Nov 62: -Batty's best 11 for 1962: Fraydl D. Santos Jusufi Zito Germano Masopust Garrincha Pele Di Stefano Puskas Gento Costa Pereira and Schrojf possibles for the goalie position. The Real Madrid guys are basically there by default. -WM is still the best system, according to Batty. 4-2-4 requires specialist players, to the detriment of all-around talent. Meisl's whirl is still a wonderful concept, but it is "foolishness to expect the game to swing this way". -Sekularac is in trouble again for punching the referee. Will he be banned for life this time? -More clarification on the Goyvaerts situation. "The F.A. dealt Barcelona a nasty blow refusing to accept the registration of Belgian inside-forward Fernand Goyvaerts." Did I say more clarification? I meant more confusion. -Profile on Didi. Some say he was unsettled by the power, pace and tackling of the European game, and that's why he flopped at Real. Nonsense! He played friendlies for Valencia and was kicking ass as much as ever, but Real refused to sell him to a rival.
Dec 62: -France earned a surprise draw against England in the ENC. That was because England had their worst forward-line in history, while France had Kopa playing better than in a long time. "These two circumstances are unlikely to occur again", though. -Gordon Jeffery looks at the league situation in many European countries. The look "gives a useful insight into the intensity of competition and the evenness of quality of several clubs that characterises much of European football and contrasts with the big-club monopoloy of the Latin American countries (although this is much less pronounced than it was a decade ago). Teams like CDSA Sofia and Anderlecht are given as the exceptions. Interesting view, haven't thought about this before. -A look at the city rivalry in Milano. It says Suarez was never popular in Spain. Did you think the Italian footy business is completely financed by rich presidents? Well you're quite wrong! The club coffers are actually filled by the supporters, who participate in special projects and functions. Well, the presidents contribute a little, too. In the 61-62 season Inter were runaway favorites to win. Then Milan got rid of Greaves and brought in Dino Sani, who led the team to a miraculous transformation and unbeaten run. He has a nasty-ass stache, though, so he's gotta go. [/Rocco] -FIFA has finally banned the use of foreigners in NTs (means dual-NT players, I assume). This means Spain is screwed! OK, their ADS/Puskas based team is on it's way out, anyway, but there aren't any class Spanish IFs anywhere in the country. The best, Suarez, Del Sol and Peiro, have all gone abroad! That leaves only Marcelino and Adelardo. It looks like Atletico will be forming the backbone of the NT (Adelardo, Collar, Rivilla, Calleja). -Profile on Jose Augusto. Now probably the best right-winger in Europe. Real Madrid wanted to buy him as a replacement for Kopa. -Feature on Colombia. Their recent success owes much to manager Adolfo Pedernera. Keeper Crocodile Sanchez was outstanding for San Lorenzo in the 40s. SA-experts, confirm/challenge? Maravilla Gamboa is also rated highly, with every talent-scout in South America racing for his signature. France Football rated Marino Klinger as one of the best CFs in the WC. Zuluaga is presented as nothing special, though. -Tottenham's "all-conquering" early-50s side was known for having defenders that moved upfield to help in the attack. This included Alf Ramsey, "who at times resembled a very strange football phenomenon - an attacking full-back". -Real Madrid were eliminated from the EC by Anderlecht. RM are pretty much on the way out, says Batty. Their recent problems stems from a failure to find a replacement for ADS. Of course there's only one player who can do that, and his name is Pele. Real were sure they were going to get Pele. So sure, in fact, they sold Del Sol to Juve to finance a Pele-deal. Well, you can guess how that worked out. So now Real are without both Pele and Del Sol, who was one of the best IFs in the game. Well played, Madrid. ADS transfer fee has never been made public, but it was probably only £30K.
Jan 63: -Since there was interest in World Soccer's South American correspondence, here's an example of Gordon Jeffery's column. "I have obtained news from Rio of the important Brazilian league match between Flamengo and Botafogo". Besides that match, there's a look at River Plate vs. U.Catolica (friendly), Vasco vs. Flu and Boca vs. River. The article has line-ups, goals and scorers, a description on how some of the goals came about, and some other descriptions of how the match developed, who dominated play etc. We can assume WS had correspondents in the major SA-countries who watched the matches and reported with this kind of stuff. -Why not move Denis Law from IF to CF, asks John Stone. Yes, why not? -Eric Batty's top 10 clubs of 61-62: 1. Santos 2. Botafogo 3. Benfica 4. Tottenham 5. Milan 6. Dukla 7. Real Madrid 8. Inter 9. River Plate 10. Anderlecht -Benfica have finally won him over. They are "outstanding though orthodox", which apparently isn't contradiction. Milan are a side to watch in the EC. Anderlecht crack the top 10 as soon as they defeat Madrid. -Many experts rated Garvis Carlsson as the key man for the 1948 Swedish Olympic side.
Feb 63: -Austria's 61 bubble has truly burst. They've lost 0-6 to Czechoslovakia. Fraydl was so flabbergasted he was taken out of the game at half-time, though he has since recovered his poise. -A look at transfers and foreign players in France. Post-war players mentioned are Ernest Melchior, Jackie Fatton, Bretus De Harder and Pepi Humpal. Current players include Milos Milutinovic, Norbert Eschmann, Phillippe Pottier, Jorg Sorensen and Hassan Akesbi. Franco-Argentinians De Bougoing, Combin and Rambert are also mentioned. France have now banned foreign players again, the flipfloppers. "If, after all, we like to feel smug about soccer knowing no national borders in its appeal, it is reasonable to look to the day when players can equally disregard border restrictions!" -Masopust has won the Ballon D'or. Even Batty approves, though he would have picked Germano. -Boca are champions in Argentina. Their star was Ernesto Grillo, still going strong. Meanwhile, Sanfilippo called the San Lorenzo directors "totally incompetent", and has been transfer-listed. Doesn't that kinda prove his point? Easy way to get a transfer. He is expected to go to Europe, Real Madrid still the likely destination. -Garrincha wants to go to Europe, too, and has started a strike. -Italy have imported 250 stranieri since the war, including players from Venezuela and Greece. Wait what who now? -Wolverhampton faced Honved in a friendly. Both teams are a shadow of their former selves from the famous match that inspired the European Cup. List of Wolves floodlit friendlies: Wolves - South Africa 3-1 (30/9/53) Wolves - Rangers 2-0 (14/10/53) Wolves - Racing (Buenos Aires) 3-1 (10/3/54) Wolves - First Vienna 0-0 (13/10/54) Wolves - Maccabi Tel Aviv 10-0 (28/10/54) Wolves - Moscow Spartak 4-0 (16/11/54) Wolves - Honved 3-2 (13/12/54) Wolves - Moscow Dynamo 2-1 (9/11/55) Wolves - CCA [later Steaua] 5-0 (29/10/56) Wolves - Red Banner [MTK] 1-1 (12/12/56) Wolves - Dortmund 4-3 (27/3/57) Wolves - Valencia 3-0 (10/4/57) Wolves - Real Madrid 3-2 (17/10/57) Wolves - South Africa 1-0 (29/9/58) Wolves - Red Star Belgrade 3-0 (24/11/59) Wolves - Dinamo Tbilisi 5-5 (10/11/60) Wolves - Honved 1-1 (13/12/62) I'm surprised no one has made a comprehensive list of every friendly from the pre-EC era. They'd really give a good hint on how the EC might have gone had it started earlier.
Mar 63: -Big feature by Roger Macdonald on goalkeepers. Four of the greatest have retired: Ramallets, Carbajal, Kelsey and Grosics. Spot the problem here. Springett is a great keeper and clear choice as England's #1, but unfortunately he made a blunder in the Hungary match that proved to be costly. England's tradition of high-profile goalkeeping howlers goes back a long way. Rogelio Dominguez did well to adapt to the European game. He was the second foreigner and first American goalie to play in La Liga. "In Argentina close-dribbling right up to the goal-area is common, and long-range shooting almost unknown". Wonder if this had anything to do with the Libero-goalie being developed in Argentina? Roma didn't convince in Chile, so Dominguez came in and looks to have taken the #1 spot for good. It says now Carrizo was dropped and didn't drop himself, but either way it looks like his time in the NT over. For more info, check the line-ups for 1963. And what about the mighty Yashin? He had his share of howler in Chile (it was a theme). Maslachenko is snapping at Yashin's heels, so have we seen the last of "The Black Octopus", too? Goalie features ends with a look at the keepers of the future. Some saw Wolfgang Fahrian as the best goalie in Chile. Other up-and-comers include both German and French Bernards, Carnus, Schmucker and basically every reserve from the Chile teams. Even Georges Lamia is back! RMD questions Batty's choice of Fraydl as the best in the world. Ehh, your choices won't exactly set the world on fire either, Rog. Roger Macdonald has some words for everyone: "The football critic is often guilty of using statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts - for support rather than for illumination". -We can be thankful to Gordon Jeffery for being as much a fan of best player rankings as all of us are. It's Ballon-season, so he returns with another review of different best-player rankings. This one isn't as comprehensive as the one two years ago, sadly. Not all the results are featured. Miroir's list was so bad they've dipped out, but they've been replaced by a Hungarian paper, which conducted a survey based on thirty-two periodicals. Calcio is still around with their personal opinion. Hungarian Results: Pele and Garrincha tied (32p) Masopust (27) Sekularac (8) Eusebio (7) World team of the year: Schroif Djalma Santos Jusufi Zito Mauro Masopust Garrincha Sekularac Vava Pele Zagalo Their European team would look like this: Schroif Armfield Jusufi Solymosi Maldini Masopust Sandor Sekularac Seeler Tichy Gento (interesting how Eusebio got votes for world player but can't make it into the world team. ) Il Calcio's world team: Schroif Armfield Schnellinger Zito Maldini Masopust Garrincha Sekularac Albert Pele Meski Europeans only: Schroif Armfield Schnellinger Solymosi (Flowers) Maldini Masopust Hamrin (Jones) Sekularac Albert Coluna Meski Article notes the difference in opinion between the different polls (including France Football): 'All of which seems to add up to to the fact that, Masopust apart, "you pays yer money and takes yer choice".' That's funny, because that's the view I get from reading this magazine. Besides a certain group of obvious players, there are so many players mentioned at different times that I feel I'm pretty free to pick whoever I want for my own list and it wouldn't be wrong.
Apr 63: -Brian Glanville has finally smelled the coffee and joined World Soccer. He's an expert in Italian football, but sadly WS coverage of Serie A is nonexistent. "In Italy some of the world's best footballers played some of the world's worst football" Good ol' Italy. He also says that when the championship is only divided between three teams every year "something has died in your football". Well how about now? -Player portrait on Gianni Rivera, new Italian hero. He's studying to be an accountant. "His tutor is his personal friend and future colleague in the National team, Sandrino Mazzola". Not a bad prediction. -Eric Batty looks at the possibility of a European league once again. The format would be for clubs finishing in positions 2-5 to qualify for the league. This would actually add interest to the domestic league rather than take away from it. More visionary stuff. It's also mentioned Batty has seen thousands of games of football. -Quiet issue.
May 63: -England are out of the tournament after an unfortunate poor blunder by goalkeeper Springett. He's not alone, though, Schrojf had a bad game, too, and Czechoslovakia are out. What is this, a late look at the World Cup? Nah, it's the European Nations Cup. The more things change... -Stratton Smith is back from his extensive tour of Brazil. Must have been some tour, because he hasn't appeared in WS since 1961. While there he spoke with Garrincha, an odd omission from the 1954 team: "I was put forward as a bad example to everybody, as just a player who wanted to show off his ability and play for himself. Even the fans of my own team began to hoot me for delaying a pass or dribbling too long. Brazil aimed to win the 1954 World Cup by burying the individual in a general team plan. They went to Europe to play like Europeans, and were beaten in the quarter final..." The debate between European and American style has gone on a lot longer than I thought. The 1958-1962 team wasn't coached in a tactical sense. -A history of African exports in Europe. Norman D. Reich picks the best current 11: Sandy Kennon (Norwich; South Rhodesia) Eddie Stuart (Stoke; South Africa) Max Mayunga (Daring; Congo) Brian Tocknell (Charlton; South Africa) John Hewie (Charlton; South Africa) Paul Bonga-Bonga (Standard; Congo) Abdallah Azhar (Reims; Morocco) Khennane Mahi (Rennes; Algeria) Yauca (Belenenses; Angola) Eusebio (Benfica; Mozambique) Samuel Edimo (Sochaux; Cameroon) Weird list. Firmani, Akesbi and Coluna not good enough to make it? -It's football fiesta -time in South America, as the Copa America returns! OK, not really, the tournament has lost it's prestige. It's played in Bolivia, so no one is interested. Uruguay doesn't want to play in La Paz, so they're out, while Chile doesn't get along with Bolivia politically. Argentina will send a B-team and Brazil a C-team. Did I say C-team? I meant Z-team, Rio and Sao Paulo aren't interested. Brazil is more preoccupied with their upcoming European tour. It will be a complete walkover. Only England and Italy are likely to cause them any bother... And with this I'm putting this thread on hiatus, as I've reached the point where I started the original WS-thread. I don't want to repeat myself. You can read what happened next from here: https://www.xtratime.org/forum/348-history-football/269815-travelling-back-time-world-soccer.html