nexts transfer
barriers. Joining Huddersfield Town as a 15-year-old, frail-looking,
bespeckled, fair headed schoolboy, he was groomed by the great
Bill Shankly. Having made his mark in the Town’s first team
as a teenager and being capped by Scotland at 18, Denis was
admired by many big clubs. Manchester City won the race for
his signature, paying out £50,000 in 1960. A year later he
was on his way to Italy to Torino for double that fee, a cool
£100,000. Denis was, however, unable to adapt to the strict
regime of the Italian club and he wanted to be back in England;
Manchester United obliged by paying another record fee of
£115,000.
The next transfer landmark was in 1970 when Martin Peters,
World Cup winner with England, moved from West Ham to
Tottenham Hotspur for £200,000. Four years later Everton paid
£300,000 to Birmingham City for the prolific goal scorer Bob
Latchford. Gordon McQueen, the Leeds United and Scotland
centre half, was another big Manchester United buy in 1978
with a fee of £500,000 going to the Yorkshire club. This
transfer really upset Leeds fans as their club were in
competition with the Old Trafford club for the top trophies at
that time.
In 1978 Nottingham Forest, under manager Brian Clough, were
one of the country’s top clubs and they forked out the first
£1,000,000 fee to sign Trevor Francis from Birmingham City.
The manager reckoned that Trevor repaid the fee with his
winning goal in the European Cup Final with Malmo.
Moving into the 90s, Andy Cole’s move from Newcastle United to
Manchester United cost his new club £6 million. The Magpies
themselves set another record when they took their “son” Alan
Shearer back home from Blackburn Rovers for £15 million. At
that time, this was a world record. Few would deny that the
“Toon” got their moneysworth from big hearted Alan. Another
world record - this time for a defender - was set in 2000 when
Rio Ferdinand moved from West Ham United to Leeds United. The
fee of £18 million probably started the rapid decline in the
Yorkshire club’s “fortunes”! A year later that record for a
defender was beaten by (guess who?) Manchester United when
they obtained Juan Sebastian Veron from Lazio for £28 million.
Rio Ferdinand regained his title as the World Record costliest
defender when Alex Fergusson again dipped into the club’s
treasure chest to pay Leeds United £19.1 million.
In 2006 the new money of Roman Abramovicz of Chelsea saw the
Pensioners pay an estimated £32 million to AC Milan for
striker (?) Andriy Shevchenko. Who knows where these crazy
fees will end. It certainly is a world away from when I was
transferred from the Windygates Thistle to Sauchenbush United
for the price of the paperwork 3/6d (17½p) and I had to pay
that myself!
Enjoy your football
Bill Hume, Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk |
|
"RIGHT TO THE WIRE" |
|
What
an exciting finish to La Liga in Spain this season! On
the penultimate matches of the season, with the games almost
over, FC Barcelona looked to be moving into the final game
with a 3 point advantage over Real Madrid. Then Espanyol
equalised to make it 1-1 at Camp Nou. At almost the same
time, Real Madrid snatched a 2-2 draw at Zaragoza. As a
result, the teams moved into the last game separated only by
goal difference - Barca +41 and Real Madrid +24. So to the
final games, Nastic v FC Barcelona and Real Madrid v
Mallorca. Sevilla could also win the championship if they
were to beat Villareal and both Barca and Real lost!
Well, the
final weekend was no less exciting with Barca easily leading
Gimnastic and Real, at home to Mallorca, were a goal down. At
the Bernabeau David Beckham was substituted with Reyes taking
his place. Within a few minutes, the former Arsenal player
had levelled the score. Real then took command and added two
more to finish as Champions, their first title in the Beckham
years. In the meantime, FC Barcelona were making sure that
should Real fail they could capitalise and thrashed Nastic
5-1. So both teams amassed 73 points with Real having a goal
difference of +26 and Barca +44. In both Scotland and England
this would have given Barca the title, but not in Spain. The
fact that The Madrileños had fared better in the games between
the clubs, they were awarded the title. As a football fan and
being an aficionado of Atlético Madrid, I think it is grossly
unfair that a team with such a vastly better goal difference
should be crowned as champions.
Such
close finishes to a league season are great for football
competition, but can be nerve racking for players, coaches and
supporters. The most exciting finishes are when the two top
teams have to face each other in the last game of the season.
Nick Hornby’s “Fever Pitch” recounts one of these games. In
the book, it comes towards the end, but in the film it is the
climax. It all took place on the evening of 26th May 1989
when Liverpool “entertained” Arsenal with the London club
needing a two goal victory to become champions. Arsenal
scored in 46 minutes, but Liverpool were defending well right
up to injury time. Then with 92 minutes on the clock, Arsenal
keeper John Lukic rolled the ball out to Lee Dixon, who passed
it onto Alan Smith, who, with the most delicate of flicks,
sent Michael Thomas through and clear of the Liverpool
defenders. Bruce Grobbelaar made a brave attempt but failed
to prevent Thomas slotting the ball home to give the Gunners
the championship title in the last minute of the last match of
the season.
I also
remember two occasions in Scotland when similar scenarios took
place. In the season 1964-65 Kilmarnock and Heart of
Midlothian were to meet at the latter’s Tynecastle Park in
Edinburgh on Saturday 24th April 1965. as in the earlier
scenario, the visiting team, Kilmarnock, needed to win by two
goals to take the title on goal average, as that was how it
was decided in those distant days. David Sneddon, the former
Preston North End player, put Kilmarnock ahead after 26
minutes. Three minutes later, former Rangers winger Brian
McIlroy popped home Killie’s second. At that point there was
still an hour to play, with Hearts, who had already bagged 90
goals in the season, pressing hard. However, Killie held out
to win their first, and to date, only League Championship.
Their winning margin 0.4 of a goal!
The next
occasion the same situation arose in Scotland, involved my own
team, the Rangers. The season was 1990-91 and Aberdeen, who
only required a draw to take the title, were the visitors at
Ibrox Stadium. Aberdeen were very confident of achieving
their goal of winning the title, having been runner-up to
Rangers the previous two seasons. The Rangers, under the
management of Walter Smith, who had stepped into the job
following the departure of Graham Souness to Liverpool, had
seen his side lose 3-0 to Motherwell the previous Saturday.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was electric and as the
clock ticked towards half time, the Dons fans were still in
full voice. Then the tide turned. Mark Walters, the former
Aston Villa winger, picked the ball up on the Rangers’ left
wing. Although he appeared to be closed down by the two
Aberdeen defenders, he managed to put over a sublime cross.
At the same time big Mark Hately (Atilla) escaped his marker
and threw himself at the ball and headed a glorious goal.
When the teams re-emerged for the second half, the pendulum
had definitely swung towards the home side, despite their
having to re-organise due to injuries to two players. Midway
through the second half a mistake by the Aberdeen defence let
Maurice Johnston through and although Michael Watt in the Dons
goal parried the shot, it fell to Mark Hately who stroked the
ball home. This goal clinched Rangers’ third championship run.
Sorry!!!!......I got carried away re-living that game, much as
Nick Hornby does in Fever Pitch. The only difference was that
I was actually at the game with my two sons, whilst Nick had
to watch his game on TV. When will we see the next “right to
the wire” finish to a league campaign?
Enjoy
your football
Bill Hume,
Alhama de Murcia Tel:
968 431 591
fitbagent@yahoo.co.uk |
|
ALFREDO DE STEFANO |
|
Alfredo
di Stéfano (born July 4 1926 in Buenos Aires) is a former
footballer and coach. He is most associated with Real Madrid,
and with Ferenc Puskás, was instrumental in their domination
of the European Cup of Champions during the 1950s, a period in
which the club won the trophy in five consecutive seasons from
1956. He also played international football for Argentina,
Colombia and Spain. His nickname
Saeta rubia
(blonde arrow) has been inducted into the International
Football Hall of Fame. He was a powerful forward with great
stamina, tactical versatility and vision. He is currently the
3rd highest scorer in the history of Spain’s top division with
228 goals in 329 games. He is also Real Madrid’s highest
league goal scorer of all time, with 216 goals in 282 league
matches between 1953 and 1964.
In
November 2003, to celebrate UEFA’s Jubilee, he was picked as
the Golden Player of Spain by the Royal Spanish Football
Federation as their most outstanding player of the past 50
years. He was named by Pelé as one of the top 125 greatest
living footballers in March 2004. Di Stefano was voted 4th
behind Pelé, Diego, Maradona and Johan Cruijff, in a vote
organised by the French weekly magazine France Football
consulting their former Ballon D’Or winners to elect the
Football Player of the Century.
Born to a
family of Italian immigrants, though with an Irish maternal
grandmother, he began his career at Argentina’s River Plate
aged 17, in 1943. Due to a footballer’s strike in Argentina
in 1949, he went to play for Millonarios of Bogotá in the
Colombian league. He won 6 league titles during the first 12
years of his career in Argentina and Colombia. In 1953, he
signed a deal with FC Barcelona and FIFA authorised the
transfer from River Plate, who still held his registration.
The Spanish Federation (leaned on heavily by the Franco regime),
did not recognise the deal. On May 13, 1953, he arrived in
Spain to sign his contract with Barcelona but during
discussions with the Federation, Real Madrid’s president
Santiago Bernabéu convinced him to sign for them instead.
Real Madrid had negotiated with Millonarios and the dispute
had arisen because the Colombian league at that time was
operating outside the control of FIFA. On September 15 the
Spanish Federation made public the decision to allow Di
Stefano four seasons in Spain - two for each team, to be
played alternately. FC Barcelona protested and their
President announced on October 23rd that Real Madrid could
have the player permanently. While Real Madrid have always
maintained it was a voluntary decision by FC Barcelona, their
rivals held that it was a decision made under pressure from
Franco’s fascist government. There are also those who feel Di
Stefano’s poor form in his first few games led Barcelona to
think they might be better off without him anyway.
Barcelona’s decision having been announced, the two clubs met
the following week - and Di Stefano scored three goals against
the club who would have signed him. This incident exacerbated
the traditional enmity between the two clubs.
Di
Stefano’s 49 goals in 58 matches was for decades the all¨-time
highest tally in the European Cup, until surpassed by Real
Madrid’s Raúl in 2005 and Chelsea’s Andriy Shevchenko (then
playing for AC Milan) and Real Madrid’s Ruud van Nistelrooy in
2006. The highlight of his time with the club was their 7-3
victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the 1960 European Cup
Final at Hampden Park, a game many consider to be the finest
exhibition of club football ever witnessed in Europe. He was
voted European Footballer of the Year in 1957 and 1959. He
moved to Espanyol in 1964 and played there until hanging up
his boots at the age of 40. |
|
THE RISE & FALL OF ...... |
|
The
´Footy´News June 2007
It was
with some satisfaction that I saw Gretna FC win promotion
to the Scottish Premier League as I was with the club in its
inaugural season in the Scottish League in 2002-2003. Three
promotions in a row have seen them rising to the top league,
not forgetting their appearance in the 2005-2006 Scottish Cup
Final. This rapid promotion, alongside the alarming demise of
Leeds United, who were Premier League champions not so very
long ago, prompted me to investigate other rapid rises and
declines in football. Firstly let us look at the rapid rises.
Probably the most successful in this category is Ipswich Town
who were promoted from the Third Division to the First between
1956-57 and 1960-61. Not only that, but they went on to win
the League Championship in 1961-62 under the management of a
certain Alf Ramsay.
| | |
