As I already mentioned in my methodology-thread, I've started going through early World Soccer issues again to do my research. It's funny, I know I've read most of these about seven years ago, but it's like I'm reading them for the first time. I keep bumping into things that make me go "really? I should keep this in mind". Since I obviously didn't the last time around, I'm resurrecting this classic thread from Xtratime. Here's the original thread. I don't have the drive to do complete reviews or anything, you can find the contents of each issue here. I'll just focus on things that happen to catch my interest, and hopefully they'll spark up some discussion. At the very least I'll post any lists that talk about the best players, but LMK if you want me to keep an eye out for anything else.
October 1960 -The first issue is a dull one. Seriously! Turns out Real Madrid are a major club and Pele is a great player. Good thing this is only a reproduction and I didn't splash the cash for the real deal. -The only fairly interesting part is that all the big clubs in Europe were after Pele. Inter apparently offered £180,000. But Real Madrid has signed an option for Pele. They'll pull the trigger as soon as Di Stefano gets too old to play the attacking role, after which he will be moved to wing-half to make way for Pele. November 1960 -Focus on Yugoslavia, recent Olympic champions. They had a world class team a decade ago, and are now in the process of building another one. Their only weakness has been lack of scoring power. Jusufi, Zanetic, Perusic, Sekularac and Galic look to be developing into world class players, and a glittering run in WC 62 is expected. -Real Madrid is rumored to be after San Lorenzo's Jose Sanfilippo. -Crystal Palace manager Arthur Rowe had taken a trip to Hungary in those carefree pre-war days, and was impressed with what he had seen. "to my mind the great Hungarian side of 1953-54 was in no way superior, individually, than some of their predecessors. Certainly, Sarosi and Zsengeller would live comfortably in the company of Puskas and Kocsis." The difference between the two eras seemed to be that the pre-war teams seemed to play more for personal satisfaction, while the communist regime brought about greater drive and determination. "Players of the Puskas, Kocsis, Hidegkuti class cannot be replaced easily, as we have found out in England where players of the Lawton, Ramsey, Wright and Matthews calibre appear irreplaceable". -Profile on Bobby Charlton. Though "the most potential forward England has had since the war", he was very inconsistent. At NT-level he appeared incompatible with Haynes and Kevan. In his defence, the whole forward-line was at loggerheads in the post-Munich era. There were no adequate replacements for Byrne, Taylor and Edwards. -Profile on Just Fontaine. Prior to Sweden, he had been capped four times, but each time been a disappointment. Currently injured, but "whatever happens, Fontaine need have no concern about his future." -Eric Batty, of all people, says English football is still the strongest, with Italian and Russian completing the top 3. -Fulham had a goalie named Tony Macedo. Birthplace Gibraltar. Now that Gibraltar is a UEFA-member, Macedo has a pretty good case to being their Golden Player. -Dynamo Moscow and Real Madrid are coming to London to test Tottenham's mettle. There's a look back at the 45 tour, but also a less known visit by AC Milan. They crushed West Ham 6-0 around 1954. It was only West Ham, but Milan showed the kind of form that would have destroyed any team in the world. Ricagni was their best player that day. Eric Batty's football league all-stars: Harry Gregg Alex Parker Noel Cantwell Danny Blanchflower Charlie Hurley Dave Mackay Cliff Jones Jimmy McIlroy Dennis Viollet Johnny Haynes Peter McParland Notice there are only two Englishmen on that team, and a crapload of Irishmen. Heavily influenced by the recent World Cup? Possible Serie A team: Lorenzo Buffon Alfio Fontana Benito Sarti Nils Liedholm John Charles Juan Schiaffino Kurt Hamrin Francisco Lojacono Antonio Angelillo Omar Sivori Lennart Skoglund ESM-style proper attacking team there.
December 1960: -Cover toots "Di Stefano's successor". Is Pele finally here!? Who is the new ADS? It's... Agne Simonsson! The best players Sweden has produced: Nordahl Brothers, Ivar [Henry?] Carlsson, Gren, Jeppson, Hamrin, Skoglund, Liedholm, Gustafsson. But Simonsson has the potential to become the best of the lot. -English inside-forwards are crap now compared to 20 years ago. Have gone steadily down since ~1950. -European Cup will basically be decided in the Madrid-Barcelona match-up. Other possibles are Reims, Burnley, HSV, CDNA Sofia, Rapid and Ujpest. Interesting list, taking into account the eventual winners. First edition of Eric Batty's famous world 11: Gyula Grosics Orvar Bergmark Nilton Santos Martin Verges Jose Santamaria Ante Zanetic Julinho Pele Alfredo Di Stefano Ferenc Puskas Francisco Gento Bellini and Garay are possibilities for CH position, and Kopa, Garrincha, Sandor, Hamrin and Rahn all mentioned as examples for right-wing. You can find a list of every World 11 here.
Jan 61: -Profile on Branko Zebec, the most versatile player in the world. In his prime the best left-winger in Europe. -Playing style of the outstanding English CFs in history. The following are mentioned: Tinsley Lindley G. O. Smith Vivian Woodward Dixie Dean Ted Drake Tommy Lawton Jackie Milburn Nat Lofthouse Tommy Taylor Bobby Smith -Well, it looks like Real Madrid didn't play Tottenham, after all. That's ok, at least Dynamo did visit London... Dynamo Tbilisi that is! They let in five goals in every game. -Talk of a combined Irish team. Would look like this: Harry Gregg Dick Keith Noel Cantwell Danny Blanchflower Charlie Hurley Mick McGrath Paddy Fagan Jimmy McIlroy Billy McAdams Peter McParland -Eric Batty's predictions for who will reach Chile (correct answers in brackets): Near certainties: Argentina Uruguay Peru (Colombia) Paraguay (Mexico) Yugoslavia Italy Spain England Russia West Germany Possibles: Scotland (Czechoslovakia) Hungary Last two groups no predictions made. I loved these old qualifier predictions. After Batty WS stopped doing them. The others were too afraid to put their neck on the line. -Feature on Dutch Soccer. Wilkes, Van Der Hart, De Munck, Jan Klaassens and Puck Van Heel mentioned as major players. Moulijn a young up-and-comer. Barca is interested in signing him. -Eric Batty's Top 10 clubs in the world: Real Madrid Barcelona Santos Inter Reims Botafogo CDNA Sofia Independiente Atletico Penarol -Readers had sent in their own best eleven players in response to Batty. Three were published: Grosics Santamaria N. Santos Verges Garay Zanetic Sandor Suarez Di Stefano Sekularac Gento Gilmar Bergmark N. Santos Verges Santamaria Hanappi Hamrin Pele Di Stefano Puskas Gento Yashin Marquitos N. Santos Verges Sipos Del Sol Sandor Pele Simonsson Suarez Gento
Feb 61: -Bulgaria have lost to France and ARE OUT OF THE WORLD CUP! Way to jump the gun there. Bulgaria has a star forward in Panayot Panayotov. I checked his stats, and he had like 5 goals in 40 internationals. But aha, it's because he played in the Hidegkuti-manner. -Kenneth "they think it's all over" Wolstenholme looks at the Ballon D'or results. There's a complete list of who voted for who. -Interesting article on British fullbacks. So far little attention had been given to their development. They were generally home produced, and little was required of them except to be strong and good in the tackle, and to boot the ball as far as possible once they had it. With the introduction of 4-2-4 in Britain this season, this is changing. The following are mentioned as exceptions: Ramsey Scott Hardwick Shimwall Hall Howe Byrne Armfield Also mentioned are some of the world's best wingers: Gento Julinho Villaverde Garrincha Skoglund WS has a charming habit of only using the last name of players. No idea what a shimwall is. It's funny, they'll say things like Rodriguez is a great Uruguayan player, and I'm all thanks bud. At least I've got the Internet, wonder how the 60s reader felt? OK, I did a search, and it's Eddie Shimwell. -More best elevens from readers: Schmied D. Santos N. Santos Hanappi J. Charles Szymaniak Hamrin (Garrincha) Fontaine Seeler Pele Seminario Ramallets (Nyholm) Bergmark N. Santos Verges Segarra Moreau Sandor Pele Simonsson Puskas Gento Yashin D. Santos Pachin Liedholm Bellini Orlando Rahn Kopa Simonsson Schiaffino Charlton Before you dismiss these, I should add there is some reasoning included, and they seem pretty informative. Some Swiss guy had seen Seminario play in the Copa America! Notice how none of them picked ADS, though. -Spotlight on Sweden. They weren't seen as contenders at international level before the '48 Olympics. I guess people could see the '38 semis was a stroke of luck.
Mar 61: -EC has reached the QF-stage. Wolstenholme is jumping into the Benifica [sic] bandwagon. He thinks they can win the whole thing. -Spotlight on Hungary. Schaffer and Orth get a mention as past legends. -Catania is the new sensation in Italian soccer. They have a policy of only fielding Italian players, much like Atletico Madrid in Spain only field basques []. Spoilers: it's not gonna last long. -Where have all the personalities gone from Scottish football? Why is there no one to replace legends such as Cheeky Charly Tully, George "Rock of the North" Young and Laurie "Last Minute" Reilly? Are these footballers or pro-wrestlers? One of the few remaining stars is Gay Gordon Smith! Funny article considering the players Scotland had in the 60s. -I you didn't know this stuff is old, there's a spotlight on Karl Marxstadt. Their best players are Willi Troger and Dieter Erler. Assuming also among entire DDRs best. -Profile on Luis Suarez. Already considered probably Spain's GOAT. -River Plate have signed Kubala, who will make his debut as soon as the season is over! They're also after Piantoni. Pepillo arrived from Real Madrid, and he actually played for them, too. -Real Madrid were once after Nestor Rossi. Surely not on the recommendation of ADS or anything?
This happened during a tour with Millonarios (as you know per Hawkey there were links between both clubs and both chairmen). Del fútbol argentino Rossi emigró en 1949 al colombiano Millonarios, donde coincidió con Di Stéfano. Ese equipo cruzó el Atlántico para realizar una gira por España y Di Stéfano se quedó en el Real Madrid. Rossi regresó. Aseguraba que no se había quedado en Madrid porque no había querido. De Colombia volvió a River y tras un paso de tres años por Huracán colgó las botas en 1961. https://elpais.com/diario/2007/06/25/agenda/1182722405_850215.html Seems he was approached around the same moment as Di Stefano lured in.
Apr 61: -ARE EGYPT THE STRONGEST IN ASIA? asks a headline. What do you think? -England U-23 team lost to Scotland. Only 4th division Johnny Byrne looked capable of claiming a spot in the main team, and England's future prospects are looking dim indeed. That team featured one Banks and one Moore, among others. -Real Madrid earned £40,000 for playing four games, I think. Saying this because I'm assuming a team like Santos can ask for a similar amount. If teams were looking to pay £100,000-180,000 to buy Pele, I think we can see why Santos weren't looking to sell. -Wolstenholme thinks the Cup Winners should be allowed into the EC. No one cares about the CWC or Fairs Cup. First European Championship was a meh tournament, with all the snubs and lack of fan interest, but it could be glamorous. There is still a dream of a full European league. This is pretty visionary stuff. -Spotlight on Austria. They were kings at international-level in 1960, but couldn't be bothered to enter the WC. -Germany and Austria currently have a ban on players transferring abroad, like they're commie countries or something. France and Italy have a ban on import players. So many bans going on. -Spotlight on Anderlecht. Mermans started off as a left-winger. Belgian football is semi-professional only, but Anderlecht tried to sign Kopa to play in Europe and friendlies! It is expected for the shackles to come off soon and for Anderlecht to become a major power. The best-known Belgian players are Verbiest, Hanon, Lippens, Jurion and Stockman. Van Himst is the new super-discovery. Another impressive player is Wobling, a Hungarian. New guy to me. -Argentina is not well-off financially, but their big clubs can afford to make signings because of their rich presidents. -Spotlight on Turkey. Best players are Lefter, Turgay (among the best keepers in the world, above Ramallets) and Can (Bartu, "without doubt the outstanding prospect in Turkey, and, indeed I believe Europe"). I dunno, this article seems like a bit of a hype job. Kinda like a paid advertisement. -So you thought Di Stefano and Didi were past it? Well think again! They're back in form! Kopa is totally done, though.
May 61: -Belgium got their ass handed to them by Holland. Belgium are a good team when the tempo is slow and they're allowed to play their own game, but the quick Dutch forwards destroyed them 6-2. -Profile on Helenio Herrera. Batty already considers him on par with Chapman and Pozzo, based on his Barcelona work alone. Barca field three different teams with three different tactics. They crushed Wolves by attacking at home and counter-attacking away. -Comparison of wages around the world. Sounds like a great article, but it's disappointing because they couldn't get the numbers for Latin countries. England is in the process of getting rid of the wage cap. Surprisingly, a top Dutch international (£900 a year) earns more than the new English minimum wage (£780 a year). A Danish player can earn £1400 a year! No idea how if they're supposed to amateurs. Pele earns £250 per month, but that's not taking into account bonuses. ADS rumored to get £300 per game. -Finally! Here's an article I knew was coming, but couldn't remember the issue. It's an explanation of foreign player restrictions in Italy and Spain. Apart from Italy's recent ban, her regulations have been as follows: 1945: 3 players of foreign birth permitted to each first division club. 1953: The "Andreotti veto" instituted, banning the use of foreign players; this did not apply to "Oriundi". 1954: One foreign player permitted to each first division club, and "Oriundi" limited likewise; however any foreign player resident for five or more years was considered a "non-foreigner", and any oriundo who gained 3 full caps was considered an Italian. 1958: Age limit for signing oriundo reduced from under 25 to under 23. Spain has changed her regulations just as frequently, usually varying the limit of players permitted, as in Italy; a new ruling, more drastic than usual, was instituted in 1959: "No club may sign more than two foreigners unless (a) they are naturalised or (b) they have a three year residential qualification in Spain." Walter Gomez (by Milan) and Julinho were signed as oriundi, until it turned out they had bogus qualifications. -There's also a full list of foreign players in Italy and Belgium. Istvan Sztani is probably the best foreigner in Belgium. -Belgians are still supposed to be part-timers, but Standard are looking to buy some big stars in Simonsson and Buffon. -Sekularac was banned from soccer, so now he's playing hockey. -Mexico's best player in WC58 was Alfonso Portugal.
June 61: -Profile on Juan Schiaffino. He was an inconsistent player, but in a different way! He played better the bigger the occasion. When his team is winning comfortably he contributes little. -Hassan Akesbi would totally be a starter for France if he was eligible. -Eric Batty rates the greatest post-war teams ("great" players in brackets) 1. Real Madrid (Di Stefano, Puskas) 2. Hungary 53-54 (Grosics, Bozsik, Kocsis, Hudegkuti, Puskas) 3. Uruguay 54 (Andrade, Varela, Schiaffino) Germany 54 (Liebrich, F. Walter) England 46-48 (Swift, Franklin, Mercer, Matthews, Carter) 6. Brazil 58 (Both Santoses and Didi) England's best 11 is described as follows: Frank Swift Laurie Scott George Hardwick Frank Soo Neil Franklin Joe Mercer Stan Matthews Raich Carter Tommy Lawton Jimmy Hagan Leslie Smith Some of these aren't 46-48 era, but ok. Soo was never even capped officially. -Spotlight on Uruguay. Lots of stuff here. Penarol players weren't part of the '24 Olympic team because of a domestic league dispute. That wasn't even their full A-team? They have a unique playing system. Sounds like they were already using a libero in 1961: "The right-back (No. 2) acts as the centre-half, playing immediately in front of his goalkeeper, but without marking any particular forward." Argentina is a threat to Uruguay, not just on the pitch, but because they keep buying many of the best players, like Jose Sasia. Uruguay's new golden boy is Ruben Gonzalez, considered to be even better than Varela and Santamaria. Uruguayans also say Luis Maidana is the best goalie in the world. -Spotlight on Benfica. Their best players are Jose Augusto (best European in his position according to Gabriel Hanot, and another Real Madrid target), Germano (a centre-half who can dribble past the CF in his own area) and Jose Aguas (best CF in Iberia after ADS). Coluna is so far only the best in Portugal. -If last month's transfer news from Belgium weren't shocking enough, now Standard are after Didi! Anderlecht would settle for Derek Dougan. -Peru-legend Alberto Terry has shockingly retired in his prime. -Michel Ogonkov and Boris Tatushin are eligible to play again after suffering a ban for life for "unsporting behavior". That's putting it mildly. Streltzov remains in gaol! -Serie A ban on foreigners has been lifted. Milan have signed Greaves, and were also after Haynes before Fulham made him the highest paid English player of all time. The wage cap is truly off now. But meanwhile, Juve and Inter are after Pele.
Worth noting that his opinions were even in his own time seen as odd and off-beat (something I myself only understood later), with a clear and outspoken bias towards/against certain things. There are also instances where he directly contradicted himself two months later. Brazil of 1958 categorically below the (sh)amateurs of 1954 is such odd view, just as not naming Pele there. It is however in line with his general outspoken country preferences and the expressed idea Pele is categorically inferior to Puskas and Di Stefano. The other main editors were more in line with 'common sense' (not to mention less of a conservative and traditionalist elitist).
Maybe the Uruguayan number 2 could actually be playing in a similar (traditional for the nation) manner to which Nasazzi played in?
Yeah, you have to know how to read him. If Batty says "this player isn't all that", it's a good indication the player has made it. He's still talking positively about Aguas and Moulijn. I'm pretty sure later on he's saying he never did like them. Yes, it's described as a uniquely Uruguayan system.
July 61: -Spotlight on Poland. Willimowski was their big star, with Gora, Nytz and Dytko forming a strong halfback line. The current team has Ernest Pohl, Lucjan Brychcy, Erwin Wilczek ("best dribbler in Central Europe") and a bunch of others. Article seems to be a bit generous to the Poles. -England and Scotland faced off in the Home Championship. The result is a 9-3 rout, and the legend of the Scottish goalkeeper is born. -Spotlight on Galatasaray. Writer is still big on Turgay, and Nihat (Bekdik) was an early Turkish legend. -Benfica are surprise winners of the EC! Stars are the same guys as last month. I dunno, not much going on with this issue. August 61: -Features the all-time great World Soccer cover. -Yashin has been dropped by the USSR. Is he done?? -Argentinian exiles are better than the home boys, the magazine decides, as Di Stefano for Spain and Sivori for Italy take turns in sinking a visiting Argentina team. That had to sting. -First article on the Cup Winners' Cup, I think, after the first final is completed. Competition is a total afterthought at this point. -Profile on Ladislav Kubala, "among the outstanding players of all time". He's not going to River Plate, after all. An interesting aspect is how carefully the article is worded to avoid referring to communism. Mag trying to stay neutral during the coldest era of the cold war? Before the famous England vs. FIFA match in 1953, the FIFA team played Barca in Amsterdam. More than 30 stars took part before the final team was decided! Man, would love to know the line-up. Anyone got any info? -Profile on Albert Brulls. He will not be lured away by wealthy foreign clubs! Maybe Modena doesn't count as wealthy? Albert Brulls World 11: Yashin D. Santos Bergmark Blanchflower Bellini Szymaniak Kopa Pele Seeler Suarez Gento or Charlton -France have lifted their ban on foreigners, too.
Sep 61: -World Soccer is a year old. An interesting note concerning my research is that a large chunk of the players mentioned as the best will by ineligible for my 60-65 era, because they don't have the required three seasons completed. Makes it seem as if the majority of the best players around 1960 were in the veteran stage. -Chief orchestrator for the USSR is surprisingly Babukin, while Maslenkin is "of course" one of the best centre-backs in the game. Voinov and Tsarev were great in WC '58. -Miguez and Moran are mentioned as outstanding Uruguayan players of the 50s. Currently they have first class players with Maidana and Martinez. Escalada was once touted as the next Schiaffino, but then fell off the radar. Now he's establishing himself in the NT again. -Spotlight on Norway. Lots of players past and present are mentioned. Asbjorn Hansen is at times one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Roald Jensen is wanted by many Italian clubs. -Eric Batty's top 10 teams in the world: 1. Real Madrid 2. Santos 3. Botafogo 4. Atletico Madrid 5. Juventus 6. Tottenham 7. Barcelona 8. Penarol 9. Benfica 10. CDNA Sofia Top 2 are in a class of their own. Next 5 are fairly closely contested. Penarol and Benfica are high class without being great, and are missing a truly great player. Benfica surprised everyone last season, but no way are they going to do it twice! -The new EC season starts. The title will be decided between Feyenoord, Nurnberg, Juventus, Real Madrid and Tottenham. Benfica are by no means the best club side in Europe. -Spotlight on Caribbean football. Caribbean means Mexico, Costa Rica and Colombia, haha. Mexico's recent performances have ranged from marvelous to miserable. Mexican club football is only a little below the standard of many South American countries. The average player earns around £10 a week, which is approximately on par with the Belgian and Portuguese wages reported in the May issue. Salvador Reyes and Guillermo Sepulveda earn an impressive £100 and £150 per week. The best players in the Colombian pirate league were Argentinians: Di Stefano, Baez, Reyes, Pederna [sic], Rossi, Mourin and Cozzi. Pini is also mentioned.
Overall an interesting view of the "contemporary football". But, in case of South American football, I take with a "graint of salt", since it's a "long distance" view, just meeting them in the WCs or some club tours at Europe. Rubén Morán, the Left Winger champion at 1950, had the luck to lined-up in the final match, because before and after he had a so-so career, playing a couple of intl. games. In his career, he only played for mid table clubs, retiring at 1954 at 24 y.o. In case of "El Dorado" players, each one of the list were from Millonarios, even being the greatest team in the league, there were other good teams and very good players taking oart of it.
Yeah, with these old mags you really need to have existing know-how, or they'll trick you. They'll mention some obscure player like he's a really big deal, but then when you check the stats they were only capped like a couple of times. This happens with every nation, but particularly SA and more obscure Euro-countries. For example, the articles on Poland and Norway really made it seem like they were top countries with talent all over the place. It really makes it a lot more challenging to single out players for my list. A good example of "grain of salt" is the list of best players from other European magazines. They have the really big players included, but also some really weird choices. Calcio and Miroir can't agree at all on who the best SA-players are. Calcio seems more knowledgeable, BTW? Oh, I checked what the March issue said about those rankings, and the Miroir list was actually published on a country-by-country basis. That explains why guys like Rytkönen and Polychroniou are included. But the Calcio list of South Americans seems closer to popular opinion. I didn't reference it that well. Here's the quote: "The best players were mostly Argentinians, such as Di Stefano, Baez, Reyes, Pederna, Rossi, Mourin and Cozzi, who formed the nucleus of the Millionarios [sic] and Santa Fe elevens". So maybe it makes more sense now. Still all Millo-players, though. Who would you say the other best players in that league were?
Oct 61: -Feature on Mitropa Cup. Many players generally all the internationals, get a shout. Sparta and Slavia are considered to have been the best teams because they had the highest amount of internationals. Sindelar and Sarosi are the two "household names". -Wolstenholme believes the Spanish league, pound for pound, isn't on par with the English league. Only RM, Barca, Atleti, Bilbao and Sevilla could hang with the English. -Feature on Germany. Another reminder how old this mag is, England is their bogey team. Allegations of the '54 team being doped were already going around. Germany were "a long way behind the Hungarians, and probably other nations, in football skill". The Nazi regime receives criticism. It was well-known that "the Nazis are looking for easy opponents and victories to boost their regime". -Spotlight on Argentina. They were severely weakened by the departure of their top players to Europe. A bitter journalist after WC '58: "We should not have wasted money in bringing this team to Europe: our fifty best players are here already". They've replaced the departed players with their own foreign imports. Current best players are Roma (one of the world's best), Sacchi (attacking wing-half) and Sanfilippo. -Eric Batty's World 11: Grosics Bergmark N. Santos Blanchflower Germano Bonga Bonga Kubala Pele Di Stefano Puskas Gento Also mentioned: Yashin Fraydl De Sordi Jusufi Novak Santamaria Garay Garrincha Dorval Del Sol Charles Sivori (Juventus is called a two-man team)
I don't have problem with some "good" players mixed in the list of the "very good / excellent" ones. I think, that's the personal taste of the writer (same as most of us, have their favourite players). Another thing, is mixing players that are mediocre or past it in those lists. I'll compared Millonarios vs 3 All-Stars teams with El Dorado players. Millonarios: Cozzi (Arg) Pini (Uru), Zuloaga (Col) Ramírez (Par), Rossi (Arg), Soria (Per) Reyes (Arg), Pedernera (Arg), Di Stefano (Arg), Baez (Arg), Mourin (Arg) Veterans XI: Z.Monsider(Cro) Arce (Per), Norival (Bra) T.Castillo (Per), Perucca (Arg), B.Sárosi (Hun) C.Gomez Sanchez (Per), Pontoni(Arg), Heleno(Bra), Zséngeller(Hun), Tim (Bra) Combined-A: Ormeño (Per) Delgado (Per), Franklin (Eng) Bedoya (Per), Ocampos (Par), Gambetta (Uru) F.Castillo (Per), Drago (Per), V.López (Per), Rial (Arg), Villaverde (Uru) Combined-B: Caimán Sánchez (Col) A.Perales (Per), Tejera (Uru) Zunino (Uru), R.Coll (Arg), C.Arce (Par) Berni (Par), Nyers II(Hun), Solano Patiño (Par), V.Mosquera (Per), Zapiraín(Uru) SA Top-5 (in their position) players in bold letters, European stars in green letters. Almost all players, were capped by their NTs, some played WCs (champion or semifinalist) and Copas America. And other internationals that didn't make these teams. More or less, played there 100 foreign players. 50 intl. capped & 15 top players. In my book a top-5 league at early 1950s.
Nov 61: -Another classic cover. Kuznetsov showing Garrincha some proper dribble tricks! Or is it the other way around? -Real Madrid may be coming to London to play Spurs... wait, is this last year's issue? -Czech trainer Karel Kolsky thinks South American football is currently much superior to European. He only talks about the Brazilians, though. -"I don't know why we bother with these foreigners. They have no idea how to play the game properly and their crowds have no idea how to behave", says a soccer official... from Britain! -Profile on Lefter Kucukacukundukondu... the Turkish Matthews. "I have often felt that had he gone to Spain or Italy in his younger days (and only loyalty to Turkey prevented him from doing so) Lefter would have become one of the all time greats in soccer". Except he did and he didn't. David Lemmon is a total shill for Turkish soccer. -A feature on past FIFA XI games. I thought these line-ups were readily available online, but all I get is a bunch of dead links, so I'll post them here for easy access. Central Europe vs. West Europe 1937 (subs in brackets) CE: Aldo Olivieri Karl Sesta Willibald Schmaus (Pietro Rava) Pietro Serantoni Miguel Andreolo Gyula Lazar Ferenc Sas Giuseppe Meazza Silvio Piola Gyorgi Sarosi Oldrich Nejedly WE: Hans Jakob Bob Paverick (Constant Joacim) Bertus Caldenhove Albin Kitzinger Ludwig Goldbrunner Edmond Delfour Ernst Lehner Raymond Braine Bep Bakhuys Kick Smit Stanley Vanden Eynde England vs. FIFA 1938 England: Vic Woodley Bert Sproston Eddie Hapgood Ken Willingham Stan Cullis Wilf Copping Stanley Matthews Willie Hall Tommy Lawton Len Goulden Wally Boyes FIFA: Aldo Olivieri Alfredo Foni Pietro Rava Andreas Kupfer Miguel Andreolo Albin Kitzinger Alfred Aston Raymond Braine Silvio Piola Gyula Zsengeller Arne Brustad Great Britain vs. FIFA 1947 GB: Frank Swift George Hardwick Billy Hughes Archie Macaulay Jackie Vernon Ron Burgess Stanley Matthews Wilf Mannion Tommy Lawton Billy Steel Billy Liddell FIFA: Julien Darui Poul Petersen Willi Steffen Johnny Carey Carlo Parola Josef Ludl Torke Lemberechts Gunnar Nordahl Faas Wilkes Carl Aage Praest (One guy missing from WS-list. I think it's Gren) England vs. FIFA 1953 England: Gil Merrick Alf Ramsey Bill Eckersley Billy Wright Derek Ufton Jimmy Dickinson Stanley Matthews Stan Mortensen Nat Lofthouse Albert Quixall Jimmy Mullen FIFA: Walter Zeman (Vladimir Beara) Joaquin Navarro Gerhard Hanappi Zlatko Cajkovski Jupp Posipal Ernst Ocwirk Giampiero Boniperti Laszlo Kubala Gunnar Nordahl Bernard Vukas Branko Zebec (Navarro "did not justify his selection". Ouch! I remember the same thing being said of Ludl in '47) United Kingdom vs. FIFA 1955 UK: Jack Kelsey Joe McDonald Peter Sillett Danny Blanchflower John Charles Bertie Peacock Stanley Matthews Bobby Johnstone Roy Bentley Jimmy McIlroy Billy Liddell FIFA: Lorenzo Buffon Bengt Gustavsson Fons Van Brandt Ernst Ocwirk Robert Jonquet Vujadin Boskov Jorgen Leschly Sorensen Bernard Vukas Raymond Kopa Jose Travassos Jean Vincent
Would be nice, if that happened! It was really, Simonian vs De Sordi see 6:07 Yeah, in the 1947 match, the #8 was Gunnar Gren http://peterbc112.112.axc.nl/glasgow1947.html btw, in the 1937 & 1938 games, looked like Europe XI were playing a 2-3-5 formation, meanwhile England lined up a WM..
You're right. WS has misidentified them! Wonder if all the captions in the mag are as accurate? It also said the Russian player was trying to retrieve the ball, but I guess he really is in control of the situation. Should dig the match up just to see that moment on film.
Dec 61: -I've only recently bought this issue, so I've never read it. Let's see what valuable information I missed out on the last time! -Portugal lost away to friggin' Luxembourg. How is such a disaster possible? Well, Portugal having a record of 3 wins in 44 away matches might have something to do with it. Their only consolation was the inclusion of a striker with a bit of a Pele-look to him. -Italy's inside-forward trio of Lojacono-Altafini-Sivori is one of the world's best. Emphasis on world's best? -Wolstenholme challenges Batty's XI into a match with this line-up: Kelsey Armfield Novak Szymaniak Sipos Baxter Garrincha Del Sol Coutinho Law Lentner Last one is a surprise. He wasn't even mentioned in the Poland feature a couple of months back. -A look at the world's most-capped players, now that Torbjörn Svenssen has reached his century. Still trying to figure out whether Svenssen qualifies as one of the best defenders of his era, or whether they're just giving him lip service for reaching that century. -Penarol has defeated Benfica for the World club championship. The first edition raised some excitement due to the involvement of Real Madrid, but Europe is already losing interest in the competition. WS isn't too kind on Benfica. -Italians are interested in Sekularac, but the offers haven't been good enough. Interesting, I thought Yugoslavia had a ban on players under ~30?