https://brfut.blogspot.com/2011/01/campeonato-paulista-1963-i-turno.html This blog also has results for RSP, Taca Brasil, etc.
1980 In South America a lot is going on. The Mundialito will mark the end of the season in South America, early in 1981. The top club sides on the continent are led by the three major club sides in Brazil. Flamengo wins the Brazilian Championship, Atletico Miniero are runners up, and Internacional make the Brazilian Championship semifinal and Libertadores final. Sao Paulo also has a very strong side at this time. Nacional has a great season winning the domestic title in Uruguay and winning the Libertadores and Intercontinental Cup. The core of this side also wins the Mundialito with Uruguay. River Plate is still the dominant team in Argentina. The big three national sides all have good years. Uruguay starts the season with a relatively poor tour of Europe but ends the years winning all three of its games as champions of the Mundialito, beating Netherlands 2-0, an excellent Italy side 2-0, and Brazil 2-1. Argentina play a strong complement of European sides in friendlies, playing three times in Europe (winning twice) and playing five more European sides at home. Their overall record was 6-1-1. In the Mundialito they beat West Germany 2-1, giving Germany their first defeat since Austria eliminated them from the World Cup in 1978. They then drew with Brazil but failed to advance to the final as Brazil beat West Germany by a bigger margin. Brazil played its first season under Tele Santana and had mixed results going 7-2-2. The low points were a loss to the Soviets at the Maracana, and the high point was the 4-1 over West Germany. The team was adapting to a new manager and missing some of its top players for much of the international season in winter (Zico, Reinaldo, Falcao). In Europe the normal 1979-80 season is in play. The Mundialito is not part of this season, creating a somewhat awkward comparison between the continents. Gemany has a fantastic season on the club and international level. Hamburg makes the final of the European Cup, and all four teams in the UEFA Cup semifinal are German. The national team also continues its dominance, and is undefeated and wins the 1980 European Championship, although the tournament as a whole is seen as relatively disappointing. Belgium, England, Italy, USSR, and Yugoslavia have good international seasons as well while Spain and Scotland are disappointing. Real Madrid has an excellent season winning the domestic double and reaching the EC semifinal. English football is strong domestically with Arsenal reaching the CWC final, Nottingham winning a second consecutive EC, and Liverpool winning the league title. Goalkeeper: Peter Shilton (NOF, ENG) Right Back: Manfred Kaltz (HAM, WEG) Creative Center Back: Ruud Krol (AJA, NET) Stopper: Daniel Passarella (RIP, ARG) Left Back: Júnior (FLA, BRA) Center Midfield: Toninho Cerezo (ATM, BRA) Center Midfield: Uli Stielke (REM, WEG) Attacking Midfield: Zico (FLA, BRA) Right Forward: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (WEG, BAM) Center Forward: Waldemar Victorino (NAC, URU) Left Forward: Diego Maradona (ARJ, ARG) Bench Forward: Jan Ceulemans (CLB, BEL) Forward: Socrates (COR, BRA) Midfield: Terence McDermott (LIV, ENG) Midfield: Batista (INT, BRA) Fullback: Hans-Peter Briegel (KLA, WEG) Center Back: Hugo De Leon (NAC, URU) Keeper: Rodolfo Rodriguez (NAC, URU) Players considered and rough rankings. Goalkeeper Peter Shilton Rodolfo Rodriguez Ubaldo Fillol Dino Zoff Ray Clemence Luis Arconada Harald Schumacher Strong year for goalkeepers with no clear cut winner. Shilton has his most legendary club performances in the European Cup but gets less games with the national team than Clemence. Rodriguez is fantastic for Nacional and Uruguay, winning every competition possible this season. Fillol wins another title for River Plate and is excellent for Argentina. Zoff Zoff has a great run for Italy only allowing 4 goals in 9 games. Clemence helps Liverpool to another domestic title and appears to be slightly ahead of Shilton in the pecking order for England. Arconada has a fantastic season with Bilbao finishing the domestic season even on points with Real Madrid and only allowing 20 goals in 34 games, 13 fewer than any other team in the league. Schumacher is excellent for Germany in the Euros. Right Back Manfred Kaltz Viv Anderson Giuseppe Baresi Claudio Gentile Eric Gerets Nelinho Phil Neal Edevaldo Maxime Bossis Kaltz seems to be the clear top choice, after that it is a wash. Kaltz is great in all competitions this season for club and country. Anderson has an excellent run in the EC. Baresi leads Inter Milan to the Serie A title. Gentile is ever present for Italy's great defense (not 100% sure this is the correct position for him this season). Gerets is excellent for Belgium. Nelinho is Bolo de Prata and rotates with Everaldo for Brazil. Neal has another excellent year with Liverpool and keeps Anderson out of the England team. Edevaldo wins the Carioca and gets 5 caps for Brazil and scores a crucial goal vs Argentina in the Mundialito. Bossis wins the domestic title in France and has a deep run in the CWC. Center Back Daniel Passarella Ruud Krol Hugo De Leon Gaetano Scirea Aleksandr Chivadze Luizinho Karlheinz Förster Phil Thompson David O'Leary Bruno Pezzey Edinho The top six were all great here and I am not sure of how to order them. Passarella had an excellent season for champions River Plate and as captain of Argentina. Krol was probably the best Dutch player at Euro 1980 and he was also a crucial part of their qualification at the beginning of the season in a tough group with East Germany and Poland. He led Ajax to the domestic title and EC Semifinal. Hugo De Leon was a key piece of the stout Nacional/Uruguay defense. Scirea was excellent at the Euros. Chivadze was Soviet player of the year. He led Tbilisi to knock Liverpool out of the EC, scoring in both legs. He broke into the national team who won all four games he played in this season, including a 2-1 win over Brazil in Rio. Luizinho was the break out star of Brazils season. He played almost every game for Miniero who won the state league and second in the national league. He was rated as Bola de Prata and became a locked in started for Brazil. Förster was excellent for Germany. Thompson was first choice for Liverpool and England. O'Leary was part of the PFA TOTS and captained Arsenal to the CWC final, where they lost 0-0 on penalties. Pezzey missed most of the Bundesliga season, but played every game in Eintracht Frankfurt's victorious UEFA Cup campaign. He scored a brace in the 5-1 semifinal victory over rivals and that seasons Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich. Edinho won the Carioca with Flu and was in the rotation for Brazil. Left Back Júnior Hans-Peter Briegel Alberto Tarantini Rafael Gordillo Antonio Cabrini Jose Antonio Camacho Junior and Briegel both have great years. Junior is one of the few players that does not miss a single game for Brazil and is Brazilian Champion and Bola de Prata. Briegel is the highest rated German defender in the Bundesliga and is very important to the national team. Tarantini has an excellent year with his new side River Plate and Argentina, where he starts every game. Gordillo is the highest rated player in La Liga and keeps Camacho out of the national team. Cabrini is solid for Juve and Italy. Camacho is a major part of the R Madrid side that nearly won the treble. Center Midfield Toninho Cerezo Uli Stielke Batista Paul Breitner Søren Lerby Wilfried Van Moer Americo Gallego Falcao Graeme Souness Gabriele Oriali René Vandereycken Cerezo was rated as the best player in the Brazilian league with Miniero reaching the final where they lost controversially to Flamengo. Also excellent for Brazil. Stielke was the highest rated foreighn player in La Liga with nearly all conquering Real Madrid and was an important player for Germany as the teams sweeper during the Euro. Batista was Bola de Prata and second place in Bola de Oro, with Internacional reaching the BC semifnal and also the CL final. Breitner is great for German champions Bayern. Lerby has a great season with Ajax, especially in the EC. Van Moer is one of Belgium's best players at Euro 80 where they make the final. Gallego has a strong season domestically and internationally in Argentina. Falcao is very highly rated in the BC but misses Bola de Prata as he is at the same position as Cerezo. Very important in the run to the CL final. Dose not play for Brazil as he moves to Roma immediately after the CL final. Souness is important to Liverpool's title season. Oriali is one of Inter Milan's key players. Vandereycken is solid for Belgium and domestic champions Club Brugge. Attacking Midfield Terence McDermott Ruben Paz Liam Brady Michel Platini Giancarlo Antognoni Bernd Schuster Frank Arnesen Hansi Müller Vladimir Petrović Glenn Hoddle Norberto Alonso Antonin Panenka A weak season for this position, did not include anyone in the starting lineup. McDermott won both POTY awards in England for Liverpool. Paz was rated by some as the best player of the Mundialito for Uruguay. Brady was again great for Arsenal especially in the CWC. Platini had a somewhat dissapointing season, failing to make the Euro finals, and not winnings anything with his new club in France. Antognoni was strong domestically and internationally. Schuster was one of the stars of the Euro. Arnesen was great for Ajax. Müller had a good year with Stuttgart and played every game for Germany. Petrović was champion in Yugoslavia and he was a perfect 6-0-0 with the national team including a decisive win over Argentina (part of the previous season for Argentina). Hoddle was YPOTY in England. Alonso was excellent for River. Panenka was on of the Czechs best players at the Euro. Fowards/Wingers Diego Maradona Karl-Heinz Rummenigge Zico Sócrates Jan Ceulemans Zé Sérgio Kevin Keegan Kenny Dalglish John Robertson Eder Julio Cesar Morales Safet Sušić Bum-Kun Cha Juanito Very strong group here. Maradona leads lowly Arg. Juniors to good finishes in both tournaments and is top scorer in both. Also has a great season for Argentina scoring 7 times in 11 games. Rummenigge is top scorer and champion in Germany and one of the best players at the Euro. Zico is top scorer and national champion in Brazil. He is only the third rated player in his position for Bola de Prata but is the sixth highest player rated in all positions so still rated very highly. Missed most of Brazil's international run with an injury. Sócrates beat Zico as Bola de Prata for the best forward in the national tournament and was the third highest rated player overall (13 goals in 16 games). Played every game for Brazil and played well as a false nine in the absence of Reinaldo and Zico. Went back and forth on him vs Zico. Ceulemans was great for Belgium at the Euros and domestic champion. Zé Sérgio was champion in the Paulista and ever present for Brazil. At this point he was viewed along side Zico/Socrates/Falcao as one of Brazil's true great and kept Eder out of the team until his injury. Scored 5 times for Brazil in 11 games from the left wing. Keegan nearly led Hamburg to a second consecutive Bundesliga but narrowly lost out to Bayern and was the competitions highest scoring team. Also led Hamburg to the EC Final and as great for England in the lead up to the Euros. Dalglish won another title with Liverpool. Robertson was a key player in Nottingham's EC. Eder had a strong season for Miniero. Julio Cesar Morales was the key play maker for Nacional and important for Uruguay. Sušić was top scorer in Yugoslavia and had a huge game vs Argentina for the national team. Bum-Kun Cha was one of the highest rated forwards in the Bundesliga and key in the UC win for EF. Juanito was excellent for Real. Center Forward Waldemar Victorino Horst Hrubesch Ramon Diaz Reinaldo Santillana Mario Kempes Erwin Vandenbergh Quini Roberto Bettega Jesús María Satrústegui Alessandro Altobelli David Johnson Victorino had a season with huge moments, making him the best of a weaker group. He scored in all three Mundialito games including the winner vs Brazil. He also scored the winner in the Libertadores final and Intercontinental Cup. Hrubesch also had some huge moments, scoring a brace in the Euro final. Scored 7 times for Hamburg in the run the EC final and was second leading scorer in the Bundesliga. Diaz starred fro River Plates great team and was excellent for Argentina partnering with Maradona. Reinaldo had a great season with Miniero. He scored three times in two legs in the BC final vs Falmengo. In the first leg at home he scored the only goal in a 1-0 win. In Rio he terrorized Flamengo equalizing twice before being controversially sent off in the second half. Flamengo won the game 3-2 and won the tournament because they won both legs of their seminal final while Atletico won once and drew the other, despite the fact that Atletico defeated a great Internacional side while Flamengo faced Coritiba.
Isn't this too harsh? Aren't we using soft standards for one set of players and then tough standards for another set? (N.B. I'm not a fan of the administrator but I'm a big fan of the player) To smash the door right in: I think he should be #1 or #2 in this group rather than #4 or #5 or so. I'll do this in two parts, but as so often was the case in these type of votes and cattle trade going on, more than his actual finish in the Ballon d'Or (3rd, just one point behind the #2) the comments are telling: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwL4ev1QI1K6N0xpdUE2OVNUa0E/view "Platini remains in the peloton of the greats" - East Germany "Platini possesses the race [sic] and the pure class of the great players: the Germans in general and the Hamburgs in particular do not forget the 5-0 on the vice-champions of Europe." - West Germany [this 5-0 was in the 1980-81 season, but per WS report he also played OK against the West German national team in November 1980, which his team lost 4-1 away] "As for Platini, although irregular this year, he remains by his influence one of the best players in the world to which the French team and Saint Etienne owe considerably." - Bulgaria "Platini represents the football of the creators, those who illuminate the play with a pass or a victorious goal by a free kick." - Finland [...] "Platini is one of the very rare players whose presence on a terrain, regardless of his contribution to the team, is shimmering to the eye." - Soviet Union "Platini remains a virtuoso not yet touching the pinnacle [of his career]" - Switzerland ---- realize now that this becomes repetitive when listing all 14 comments so check the link for yourself. Part 2 to follow
.... for completeness I decided to do the rest (as a completion of part 1 ). "Platini deserves his ranking as playmaker of an exceptional class, a player who satisfies all the hopes of the football gourmets. Those who love the delicatessens of football will never forget the feat of Platini in the match of Saint-Etienne contra Hamburg." - Austria "As for Platini, the creators of 'les Verts' and 'les Blues', he has his place here, indisputable." - Scotland "And finally, on number five, I retain Platini who demonstrates on a regular basis his class and whose two goals, in the historical match against Hamburg, were beautiful." - Hungary "Platini is a footballer of a pure class with his intelligence, his sense of placement, the precision of his shots, his collective spirit. I could have cited equally the Czech Panenka and the Englishman Woodcock." - Spain "I then choose Platini [at second] whom always misses a little something, a little of nothing, to be at the top; but who must remain close to the summit, even if he has not yet acquired constancy." - Italy "Then Platini, the origin of this dazzling 5-0 to Hamburg, not to mention on German soil." - Romania "Platini is a player with diverse talents who spends and climbs to the firmament. He deserves indisputably a place among the best attackers of the continent: as the example against Hamburg amply demonstrates." - Turkey "As of now, when Platini is in shape, the team of France is also in shape." - Sweden
"Platini had a somewhat dissapointing season, failing to make the Euro finals, and not winnings anything with his new club in France." (thinking now I still meant to reply on the 1972-73 season; will do in the other thread some days later) ... part 2 As said, he finished 3rd in the Ballon d'Or on one point distance from #2. While this vote was always imperfect, it can be legitimately asked whether throwing all the Zicos and Maradonas in had resulted in a markedly different outcome and whether they had done better. Actually, it could mean equally that he would move up to #2 because fewer voters will include multiple West Germans in their top five and will split their choices among multiple nations and continents. By virtue of a bigger spread and sharing the kudos it is not unthinkable he would move to #2. I hope this logic is clear? On a few imperfections: It's true that he had to adapt for a few months to his new club, just as he needed at Juventus in 1982-83. He scored 16 goals (incl. 3 penalties) in 33 games in the league. 26 goals (5 penalties) in 47 games in total. In this it is possible to point out the goals against top 5 teams ('only' 2 goals) and that he had some good help in Rocheteau and Rep for instance but - it goes too far to spell it out - all of this can be done too with some supposed 'vintage' seasons by either of Zico (who played with a host of excellent players at his super team) and Maradona (where Pasculli got bought in 1980 to aid Maradona in scoring more and more goals, as reported in World Soccer). How about penalties for the forwards/attacking midfielders? As for him not making the euro finals: the 'cause' of this lays in previous seasons (not to forget injury as a partial cause), not in 1979-80. In this 1979-80 season one of the two qualifiers he played is located, and here against Sweden in Stockholm he had a goal and an assist in a 1-3 win. As far as this season is concerned he delivered. Also here I wonder whether the standards are not uneven. For example: how many national team games did Zico play in 1982-83? 1983-84? What did Maradona do for his country in 1984-85? I'd also say Platini had a decent UEFA Cup campaign in 1979-80, with Widzew Lodz (with later team mate Boniek) as decent team and PSV plus Borussia Monchengladbach as pretty high ranked in the ClubElo metric. At the end of the season colleagues voted him as best player in France. Now I'm doubting whether he should be #1 or #2 in his 'attacking midfielders' group, but definitely a #2 position more so than #4, #5 or #6. Reigning European player of the Year Kevin Keegan rated him highly. As a level headed person who later became a half-decent coach and manager, and also played against Maradona exactly a month before, he was in the position to make a sensible - even if subjective - judgement. I'm not saying in the slightest that this is the ultimate truth, especially in such extremely specific sense ("Platini is the best of all"), and I realize that the high Ballon d'Or position of 1980 is supported by what he did in 1980-81 (next to other potential factors), but it is always good to know what high rated pros think of other pros especially when they've recently played against a couple of them.
You are probably right, especially with the weaker competition at his position this season he could be higher. Big picture I did not rate him that highly because his arrival in Saint Etienne did not produce any noticeable change in results from the previous season. I am sure his level of play was high which is why I still rated him as one of the best in the world at his position.
1929 This season includes the 1929 South American Championship, as it occurs in December at the end of the 1929 South American season. In South America most of the top club sides are from Argentina which now plays in a single combined league. The suprise winner of this years tournament is Gimnasia y Esgrima, with traditional powerhouses San Lorenzo and Boca Junior right behind. In Uruguay Penarol wins in dominant fashion over rivals Nacional. Brazil has isolated itself at this point and its football is behind that of Argentina and Uruguay. Argentina wins the SAC in convincing fashion with Uruguay finishing a disappointing third behind Paraguay. In Europe the normal 28-29 timeline is followed. Rangers remain the top club side in Scotland nearly repeated their domestic double from last season. In England a new football power makes an arrival as Sheffield Wednesday wins the title. On the continent the two top teams are probably Slavia Prague and Rapid Vienna. Slavia wins its first of three consecutive Czech titles and makes the MC final. Rapid dethrones rivals Admira for the title in Austria, and narrowly miss out on making their third consecutive MC finals appearance, as they reach the semifinals. Surprisingly third place Hungarian side Ujpest wins the Mitropa Cup. Scotland, Spain, and Austria have the best international seasons. Scotland despite having the famous Wimbley Wizards performance the previous season did not win the home championship and were disappointing in other games that season. This year they continue in the spirit on that side and win this seasons home championship in style going 3-0-0 with 12 goals scored and 5 allowed. Spain is a perfect 3-0-0 and are the first continental side to defeat England. Austria is 3-3-0 and scores impressive victories over their Central European rivals. Goalkeeper: Ricardo Zamora (ESP, SPA) Right Back: Roman Schramseis (RAV, AUS) Left Back: Fernando Paternoster (RAC, ARG) Right Half: Juan Evaristo (BOJ, ARG) Center Half: David Meiklejohn (RAN, SCO) Left Half: Jimmy McMullan (MAC, SCO) Right Wing: Ignaz Siegl (ADV, AUS) Right Forward: István Avar (UJP, HUN) Center Forward: Manuel Ferreira (EST, ARG) Left Forward: Antonín Puč (SLP, CZE) Left Wing: Alan Morton (RAN, SCO) Bench Forward: Angelo Schiavio (BOL, ITA) Forward: Gino Rossetti (TOR, ITA) Forward: József Takács (FER, HUN) Wing: Ferdinand Wesely (RAV, AUS) Half Back: Josef Smistik (RAV, AUS) Fullback: Ernie Blenkinsop (SHW, ENG) Goalkeeper: Angel Bossio (TAL, ARG) Players considered and rough rankings Goalkeeper Ricardo Zamora Angel Bossio František Plánička Gianpiero Combi Jack Harkness Zamora won the Copa del Rey with Espanyol, defeating far higher profile clubs in the final stages. This was still the most important trophy in Spain despite the arrival of the brand new La Liga. He also led Spain to a perfect 3-0-0 record including a win over England where he preformed heroically. Bossio was Argentina's top keeper and played all their international games, including all three SAC games, where they won the title and only allowed 1 goal. His unheralded club side also had the second best goals allowed number in the league, 13 goals allowed in 17 games. Plánička had a great club season, winning the title with Slavia and making the MC final, where he had some great performances. He only played once for the Czechs. Combi had a strong club season with Juve, finishing third and allowing the least goals scored in the league, but had a mixed record with the national team 3-1-2. Italy allowed 13 goals in 6 games, and their better results where because of a strong offense as oppose to a strong defense. Harkness was Scotland's goalkeeper for all three home championship games, including the 1-0 shutout of England. Right Back Roman Schramseis Ludovico Bidoglio Oscar Tarrio Virginio Rosetta Dougie Gray Schramseis was Austria's top choice at right back for the time and a key part of Rapid's continued success. Bidoglio was considered Argentina's best back at the time and finished second in the league with Boca, and allowed the fewest goals. He was surprisingly not selected for Argentina. Tarrio replace Bidoglio for Argentina and went on to have a long career as first choice right back. Rosetta, like combi had a great record for Juve but was not as convincing for Italy. Gray was first choice for Rangers and Scotland. Left Back Fernando Paternoster Ernie Blenkinsop Umberto Caligaris Paternoster played 6 times for Argentina only allowing three goals and winning the SAC. Blenkinsop was first choice for England immediately as he won the title with Sheffield. He played in all 6 of England's games and had a strong record outside of the 4-3 loss to Spain, only allowing 6 goals in the other 5 games he played. Caligaris has the same record as Rosetta and Combi. Right Half Juan Evaristo Pachuco Prats Ferenc Borsányi Evaristo is Argentina's top half of the time and was a major part in the sucsess of Argentina and Boca Juniors defense. Prats was a tireless halfback for Real Madrid, who came in second in both league and cup competitions. He played in all three of Spain's games this season, 5-0- over Portugal, 8-1 over France, and 4-3 over England. Borsányi was Ujpests key defensive player in their run to the MC title. He played twice for Hungary. Center Half David Meiklejohn Josef Smistik Antonio Janni Meiklejohn was the stalwart at the heart of Rangers and Scotland. Rangers nearly won the double again, easily winning the league and reaching the cup final. He was also part of the Scotland team that dominated the home championship. Smistik was excellent for Rapid and Austria. Janni was the play making center half for Torino and Italy. With Torino he narrowly missed out on a third consecutive title and he played 5 games for Italy's high scoring offense. Left Half Jimmy McMullan Alfredo Pitto McMullan finished 8th in a competitive English First Division, only 8 points back of the Champions. He also played all three games of the home championship and was one of the bets players in the 1-0 win over England. Pitto was an athletic powerful half who won the title in Italy with Bologna and played in all of Italy's games this season. Right Wing Ignaz Siegl Carlos Peucelle Alex Jackson Hugh Adcock Siegl missed a third consecutive title with Admira, but still pulled the trigger for the highest scoring offense in the league. He played all 6 games for Austria, scoring 4 times. His most famous performance in the Austria shirt came this season when he scored twice and set up two goals in a 5-1 win vs Hungary. Peucelle was breaking out in Argentina, establishing himself as first choice and scoring twice while winning the SAC. Jackson had a down year with Huddersfield only finishing 14th, but his personal goal scoring numbers were still strong. He was part of the rampant Scotland side scoring twice in the 7-3 victory over N. Ireland. Adcock finished second in the English league and played well in England's European tour. Right Forward István Avar József Takács Franz Weselik Avar was the star of Ujpest suprising, yet convincing run to the Mitropa Cup title. He scored 10 times in 7 games and scored 22 league goals in 19 games. Despite his heroics Takács still held this position for the national team, where he scored 4 times in 5 games. He was also the leagues top scorer with 41 goals in 22 games as Ferencvaros finished second. Weselik had a strong season with Rapid and Austria. Center Forward Manuel Ferreira Angelo Schiavio Dave Halliday Gaspar Rubio Hughie Gallacher Aurelio González Fritz Gschweidl Ferreira was the playmaking genius at the center of Argentina'a attack and scored 4 goals in 6 games for the national team and led them to the SAC. Schiavio scored 33 goals in 32 games including the winners in the decisive playoff vs Torino. Broke into the national team but failed to score in three games. Halliday completed his to this day unequalled feat of scoring at least fourty league goals in 4 consecutive seasons. This season he scored 43 times in 42 games for Sunderland and was the leagues a top scorer. Despite his prolific run he never got a sniff of the national team because of the presence of Gallacher and McGory. Rubio had a good season with Madrid but impressed most with Spain, scoring 8 goals in three games, including 2 vs England. Gallacher's production for Newcastle had declined since his famous title winning season but he was still deadly with Scotland, scoring 7 goals in three home championship games. He a hit trick in the 4-2 win over defending home champions Wales, and 4 goals in a 7-3 win over N. Ireland. González was top scorer of the SAC and led Paraguay to second place in the tournament, defeating Olympic Champions Uruguay for the first time. Gschweidl was excellent in the Mitropa Cup for First Vienna, who won the Austrian Cup to Qualify. He also played 5 times for Austria at center forward. Right Forward Antonín Puč Gino Rossetti Anton Schall Johann Horvath Ferenc Hirzer Puc had a fantastic season. He was top scorer and champions for Slavia with 14 goals in 12 games. He scored 5 times in Slavia's run to the MC final and scored vital game winning goals in multiple rounds when Slavia were being outplayed. the Czech's had a mixed bag for the international season but Puc scored 6 times in 4 games. All the lineups for Slavia in the MC and the Czechs showed Puc at inside forward this season, as oppose to his more well known position of wing where he played later in his career at the World Cup. Rossetti was right there with Puc this season as top scorer in Italy, 38 goals 33 games, and was one of the key players in Italy's excellent offense, scoring 6 times in 5 games. Schall was top scorer in Austria for a third consecutive season. He was kept out of the national team by Horvath who was champion was Rapid. He played in all of Austria's games and scored a brace in the 3-0 win vs Italy. Hirzer was the star forward fro champions MTK and first choice for Hungary. Right Wing Alan Morton Ferdinand Wesely Mario Evaristo Ellis Rimmer Gabor Szabo Morton was at the top of his game despite his advancing age. He had his best goal scoring season ever with Rangers and was part of the unstoppable Scotland offense. Wesely had a huge season with Rapid and Austria. Evaristo was first choice for Boca and Argentina. Rimmer was champion with Huddersfield. Szabo wan an important part of Ujpest's MC run and first choice for Hungary.
That makes sense but it's also possible to do this with Zico in 1983-84 for instance, when Udinese dropped from 6th to 9th while Zico was in some retrospective analysis put up there - or even ahead - of Platini at the peak of his fame in Juventus. It is actually also no foregone conclusion whether Maradona's addition to the world champions (replacing and/or adding to Kempes) - a major source of his fame at the time - made them stronger in quality of play and actual results. As for example the Onze issue of November 1980 noted: "César Menotti did not appreciate the criticism he received from the Argentine press, which considers that the national team is made too dependent on Maradona. "If you want, as far as I'm concerned I can get him out of the team for our next game." He replied. "Okay. I, the Argentine leadership and the Football Association have agreed to a possible friendly Argentina-England match, around December 20 in Buenos Aires." This match would complete the preparation of the Argentines before the Mundialito. It's also possible to look at the team he left, Nancy. Those went from 4th, 6th, 11th (in the 1978-79 season he was injured and missed half of the season) and then 11th, 8th, 8th in the seasons he had left. And no, unlike say Argentinos Juniors they did not win the domestic title and European Cup/Copa Libertadores in the follow-up years. Also check this here. https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/interesting-best-xi.325564/page-45#post-35431708 While that quite arguably might not be 100% correct, it's a long way too from modern revisionism where players playing in South America are given the clear upper hand for this era (not even a 50-50 split). By the way, Jean-Pierre Frimbois (the co-founder and chief editor Onze) had these prophetic words in the June 1980 issue of Onze. "The French will not be at this rendezvous, and it is a pity. Especially for a world-class footballer like Michel Platini who, after a half-tone Mundial and a half-missed season with Saint-Etienne, he could have used to improve his international image alongside the coasts of Hansi Müller, Rummenigge, Woodcock, Keegan, Causio or Bettega. [...] On the other hand, following our policy of making you discover, before all the world, the future stars of international football, we start this issue with Erwin Vandenbergh, the European revelation of the year at the striker level. On the occasion of England-Argentina, we were also pleased to see that our friend Diego Maradona fills the 'great footballer of the 1980s'. He'll soon be rocketed to the glory of Pele, Cruijff, Keegan or Kempes. And we will have been the first to present it to you. (This is what we were already writing at the end of 1978.) We will have all the time, to let you know it better, especially if, as he told us, he is in Barcelona from the next season onward."
1957 In South America this season will not include the 1957 South American Championships, the most iconic event of this year. They happened early in the year, before the 1957 domestic season began and after the 1956 season. The major international competition of this season in South American is the World Cup Qualifying, outside of that a few friendlies played and that is about it. Top club teams are River Plate, which cruises to its third consecutive title. In Brazil there is a good balance of power without a single dominant team. Botafogo, Fluminense, Flamengo, Vasco, Sao Paulo, Corinthians, and Santos all have good sides.Internationally Argentina impresses despite losing some of its top young stars from the 57 SAC. Brazil scrapes by the skin of its teeth to qualify for the Word Cup over Peru. Paraguay upsets Uruguay to qualify and shows strong form. In Europe the standard season of 1956-57 applies. The 1956 Summer Olympics are part of this season, as they were played in Australia, and occurred right in the middle of the northern hemisphere winter, December 1956, which is right in the middle of the standard European Season. Real Madrid wins everything and is clearly the top club side in Europe after its second consecutive European Cup. Manchester United is a great side, winning the league with ease and making the FA Cup final and European Cup semifinal. Latin football is at a strong point in addition to Real Madrid, Fiorentina, AC Milan, and Saint Ettiene all have excellent seasons. Internationally Bulgaria, Czech, England, France, Hungary, USSR, and Scotland all have strong seasons. Italy and West Germany are disappointing. Goalkeeper: Lev Yashin (DIM, SOU) Right Back: Mikhail Ogonkov (SPM, SOV) Center Back: Åke Johansson (IFK, SWE) Left Back: Nilton Santos (BOT, BRA) Right Half: Igor Netto (SPM, SOU) Left Half: Duncan Edwards (MAU, ENG) Right Wing: Garrincha (BOT, BRA) Right Forward: Didi (BOT, BRA) Center Forward: Alfedo Di Stefano (REM, SPA) Left Forward: Juan Alberto Schiaffino (ACM) Left Wing: Francisco Gento (REM, SPA) Bench Forward: John Charles (LEU, WAL) Forward: Kees Rijvers (SAE) Wing: Tom Finney (PNE, ENG) Half Back: Danny Blanchflower (TOH, NIR) Fullback: Roger Byrne (MAU, ENG) Center Back: Billy Wright (WOW, ENG) Goalkeeper: Amadeo Carrizo (ARG, RIP) Players considered and rough rankings Goalkeeper Lev Yashin Amadeo Carrizo Vladimir Beara Castilho Georgi Naydenov Gyula Grosics Gilmar Kalle Svensson The top two clear stand out above the rest, both have complete seasons. Yashin wins his domestic league by eight points and allows 8 fewer goals than any other team in the league. He only allows 7 goals in 10 games for USSR as they win the Olympics and have a strong start to WCQ. Carrizo wins his third straight league title with River Plate. He also finally establishes himself as first choice among a strong group of keepers from Argentina and only allows 5 goals in 6 games, pitching three shut outs in a successful WCQ campaign. Beara has a strong club season winning the league and making the EC semifinal, but has a poor season internationally. Castilho is great with Fluminense who win the Rio-Sao Paulo tournament with ease and barely miss out on the Carioca. He is capped once. Naydenov is excellent for Bulgaria. Grosics has a strong international season with Hungary, the national team went on a road trip prior to the revolution in Hungary and won four consecutive games at Yugoslavia, Soviet, Union, France, and Austria, only allowing 2 goals in those 4 games. Gilmar had a good season with Cornthians, as they won the most points of any team and had the best defense of any team in the Paulista but lost the championship match vs Sao Paulo. Svensson was excellent for Sweden only allowing 3 goals in 5 games. Right Back Mikhail Ogonkov Orvar Bergmark Raymond Kaelbel Jeff Hall Béla Kárpáti Djalma Santos Paulinho de Almeida Kiril Rakarov Marquitos A group with no great seasons and most are somewhat marginal. Ogonkov is the best of the bunch, the best Soviet fullback of the time played 11 times this season for the excellent Soviet defense. Bergmark starts all games for the stingy Sweden defense but plays his club football in the second division. Kaelbel has a good season for France playing in all 5 games, on the club level Monaco have the best defense in the league. Hall starts every game for the superior English national team, and is part of a good Birmingham City side that make a deep FA Cup run and eliminate Inter Milan and a Yugoslavia all star team from the Fairs Cup. Kárpáti is one of the few Hungarian players that plays every game for the national team this season, the four game road trip with the full Golden Team, and the three games after the Hungarian Revolution when many of the top players from Honved fled. He also won the league title and a strong edition of the Mitropa Cup with Vasa. Santos had an unspectacular season, only playing in half the national team games and having mediocre results with Portuguesa. Only listed because of his overall reputation in this period. Also completely loses his place in the national team next season. Paulinho de Almeida get ths other half of Brazil's caps this season. Rakarov is a good defender for Bulgaria. Marquitos wins everything with Real but misses a fair portion of the season and is not capped. Center Back Åke Johansson Billy Wright Robert Jonquet Hilderaldo Bellini Pinheiro Svatopluk Pluskal Juan Lezcano Ernst Happel Johansson wins Sweden's Golden Ball. He wins his second consecutive league title with IFK Nor. He leads the excellent Sweden defense as they prepare to host the World Cup. Billy Wright had a disappointing club season with Wolves finishing in 6th place with the worst defense of any team in the top half of the table. He captains England to a fantastic international season, a perfect 6-2-0 record with a 24-8 goal differential. Jonquet is great for a successful France side. Bellini is one of the few Brazil players that is not rotated and starts all 6 first team games. Vasco finish both major competitions competing for the title but fail to win anything. Pinheiro is great for Fluminense, probably the best side in Brazil on the full balance of both competitions. Pluskal has a strong year for the Czechs and wins the domestic title with Dukla P. Lezcano is part of one of the most famous Paraguay club sides ever Olimpia, who are in the midst of a title three peat. He plays every game for Paraguay who qualify for the WC. Happel wins the league with Rapid and is still first choice for the national team. Dispite missing a fair portion of the domestic season I included him fro his amazing hat trick vs Real Madrid that nearly eliminated them from the European Cup. Left Back Nilton Santos Roger Byrne Federico Vairo Sergio Cervato Ladislav Novák Boris Kuznetsov Roger Marche Mel Hopkins Very strong group. The 5 best season from a fullback probably all come from the left side this season. Santos lead Botafogo to the Carioca title after a long drought, as the team scores the most goals and concedes the fewest in the tournament. In the four games Santos play for Brazil the are undefeated and only allow 2 goals. Byrne is fantastic for Man U who are great in all competitions and plays every game for the great England side. The England side that was developing around Bryne, Taylor, and Edwards from 1955 to 1958 was great and would have had a real chance to win the World Cup without the Munich Air Disaster. Vairo had a flawless season winning another league title convincingly with River and playing every game for an excellent Argentina side. Cervato led Fiorentina to second place in Serie A, with the leagues best defense. He also led them to the EC Final, they only allowed 4 goals in 6 games on their way to the final where they lost somewhat controversially to Real Madrid. Novák was great for a Czech side that was 4-1-1 and only allowed 4 goals in 6 games. He also won the league with Dukla. Kuznetsov was part of the stout Soviet defense and won the league with Dinamo M. Marche was captain of the excellent France side. Hopkins had a great year with Tottenham who finished runners up in England and was part of the Wales side laying the foundation for WC qualification. Right Half Igor Netto Danny Blanchflower Gerhard Hanappi Nils Liedholm Ernst Ocwirk Stefan Bozhkov Zito Dezső Bundzsák Vujadin Boškov Víctor Benítez A very deep position. Netto is the star outfield player for the Soviet team, playing in all 13 games this season, he scores 3 goals and leads the team to a 9-2-2 record, Olympic Gold, and WC qualification. Blanchflower is great for Tottenham who finish second in the league, as Blanchflower masterminds the league highest scoring offense. With Northern Ireland he also starts a successful WC qualifying campaign. Hanappi wins the league title with Rapid and pushes Real Madrid to a playoff in the EC. Has a mixed season with Austria but does Qualify for the World Cup. Liedholm is one of the key AC Milan players as the cruise to a league title. They also claim third place in the Latin Cup defeating a strong Saint Ettiene side 4-3, with Liedholm scoring one of the goals. Ocwirk has a great season in his arrival to Sampdoria, scoring an impressive 12 goals and was the key play maker for the second highest scoring team in the league behind only the champions AC Milan. Bozhkov was considered alongside Kolev and star players of the strong Bulgaria side that won Bronze at the Olympics. He was part of the great CSKA team that won another league title and played 9 times for Bulgaria leading the team to a 6-1-2 record. Zito was establishing himself as one of the best halves in Brazil and kept things ticking for what was by far the highest scoring team in the country, Santos. Bundzsák was Hungary's player of the year winning the Mitropa Cup and league title with Vasa. He only played twice with the national team as he was behind Bozsik. In the 1958 World Cup he would be moved to inside forward to accommodate both. Boškov nearly won the Yugoslavia league title with a smaller club iand was part of a side that achieved mixed result internationally, peaking with a 6-1 win over Italy, but also were were shut out twice in loses to the Czechs. Benítez was more of a fourth back and was key to Peru's stout defense that needed a magical Didi free kick to get on the scoreboard and advance to the World Cup. Left Half Duncan Edwards José María Zárraga Armando Segato Josef Masopust Jean-Jacques Marcel Horst Szymaniak Pál Berendi Roberto Belangero Edwards is one of the star players of Man U and England's great sides, and at a young age is already considered one of the best players in Europe. He scores three times this season with England. Zárraga is a key, and somewhat underappreciated, player for Real Madrid's great team. Segato is great for Fiorentina. Masopust Leads Dukla and Czechoslovakia to strong seasons. Marcel plays every game for the excellent France team. Szymaniak is considered one of the best half backs of this time. Berendi plays every game for Hungary and is part of the successful Vasa team. Belangero has a strong season with Corinthians and is capped multiple times for Brazil. Right Wing Garrincha Julinho Raymond Kopa Oreste Omar Corbatta Stanley Matthews Juan Bautista Agüero Dorval Maurinho Garrincha led Botafogo to the Carioca title and had finally become first choice for Brazil with Julinho in Europe. Julinho had am excellent season with Fiorentina as they placed second in both Serie A and European Cup. Kopa took some time to adapt to his new position with Real Madrid but became very important to the teams success, especially in Europe. Corbatta was emerging as one of the top wingers in the world after the 1957 SAC. He scored 12 goals for 3rd place Racing and played all 8 games for Argentina scoring three times. Matthews had a good season with Blackpool and England, as he was still first choice for the national team and finished fourth in the league. Agüero was top scorer in Paraguay for Cahmpins Olimpia and played every game in the impressive WCQ campaign, scoring 3 times. Dorval was a key part of Santos' high flying offense. Maurinho was a key player for Sao Paulo and capped twice for Brazil. Right Forward Didi Dragoslav Šekularac Dino Sani Alberto Terry Billy Whelan Miloš Milutinović Robert Dienst Didi is the clear class of this group. He scored 12 times in the Carioca to lead Botofago to the title. He also scored the goal to send Brazil to the World Cup vs Peru with a spectacular free kick. Šekularac had a break out season winning his second consecutive league title and having some excellent performances in the European Cup and Red Star made the semifinal. Dino Sani was the key play maker for Sao Paulo. Alberto Terry scored against Brazil in WCQ and was seen as the best player on a strong Peru team Peru. Whelan was important for Man U. Milutinović began to be bothered by injuries but he had a strong campaign with the national team. He was the protagonist of the 6-1 win vs Italy, scoring twice. Dienst was top scorer in Austria with 32 goals in only 21 games and regained a place in the Austria national team. Center Forward Alfedo Di Stefano John Charles Tommy Taylor Waldo Paulinho Valentim Eduard Streltsov Thadée Cisowski Norberto Menéndez Todor Veselinović Di Stefano had his best season ever. Charles was top scorer in England. At the end of the season he was made the record British transfer fee as he moved to Juventus. Taylor was a force for Man U and England. He scored 8 goals in 8 games in the EC campaign and scored 10 times in 6 games for England. At the end of the season Inter Milan offered the same record transfer fee Charles received from Juve for Taylor, but Man U declined. Waldo was part of the Fluminense side that nearly won the Carioca. He shone brightest in the RSP tournament, scoring 13 times in only 9 games as Flum won undefeated. Paulinho Valentim was top scorer in the Carioca with Champions Botafogo with 22 goals in 22 games. In the final title deciding match vs Fluminense he scored 5 times in a 6-2 win. Streltsov was the young star of the USSR side that had a great campaign. Cisowski was top scorer in France and scored 6 times for the national team. Menéndez was excellent for River Plate and moved into a first choice spot with the national team after the departure of the Angels with Dirty Faces. Veselinović was top scoer in Yugoslavia. Left Forward Juan Alberto Schiaffino Kees Rijvers Pele Zizinho Ivan Kolev Nándor Hidegkuti Bora Kostić Miguel Montuori Schiaffino was the star of the AC Milan side that easily won the title in Italy. Rijvers led Saint Ettiene to the title in a strong French league, earning the nickname, Dutch Kopa. This was despite the fact that he did not have any of the great French international players as teammates. Pele was the young star for Santos, top scorer in the Paulista and made his debut in the national team. Zizinho played the first half of the season with Bangu. He transfered to Sao Paulo half way through the Paulista and his arrival created a huge change in fortune in goals scored and points won leading them to the title. Kolev was great for Bulgaria scoring 6 goals, including one vs USSR in the Olympic semifinal that gave Bulgaria the lead in extra time. Hidegkuti had a strong season coming in second in the Hungarian league scoring nearly a goal per game. He playing in all Hungary's games pre and post revolution. Kostić had a great scoring season domestically and in Europe for Red Star. Montuori was very important for Fiorentina. Left Wing Francisco Gento Tom Finney Canhoteiro Roberto Zárate Anatoliy Ilyin Jean Vincent Oscar Gómez Sánchez Pepe A very strong position, especially in the top 5 players. Gento was great for Real Madrid and scored in Both the European Cup and Latin Cup finals. Finney was player of the year in England as Preston finished 3rd in the league and made the FA Cup semifinal. He also played every game for England's excellent team mixing experience from himself, Wright, and Matthews, with youth from the Man U players. Canhoteiro had his signature season with Sao Paulo wining the Paulista and being capped for Brazil. Zárate was top scorer in Argentina from the wing for champions River and established himself in the national team. Ilyin was great for the Soviets and scored the winning in the Olympic final. Vincent was excellent for France. Gómez Sánchez was a menace vs Brazil. Pepe was great fro Santos.
Some nominees for 1957: GK: Rafael Asca, arguably the best keeper in SA at that time, highly praised in the WCQ RB: Francisco Lombardo, a lock in the starting argentinian team. CB: Carlos Correa became first choice in Uruguay ahead of Santamaría and W.Martínez, also rated as best CB in the SA tournament. Pedro Dellacha had a great year with Argentina. RW: Internationally, Corbatta > Garrincha LW: Florencio Amarilla scoring a hat-trick vs Uruguay in the qualifiers
2004 Almost everyone is on the same European season timeline for 2003-04 at this point. The top club teams in the world this season Porto, Arsenal, Valencia, and AC Milan in my opinion with no clear standout. The top international sides also have no clear standout with Greece winning the Euro. Brazil is at strong point with excellent depth and talent. The Czech Republic, Portugal, England, and France all had moments where they looked like the top team in Europe. Goalkeeper: Petr Čech (REN, CZR) Right Back: Paulo Ferreira (POR, POR) Center Back: Ricardo Carvalho (POR, POR) Center Back: Roberto Ayala (VAL, ARG) Left Back: Ashley Cole (ARS, ENG) Center Midfield: Maniche (POR, POR) Center Midfield: Patrick Vieira (ARS, FRA) Attacking Midfielder/Wing: Deco (POR, POR) Attacking Midfielder/Wing: Ronaldinho (BAR, BRA) Forward: Thierry Henry (ARS, FRA) Striker: Andriy Shevchenko (ACM, UKR) Bench Striker: Ronaldo (REM, BRA) Forward: Francesco Totti (ROM, ITA) Midfield/Wing: Zinedine Zidane (REM, FRA) Center Midfield: Rubén Baraja (VAL, SPA) Fullback: Cafu (ACM, BRA) Center Back: Sol Campbell (ARS, ENG) Goalkeeper: Dida (ACM, BRA) Players considered and rough rankings Goalkeeper Petr Čech Dida Vítor Baía Santiago Cañizares Jens Lehmann Timo Hildebrand No top performances at this position in my opinion. Čech was excellent in the Euro and had a good year in France. Dida had a strong season with AC Milan. Baía was great for Porto but could not make the national team. Cañizares was strong for Valencia but also could not make the national team. Hildebrand and Lehmann the same with Arsenal and Stuttgart. Some of the biggest names, Buffon and Casillas, I really could not find a reason to include. Buffon was IFFHS best Goalkeeper and UEFA Team of the Year, but Juventus fell off the pace to defend their league title because they struggled to defend, not score goals. The Champions League and Euro were also seen as disappointments for Buffon's teams. Right Back Paulo Ferreira Cafu Carles Puyol Lauren Ferreira was excellent for the Porto side that won everything and was ESM team of the year, but was disappointing at the Euro. Cafu was having a renaissance with Milan and was UEFA Team of the Year. Puyol had another strong year with Barcelona. Lauren was PFA Team of the year with undefeated champs Arsenal. Center Back Ricardo Carvalho Roberto Ayala Sol Campbell Alessandro Nesta Walter Samuel Paolo Maldini John Terry Traianos Dellas Jaap Stam Mladen Krstajić Carlos Marchena A strong group here with little separation among the top six. Carvalho was great for Portugal and Porto He was UEFA Best Club Defender, UEFA Team of the Year, and Euro TOTT. Ayala was they key defender to Valencia's great double winning season and was part of they ESM TOTY. Campbell was Arsenal's rock in defense and was part of the PFA TOTY, and was excellent for England and was EURO TOTT. Nesta was excellent for Milan and was UEFA TOTY. Samuel was ESM TOTY with Roma. Maldini was Serie A defender of the year over both Samuel and Nesta. Left Back Ashley Cole Patrice Evra Roberto Carlos Ashley Cole, like his teammate Campbell won accolades at the club and international level. Evra had a great season with CL runners up Monaco. Roberto Carlos won another ESM TOTY. Center Midfield Maniche Patrick Vieira Rubén Baraja Andrea Pirlo Gilberto Silva Émerson David Albelda Theodoros Zagorakis Michael Essien Claude Makélélé Steven Gerrard Solid group but with no major standouts. Maniche is one of a group of players who were great for both Porto and Portugal. Vieira was a key player for the Invincibles. Baraja was a key cog for Valencia. Pirlo was strong with Champions Milan. Gilberto Silva is great for Arsenal and first choice for Brazil. Attacking Midfield Deco Zinedine Zidane Kaká Pavel Nedvěd Frank Lampard Juan Carlos Valerón Juninho Pernambucano Johan Micoud Deco is the star of Porto's great team. Zidane has another excellent season with moments of great brilliance for club and country but no trophies. Kaká had a great debut in Milan benching Rui Costa and being named Serie A Footballer of the year. Nedvěd led a strong attack in Juventus and was great in the Euro until he left the semifinal in the first half injured, missing his best chance for international glory. Lampard had a break out season with Chelsea finishing second and making the CL semifinal. He was also Euro TOTT. Valerón was great in CL wins over big money Italian sides. Juninho was great fro Lyon in Europe and domestically. Micoud was great fro double winners Werder Bremen. Winger Ronaldinho Vicente Figo Robert Pirès Ludovic Giuly Cristiano Ronaldo Ronaldinho was one of the star players of the season with Barcelona. Vicente was Valencias's key attacking player. Figo had a good year with Real and was strong at the Euros. Pirès was great with Arsenal. Giuly was Monaco's star player in their run the CL Final. CR7 had an excellent Euro and some strong moments with Man U. Forward Thierry Henry Francesco Totti Carlos Tevez Wayne Rooney Antonio Cassano Dado Pršo Ivan Klasnić Henry and Totti have fantastic club seasons and huge expectations at the Euro which they fail to meet. Henry was stronger overall club and slightly less disappointing at the Euro. After that the quality dips. Striker Andriy Shevchenko Ronaldo Ruud van Nistelrooy Aílton Didier Drogba Henrik Larsson Adriano Fernando Morientes Shevchenko is top scorer and star player for Champions Milan. Ronaldo is top scorer in Spain and has one of his great matches with Brazil scoring a hat trick vs Argentina in WCQ. van Nistelrooy is PFA and Euro TOTT. Aílton is German Footballer of the Year and top scorer with Werder. Drogba is French Footballer of the Year and has a great run to the UEFA Cup Final. Larsson is great again for Celtic and has a great Euro.
1967 In South America this does not include the 1967 SAC as they are at the beginning of the calendar year and before domestic competitions begin. In South America this is a light season on international competition with limited series of friendlies played. Uruguay, Brazil, and Chile are all relatively successful, while Argentina and Peru are disappointing. On the club side the top Brazilian clubs are well balanced with no clear top team. The most successful team of the season is Palmieras who win the Taca Brasil and Torneio Roberto Gomes Pedrosa. Santos wins the Paulista, Botafogo wins the Carioca, and Cruiziero has a good run in the Libertadores and wins their state league. Gremio has a strong season winnings their state league and making the final group of the TRGP. Corinthians wins the most points of any time in the TRGP but fail in the final group. In Argentina the domestic season is split into two seasons and a number of teams have good seasons. Estudiantes win the Metropolitan and are second in the Nacional, making them the most successful domestic team. Racing finish second in the Metropolitan but most importantly win the Libertadores. Independiente finish fourth in the Metropolitan and first in the Nacional. Big sides Boca and River and disappointing seasons. In Uruguay Penarol cruises to the title but Nacional upstages them in the Libertadores reaching the final by eliminating Penarol and Cruziero in the second group stage. In Chile Universidad de Chile, known as the Blue Ballet win an improving league in dominating fashion. The Peru league is also improving quickly as Universitario win the league and make an impressive run in the Libertadores, making the second group stage and recording wins over River Plate and Racing in Argentina but failed in a playoff vs Racing to reach the final. In Europe the normal 1966-67 season stands. This season is the peak of the British Golden Age. All three European finals contain a British team. Celtic win everything in impressive fashion (five trophies), Man U win the English league easily with their big stars leading the way. Elsewhere Inter has an excellent season, although the final two games of the season lose them the European Cup and the Serie A. They beat a very impressive list of sides in the European Cup before losing in the final to a Celtic side that could not be stopped. Juventus take the title on the final day. In Spain Real continue to dominate the decade with another domestic title. Bulgarian Clubs have a strong season making two European semifinals. Bayern win their first European trophy with the emergent Beckenbauer and Muller. Ajax also have an excellent side with a young Cruyff leading the way knocking Liverpool out of the European Cup and winning the domestic double. Internationally it is a relatively light season with the initial parts of Euro 68 qualifying being played. England, Scotland, Bulgaria, Belgium, West Germany, Hungary, USSR, and Italy all have good seasons. Goalkeeper: Ronnie Simpson (CEL, SCO) Right Back: Mirsad Fazlagić (SAR, YUG) Center Back: Roberto Perfumo (RAC, ARG) Fourth Back: Franz Beckenbauer (BAM, WEG) Left Back: Tommy Gemmell (CEL, SCO) Half Back: Bobby Murdoch (CEL, SCO) Removed Forward: Bobby Charlton (MAU, ENG) Right Wing: Jimmy Johnstone (CEL, SCO) Center Forward: Florian Albert (FER, HUN) Inside Forward: Eusébio (BEN, POR) Left Wing: Juan Ramon Veron (EST) Bench Forward: Johan Cruyff (AJA, NET) Forward: Gerd Müller (BAM, WEG) Wing: George Best (MAU, NIR) Midfield: Ademir da Guia (PAL, BRA) Fullback: Giacinto Facchetti (INT, ITA) Center Back: Billy McNeill (CEL, SCO) Goalkeeper: Giuliano Sarti (INT, ITA) Players considered and rough rankings. Goalkeeper Ronnie Simpson Giuliano Sarti José Ángel Iríbar Ivo Viktor Pat Jennings Sepp Maier Horst Wolter Manga Agustín Cejas Simeon Simeonov Roberto Anzolin Peter Bonetti No legendary performances from goalkeepers this season. Simpson wins everything and has a strong game in the win vs England. Sarti is great until and final Serie A game with Inter and is first choice for a successful Italy side. Iríbar has four clean sheets in Euro Qualifying this season. Viktor has his break out season and is excellent making the European Cup semifinal and is excellent for the national team, especially in a 0-0 draw in London vs the world champions. Jennings wins the FA Cup with Tottenham, only allowing 3 goals in 8 games of the competition. Maier wins the Cup Winners Cup and German Cup with Bayern and plays four times for West Germany only allowing 1 goal. Wolter wins the Bundeliga only allowing 27 goals in 34 games, 14 fewer than any other team. Kicker rates himas the best keeper in the league and he plays once for West Germany. Manga only allows 11 goals in 18 games as winner of the Carioca. Cejas is part of the stonewall Racing defense that wins the Libertadores. Simeonov makes the CWC semifinal and plays every game for a strong Bulgaria. Anzolin wins the Serie A allowing the fewest goals of any team. Bonetti makes the FA Cup final and plays twice for England showing good form. Right Back Mirsad Fazlagić Carlos Alberto Torres Aleksandar Shalamanov Tarcisio Burgnich Bernard Bosquier Fahrudin Jusufi Georges Heylens Bernd Patzke George Cohen Wim Suurbier Pablo Forlán Dezső Novák Another position with no especially stand out performances. Fazlagić wins the league in Yugoslavia with a small club FK Sarajevo and breaks into the national team where he is part of the 1-0 win over West Germany. Torres has a strong season with Santos winning the Paulista but is not capped, although Brazil does not appear to be fielding there strongest team. Shalamanov has an excellent year for club and country. Burgnich is solid for successful Inter and Italy sides. Bosquier is one of the best players in France winning the domestic title at a trot. Jusufi has a good first year in Germany finishing fourth in a very competitive league and making the Fairs Cup semifinal knocking out fancied Ferencvaros on the way. He also played in the 1-0 win over West Germany. Heylens was excellent for the domestically dominant Anderlecht and the successful national team. Center Back Roberto Perfumo Billy McNeill Sándor Mátrai Albert Shesternyov Jackie Charlton Elías Figueroa Mike England Wolfgang Weber Armando Picchi Willi Schulz Ernesto Castano Ivan Dimitrov A strong group here. It was tough to choose the starter between Perfumo and McNiel. Both excelled at the club level with all time great type of seasons. Mátrai was fantastic for Ferencvaros who easily won the league and Hungary's excellent side that was still in great form after the World Cup. Shesternyov was excellent for the active USSR team. Charlton was FWA player of the year despite missing a fair amount of games. Figueroa was emerging as a top player in South America as Penarol easily won the league. Fourth Back Franz Beckenbauer John Greig Héctor Chumpitaz Kálmán Mészöly Dave Mackay Murtaz Khurtsilava Bobby Moore Alberto Quintano Roberto Dias Alfio Basile Giancarlo Bercellino Leônidas Beckenbauer was great in his new role for his club, although he still played in the midfield for the national team. Highly rated domestically, won the Cup Winners Cup and was part of a very strong West Germany side. Greig was great for Rangers who were overshadowed by Celtic despite making a European Final and allowing fewer league goals than Celtic. Greig was also great in the win vs England. Chumpitaz had a fantastic club season and was one of the break players this season in South America. Mészöly was ever present for Hungary's power team. Mackay had a great season with Tottenham leading them to the FA Cup and third in the league, although he had lost his place in the national team to younger players like Greig and Bremmer during the past two season when he was injured. Khurtsilava was second in Soviet player of the year voting. Moore has a great reputation at this time but West Ham's defensive record was awful, not sure how to rate him. Quintano was one of the top players of the Blue Ballet and played every game for Chile. Left Back Tommy Gemmell Giacinto Facchetti Everaldo Ricardo Pavoni Eddie McCreadie Manuel Sanchís Horst-Dieter Höttges Karl-Heinz Schnellinger Tony Dunne Ray Wilson Really tough to choose between the top two who were both great. Gemmell gets the nod by noticeably outperforming Facchetti in the biggest game of the season. Everaldo had his break out season with Gremio who were excellent and played three times for the national team. Pavoni had a good season with Independiente. McCreadie was excellent with Chelsea and played well in the game vs England. Halfback Bobby Murdoch Pirri Luis Suárez Dimitr Penev Billy Bremner Dudu Luis Cruzado Yozhef Sabo Néstor Gonçalvez Nobby Stiles Wilson Piazza Sandro Salvadore Valeriy Voronin José Claramunt Pat Crerand Julio Montero Castillo Alan Mullery Jim Baxter Ruben Marcos Long list here. Murdoch was the large powerful center half known for his great passing with Celtic. I think he is the teams second best player and some would argue the best. Stein called him the best player he ever managed, and Herrera said after the final that Murdoch was "My complete footballer". Pirri was great again for Real Madrid, as was Suárez for Inter. Penev had a great season with Bulgaria and CSKA making the EC Semifinal. Bremner had a decent season for Leeds making the FC final and was excellent for Scotland. Dudu was key to Palmieras' success. Cruzado was one of Universitario's star players. Removed Forward Bobby Charlton Ademir da Guia Gerson Wolfgang Overath Gianni Rivera Luis del Sol Dirceu Lopes Roberto Challe Rivellino Raúl Savoy Alan Ball Helmut Haller Bertie Auld Martin Peters Zvezdan Čebinac Humberto Maschio Gunter Netzer Louis Pilot José Omar Pastoriza Long list here but only the first two had truly great seasons. Charlton was the star of United's title winning side and great fro England. Ademir was the catalyst for Palmieras winning tow national titles. Gerson was they key to wining the Carioca and Botafogo were poor in the nation wide competitions. Overath was excellent with Germany and domestically. del Sol won the title with Juventus. Dirceu Lopes was excellent for Cruziero and first choice for Brazil this season. Challe is key for Universitario and Rivellino has a break out season with Corinthians. Right Wing Jimmy Johnstone George Best Pedro Araya Igor Chislenko Kurt Hamrin Raúl Bernao José Augusto Angelo Domenghini César Maluco Jürgen Grabowski Amancio Willie Henderson Georgi Popov Sjaak Swart It is tough to leave Best out of the starting lineup in one of his best seasons but I can't put him ahead of Johnstone. Araya was the star of the Blue Ballet this season and was key in Chile's two victories over Argentina as well. Center Forward Florian Albert Johan Cruyff Gerd Müller Luis Artime Waldo Ferenc Bene Geoff Hurst Hervé Revelli Vahidin Musemić Ron Davies Slaven Zambata Włodzimierz Lubański Alan Gilzean José Altafini Norberto Raffo Roger Claessen Strong season for this position with Albert leading the way. Cruyff and Muller are emergent stars with success domestically and internationally. Artime is excellent domestically. Waldo runs away with top scorer in Spain and wins the Copa del Rey scoring 8 goals in 9 games. Inside Forward Eusébio Pedro Rocha Denis Law Tostao Janos Farkas Sandro Mazzola Jimmy Greaves Chinesinho Eduard Streltsov Paul Van Himst Dimitr Yakimov Anatoliy Byshovets Pele Rachid Mekhloufi Carlos Reinoso Despite the big names the performances a moderate. Both Eusebio and Rocha had better remues last season. Both are dominant domestically but have disappointing Libertadores/EC runs. Both have strong season with the national team especially Rocha who scored 5 times, three of those vs Brazil. Law is great with Man U and was a constant threat in the game vs England. Tostao like Eusebio and Rocha was probably better last season but still had success this year in the Libertadores and State league. Left Wing Juan Ramon Veron Bobby Lennox Dragan Džajić Piet Keizer Luigi Riva Paulo Cézar Lima Lothar Emmerich Mario Corso Francisco Gento Dinko Dermendzhiev Rinaldo Leonel Sanchez António Simões Giampaolo Menichelli José Urruzmendi Ezio Pascutti Veron is the star player of the domestic season in Argentina scoring some outrageous goals in the biggest games of the year. Behind him there is good depth but not a lot of great seasons. If I could confirm Best played a large amount of time on the left I would move him to first for this position, but I think he was exclusively on the right this season with Aston on the left.