After the interesting effort from @victorcalello38 I have decided to make a run at historical teams of the season. Two of the major things I want to accomplish in this thread are 1) Making teams that are accurate to the formation of the time and players in the positions they played that season. I want to avoid trying to get 3 or 4 center forwards shoved in to every pyramid team in the 1930s. 2) I want to accurately represent what was a season for both South American and Europe, which will not cover the exact same times. Teams of the year cut European seasons in half. How valuable was it that George Best had a strong end to the 1970-71 seasons and a strong beginning to the 1971-72 season? He placed third in the Balon d'Or because it looks at a calendar year but he did not accomplish a full season of good form or win anything in either of those seasons. Looking at team of the year in South America removes and confuses the place of the South American Championships in a season. In the past I often wondered why non of the top players from a South American domestic season were featured in that years South American Championship (e.g. Jose Manuel Moreno does not play in Argentina's 1937 South American Championship team despite having a historically great domestic season in 1937). For all of pre WWII football and a fair amount post war the domestic season in South America begins in the Spring and ends at the end of the year or barely bleeds into the next year. They then play important internationals like the SAC immediately after the domestic season but in the following calendar year from where the domestic season would be played. So for example the team of the season in 1936 will included the South American domestic seasons running from roughly April 1936 to December 1936 and internationals and the 1937 South American Championship played in early 1937 before the next domestic season starts. The 1936 team of the season will include the 1935-36 European seasons (Fall 35 to Spring 36) and international games/Mitropa Cup played played in the Summer. The two seasons run somewhat opposite of one another so there could be cases where internationals played between European and South American sides in January could belong different "Teams of the Seasons" for different countries. The reason 35-36 in Europe is paired with 36-37 in South America is because of the World Cup. It is the major event that brings the two continents into competition, and in 1938 for example, the World Cup takes place in the middle of the South American 38-39 season and at the end of the European 37-38 season. Thus these two seasons will make the "1938 team of the season".
I am going to jump around and do this out of order in hopes that I will be less likely to get burned out. I will start with the before mentioned 1936. In South America this includes the 1936 Domestic seasons and the 1937 South American Championship which was played in January of 1937, immediately after the conclusions of the 1936 domestic seasons in Argentina and Brazil. It also includes all other internationals played from the Spring of 1936 until the spring of 1937. It also includes the 1936 Olympics for the Peruvian team that went to Europe. The top club side in South America this season were River Plate and San Lorenzo (champions of the Argentinian season that was split into two parts with all teams playing in both parts). The Brazil Club sides are harder to sort out as both the Carioca and Paulista were split into two mutually exclusive tournaments, so there were 4 champions from Brazil but not much competition. For the international sides Argentina won the SAC at home. Uruguay was relatively disappointing outside of the game vs Argentina. Chile and Peru were both very competitive in the tournament. Brazil announced is reemergence to international stage after more than 10 years of isolation and relatively poor teams. They were seen as the best team in the SAC until the final where they lost a hotly contested two matches to Argentina. In Europe this season includes the 1935-36 domestic seasons, the 1936 Mitropa Cup. It also includes all internationals played between the Fall of 1935 and the Fall of 1936. the 1936 Olympics were in August and the end this competition marks the end this seasons for Europe, although no major powers sent a top side to this Olympics. The top domestic sides of the season were Arsenal and Sunderland in Britain. On the Continent it is harder to figure. Domestic champions (MTK, Bologna, and Admira bomb out of the Mitropa Cup early), while domestic 7th place FK Austria wins the tournament. Sparta Prauge were probably the overall best continental team winning their domestic league and nearly becoming the first team to win back to back Mitropa Cups, reaching the final. Internationally Hungary had the strongest year with a 4-3-1 record winning impressively 5-3 in Vienna and also beating the Czechs and Germans at home. They also drew 2-2 with Italy in Rome. Austria, Italy, and the Czechs all had reasonable season. Germany ran up big wins vs small countries. England had a relatively poor year going 2-1-3, losing to Belgium, Austria, and Wales. Netherlands had a very strong season with a 4-1-0 record and winning big 8-0 vs Belgium (a team that beat England this season) and 6-1 in France. Goalkeeper: František Plánička (SLP, CZE) Right Fullback: Eraldo Monzeglio (ROM, ITA) Left Fullback: Karl Sesta (AUV, AUS) Right Half: Antonio Sastre (IND, ARG) Center Half: Michele Andreolo (BOL, ITA) Left Half: Walter Nausch (AUV, AUS) Right Wing: Carlos Peucelle (RIP, ARG) Right Inside Forward: Giuseppe Meazza (INT, ITA) Center Forward: Matthias Sindelar (AUV, AUS) Left Inside Forward: Oldřich Nejedlý (SPP, CZE) Left Wing: Enrique García (RAC, ARG Bench Forward: Raymond Braine (SPP, BEL) Forward: Raich Carter (SUN, ENG) Wing: Patesko (BOT, BRA) Halfback: Josef Košťálek (SPP, CZE) Halfback: José María Minella (RIP, ARG) Fullback: Oscar Tarrio (SAL, ARG) Keeper: Antal Szabo (MTK, HUN) Players considered for each position and rough ranking Goalkeeper František Plánička Antal Szabo Not a lot of candidates here. Plánička only allows 2 goals in 5 games for the Czechs. Szabo is the starter for both MTK and Hungary. Right Fullback Eraldo Monzeglio Oscar Tarrio Jaroslav Burgr George Male Monzeglio pairs with Allemandi to create a fearsome defense for Roma and Italy. Tarrio is Argentina's best defender. With San Lorenzo the team accumulates by far the most points over the two part season but loses to River Plate in the final deciding game. He is the undisputed starter for Argentina were he is excellent, holding Brazil scoreless over two games. Burgr is the starter and captain for Both Sparta and Czech. Male pairs with Hapgood for club and country to form a strong defense. Left Fullback Karl Sesta Luigi Allemandi Josef Čtyřoký Sándor Biro Eddie Hapgood Sesta was dominant for FK in their MC winning run, shutting down opposing offenses in the usually high scoring competition. He is also undisputed starter for the national team. Allemandi was great paired with Monzeglio for both club and country allowing only 20 goals and coming in 2nd in the Serie A and starting all games for Italy. Čtyřoký is the starter for Both Sparta and Czech. Biro is great with MTK and Hungary. Hapgood leads Arsenal to the FA Cup and Arsenal allow the fewest goals of any team in the league, but the international performances are disappointing. Right Half Antonio Sastre Josef Košťálek Antal Szalay Not a lot of depth here but three very strong players. Usually I do not like to put a player in a position where they are a "one off", like sneaking Sarosi into the team as a Center Half because he played one MC game their. But Sastre played every game of the SAC at right half and was possibly the teams best player, shutting down the feared left side of Brazil's attacking, not allowing a single goal in either game. He also had a much lower goalscoring number for Independiente than other seasons, indicating he may have played half instead of his normal inside forward for club as well. Košťálek was great for Sparta and Czech, with success on all three front Domestic, MC, and international. Szalay was excellent with Ujpest who were strong in the MC, and a mainstay for Hungary. Center Half Michele Andreolo José María Minella Johann Mock József Turay Ernesto Lazzatti Segundo Castillo José Augusto Brandão A very strong year for this position. I have gone back and forth on which of the top three should start. Andreolo arrives in Italy from Uruguay for his first season and immediately leads Bologna to the title and supplants Monti and the starter for the Italian national team. Minella leads River to the title and is excellent in the SAC despite having to rotate with Lazzatti. Mock, although in previous years was a wing half play center half for FK and the national team in all the lineups I can find for this year. He is repeatedly singled out in match reports as a defensive stalwart for FK in their MC title run. He plays 3 times for Austria including the 2-1 win v England and the 2-2 draw @ Italy. Turay a former attacker is converted to an offensive center half for MTK with great effect winning the title undefeated. He is also a regular for an excellent Hungary side in his new position. Lazzatti was excellent for Boca, the best defense in the Argentina, and played well in the SAC, rotating with Minella. Castillo was excellent for Peru in the SAC, as was Brandão for Brazil. Left Half Walter Nausch Puck van Heel Celestino Martínez Aarón Wergifker An thin position. Nausch in CM champion and regular for Austria. wins by default to a degree, as I do not remember this season MC match descriptions mentioning him as often as other teammates. van Heel in the captain of the excellent Netherland's side. Martínez is the started for Argentina and Wergifker is champion with River Plate and later because a national team mainstay. Right Wing Carlos Peucelle Ferenc Sas Roberto Porta Enrique Guaita Václav Horák Another thin position in my estimation. Peucelle was the star of River's title winning team and rotated with Guaita in the SAC. Sas was one of the breakout stars for the undefeated champions MTK and broke into the national side as a key player this season. Porta was abroad with Inter, and was part of the offense that was by far the highest scoring in the Italian league (nearly double the goals scored of the champions Bologna and runners up Roma). The Uruguayan was capped by Italy this season reflecting his level of play. Guaita returned to Argentina and had a strong season with Racing and played in the SAC. Right Inside Forward Giuseppe Meazza Raich Carter Francisco Varallo Severino Varela Jenő Vincze Wilhelm Hahnemann Tommy Walker Luizinho Meazza was top scorer in Italy and the Mitropa Cup, both by large margins. He played 6 times for Italy and scored the winner in a 2-1 win at Hungary. He still played Center Forward for Inter but he was now a full time inside right for the national team so I feel comfortable putting him here. Carter was the star of the English domestic season, leading Sunderland to the title. Varallo had strong goal scoring numbers domestically and was Argentina's key forward in the SAC. Varela won the domestic title with Penarol and was excellent on an otherwise weak Uruguay teams at the SAC, scoring 5 times in 6 games, including a dominating performance vs hosts Argentina. Vincze was excellent for Hungary and Ujpest, Hungary's best performing team in the MC. Hahnemann was Admira's star forward winning the domestic title and a regular in the national team. Walker was cruial to a solid Scotland side. Luizinho was a starter for Brazil and domestic champion. Center Forward Matthias Sindelar Raymond Braine György Sárosi Bep Bakhuys Isidro Lángara Bernabé Ferreyra Silvio Piola Raul Toro Carvalho Leite Jimmy McGrory Vojtěch Bradáč Josef Bican Alberto Zozaya Not a real 100% standout here. Sindelar is here for leading FK to another Mitropa Cup and the Austrian Cup. Their domestic performance was poor, but this illustrates a strange pattern where FK repeatedly wins Austrian and goes deep or wins Mitropa Cup while being poor in the domestic season. There domestic performances do not make sense in light of them being by far the most successful Austrian team in the Mitropa Cup and having a large number of internationals. Maybe they prioritized the cups? Sindelar as always was FK's key offensive player pulling all the strings in big Mitropa Cup games. He only played twice for Austria as he was losing playing time to Bican, but the two games were strong performances for him, a 2-2 draw in Italy and a 2-1 win vs England. Braine was not as great as 1935 in the Mitropa Cup, but was the star player in the comprehensive semi final victory over Inter. Domestically he scored 18 times in Sparta's title winning season. Sárosi had somewhat of a down year, finishing 3rd in Hungary and getting knocked out of the Mitropa Cup in the first round. He was the top scorer domestically with 37 goals in 20 games. He was also great for Hungary who had a strong international year, playing 6 times and scoring 8 goals, including a brace in Italy to earn a 2-2 draw. Bakhuys scores and amazing 9 times in 5 games for a rampant Netherlands. Lángara was top scorer in Spain for a third consecutive year by a clear margin. Ferreyra was excellent for Argentinian champions River Plate. Piola had a strong season breaking into the national team. Toro was one of the best players at the SAC. Leite was top scorer domestically and played in the SAC. McGrory and Bradáč put up huge domestic goalscoring numbers. Bican was hurt part of the domestic season but was great for Austria, mostly supplanting Sindelar at CF and scoring 8 times in 6 games. Zozaya was top scorer for one half of the Argentina season and played more than Ferreyra for the national team. Left Inside Forward Oldřich Nejedlý László Cseh José Manuel Moreno Tim Cliff Bastin Franz Binder Diego García Kick Smit Alejandro Scopelli Nejedly was great on all fronts he scored 26 times in 22 games to lead Sparta to the Czech title, breaking Slavia's three year run as champions. He scored 6 times in the Mitropa Cup as Sparta went back to the final, including a brace in the 5-3 semifinal win at Inter. Csech was a break out star leading MTK to the title in Hungary undefeated (26 games 24 goals). With Hungary he played 6 times scoring 4 goals including 2 in the 5-3 win in Vienna. Moreno had his break through season helping River to the half of the Argentina championship and winning the final game vs the other winner San Lorenzo to decide the overall champion (33 games 24 goals). Tim was great for Brazil's excellent attack. Bastin moved to inside forward this season and lead Arsenal to the FA Cup. García was San Lorenzo's star forward. Smit scored three times and played all 5 games these season for the high flying Netherlands side. Scopelli was good enough for Racing to keep both Garcia and Moreno out of the Argentina side for the SAC. Left Wing Enrique García Patesko Rudolf Viertl Adolfo Pedernera Pál Titkos Dally Duncan Gino Colaussi Hércules de Miranda Garcia had a strong year with Racing, which finished in the top 6 in both halves and the Argentina domestic season and Racing was the third highest scoring team, the only squad that approached River Plate and San Lorenzo's goal scoring numbers. Garcia started every game of the SAC (Most Argentina players were rotated throughout the tournament) and was one of the top performers, scoring the deciding goal vs Brazil in a 1-0 that would force an extra match to determine a champion. Patesko was great in the SAC and paired with Tim to make a lethal left side attack that made Brazil the most attractive and convincing side throughout the course of the tournament until the final match. There were no great performances on the left wing in Europe. Viertl was probably the best. A key player for FK Austria winning the Mitropa Cup (scored a key away goal vs Bologna and Ujpest) and regained his place for Austria after a two year absence, scoring in both games, a 2-1 win vs England a 2-2 Draw at Italy. Pedernera was strong domestically, but still young and firmly behind Garcia. Titkos was a key player for a strong Hungary side and domestic Champions MTK. Duncan was key for Scotland winning the Home Championship and had a strong season in England, coming in runners up with Derby County. Colaussi broke into the Italian National team for the first time and Hércules was the top scorer of one of the editions of the Carioca for FLuminense.
Before I went on to more seasons I wanted to detail the formations I will be using through time, as having accurate positions/formations is one of my focuses. From 1872 to 1883 I will be using a free form 2-2-6. The forwards will not have set positions. Formations at the time seemed to vary but this seems the most representative of what was going on. Forward - Forward - Forward - Forward - Forward - Forward Halfback - Halfback Fullback - Fullback Goalkeeper From 1884 to 1947 I will use the pyramid as my formation. I will be strict with all positions. They need to play that specific position in that season to be in that position in my team. I will not freely put left inside forwards on the right etc. I know taking the pyramid to 1947 is a bit long past when the WM had become popular in Britain. By the late 30s most English teams had adopted the WM. But, the dominance of South American players in the seasons during WWII, where the pyramid was still used swayed my decision to keep the formation this way. British teams using a WM are pretty easy to accommodate into the pyramid, as Center backs will be placed as center halves in the formation. This is the natural progression of how this happened in England as many center halves were big stoppers who moved back between the fullbacks to mark center forward. Left Wing - Center Forward - Right Wing Left Inside Forward - Right Inside Forward Left Half - Center Half - Right Half Left Back - Right Back Goalkeeper From 1948 to 1959 I will use a WM. This becomes the standard formation for most teams in the world at some point during this period. Although around 1950 many teams still seem to use a pyramid. This makes it difficult to decide how players playing in a pyramid translate to positions in a WM. unlike the British transition from pyramid to WM, it is less clear how this occurred in other countries. As teams like Uruguay, Austria, etc transition their center halves (Ocwirk, Valera) never became center backs. They stayed as midfielders/halfbacks. Also Fullbacks did not seem to simply move out wide to accommodate the new center back. Many players who were fullbacks in the pyramid became center backs in the WM. Also players like Andrade who were wing halves for the 1950 WC then became fullbacks in the 1954 WC. Left Wing - Center Forward - Right Wing Left Inside Forward - Right Inside Forward Left Half - Right Half Left Back - Center Back - Right Back Goalkeeper From 1960 to 1969 I will use a 4-2-4 formation. The 4-2-4 originated when one inside forward dropped into the midfield as a "removed forward" and one halfback dropped into defense as the "fourth back".Many top teams during this period, like Tottenham, stayed with the WM. In these cases the more play making inside forward will be the "removed forward (for Tottenham John White)" and the most defensive half back will become the "fourth back (For Tottenham Dave Mackay)". Left Wing - Inside Forward - Center Forward - Right Wing Half Back - Removed Forward Left Back - Center Back -Fourth Back - Right Back Goalkeeper From 1970 to 1986 I will use a more flexible formation a 4-3-3 pyramid. This was the time a Brazil playing 5 number 10s, France's Magic square, Netherlands/Ajax total football with flexible roles etc. Positional integrity became far less important to many teams in favor of getting your best players on the field. I will give myself more freedom to put players in different positions. The two major rules will be the center forward must be a true striker who does not play off a more advanced forward, and one of the central midfield must be a true central/defensive midfield, not another number 10. The other forward and midfield positions can be a mix of wingers/number 10s/support strikers etc. The center backs will be divided into a ball creative center back and a stopper, to reflect the trend a many center backs playing a sweeper position that acted as a midfield much of the time. I will freely move versatile players like Passarella and Figueroa who could do both in different situations to either position. No importance will be given to right vs left with center backs. Center Forward Left Forward - Right Forward Attacking Midfield Center Midfield - Center Midfield Left Back - Creative Center Back - Stopper - Right Back Goalkeeper From 1987 to 2006 I will use a flexible 4-4-2. The sweeper trend is mostly gone and two equal center backs will be in the team. The center forward will still be required to be a true striker and the most advanced player on the pitch. The support forward can be a goal scoring wide forward like Stoichkov, a true second striker like Baggio, or a goal scoring midfielder who played very close to a striker like Lampard. The wide players will be flexible slots for creative players, either wingers or creative midfielders. The two central midfielders will be central/defensive/deep lying play makers. Striker - Forward Left Wing/Midfield - Right Wing/Midfield Central Midfield - Central Midfield Left Back - Center Back - Center Back - Right Back Goalkeeper Final formation will be from 2007 to present, the 4-2-3-1. Wide players are more geared towards forwards while creative players are more central. Striker Left Forward/Midfield - Attacking Midfield - Right Forward/Midfield Center Midfield - Center Midfield Left Back - Center Back - Center Back - Right Back Goalkeeper
That seems fair enough to me Tom. One note for the 4-4-2 era: on your 23 player lists thread I did recently have a go for 1995 to 1998 at picking two teams worth of players, as alternative to 23 from any position, with this new thread in mind really. And because in that period sweepers/liberos did thrive I picked one player designated for that role and one other CB to partner him. This is probably more relevant for a Sammer (who actually played in a wing-back system at that time...but I did think 4-4-2 ish systems worked best in each year rather than using 3-5-2 anyway - various different systems were in use of course in top teams and in general although 4-4-2 or something close was surely as frequently used as anything, though I actually had more like 4-1-3-2 probably and sometimes more towards 4-4-2 while sometimes more with AMs/forwards in the wider roles) than a Hierro, while Blanc is in between/flexible (for Auxerre I think he did line-up behind 3 others a bit like Scirea would have done, as genuine sweeper). Anyway I guess you will pick some of these sweeper types but just show them as CB's.... Just as your CMs might often be one playmaker and one anchor in effect I guess (sometimes teams did line up with that set-up without necessarily being defined as 4-1-3-2 teams instead of 4-4-2. Probably you wouldn't pick exactly the same players as me in those years (though I know you stopped your lists at 1994, which is why Peru is going on from there anyway), but I do think the choices I made could fit ok according to your descriptions so it should work well enough I think! Post Sammer, the libero issue probably does go away anyway, and though a few prominent teams have been playing 3 at the back recently I agree 4-2-3-1 seems to suit recent times best too.
1972 This is a very interesting season in my estimation. In South American the season includes the 72 Libertadores played from Jan 72 to May 72. Also includes a two part domestic tournament in the major countries. Brazil plays the State Championship from Feb to Sept, with Argentina matching this time frame for the Metropolitan. Then both follow with a second tournament Brasileiro and Nacional that run from roughly Sep to late Dec. A number of countries play internationals in Jan and Feb of 1973 that occur before the beginning of the next domestic season, and will be part of this season. The major international competition is the Brazil Independence Cup played in the summer. In Europe the season runs the standard timeline for the 1971-72 season. In South America, Brazil has an excellent defensive performance and wins the Independence Cup at home. Argentina also does relative well in the tournament and claims some other important victories in friendlies. On the club level Palmeiras wins a historic double taking the Paulista and Brasileiro. Internacional are the only team that approaches their level on success in the Brasileiro. Flamengo wins the Carioca, but Botafogo are the only Rio team that preforms well in the Brasileiro. San Lorenzo win both competitions in Argentina and have a great team. Independiente wins the Libertadores despite mediocre results in the domestic competitions. Universitario makes history as the first Peruvian team to ever make the Libertadores final, defeating defending champions Nacional on the way. In Europe we have two historically great side. On the club side Ajax wins everything in dominating fashion. On the international front Germany wins the European Championships in style, with what many consider their best team ever. A number of other countries have strong performances. In Portugal Benfica win the domestic double and reach the EC semifinal where they push the great Ajax side harder than any other team, falling 1-0 after two legs. A largely Benfica based Portugal squad is excellent in the Independence Cup, coming in second. Scotland has a very strong year as well. Celtic also has another great team winning a domestic double and reaching the EC semi final before being losing 0-0 on penalties to a very negative Inter Milan team. Rangers wins the Cup Winners Cup, defeating Bayern Munich in the semifinal, German champions and the core of their great international team. Scotland also has a strong international season. Poland win a relatively competitive Olympics, and the USSR has a strong season sending a number of club teams deep in European Competitions and making deep runs the the European Championship and Olympics. Goalkeeper: Emerson Leão (PAL, BRA) Right Back: Artur Correia (BEN, POR) Creative Center Back: Franz Beckenbauer (BAM, WEG) Stopper: Elias Figueroa (INT) Left Back: Paul Breitner (BAM, WEG) Center Midfield: Johan Neeskens (AJA, NET) Center Midfield: Ademir da Guia (PAL) Attacking Midfield: Günter Netzer (BOM, WEG) Right Forward: Jairzinho (BOT, BRA) Striker: Gerd Müller (BAM, WEG) Left Forward: Johan Cruyff (AJA, NET) Bench Striker: Włodzimierz Lubański (GOZ, POL) Forward: Piet Keizer (AJA, NET) Midfield: Kazimierz Deyna (LEW, POL) Midfield: Pedro Rocha (SAP) Fullback: Ruud Krol (AJA, NET) Center Back: Héctor Chumpitaz (UND, PER) Keeper: Evgeni Rudakov (DYK, SOU) Players considered and rough rankings. Goalkeeper Emerson Leão Evgeni Rudakov Pat Jennings Gordon Banks Sepp Maier José Ángel Iribar José Henrique Ivo Viktor Jürgen Croy A deep season for goalkeeper. Emerson Leão is great in all fronts. Wins Paulista only allowing 8 goals over 22 games. Wins the Brasileiro only allowing 19 goals over 30 games, named Bola de Prata. Wins Independence Cup with Brazil while not allowing a single goal in 4 games vs Portugal, Scotland, Czechoslovakia, and Yugoslavia. Rudakov is one of the stars on the European Championship with USSR making the final. Jennings is great with Tottenham winning the UEFA Cup only allowing 6 goals in a 12 games tournament. Also leads Northern Ireland to a 1-0 win over England in London. Maier wins a ton with Bayern and Germany but I am not sure he is rated as highly as he will be later in the 70s. Banks wins FWA POTY, but other than winning the league cup I am not sure why. Stoke were poor otherwise. Iribar has a strong year with Spain only allowing 1 goal in 5 games. José Henrique is the goalkeeper for Benfica and Portugal. Ivo Viktor is one of the best during this time highlighted by the 0-0 draw with Brazil in the Independence Cup where he was great. Jürgen Croy is East German POTY, although I am not sure what performances were key to him winning the award. Right Back Artur Correia Zé Maria Wim Suurbier Sandy Jardine Correia was great for Benfica's nearly all conquering side. After the EC Semifinal vs Ajax, Kovacs called him the best right back in Europe. He was great in the Independence Cup, giving a MOTM type performance in the Final vs Brazil, constantly menacing down the right. Zé Maria was the locked in starter for Brazil's impregnable defense and made the Brasileiro SF with Cornthians. Suurbier was excellent with the great Ajax team. Jardine broke through this year into the Scottish national side and was great with Rangers winning the CWC. Center Back Franz Beckenbauer Elias Figueroa Héctor Chumpitaz Murtaz Khurtsilava Ramón Heredia Billy McNeill Barry Hulshoff Josip Katalinski Roy McFarland Colin Todd Horst Blankenburg Humberto Coelho Marius Trésor John Greig Mike England Luís Pereira Jerzy Gorgoń Great year for center backs. Beckenbauer is at his peak with Germany. Figueroa is rated as the bets player in the Brasiliero and makes the semifinal of the competition. Chumpitaz captains the first Peru team ever to the Libertadores final. Khurtsilava plays a massive campaign this season for the USSR playing in the European Championships, Olympics, and Independence Cup, is TOTT in the EC. Heredia is the key defender for all conquering San Lorenzo and starter for a successful Argentina side. McNeill is great for Celtic again and plays his way back into the national team. Hulshoff and Blankenburg are a great pair for Ajax, as are McFarland and Todd for English Champions Derby. Katalinski is great for Yugoslavia in the IC. Coelho is great for Benfica and Portugal in all their competitions. Greig captains Rangers to the CWC. England is the key defender for Spurs run to the UC. Pereira is a break out star in Brazil with Palmieras. Gorgoń is key to Poland's victory in the Olympics and wins the domestic double. Left Back Paul Breitner Ruud Krol Ricardo Pavoni Marco Antônio Close call between the top three for the starting position. Breitner is great in the EC and is very well rated domestically in Germany. Krol is having his breakthrough season with Ajax. Pavoni is well rated in Argentina despite the teams average domestic permanence, and key in their Libertadores win. Marco Antônio is the starter for the great Brazil defense. Center Midfield Johan Neeskens Pedro Rocha Billy Bremner Dudu Viktor Kolotov Clodoaldo Romeo Benetti Roberto Telch Wilfried van Moer José Omar Pastoriza Miguel Ángel Raimondo A lot of depth here although I am a bit unsure of the ranking. Neeskens won everything with Ajax but I am not sure he he was viewed this highly prior the the 1974 WC. Was he seen as one of Ajax's most important players in thsi season? The 1972 Balon d'Or voting does not really indicate that. @PuckVanHeel any input? Rocha ws excellent with Sao Paulo. Now a box to box midfielder he was excellent in deep Libertoadores, Paulista and Brasiliero (top scorer) runs. Bremner won the FA Cup with Leeds and nearly the double. Was good with Scotland as well. Dudu was excellent paired with Ademir da Guia with Palm. Kolotov was a workhorse for the national team and domestic champion in USSR. Clodoaldo was starter for Brazil's IC winning side. Benetti was becoming the top midfielder in Serie A, winning the Italian Cup and finishing runner up in the league. Telch was key for San Lorenzo's double. van Moer was important for an excellent Belgium side in the European Championship. Pastoriza and Raimondo were key in Independiente's Libertadores win. Attacking Midfield Günter Netzer Ademir da Guia Kazimierz Deyna Paulo Cézar Lima Uli Hoeneß Rivelino Gianni Rivera Miguel Ángel Brindisi Norberto Alonso Hristo Bonev Netzer was German Footballer of the year and star of the national team, seen as the player who pushed them to a new level. Ademir da Guia was the star of Palmieras who dominated in Brazil, Bola de Prata. Deyna was the star of the 72 Olympics where Poland overcame a number of good teams in East Germany, Denmark, USSR, and Hungary. Caju was Flamengo's key player to win the Carioca, and despite the team relatively disappointing finish in Brasiliero, was Bolo de Prata. Hoeneß was a key player for Germany and Bayern. Rivelino was a locked on starter for Brail and made the Brasiliero semifinal. Rivera was excellent for AC Milan which pushed for three trophies. Alonso had his breakout season with River Plate that was capped off by scoring the winner vs West Germany in an end of the season friendly. Bonev was excellent for Bulgaria. Fowards/Wingers Johan Cruyff Jairzinho Piet Keizer Rubén Ayala Luigi Riva Dragan Džajić Teófilo Cubillas Robert Gadocha Paul Van Himst Óscar Más Jimmy Johnstone Amancio Cruyff is self explanatory. Dominant on the club level and Netherlands had a strong run during this season as well. Jairzinho was the key attacker for Brazil winning the IC and had some famous performances leading Botafogo to the Brasileiro final. Keizer was not far behind Cryuff as Ajax's most important and most talented player. Ayala was Argentina's star domestic player this season leading San Lorenzo to the double. Riva has a major jump back to top form and is one off the serie a top scorer also has a strong season with Italy. Džajić is fantastic for Yugoslavia internationally. Cubillas is SAPOTY and played at a high level throughout. Gadocha is one of Poland's key players. Van Himst has a resurgence and wins the domestic double and helps Belguim to the Euro semifinal. Más had a big scoring season in Argentina and was good with the national team. Johnstone and Amancio both won titles and were still top wingers in Europe. Center Forward Gerd Müller Włodzimierz Lubański Raoul Lambert Martin Chivers Rodolfo Fischer Dušan Bajević Roberto Boninsegna Ferenc Bene Leivinha Narciso Doval A slim year after the clearly top ranked Muller. Lubański wins the domestic double and is important to the Olympic win. Lambert is the star of the Euro run by Belgium. Chivers is excellent for Tottenham and first choice for England. Rodolfo Fischer wins the Metropolitan with San Lorenzo and then moves to Botafogo and comes in second in the Brasileiro in one season. Also excellent in IC for Argetnina. Bajević has a huge goal scoring run for Yugoslavia. Boninsegna is top scorer in Italy and EC finalist. Bene is excellent for club and country. Leivinha is a break out star in Brail with Palmieras. Doval is top scorer in Carioca.
I'll try to collect what I have. Did you see other sources? Generally it was the case (and a problem as well) that one player dominated all headlines and praise. To be continued...
Here's my try. Hopefully not too chaotic. Neeskens got one vote in the 1972 Ballon d'Or (of 26 voters). It is a noteworthy list in that it was the first time the european championships for countries had a strong effect on the voting (this consistently continued until 2000). It was also not until 1974 that a player won it twice in a row; for 19 years this did not happen, partially by design and intention (since the very beginning; for ex. the explicit instruction to not vote for Matthews in 1957, as noticed in '50 ans de Ballon d'Or'). The Fussball Woche poll among European magazines had Neeskens in their XI; the consistently cited Sport Magazine (Yugoslavia) poll - consistently appearing in archives - among 25-80 European publications had him not in the XI. Unfortunately I haven't the fine 'Goal Magazine' XI for this year. The 'World Football Handbook' had Neeskens included for 1974 and 1975, but indeed not for 1972. Glanville's annual top 20 list in the International Football Book never included Neeskens somehow, but his reflection (in IFB #25, 1984) did place Neeskens among the 25 great players of the past 25 years. Like the 1972 WFH top 50 list, also Eric Batty only included Cruijff in his XI. "Beyond the Last Man" notes: Neeskens received his first invitation for a representative international XI (not counting testimonials and such) for a game on Wembley, January 1973. He was together with Krol, Suurbier and Cruijff among the 16 names to take part against 'The New Three'. Cruijff declined the invitation because of a persistent ankle injury - inflicted by kicks - that bothered him throughout the year. The 1973 edition of WFH also typed this in their write-up: "The living evidence that one man can make a team. [...] and was a major cause of their renewed success in 1972-73, though much troubled by ankle injuries" There is a retrospective article about that January 1973 match. It was - to repeat for clarity - the first truly representative side (and well-covered) where Neeskens got invited. http://www.wsc.co.uk/features/13450-getting-into-europe-the-1973-common-market-match Despite some widespread reservations about the players, it needs to be noted that meanwhile the quality and pedigree of the team was never in real doubt. Halfway 1979 a South American poll by El Grafico (across the world but with heavy weight towards latin countries) placed late 1960s and 1970s Ajax just behind Santos and Real Madrid, and on a par with 'Grande Inter'. A France Football vote analogue to the EPotY (same group of voters) - nowadays somewhat forgotten - had Ajax as best team for 1969, 1971, 1972 and 1973. In that context the relative reservations for the players itself become noticeable. The Grande Inter players for example (not necessarily a popular side) routinely scored higher and better in lists like the WFH and EPotY, also in tournament years. This was an important factor, but probably not a decisive one, in the breakdown of the Ajax team. Even Eric Batty routinely compared Ajax to the 1950s Real Madrid side, although he preferred Gento and co overall. Despite his inhibitions to the practitioners, as backed up by BtlM, this is no small praise considering that he already wondered in the early 1960s and mid 1960s (1963, 1964) whether club football showed a higher level than national team football (as did Glanville). And on which dimensions. By that time he also acknowledged that Cruijff as an individual footballer is seen at the level of Pelé and Di Stefano, but also here he preferred Di Stefano (over Pelé as well, and Puskas over Pelé too). Although I've been critical (and continue to be) of this quite influential writer, his views might be turned into sense when going down the route of "inferior resources" (resources in a narrow and/or broad sense). Then the set of logic he used might start to make some sense. The Footballs Greatest episode (2010) pinned the Amsterdam club down as "still an amateur club in nature". Cruijff himself commented a number of times (in the foreign press apparently too) that IFK Goteborg was the team of the 1980s. In the 1960s Gina Lollobrigida already insisted and demanded to be on a photo with him, but by 1972 he (unfortunately?) overshadowed everyone else. He became (justifiably?) a larger than life figure. Also his outspokenness and strong convictions always attracted opposition and attention alike (on the international scene too, back in the 1960s). See this interesting piece that I translated for @wm442433 https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/johan-cruijff-rip.2030292/page-3#post-34557729 So for a couple of these reasons (maybe more, but for reasons of space and clarity) Neeskens is indeed one that might vary from top to lower in the chain. That WSC article is really nice. It is a situation that is not easy to decipher. Like others, I personally liked this well written article of today (on a major American sports website). http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/2017/4/25/15418448/johan-cruyff-is-soccers-greatest-mythical-figure It's that possibly "greatest myth", that has in turn a big effect on Neeskens in 1972. * another one that I rapidly scanned through, dated April 1994 (India): http://www.sportstarlive.com/footba...tar-archives-johan-cruyff/article18206830.ece ** if you list about ~80 names, then Pelé might still be somewhere among the first 100 names (by 1974 and beyond it becomes more questionable if not impossible).
@Tom Stevens Give a shout if you want to see a copy and/or evidence of cited polls/lists (which ones). Then I can put them in spoiler tags (for reasons of space).
Here in spoiler tags a few WS articles from between 1970 - 1973 as well as two from January/February 1978 (involving Neeskens): Spoiler (Move your mouse to the spoiler area to reveal the content) Show Spoiler Hide Spoiler In a March 1971 preview of Ajax vs Celtic (title: 'meeting of two attacking sides') they state this: "Whereas Ajax may not have Celtic's strength in depth of actual numbers, they do have a pretty useful side which boasts the Continental's most prized possession at present in Johan Cruyff. Both club and player are anxious that this should be a memorable season as it could well be Cruyff's last with the Dutch side." These are not new, they have been posted before.
As a final thing on this (from me); He's of course entitled to his opinion and in some ways an assessment looking back at the past 25 years (in 1984) is more valuable than looking back at the entire history or looking from 2017 to the past 70 years. What has to be considered is that in 1972 he was relatively new as a midfielder. In 1971 he played quite a few games as sweeper or as right-back (incl. the 1971EC final). In 1969 he wasn't there yet. Think that he enhanced his reputation at the 1978WC and also the 1978-79 Cup Winners Cup where he played excellent in a spectacular and often memorized final (despite finishing 5th in the league, 3 points removed from 9th; early elimination in the Copa del Rey too). Even his stay at the Cosmos might've helped his profile somewhat. He also left Barcelona in relatively good circumstances (tainted relationship with the president and football authorities; mightily popular among the fans, calling his name) Was looking back at a few WS issues I own and Germany correspondent Artur Rotmil was in june 1969 - before the EC final - positively wondering whether JC14 was "Europe's number one" and that "barring injuries" big things will happen. This was before Neeskens (Keizer, JC14, Hulshoff, Suurbier the only ones present in all four finals). Suggestions of that kind ("world's best", "greatest") frequently returned until his first retirement - see examples above. Also elsewhere by Jack Rollin in November 1977 for example, a writer who is rated highly for his judgement in the Football Compendium ("a highly respected writer on football subjects"). So clearly Neeskens was in the shadows - arguably correctly if you look at the respective influence on the team's results and a few other factors. He wasn't there in 1973-74 either. But I also tend to think that 1975, 1978, 1979 and both world cups enhanced his reputation as a good player by himself.
1950 In South America this season includes the World Cup and a few internationals played in May as warm ups. It also includes all of the 1950 domestic seasons and the 1951 Rio Sao Paulo Tournament in Brazil. The first two editions of the RSP (50 and 51) were played immediately after the state championships of the prior year. They were originally meant to happen at the end of the season. So in this season the 1950 Carioca/Paulista end at the in January of 1951 before the RSP starts immediately after. This changes when the 1952 edition is moved back and played in the Spring immediately before the State Championships and becomes the first competition of the season, which is the way it remains for some time. The top club sides in South America are Vasco who wins the Carioca again, although not as dominating as the previous season. Bangu show big improvement with the arrival of Zizinho finishing strong in the Carioca and RSP. Palmieras has a great season winning the Paulista and RSP led by Jair. Racing is now clearly the dominant team in a recovering Argentina league who are now importing some top talent to replace what left for Colombia. Nacional has a great year in Uruguay beating Penarol's squad which makes the majority of the Uruguay national team. Uruguay and Brazil are the two important international sides, the top two finishers at the World Cup. In Europe this is a standard 49-50 season. A number of teams go to South America for a World Cup for the first time. The top domestic sides are probably in Italy where a huge talent import has happened. AC Milan, Juventus and Inter all have great sides, with Juventus taking the tile and AC Milan setting goal scoring records. Budapest Honved wins their first of many titles. Rangers followed up last seasons treble with a double. Atletico Madrid win La Liga. Austria Vienna are champions in Austria. On the international front Spain and Sweden have relatively strong results at the World Cup although they git crushed by Brazil. Yugoslovia has a good team but are unfortunate to be drawn in the same group as Brazil, but preform better than Sweden of Spain did against them. England and Italy disappoint at the World Cup. Possibly the two best emerging European sides are Austria and Hungary who did not attend the World Cup. Both had very strong seasons. Goalkeeper: Roque Máspoli (PEN, URU) Right Back: Augusto da Costa (VAS, BRA) Center Back: Carlo Parola (ITA, JUV) Left Back: Víctor Rodríguez Andrade (CEN, URU) Right Half: Obdulio Varela (PEN, URU) Left Half: József Bozsik (BUH, HUN) Right Wing: Alcides Ghiggia (PEN, URU) Right Forward: Zizinho (BAN, BRA) Center Forward: Ademir (VAS, BRA) Left Forward: Ferenc Puskás (BUH, HUN) Left Wing: Karl Åge Præst (JUV) Bench Center Forward: Gunnar Nordahl (ACM) Inside Forward: Rinaldo Martino (JUV, NAC) Wing: Estanislo Basora (BAR, SPA) Half Back: Ernst Ocwirk (AUV, AUS) Fullback: Erik Nilsson (MAL, SWE) Center Back: Matias Gonzalez (CER, URU) Goalkeeper: Antonio Ramallets (BAR, SPA) Players considered and rough rankings Goalkeeper Roque Máspoli Antonio Ramallets Barbosa Walter Zeman I came down to Máspoli vs Ramallets. Ramallets seems to be in a few more teams of the tournaments than Maspoli, but Ramallets had a relatively poor domestic season and only played in half a Spain's games this season. Both had some huge performances in the WC. Barbosa was great up until the final where he takes a big part of the blame for allowing Ghiggia's goal. Declines from there having a poor RSP. Zeman is a big names but no clear standout performances from him, most of Austria's games are high scoring, even the ones they win. Right Back Augusto da Costa George Young Schubert Gambetta Three contenders here. I went with Augusto who made some teams of the tournament and did not have any issues in the games vs Uruguay, shutting down their left side (all the danger came from the right). won another Carioca with Vasco. George Young was excellent with Rangers and Scotland were decent as well but missed out on the WC after losing 1-0 to England. Gambetta won the domestic title in Uruguay and was a good preform for the national team, although he was in and out of the side. Center Back Carlo Parola Matias Gonzalez Willie Woodburn Ivica Horvat Eusebio Tejera Parola may be a bit of a surprise to some here but he was rated as Juventus' greatest defenders ever. There defense was the key to them winning the title relatively comfortably despite AC Milan's Record setting goal scoring feat. Gonzalez was one of the heroes of the final for Uruguay, but big picture I am not sure how well he played in other games and he played for a smaller club in Uruguay. Woodburn like Young was great for Rangers and Scotland's excellent defense. Horvat was excellent for Yugoslavia. Tejera won the Uruguay league with Nacional and was a part of the WC winning team. Left Back Víctor Rodríguez Andrade Erik Nilsson Johnny Carey Was not sure whether to place Andrade as a half or a back. Either way he was one fo the standouts of the tournament and final for Uruguay. Nilsson won Sweden's player of the year, although he missed a large part of Malmo's record setting unbeaten season. he was one of the better defenders at the World Cup for Sweden. Carey was again strong for Man United. He also captained Ireland to a 2-0 win over England in England. Right Half Obdulio Varela Antonio Puchades Bauer Zlatko Čajkovski Some pyramid center halves are mixed in to bot left and right half. Varela was probably Uruguay's best (maybe Ghiggia?) and definitely most important player in the World Cup win. Puchades was excellent for Spain. Bauer was Brazil best half of the tournament, but disappointingly missed out on a third straight Paulista in the final match vs Palmieras. Sao Paulo also came in last in the RSP. Čajkovski was ever present for a good Yugoslavia side. Left Half József Bozsik Ernst Ocwirk Danilo Alvim Ernesto Gutiérrez Hard to choose between Bozsik and Ocwirk. Both were great winning domestic titles and for their national teams. Alvim won another Carioca with Vasco but is not often mentioned as on of Brazil's better players at the WC. Gutiérrez is probably the best half playing in Argentina at this point with Racing. Right Wing Alcides Ghiggia Estanislo Basora Ernst Melchior László Budai Friaça Mario Boyé Ermes Muccinelli Ghiggia was Uruguay's best attacker and a constant menace in the final vs Brazil, getting a goal and an assist and tormenting the right side of Brazil's defense. Basora was great in the WC for Spain, possiblt their best player, although he had a muted domestic season compared to past and future seasons. Melchior was excellent domestically winning the title in Austria (21 goals in 24 games)/ He played twice fro Austria, scoring the only goal in a 1-0 win vs Italy and scoring in the 4-3 win over Hungary, Hungary's last defeated until the 1954 World Cup final. Budai was excellent with a Ferencvaros side that narrowly missed repeating as champions and was locked in as starter for the national team. Friaça was the started for Brazil's offensive machine. Boyé was excellent for Racing. Muccinelli was an important part of Juventus's winning side. Right Forward Zizinho Rinaldo Martino Karl Decker Gunnar Gren Sándor Kocsis Norberto Mendez Karl-Erik Palmér Larbi Ben Barek A really strong group, gave serious thought to not starting Zizinho, as I agree with some others here he was probably not Brazil's best player over Ademir. However he was still surely great especially in the demolitions of the European sides. He also had an impressive club season in his first year with Bangu. The team had a huge uptick in goals scored and point won with his arrival. They were third in the Carioca only a few points behind Vasco and second highest scoring team. They also placed third in the RSP, the highest place of any Rio team where Zizinho scored 5 times in 7 games. Martino had a unique achievement this season, being one of Juventus' best players in their title winning season, before Moving to Nacional and winning a second title in the same season on a different continent. He played 35 times and scored 18 goals for Juventus, and 18 times scoring 10 goals for Nacional. He triggered Nacional's offense that far outscored Penarol who had the entire starting 5 attackers for the national team that had won the domestic title undefeated the previous season. Despite his short stay with both teams he became a club legend at both. Decker had a fantastic season for club and country. He was top scorer in the Austrian Bundesliga and with the national team scored 10 goals in 6 games, 4 of those vs Hungary. He scored braces in both the 4-3 win and 5-3 loss. Gren was the key play maker and dribbler for the AC Milan side the scored a record number of goals in a season. Kocsis had a great season with Ferencvaros, scoring 30 goals in 30 games. He narrowly missed out on the domestic title and was 1 goal behind Puskas for top scorer. He scored 6 times in 6 games for Hungary. Mendez is probably the bets forward in Argentina now that his old national team teammates (Moreno, Pedernera, Di Stefano, Martino) have all moved on. Palmér is great for Sweden scoring 8 times in 10 games and is the key play maker for Malmo's record setting undefeated domestic side. Ben Barek leads Atletico to the domestic title in Spain. Center Forward Ademir Gunnar Nordahl Giampiero Boniperti Telmo Zarra Óscar Míguez Jef Mermans Walter Gomez Valeriano López It was hard not to put Nordahl in first place as he set Italy's goal scoring record that would last for more than 60 years. Ademir was just to good, he was the top scorer in the Carioca, RSP, and World Cup. If you total his games played and goals scored in all Carioca, RSP and International games this season he scored 47 goals in 34 games. He was also an excellent play maker setting up many goals for others, including Brazil's only goal in the WC Final. Boniperti was excellent for Juventus who beat AC Milan for the title. Zarra was top scorer in Spain and won the Copa Del Rey, also had some big games for Spain at the WC. Míguez had some crucial moments for Uruguay in the WC although he was contained in the final. Mermans had a great season domestically and internationally in Belgium. Gomez was a hit in his first season with River Plate. López had a big year in Colombia, famously scoring a hat trick in a 5-3 win vs the star studded Millionarios. Left Forward Ferenc Puskás Jair Rosa Pinto Nils Liedholm Juan Alberto Schiaffino John Hansen Puskas was champion and top scorer in Hungary. He also scored 10 times in 6 games for Hungary. Was hard not to start Jair who was excellent in the WC and won the double domestically. He had a famous performance in the Paulista final vs Sao Paulo in the rain and mud, and scored a brace in the RSP final vs Corinthians. Liedholm was great for the AC Milan offensive machine. Schiaffino had some very important moments in the WC but he missed about half the domestic season for Penarol, and I feel his importance to Uruguay is slightly overstated for this tournament, although he was surely good. Hansen scored 28 times for champions Juventus. Left Wing Karl Åge Præst István Nyers Billy Liddell Agustin Gainza Jacques Fatton Ezra Sued Chico It was close between Praest and Nyers. Præst was great for Juventus. Nyers was a force of nature on the left, he followed up last season top scorer performance in Italy with 30 goals this season. Liddell was great for Liverpool. Gainza was strong for club and country. Fatton had a few big games for Switzerland scoring a brace to earn a 2-2 tie with Brazil in the WC, and a brace to tie Austria 3-3 in Vienna. Sued was excellent for Argentina's run away champions Racing. Chico was excellent in the WC but had fallen out of favor or been injured with Vasco and barely played this season.
Excellent work with these Tom - it's great that you put so much work and research into compiling them, and it's always interesting to see the long lists of names and your reasoning too. I don't think I can offer huge input so far, in terms of potential adjustments. I'm thinking perhaps Finney might merit a mention more than Chico for 1950, but I guess you might feel mentioning more obscure names where there is an opportunity is always good and I might do that myself sometimes (even yesterday when suggesting Boban as 'reserve' playmaker for 1999, in the knowledge I'd given mentions already to Zidane and Rui Costa ofc in other years...although I'm thinking all in all Boban could be a fair/good choice in the same way that Yorke was put in rather than Bergkamp and Crespo rather than Batistuta when thinking of that whole season). I also wondered about switching the roles of Bozsik/Varela in 1950, and Ademir/Netzer in 1972, but I don't know for sure Bozsik wasn't primarily left half that year actually (so if you know he was then ignore the suggestion!) and I know Netzer was very much the playmaker for club and country even if arguably a CM rather than AM - I don't think it makes much difference to the 'feel' of the selection anyway re: him and Ademir but just wonder if the Brazilian did play generally more free/advanced so thought it might be worth mentioning).
Excellent proposal Tom!, I think this will be another great work to analyze bit by bit. Maybe I haven't noticed it anywhere in the introduction, but is there any particular reason why you aren't doing them chronologically (1936, 1972, 1950...)?
In the early 50s, the Colombian league known as "El Dorado" was on pair with the better South American leagues (Argentina & Brazil). Some of the most notable players were in Millonarios, in addition to Di Stefano, the likes of Julio Cozzi, Pipo Rossi and Pedernera were in those years among the better SA players in their roles, I think also contenders in a worldwide list, but maybe, 1950 when they lost the title and haven't too much international tours, it isn't the best year to push for them. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesm/millonarios-intl.html
I am going out of order so it hopefully will not become as monotonous. Jumping around will hopefully keep it interesting and I will finish. I am working on 1963 right now. I also think I am going to start Bremner in Neeksans place for 1972. Really not a standout candidate among the true center/defensive midfielders that year. Any input would be appreciated.
Not a whole lot. Some quotes about good domestic performance, was good in the FA Cup final. Leeds had a chance to win the double. All they had to do was draw the last game of the season, but they were forced to play the domestic season final two days after the victorious FA Cup Final and lost 2-1. I have also read some second hand reports that he was excellent in the Independence Cup where he captained a very young side to good results, based on the competition and the team Scotland took to the tournament..
Yes that makes sense. Why do you think Keizer was a *close* 2nd best of the team? World Soccer thought otherwise. Neither was he included in the top 50 players by WFH.
Apart from how to interpret it (and how BdO has changed), how is 73 points vs 13 points close? 21 inclusions - same as the winner - versus 8 inclusions. 1972 was his best finish, I know, with the other time he got votes in 1971. Although this is not automatically and by default right, in my book he had at club level a lot fewer individual recognitions than other 'Robins' as Gento, Law, Boniek or Careca for instance. Both at peak year and in career. That is where my wondering on this idea and sentence started. See the third piece above. It was the same for 1972. N.B. do you happen to have an idea on this here? Pages 58-60. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/bi...-year-1950-2009.1389516/page-60#post-35392670 (this post as clarification and explanation)
My point is not that he is close to Cruyff, it is that he is the clearly the closest Ajax player to Cruyff, or in your words he is clearly the "Robin" of this team. Being the Robin of what is possibly the greatest club team ever is worth a lot in my book. I don;y like the idea of only one player getting all the credit for a team this good. As we could see in 1972-73 the were still great when Cruyff was in and out of the team/not on top form etc.
OK thanks and fair enough. Was just curious about the reasoning behind (and not satisfied with the Ballon d'Or answer): "Keizer was not far behind Cryuff as Ajax's most important and most talented player." Both were avid chain smokers 1972-73 is for a different time.
An omission I have made in 1972 is Christian Piot among the Goalkeepers. He could fit in anywhere below Jennings among the goalkeepers imo.
1963 In South America all of the 1963 domestic competitions are part of the season. The 1963 South American Championships are part of the previous season, occurring early in the spring before this season began. International competition is light this season for South America, with the only major occurrence being Brazil's relatively disappointing tour of Europe. Domestically Santos win everything except the Paulista (Rio-Sao Paulo, Taca Brasil, Libertadores, Intercontinental Cup), Palmieras wins the Paulista in at Santos' expense. In Argentina Boca Junior has a strong run to the Libertadores final but is off the pace domestically. Independiente edges River Plate for the domestic title. In Europe the normal timeline for the 1962-63 season applies. The top domestic sides are Tottenham who win the Cup Winners Cup in grand style, crushing top sides like Rangers and Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid easily win the title in Spain but are knocked out of the EC early. Italy has a strong season with and excellent young Inter side emerging to win the title and AC Milan winning the EC. Benfica reaches a third straight EC final be cannot three-peat as they lose a close final. Internationally the most successful side is Italy which is a perfect 5-0 including a 3-0 win vs Brazil. They only allowed 1 goal in 5 games. Scotland, Belgium, Hungary, Sweden, and Yugoslavia all have good years as well. Goalkeeper: Lev Yashin (DIM, SOU) Right Back: Djalma Santos (PAL, BRA) Center Back: Cesare Maldini (ACM, ITA) Left Back: Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (KLO, WEG) Fourth Back: Dave Mackay (TOH, SCO) Half Back: Jim Baxter (RAN, SCO) Removed Forward: Mario Coluna (BEN, POR) Right Wing: Jair da Costa (INT) Center Forward: Jose Altafini (ACM) Inside Forward: Pele (SAN, BRA) Left Wing: Pepe (SAN, BRA) Subs Forward: Jimmy Greave (TOH, ENG) Forward: Gianni Rivera (ACM, ITA) Wing: Cliff Jones (TOH, WAL) Midfield: Luis Suarez (INT) Fullback: Giacinto Facchetti (INT, ITA) Center Back: Laurent Verbiest (BEL, AND) Goalkeeper: Costa Pereira (BEN, POR) Players considered and rough ranking Goalkeeper Lev Yashin Costa Pereira Bill Brown Jean Nicolay Gordon Banks Milutin Šoškić Amadeo Carrizo Gilmar Yashin is the best in a relatively underwhelming group with an excellent domestic season. Costa Pereira was excellent in champions league and had a signature performance shutting out Brazil. Bill Brown was excellent for Tottenham and Scotland. Jean Nicolay won the domestic title in Belgium and was excellent for the national team. Won the Belgium Golden Shoe for the year of 1963. Gordon Banks has and excellent domestic season and breaks into the England starting 11. Milutin Šoškić wins the domestic title in Yugoslavia. Carrizo has a strong domestic season and regains his place in the national team. Gilmar wins a lot for Santos but I am not sure about his form, lots of goals conceded for Santos and Brazil. Santos wins by outscoring opponents. Right Back Djalma Santos Sándor Mátrai Klaus Urbanczyk Roberto Ferreiro Feliciano Rivilla Santos wins the Paulista. Matrai has a strong campaign winnings domestic title for Ferenvaros, reaching the Fairs Cup SF and a good season for Hungary. Urbanczyk is excellent for East German who advance in Euro 64 qualifying. Ferreiro is an important part of Independiente championship team and first choice for Argentina. Rivilla is Spains starting right back and almost helps Althletic win a second consecutive CWC. Center Back Cesare Maldini Jose Santamaria Maurice Norman Mauro Ramos Åke Johansson Brian Labone Roberto Dias Rubén Navarro Maldini is the clear winner here with a complete season, winning the EC, and captaining a young Italy side to a 5-0 record conceding only 1 goal. Santamaria is the heart of the Real defense, the best in the league as they easily win the title by 12 points. Norman is a huge presence at the center of Tottenham's defense and first choice for England. Ramos is Santos' leader in defense as they win everything again. Åke Johansson wins the domestic title in Sweden and has an excellent year with the national team, moving on in Euro Qualifying and getting shut outs in Moscow and Belgrade. Brian Labone is great for champions Everton, who also have the best defense in the league. Dias hs an excellent season in Brazil and is a major part of the national team. Navarro is a starter for Independiente and Argentina. Left Back Karl-Heinz Schnellinger Giacinto Facchetti Fahrudin Jusufi Tomás Rolan Ladislav Novák The top three all have very strong seasons. Schnellinger nearly repeats and German Champions, coming in second. Facchetti wins the title with Inter and breaks into the national team, playing 3 times. Jusufi wins the title in Yugoslavia and has a good season with the national team. Rolan is a legendary Uruguayan defender for Independiente. Novák has a good season with Dukla, but the Czechs are underwhelming after their great World Cup the previous season. Fourth Back Dave Mackay Laurent Verbiest Velibor Vasović Aristide Guarneri Svatopluk Pluskal Altair Mackay is the lynchpin for Tottenham, especially with Blanchflower missing half the season. He controls both attack and defense with skill and violence. Verbiest has standout performances against the two biggest sides in the world, knocking Real Madrid out of the European Cup, and beating Brazil 5-1 with Belgium. Vasović was excellent winning the domestic title and having a successful season with Yugoslavia. Guarneri was an excellent stopper for Inter and capped for Italy. Pluskal was excellent for Dukla. Altair had a good season with Fluminense and was first choice for Brazil. Half Back Jim Baxter Giovanni Trapattoni Lima Antonio Rattín Josef Masopust Igor Netto Baxter was the star of the Rangers side that won the double. Most importantly he was great for Scotland and starred in the 2-1 win over England in London, a place where Scotland's last visit had resulted in a 9-3 defeat. Trapattoni was the unsung hero for Milan and a workhorse supporting the attack. He was also first choice for Italy's undefeated side. Lima was great for Santos playing significant time at both fulllbacks, halfback, fourth back, and as a removed forward filling in for often injured Zito and Mengalvio. With everyone healthy he probably would play fullback, which is where he played for Brazil this season, but he had far more games in the midfield for Santos. He played every game of Santos' marathon campaign and scored key goals in some big matches as well. Rattín was the driving force for Boca in the Libertadores, where they eliminated previous two time champions and three time finalists Penarol, only allowing 1 goal over two legs. Masopust was excellent for Dukla, as was Netto for Spartak, but neither achieved enough to with the national team to place higher. Removed Forward Mário Coluna Luis Suarez John White Jef Jurion Giacomo Bulgarelli Dino Sani Coluna was great again for Benfica, who reclaimed the league title and nearly won a third straight EC. His standout preformance was vs Dukla in the EC QF where he scored twice in a 2-1 win matched up against the great Dukla/Czech midfield of Masopust and Pluskal. He also controlled the center of the pitch in the 1-0 win over Brazil. Suarez adapted to his new role as a removed forward, leading Inter to the title. White was the conductor of Tottenham's unstoppable offense, starring in the 8-4 two leg victory over Rangers. Jurion was the star of Real Madrid's elimination in the EC for the first time by a none Iberian team, earning him the nickname mister Europe. Bulgarelli pulled the strings for the highest scoring offense in Serie A with Bologna, and was first choice for Italy's excellent side. Dino Sani was the key midfield play maker for AC Milan. Right Wing Jair Da Costa José Augusto Dorval Amancio Willie Henderson Igor Chislenko Todor Diev No one really stands out for a solid group. Jair is one of the break out stars for Inter winning the title. Augusto is excellent for Benfica and Portugal, scoring the winner vs Brazil. Dorval has a great season for Santos and is first choice for Brazil for the first time in Garrincha's place. Amancio has a great debut with Real Madrid and is instantly first choice for Spain. Henderson is great for Rangers and Scotland. Inside Forward Pele Jimmy Greaves Gianni Rivera Eusébio Ferenc Puskas Denis Law Omar Sívori Ermindo Onega A stacked position, as all the seasons signature players are at the same position. It was not as clear cut as I thought initially to put Pele number one. He did not have the same success outside of South America this season as he did last season. He missed the two Intercontinental Cup games that Santos won over AC Milan, and was part of the disappointing European tour for Brazil, although he did score 7 times in 7 games. His performances in South America, especially in the Libertadores and Rio-Sao Paulo, were great enough to propell him to the number one spot in a stacked group. Greaves was great for Tottenham domestically and in the CWC, although his season for England was less prolific than others. Rivera was the young star of Italy, winning the European Cup and leading the national team to the 3-0 win over Brazil, creating more promise than he would ever live up to in his career for Italy. Eusébio is great again for Benfica scoring 6 times in the European Cup as they reached the final and nearly won a third straight. Puskas was a far and away top scorer in Spain as Real ran away with the title, scoring 22 more goals than any other team in the league. Law won the Fa Cup with United, scoring 6 times in 6 games, helping to make up for a disappointing domestic campaign. He was a star with Scotland scoring 11 times in 7 games and was part of impressive away wins at Spain and England. Center Forward José Altafini Luis Artime Harald Nielsen Alex Young Pedro Manfredini José Torres Uwe Seeler Coutinho A thin group especially compared to inside forward. Altafini was average domestically put was top scorer for the European Cup, setting a record that would last until present times. Artime was top scorer in Argentina, 9 ahead of the nest highest scorer, and scored 3 times in 2 games for the national team. Nielsen was top scorer in Serie A with no penalties taken. Young, known as the golden vision, was a skillful play making center forward for English champions Everton. Left Wing Pepe Cliff Jones Mario Corso Enrique Collar Raul Savoy Máté Fenyvesi Francisco Gento Bruno Mora António Simões Pepe had a great season with Santos. His biggest moments were scoring twice in the 4-2 win over Milan with Pele absent and scored a great free kick vs England. Jones was a force for Tottenham's great offense and scored 4 times in 3 games for Wales. Corso was excellent for Inter. Collar had another great year with Athletico. Savoy was one of Independiente's star players and scored two goals in three games for Argentina. He was the architect of the record breaking 9-1 win over San Lorenzo to clinch the title. Fenyvesi was player of the year in Hungary and was great with a strong Ferencvaros team and national team.
This is also applies to what you say about the 1972-73 Ajax season but do you have full results somewhere of Santos during the 1963 season? I've the first one but not the 2nd complete. The Milan tie is 'only' one or two matches.