The following are Dr. Friedebert Becker's notes on the players that impressed him the most during the 1962 World Cup as issued in "Kicker". This was done a day before the final between Brazil and Chechoslovakia. "No one can name a "World Eleven" after this tournament based on one's own observations because no one actually saw every country that played (however there will be many trying just that). However I may state who in my opinion was a "world class" player in this tournament. Goalkeepers: Schrojf (Czechoslovakia) Elsener (Switzerland) Full Backs: Losi (Italy) Djalma Santos (Brazil) Eyzaguirre (Chile) Schnellinger (Germany) Schneiter (Switzerland) Half Backs: Rojas (Chile) Szymaniak (Germany) Grobety (Switzerland) Radakovic (Yugoslavia) Zito (Brazil) Zozimo (Brazil) Masopust (Czechoslovakia) Stoppers (includes sweepers): Maldini (Italy) Erhardt (Germany) Markovic (Yugoslavia) Popluhar (Czechoslovakia) Outside Rights: Garrincha (Brazil) Mora (Italy) Ramirez (Chile) Inside forwards: Pelé (Brazil, despite playing only 1.5 games) Sekularac (Yugoslavia) Toro (Chile) Didi (Brazil, as "conductor") Center forwards: Kvasnak (Czechoslovakia, albeit in the "Hidegkuti role") Sormani (Italy) Seeler (Germany, despite only half his normal form) Vava (Brazil, as "aerial virtuoso") Outside lefts: Zagalo (Brazil) Skoblar (Yugoslavia) Noticeable: Among the full backs one even would like to continue the list by naming for example Nilton Santos, the magnificent general of the defense, yes even Nowak, the German, and Novak, the Czech, Robotti (Italy), Jusufi (Yugoslavia).... Conclusion: this was a World Cup of defenders, destruction stood above creation."
This is Kicker's resume of each German player at the 1962 World Cup (written by Dr. Fritz Weilenmann): Wolfgang Fahrian Failed to reach the best grade in any of the four games. Against Chile he even made such grave mistakes that we had to ask the question whether Tilkowski should not be brought back between the goalposts. Fahrian failed to reach many crosses basically in every game. He looked suspicious at corners. His fisting usually was not sufficient as it was too short, often just straight into the center and often even only with one fist. However against Yugoslavia he discovered his old class again. He possesses abilities which no other German keeper has: using his feet well, his lightning fast reaction. Very adept at parrying long range shots. His catches are safe, he confuses the opponent. His kick-off needs improvement. Hans Nowak Was the full back we needed to start attacks from the defense. He could have joined the attack more than he did, like the Chilean full backs, who were the best at this. The Schalke full back is fast, his technique is on par with any forward, he knows how to engage in combinations. Nowak offered constantly above average performances and in his last game it was even without any fault. Karl-Heinz Schnellinger Not only we, but all observers of this tournament, count him among the very best. In every game he was the perfect full back, but also as a half back he performed at the same highest level. For every dangerous situation he found a solution due to his perfect technique. On a fitness level also arguably the best German player. He should remain among the very best in the world for years to come. Willi Schulz He pleased us because like Nowak behind him he was very reliable. Defensively, we didn’t see a better, a more tenacious and willing to sacrifice half-back than him. His passes though, especially long ones, were not on the same level as his tackling and positioning. He has however improved his eye for offensive situations and plays the ball faster than we did expect from him. Special tasks of tactical nature he solved calmly and without fault. Herbert Erhardt Was one of the most pleasant surprises of this tournament. Apart from the game vs. Switzerland, where he possibly was affected by the heat, we would give the best grade in all other games just like we gave the best grades to Schnellinger. He proved to be of the best physical shape just at the right time and justified his starting place (which Kicker had suggested beforehand). He was the impertubable organizer of our defense, a defense on which more than ever the burden and responsibility of our way of playing was resting. No center forward managed to escape Erhardt and even in aerial duels he remained supreme almost every time. Horst Szymaniak Only in one game (vs. Chile) did he reach his best level. His reputation seems to be fading. In the decisive game vs. Yugoslavia he failed. In terms of tactics especially we expected more from him, as he knows the tactical game so well from playing in Italy. Surely, he has a technique beyond compare and remains a committed team player but his physical shape was not on the same level as that of the others. And unexpectedly he was hesitant in passing, he appeared inhibited going forward when attacking the ball and the opponent. Willi Giesemann In the 4-2-4, which was not sufficiently practiced regards our offense, he played the role of a man-marking full back. Reliable, fast, good in passing, adamantly marking his opponent. But just like Nowak on the other side in a similar role his offensive endeavours remained a rarity, or more bluntly: they didn’t happen. Hans Sturm Was a 100 percent success in his special role as outside right. Although wearing the shirt number of a forward, his place was in midfield. He worked as hard as always. He was the only one with the power to get out of defense as fast as possible to join and to complete the offensive formation. We regret that he was not used in the remaining games. How did we miss his crosses, which were another pleasant surprise. We could have even imagined him in the role of Hans Schäfer, powerfully wrestling down the opposing inside forward … Willi Koslowski Suffered from almost never being involved in the game by the others. Haller neglected him completely. In the few scenes where he was on the ball he was looking for an escape from his situation and he managed one or two clever actions. But he has not enough personality to create something of his own to end the misery of our attack. He was just floating along. Berti Kraus He fell through already due to his insufficient physique. He was losing every duel against the Chileans. Only seldomly did his pace help him dribbling past an opponent. At least he always looked for holes and started his runs regardless of how hopeless it seemed. And often we found him on the outside left flank. Helmut Haller He was prancing, he stole the show when on the ball, delighted the crowds (and the Italian buyers?), dribbled forward, dribbled sideways. Then he passed the ball. Too short. Too late. Yet he knows how to pass the ball long to break down a defense! Against the Swiss he showed this two, three times. It was a pity: everyone who played on the right wing next to him starved. Against Yugoslavia his additional task was to cover the opposing half back. That was too much for his energy reserves (or he just didn’t feel like it?). Uwe Seeler Struggled to find himself, his style of play. He just didn’t manage to operate on his own, to get past the stopper that marked him – against Italy it was even two stoppers – like for example Altafini managed skillfully in the infamous game vs. Chile. In the last two games – at last! – we saw the „old“ Uwe (almost). Perhaps it aggrieved him, inhibited him that his best aerial efforts and his best shots hit the post or the crossbar, or just missed the goal. Physically, Seeler was in good shape. What was also lacking was a player to address passes to him in the right moment. Will Uwe regain his punch? Albert Brülls Disappointing. He looked tired. Where did he lose his power, his freshness? He still had it when he arrived in Santiago … sporadically he pulled himself together, tried a solo, but only as if he was trying to shortly show certain observers among the attendees what he can be capable of. This young man – was he burnt out? Hans Schäfer Perhaps he was too consumed in the final knock-out rounds of the German championship? He showed that he had the will to fulfill the role that he was meant to play in Chile. But it exceeded his powers. While he managed to confine the sphere of influence of Rojas (which arguably was decisive for the outcome of that game), he then was not to be found joining the attack towards the penalty box. How often did Fritz Walter shout next to us: „Hans, now run!“ Hans Schäfer just didn’t get away. When did we see his bombshells? Of course Brülls, who so often looked half-hearted, disturbed Schäfer’s play considerably.
I would love to see any more ratings/ideal XIs from contemporaries from the 1962 World Cup. This is a tough one to find a lot of information on. Honestly Becker's ratings look a bit suspect to me. It looks like he only saw group 2 play and the knockout stages (Germany's group). The only players listed not from group 2 are from teams that won a knock stage game (CZE, BRA, CHI, YUG). He lists three Swiss players and four Italian players, two teams from group 2 that did not advance, the Swiss 0-3 with a 2-8 goal differential. No Soviet, Hungarian, or English players were listed despite all teams advancing from their groups.
Stratton Smith picked the following teams of the tournament. World XI: Fahrian, Armfield, Nilton Santos, Sacchi, R Sanchez, Rojas, Garrincha, Didi, Vava, Pele, Charlton The Rest: Schroif, Djalma Santos, Novak, Solymosi, Maldini, Masopust, Ramirez, Rivera, Puskas, Amarildo, Zagallo
By the way, those teams are from a chapter in a book about that World Cup detailing the best players. I would copy it out but it's fairly lengthy.
I know @wm442433 is going to post more on this thread later, but already interesting to see a degree of overlap in the 6/6 ratings (not only among the most famous players):
Also, among the players named by Becker (Rojas again, Ramirez, Sekularac etc, as well as some of the more obvious ones).
Here are the France Football ratings (scans found over footnostalgie). (same spelling of the names as in the articles. It can vary from one match to another, also from one column to the other) GROUP I Uruguay 2 - Colombia 1 (goals : Zuluaga pen., Cubilla, Sasia) Uru : Sosa 3 - Troche 4, Goncalves 4, Em. Alvarez 3 - Mendez 4, El. Alvarez 4 - Cubilla 4, Rocha 4, Lango 3, Sasia 2, Perez 5. Tot.: 40. Col : Sanchez 5 - Gonzales 3, Zuluaga 4, Lopez 3 - Etcheverri 4, Silva 5 - Aceras 2, Coll 3, Klinger 4, Gamboa 3, Arias 2. Tot. : 38. /////////////////////////// USSR 2 - Yugoslavia 0 (Ivanov, Ponedelnik) USSR : Yachine 4 - Doubinski 4, Maslenkin 5, Ostrovski 4 - Voronine 3, Netto 4 - Metreveli 3, Ivanov 5, Ponedelnik 5, Kanevski 3, Meskhi 3. Tot.: 43. Yugo : Soskic 4 - Durkovic 4, Markovic 4, Jusufi 3 - Matus 3, Popovic 4 - Mujic 2, Sekularac 5, Jerkovic 3, Galic 5, Skoblar 4. Tot.: 41. /////////////////////////// Yugoslavia 3 - Uruguay 1 (Cabrera, Skoblar pen., Jerkovic, Galic) Yug : Soskic 5 - Durkovic 5, Markovic 4, Jusufi 4 - Radakovic 4, Popovic 4 - Melic 2, Sekularac 6, Jerkovic 5, Galic 4, Skoblar 3. Tot. : 46. Uru : Sosa 3 - Troche 5, Goncalves 4, Em. Alvarez 4 - Mendez 4, El. Alvarez 4 - Rocha 3, Bergara 3, Cabrera 3, Sasia 3, Perez 3. Tot.: 39. /////////////////////////// USSR 4 - Colombia 4 (Ivanov, Ivanov, Chislenko, Aceros, Ponedelnik, Coll, Rada, Klinger) USSR : Yachine 3 - Tchokeli 3, Maslenkin 2, Ostrowski 4 - Voronin 4, Netto 3 - Tchislenko 4, Ivanov 4, Ponedelnik 3, Kasnevsky 2, Meskhi 3. Tot.: 35. Col : Col : Sanchez 3 - J. Gonzales 5, Alzate 4, Etcheverri 2 - Serrano 4, Lopez 4 - Aceros 3, Coll 5, Klinger 5, Rada 5, H. Gonzales 3. Tot. : 44. ///////////////////////////// USSR 2 - Uruguay 1 (Mamikine, Sasia, Ivanov) USSR : Yachine 4 - Tchokeli 4, Maslenkin 3, Ostrowski 3 - Voronine 4, Netto 3 - Tchislenko 4, Ivanov 5, Ponedelnik 3, Mamikine 3, Goussainov 3. Tot.: 40. Uru : Sosa 4 - Troche 4, Goncalves 3, Em. Alvarez 5 - Mendez 4, El. Alvarez 3 - Cubilla 4, Cortes 2, Cabrera 3, Sasia 3, Perez 4. Tot.: 39. ///////////////////////////// Yugoslavia 5 - Colombia 0 (Galic, Jerkovic, Galic, Melic, Jerkovic) Yug : Soskic 4 - Durkovic 4, Markovic 4, Jusufi 4 - Radakovic 4, Popovic 4 - Ankovic 4, Sekularac 4, Jerkovic 4, Galic 5, Melic 3. Tot. : 44. Col : Col : Sanchez 3 - J. Gonzales 4, Alzate 3, Etcheverry 3 - Serrano 4, Lopez 4 - Aceros 4, Coll 4, Klinger 4, Rada 3, H. Gonzales 3. Tot. : 39. ///////////////////////////// //////////////////////////// GROUP II Chile 3 - Switzerland 1 (Wuthrich, L. Sanchez, Ramirez, L. Sanchez) Chi : Escutti 2 - Eyzaguirre 4, Contreras 3, R. Sanchez 4 - Navarro 3, Rojas 5 - Ramirez 4, Toro 4, Landa 4, Fouilloux 3, L. Sanchez 5. Tot. : 41 Swi : Elsener 5 - Morff 3, Tacchella 4, Schneiter 3 - Grobety 4, Weber 2 - Allemann 3, Pottier 3, Eschmann 3, Wuthrich 3, Antenen 3. Tot.: 36. ////////////////////////////// Italy 0 - Germany 0 Ita : Buffon 4 - Losi 4, Maldini 4, Robotti 3 - Salvadore 4, Radice 5 - Ferrini 3, Rivera 5, Altafini 3, Sivori 3, Menichelli 4. Tot.: 42. Ger : Fahrian 4 - Novak 4, Erhardt 4, Schnellinger 5 - Schulz 3, Szymaniak 4 - Sturm 3, Haller 5, Seeler 4, Bruells 4, Schaeffer 3. Tot.: 44. ////////////////////////////// Chile 2 - Italy 0 (Ramirez, Toro) Chi : Escutti 3 - Eyzaguirre 3, Contreras 3, R. Sanchez 3 - Navarro 4, Rojas 4 - Ramirez 4, Toro 3, Landa 3, Fouilloux 3, L. Sanchez 2. Tot. : 36. Ita : Mattrel 2 - David 3, Janich 3, Robotti 3 - Salvadore 4, Tumburus 3 - Mora 3, Maschio 4, Altafini 2, Ferrini 3, Menichelli 3. Tot.: 33. ////////////////////////////// Germany 2 - Switzerland 1 (Bruells, Seeler, Schneiter) Ger : Fahrian 3 - Novak 4, Erhardt 3, Schnellinger 3 - Schulz 3, Szymaniak 4 - Koslowski 3, Haller 3, Seeler 4, Bruells 4, Schaeffer 3. Tot.: 37. Swi : Elsener 4 - Schneiter 4, Tacchella 4, Grobety 4 - Wuthrich 3, Weber 2 - Antenen 2, Volanthen 4, Allemann 3, Eschmann 3, Duerr 3. Tot.: 37. ////////////////////////////// Germany 2 - Chile 0 (Szymaniak, Seeler) Ger : Fahrian 4 - Novak 4, Erhardt 4, Schnellinger 4 - Schulz 4, Giesemann 4 - Krauss 3, Szymaniak 4, Seeler 5, Schaeffer 3, Bruells 3. Tot.: 42. Chi : Escutti 3 - Eyzaguirre 3, R. Sanchez 4, Navarro 4 - Contreras 4, Rojas 4 - Moreno 2, L. Sanchez 3, Landa 3, Tobar 4, Ramirez 3. Tot. : 37. ////////////////////////////// Italy 3 - Switzerland 0 (Mora, Bulgarelli, Bulgarelli) Ita : Buffon 3 - Losi 4, Maldini 4, Radice 4 - Salvadore 4, Robotti 3 - Mora 4, Bulgarelli 3, Sormani 4, Sivori 2, Pascutti 4. Tot.: 39. Swi : Elsener 4 - Schneiter 4, Tacchella 4, Grobety 4 - Wuthrich 3, Weber 2 - Antenen 2, Volanthen 4, Allemann 3, Eschmann 3, Duerr 3. Tot.: 37.
(FF ratings 2/3) GROUP III Brazil 2 - Mexico 0 (Zagalo, Pepe) Bra : Gilmar 4 - Djalma Santos 3, Mauro 4, Zozimo 3, Nilton Santos 4 - Zito 3, Didi 4 - Garrincha 3, Vava 3, Pelé 4, Zagalo 4. Tot.: 39. Mex : Carbajal 4 - Del Muro 2, Sepulveda 3, Villegas 4 - Cardenas 3, Najera 4 - Del Aguila 3, Reyes 4, Hector Hernandez 4, Jasso 3, Diaz 3. Tot.: 37. ////////////////////////////// Czechoslovakia 1 - Spain 0 (Stibranyi) Cze : Schojff 5 - Lala 3, Popluhar 5, Novak 4 - Pluskal 3, Masopust 4 - Stibranyi 3, Scherer 3, Kvasnak 3, Adamec 3, Jelinek 3. Tot.: 40. Spa : Carmelo 3 - Revilla 3, Santamaria 4, Reja 3 - Segarra 4, Garay 3 - Del Sol 3, Puskas 3, Martinez 1, Suarez 5, Gento 3. Tot.: 35. ////////////////////////////// Brazil 0 - Czechoslovakia 0 Bra : Gilmar 4 - Djalma Santos 4, Mauro 3, Zozimo 4 - Zito 4, Nilton Santos 4 - Garrincha 3, Didi 3, Vava 3, Pelé 3, Zagalo 4. Tot.: 39. Cze : Schojff 4 - Lala 2, Popluhar 4, Novak 3 - Pluskal 4, Masopust 4 - Stibranyi 4, Scherer 4, Kvasnak 3, Adamec 4, Jelinek 3. Tot.: 39. ////////////////////////////// Spain 1 - Mexico 0 (Peiro) Spa : Carmelo 4 - Rodri 4, Santamaria 4, Gracia 4 - Vergés 3, Pachin 3 - Del Sol 4, Peiro 4, Puskas 3, Suarez 4, Gento 4. Tot.: 41. Mex : Carbajal 5 - Del Muro 4, Sepulveda 4, Jauregui 4 - Cardenas 5, Najera 4 - Del Aguila 3, Reyes 3, Hector Hernandez 3, Jasso 3, Diaz 2. Tot.: 40. ////////////////////////////// Brazil 2 - Spain 1 (Adelardo, Amarildo, Amarildo) Bra : Gilmar 4 - Djalma Santos 3, Mauro 3, Nilton Santos 4 - Zito 5, Zozimo 3 - Garrincha 5, Didi 3, Vava 3, Amarildo 4, Zagalo 4. Tot.: 41. Spa : Araquistain 4 - Rodri 4, Etcheverria 4, Gracia 2 - Vergés 3, Pachin 3 - Collar 4, Adelardo 4, Puskas 5, Peiro 4, Gento 4. Tot.: 41. ////////////////////////////// Mexico 3 - Czechoslovakia 1 (masek, Diaz, Del Aguila, H. Hernandez pen.) Mex : Carbajal 5 - Del Muro 3, Sepulveda 4, Jauregui 4 - Cardenas 4, Najera 4 - Del Aguila 6, Reyes 4, Hector Hernandez 4, Alfredo Hernandez 3, Diaz 4. Tot.: 45. Cze : Schojff 3 - Lala 4, Popluhar 3, Novak 4 - Pluskal 4, Masopust 4 - Stibranyi 3, Scherer 4, Kvasnak 4, Adamec 3, Masek 4. Tot.: 40. ///////////////////////////// //////////////////////////// GROUP IV Argentina 1 - Bulgaria 0 (Facundo) Arg : Roma 4 - Navarro 3, Sacchi 6, Marzolini 5 - Sainz 3, Paez 3 - Facundo 3, Rossi 3, Pagani 3, Sanfilippo 2, Belen 3. Tot.: 38. Bul : Naidenov 5 - Rakarov 3, Dimitrov 5, Kitov 2 - Kostov 3, Kovatchev 3 - Diev 5, Velitchkov 3, Iliev 3, Yakimov 3, Kolev 1. Tot.: 36. ////////////////////////////// Hungary 2 - England 1 (Tichy, Flowers, Albert) Hun : Grosics 4 - Matraï 4, Meszoly 4, Sarosi 3 - Solymosi 5, Sipos 4 - Sandor 4, Rakosi 4, Albert 4, Tichy 4, Fenyvesi 3. Tot.: 43. Eng : Springett 3 - Armfield 3, Swan 3, Wilson 4 - Moore 2, Flowers 3 - Douglas 4, Greaves 3, Hitchens 2, Haynes 2, Charlton 5. Tot.: 34. ////////////////////////////// England 3 - Argentina 1 (Flowers, Charlton, Greaves, Sanfilippo) Eng : Springett 4 - Armfield 5, Moore 4, Wilson 3 - Norman 4, Flowers 4 - Douglas 4, Greaves 3, Peacock 4, Haynes 3, Charlton 5. Tot.: 43. Arg : Roma 1 - Capp 3, Navarro 3, Marzolini 3 - Sacchi 4, Paez 3 - Rattin 3, Oleniak 2, Sosa 2, Sanfilippo 2, Belen 2. Tot.: 28. ////////////////////////////// Hungary 6 - Bulgaria 1 (Albert, Albert, Tichy, Solymosi, Albert, Sokolov, Tichy) Hun : Ilku 3 - Matraï 4, Meszoly 4, Sarosi 5 - Solymosi 5, Sipos 4 - Sandor 4, Göröcs 5, Albert 4, Tichy 4, Fenyvesi 3. Tot.: 44. Bul : Naidenov 1 - Rakarov 3, Kostov 3, Kirilov 4 - Kaitov 2, Kovatchev 3 - Velitchkov 2, Sokolov 3, Asparoukhov 3, Kolev 3, Dermendjiev 2. Tot.: 29. ////////////////////////////// Hungary 0 - Argentina 0 Hun : Grosics 6 - Matraï 5, Meszoly 4, Sarosi 2 - Solymosi 4, Sipos 3 - Kuharszki 3, Göröcs 1, Monostori 3, Tichy 4, Rakosi 3. Tot.: 38. Arg : Dominguez 1 - Sainz 3, Delgado 5, Marzolini 5 - Capp 4, Sacchi 6 - Facundo 3, Pando 5, Pagani 4, Oleniak 3, Gonzalez 4. Tot.: 43. ////////////////////////////// England 0 - Bulgaria 0 Eng : Springett 3 - Armfield 4, Moore 3, Wilson 3 - Norman 5, Flowers 5 - Douglas 3, Greaves 3, Peacock 3, Haynes 5, Charlton 5. Tot.: 41. Bul : Naidenov 3 - Rakarov 3, Dimitrov 3, Jetchev 3 - D. Kostov 3, Kovatchev 4 - A. Kostov 3, Sokolov 3, Asparoukhov 3, Kolev 4, Dermendjiev 4. Tot.: 36.
Last Rounds (FF ratings 3/3) QUARTER-FINALS Chile 2 - USSR 1 (L. Sanchez, Tchislenko, Rojas) Chi : Escutti 3 - Eyzaguirre 4, Rojas 5, R. Sanchez 4 - Navarro 3, Contreras 3 - Ramirez 3, Toro 5, Landa 3, Tobar 3, L. Sanchez 3. Tot. : 39. USSR : Yachine 2 - Tchokelli 4, Maslenkin 3, Ostrowski 3 - Netto 5, Voronine 4 - Tchislenko 3, Ivanov 3, Ponedelnik 4, Mamykin 3, Meskhi 3. Tot.: 37. ////////////////////////////// Yugoslavia 1 - Germany 0 (Radakovic) Yug : Soskic 4 - Durkovic 4, Markovic 4, Jusufi 5 - Radakovic 5, Popovic 4 - Kovacevic 4, Sekularac 5, Jerkovic 4, Galic 4, Skoblar 4. Tot. : 47. Ger : Fahrian 5 - Novak 4, Erhardt 4, Schnellinger 5 - Schulz 4, Giesemann 5 - Haller 5, Szymaniak 2, Seeler 4, Bruells 4, Schaeffer 4. Tot.: 47. [46] ////////////////////////////// Brazil 3 - England 1 (Garrincha, Hitchens, Vavan Garrincha) Bra : Gilmar 4 - Djalma Santos 4, Mauro 4, Nilton Santos 4 - Zito 3, Zozimo 4 - Garrincha 5, Didi 3, Vava 3, Amarildo 3, Zagalo 4. Tot.: 41. Eng : Springett 3 - Armfield 3, Norman 4, Wilson 3 - Moore 4, Flowers 4 - Douglas 4, Greaves 3, Hitchens 2, Haynes 4, Charlton 4. Tot.: 38. ////////////////////////////// Czechoslovakia 1 - Hungary 0 (Scherer) Cze : Schojff 6 - Lala 4, Popluhar 5, Novak 5 - Pluskal 5, Masopust 5 - Stibranyi 3, Scherer 4, Kvasnak 3, Pospichal 3, Jelinek 3. Tot.: 47. Hun : Grosics 4 - Matraï 3, Meszoly 3, Sarosi 3 - Solymossi 3, Sipos 3 - Sandor 4, Rakosi 3, Albert 4, Tichy 4, Fenyvesi 3. Tot.: 37. ////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////// SEMI-FINALS Brazil 4 - Chile 2 (Garrincha, Garrincha, Toro, Vava, L. Sanchez pen., Vava) Bra : Gilmar 4 - Djalma Santos 4, Mauro 4, Nilton Santos 4 - Zito 4, Zozimo 4 - Garrincha 6, Didi 4, Vava 4, Amarildo 3, Zagalo 5. Tot.: 46. Chi : Escutti 2 - Eyzaguirre 5, R. Sanchez 3, Rodriguez 3 - Contreras 2, Rojas 4 - Ramirez 4, Toro 5, Landa 4, Tobar 3, L. Sanchez 3. Tot. : 38. ////////////////////////////// Czechoslovakia 3 - Yugoslavia 1 (Kadraba, Jerkovic, Scherer, Scherer) Cze : Schojff 5 - Lala 4, Popluhar 3, Novak 4 - Pluskal 5, Masopust 4 - Pospichal 2, Scherer 4, Kvasnak 3, Kadraba 3, Jelinek 3. Tot.: 40. Yug : Soskic 4 - Durkovic 4, Markovic 4, Jusufi 4 - Radakovic 4, Popovic 4 - Sijakovic 3, Sekularac 3, Jerkovic 4, Galic 3, Skoblar 3. Tot. : 40. ////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////// 3rd PLACE MATCH Chile 1 - Yugoslavia 0 (Rojas) Chi : Godoy 3 - Eyzaguirre 5, R. Sanchez 5, Rodriguez 3 - Cruz 4, Rojas 5 - Ramirez 5, Toro 3, Campos 2, Tobar 4, L. Sanchez 4. Tot. : 43. Yug : Soskic 4 - Durkovic 5, Markovic 4, Jusufi 4 - Radakovic 4, Popovic 4 - Kovacevic 3, Sekularac 4, Jerkovic 3, Galic 3, Skoblar 4. Tot. : 41. ////////////////////////////// ////////////////////////////// FINAL Brazil 3 - Czechoslovakia 1 (Masopust, Amarildo, Zito, Vava) Bra : Gilmar 5 - Djalma Santos 5, Mauro 5, Nilton Santos 5 - Zito 4, Zozimo 4 - Garrincha 3, Didi 3, Vava 5, Amarildo 5, Zagalo 5. Tot.: 49. Cze : Schojff 5 - Tichy 3, Popluhar 4, Novak 5 - Pluskal 4, Masopust 6 - Pospichal 4, Scherer 4, Kadraba 4, Kvasnak 5, Jelinek 4. Tot.: 48.
It's not really the matter but... I'm going to pick my 11. So, without watching much of it, and not recently, I'd go for : GK : well, Schrojff (who also was protected by a solid block. Gilmar is a bit in the same case and is a solid second, imo) RB : Eyzaguirre (for he was the FB with the best offensive output, it seems, and that no other stands out, it seems too.) CB : Sacchi (I put him in that spot. He earned the maximum rating against Bulgaria and Hungary. We saw in a previous post that Stratton Smith chose to not select any real CB, interestingly, opting for a 2-3-5. Not that there's no very good "stoppers" as Friedebert Becker says, as seen above too, but with Sacchi, there are two outstanding performances... one at CB, one at HB btw...) LB : Nilton Santos (although a veteran and surely not at his best anymore, he may have been the best on this tournament, with also his experience. He's the most steady anyway. And well, he won the cup.) At the two half-back positions, I just keep the Czechoslovakian shield (+ possible offensive output from the eventual Ballon d'Or). HB : Pluskal HB : Masopust The attack : RW : Garrincha (3 great games where he made the difference and shown all his talents. Beyond compare.) IR : Sekularac (same as Garrincha; a superior talent when on his day, and he had a few good days on this tournament. Interestingly, he was known to be a bit brutal and he's rather outstanding during a brutal tournament) CF : Vava (it's difficult to not pick the finisher of the double-champions Brazilian team. A fighter too) IL : Ivanov (he played at IR. he has a solid first round. The artist of the USSR team scored the winner against Uruguay, in South America... so...) LW : Charlton (he's constantly highly rated during his tournament. He should have been first to lift the trophy in '66 imo, dunno) In addition to Gilmar, Ramirez (RW) and Rojas (HB) of Chile, look like interesting players for a B-team, especially with that bronze medal game performance to confirm their good tournament. Djalma Santos at RB too (same case as Nilton Santos although a bit younger). At IL, Amarildo was quite a good replacement for Pelé, isn't it? Didi was on the wane it seems and has good ratings "only" against South-American/ Central-America teams (Mexico and Chile), so that's in a certain type of game. So was Puskas, no? He's rated with a 5 against.. Brazil, though; like Rivera against Germany but thats the only game the Milanista played. So was Zito, it seems too, more or less... So, going faster, 'my B-team' : GK : Gilmar (because I like him best. More than Schrojff, I guess, too) RB : Djalma Santos (yep. He's better rated in the last rounds than in the first round btw). CB : Popluhar (I'll go for him above Erhardt) LB : Novak (Cze). Or Marzolini (like Sacchi, he shone against Bulgaria and Hungary, it seems)? Well going back to Novak, he's rated as high as N. Santos in the final. As for Schnellinger, dunno... he did not play the final anyway and for the defensive spots it's important to go far enough in the tourney (so the choice of Sacchi...). HB : well, none (impossible to chose from the likes of Radakovic, Flowers... Zito, who did his best one last time though it seems...the Deschamps of that team but with one goal scored in the final! Ah, it should be him. Zito. HB : Rojas (OK) RW : yes, Ramirez. IR : dunno. Say Haller. If Germany goes through against Yugoslavia, who knows what would have happened? CF : well, Albert, the "best young player of the tournament". The Hungarian 9 and half, more than the Czechoslovakian one maybe? IL : Amarildo, Tichy... Amarildo. LW : Zagallo, who guaranteed the balance of the Brazilian team. He helped at starting the whole thing well against Mexico and is rated higher and higher as advancing in the tournament. Sorry, Leonel Sanchez. "Jolly player", as they say : Raul Sanchez. Sorry Zagallo too, because it's 1962 too, not 1966. Solymosi looks like an interesting choice, too, at HB, indeed. According to the FF ratings, not convinced about Kvasnak (5 in the final, well). Btw, we can ask ourselves how they managed to attend every game aha... but it looks good... it looks good. I guess they did not send a dozen of journalists but well done! The defensive positions are the hardest to really decide on, as far as I'm concerned. I'm just like fully convinced about x - x, x, x - x, Masopust - Garrincha, Sekularac, Vava, Ivanov (actually IR), Charlton/ Zagallo...
Does anyone know why Suarez did not play vs Brazil? Was he injured or dropped for tactical/coaching reasons? He w as well rated in the first two games. You wonder if he played if Spain could have knocked out Brazil.
On a similar note, Italy leaving out Rivera vs Chile (and perhaps Lorenzo Buffon too), because losing that one put them out of the competition whatever they did vs Switzerland (they didn't even bring Rivera back in for that one either though). Having said that, I guess it would still have been the infamous 'battle' and might not have suited Rivera well in that respect, especially at such a young age, and they didn't actually score any goals vs Germany (and the result probably at that time would be considered disappointing for Italy). Nevertheless he was the up and coming creative star and France Football deemed his opening performance worth a 5. Interesting to see Pele only got a 4 vs Mexico - I guess they were feeling continuity was important in a performance even back then. I don't think I'd have been surprised to see him get a 5 instead of a 6, but going as low as a 4 is a bit more surprising (not that it's a bad grade, even in those days - previously it had seemed to me like after 1970 the grading got less generous but it could be that in 1970, like perhaps in 1958, they saw good reason to give a lot of high scores out more than a downwards trend being the main factor I suppose). Garrincha with a 5 rather than a 6 vs England doesn't really surprise me, and I think I'd agree with his display vs Chile getting the higher score, although they must have disregarded his sending off as unjust maybe or brought in automatic 0 grades for sendings off later. Masopust with the only 6 in the final is interesting and notable. Puskas upped his game seemingly in the Brazil match.
Calculating average ratings for players named by Becker (I'll then add any others Smith named that he didn't, then players that stand out to me for ratings (perhaps leaning to well known players, so let me know if I appear to miss any other highly rated ones in terms of the FF grades).... Schroif - 5-4-3-6-5-5 =4.67 (interestingly not badly rated at all in the final) Elsener - 5-4-4 =4.33 Maldini - 4-4 =4 Erhardt - 4-3-4-4 =3.75 Markovic - 4-4-4-4 =4 Popluhar - 5-4-3-5-3-4 =4 Losi - 4-4 =4 Djalma Santos - 3-4-3-4-4-5 =3.83 Eyzaguirre - 4-3-3-4-5-5 =4 Schnellinger - 5-3-4-5 =4.25 Schneiter - 3-4-4 =3.67 Nilton Santos - 4-4-4-4-4-5 =4.17 Nowak (Ger) - 4-4-4-4 =4 Novak (Cze) - 4-3-4-5-4-5 =4.17 Robotti - 3-3-3 =3 Jusufi - 3-4-4-5 =4 Rojas - 5-4-4-5-4-5 =4.5 Szymaniak - 4-4-4-2 =3.5 Grobety - 4-4-4 =4 Radakovic - 4-4-5 =4.33 Zito - 3-4-5-3-4-4 =3.83 Zozimo - 3-4-3-4-4-4 =3.67 Masopust - 4-4-4-5-4-6 =4.5 Garrincha - 3-3-5-5-6-3 =4.17 Mora - 3-4 =3.5 Ramirez - 4-4-3-3-4-5 =3.83 Zagallo - 4-4-4-4-5-5 =4.33 Skoblar - 4-3-4 =3.67 Pele - 4-3 =3.5 Sekularac - 5-6-4-5 =5 Toro - 4-3-5-5-3 =4 Didi - 4-3-3-3-4-3 =3.33 Kvasnak - 3-3-4-3-3-5 =3.5 Sormani - 4 (one game) Seeler - 4-4-5-4 =4.25 Vava - 3-3-3-3-4-5 =3.5
Fahrian - 4-3-4-5 =4 Armfield - 3-5-4 =4 Sacchi - 6-4-6 =5.33 R Sanchez - 4-3-4-4-3-5 =3.83 Charlton - 5-5-5-4 =4.75 Solymosi - 5-5-4-3 =4.25 Rivera - 5 (one game) Puskas - 3-3-5 =3.67 Amarildo - 4-3-3-5 =3.75
Others (Making sure to include any in the 1st or 2nd proposed XI of wm442433).... Soskic - 4-5-4-4 =4.25 Durkovic - 4-5-4-4 =4.25 Galic - 5-4-5-4 =4.5 Troche - 4-5-4 =4.33 Cubilla - 4-4 =4 Voronin - 3-4-4-4 =3.75 Netto - 4-3-3-5 =3.75 Chislenko - 4-4-3 =3.67 Ivanov - 5-4-5-3 =4.25 Haller - 5-3-5 =4.33 Gilmar - 4-4-4-4-4-5 =4.17 Santamaria - 4-4 =4 Suarez - 5-4 =4.5 Pluskal - 3-4-4-5-5-4 =4.17 Marzolini - 5-3-5 =4.33 Grosics - 4-6-4 = 4.67 Matrai - 4-4-5-3 =4 Sandor - 4-4-4 =4 Albert - 4-4-4 =4 Tichy - 4-4-4-4 =4 Flowers - 3-4-5-4 =4 Douglas - 4-4-3-4 =3.75
So I think Sekularac joins France Football's 5 out of 6 club in terms of World Cup average ratings, which was previously this (factoring in all tournaments from 1958 to 2006 which was the final time they used ratings from 1 to 6, with the exception of 1966 - maybe wm442433 will be able to find ratings for that WC too or maybe not): 1 - Pele (1958) - 5.25 out of 6 2= Just Fontaine (1958) - 5.00 2= Garrincha (1958) - 5.00 2= Harry Gregg (1958) - 5.00 2= Helmut Rahn (1958) - 5.00 2= Lilian Thuram (1998) - 5.00 Jean Tigana and Preben Elkjaer averaged 5 out of 6 from France Football in Euro 84 I know too. Of course, other sources, with different ratings scales and different journalists, will differ from this.
Just like in 1958 it's possible that France Football's final best XI would differ a little from their average ratings XI (considering everything in summary, and factoring in amounts of games played and stages of the tournament exited) but this might seem to be a first and second XI just according to their ratings (excluding players who just played one or two games - I was kind of doing that myself with the above post, as otherwise Rivera also averages 5 out of 6 for 1962 of course!) Priority to top single game ratings and numbers of matches in cases of ties on average ratings: 1st XI: Schroif (Cze); Troche (Uru), Popluhar (Cze), Sacchi (Arg), Marzolini (Arg); Radakovic (Yug), Masopust (Cze); Garrincha (Bra), Sekularac (Yug), Charlton (Eng); Galic (Yug) 2nd XI: Grosics (Hun); Durkovic (Yug), Markovic (Yug), Pluskal (Cze), Schnellinger (Ger); Solymosi (Hun), Rojas (Chi); Sandor (Hun), Ivanov (USSR), Zagallo (Bra); Seeler (Ger) Haller of Germany played two games as inside forward/AM and one as right winger it seems doesn't it? On that basis I've left him out although his average was higher than Ivanov's and actually higher than Garrincha's too of course (so not really feasible to put him in team 2 for Sandor I suppose - more between him and Ivanov depending if 3 overall games is sufficient). Rivera would actually make team 2 himself (or team 1 with a different system - 4-2-3-1 seems like a modern system but wasn't too far away from what several teams played I think probably in effect) if any number of games counted (but it didn't anyway for France Football's average ratings XIs in other years I remember), and Suarez would if two games was enough. I paired a centre back and defensive wing half type in a back 4, and went with a right half and left half in midfield.
I could only see the 1962 ratings in the 'early tournaments' : the one poster who provided hundreds of scans over Footnostalgie is 'not a fan' of ratings, so the absence of overall rankings. There are many articles/ rather long reports on World Cup games though (mostly from Miroir outside of the 1962 World Cup). Btw, thanks to your calculations, we have a clearer picture and I think that I completely ommitted Durkovic, Markovic and Jusufi in my reflexion (Matrai, that was for the elimination in the Q/F's against maybe Hungary's first real menacing opponent, with quite an average/ poor individual rating...that shows in the evolution of Solymosi's ratings too). Also forgot about Nowak at one point, in spite of the Weilenmann's comments. I will try to make a compilation of the German team game reports to have a better view on Seeler especially, in addition to what is explained by Weilenmann in post #2. From memories, there are good appreciations of Schnellinger too but it's not too many lines neither. About Vava, looks like he shown up for the S/F's + final. Toro must be in the balance as well, indeed, at IR, for the second team. Kvasnak : need to read more and eventually watch a couple of games.
I forgot to mention Sacchi's average of 5.33 actually becomes the highest. He played 3 games as opposed to Pele playing 4 in 1958 though.
Perhaps I could have summarised France Football's XIs using the more traditional and attacking WM, allowing two inside forwards. On the other hand @wm442433 maybe if you really wanted Charlton and Zagallo you could use a 4-3-3, because Brazil's system (after Pele was injured anyway) was said to be almost like that I think wasn't it (or a hybrid with 4-2-4, with Amarildo playing mostly as left forward)? So you could have Zagallo at LM, and Charlton as LW arguably. But then it's gonna be hard to still fit in Sekularac, Ivanov and Masopust (perhaps 3-2-2-3 but with Zagallo in midfield is too much of a stretch, and Charlton could play there but he didn't in this tournament of course; with the 4-3-3 Masopust would appear to line-up as anchor midfielder albeit with a defensive wing half in the back 4 I suppose...but then Sekularac would seem more like right side CM, and Ivanov more like false 9 probably...so yeah maybe too much of a stretch to do that and put Zagallo in for Vava in effect!).
Correction: 4-3-4-3-4 =3.6 And some additional names after more of a thorough browse.... Carbajal - 4-5-5 =4.67 Del Aguila - 3-3-6 =4 Silva (Colombia) - 5 (one game) - I mention it since it matches Rivera's grade Gento - 3-4-4 =3.67 - I mention him as a famous name whose average equals Chislenko's, albeit some others not mentioned will have a slightly higher average and he'd not actually quite be next in line for left wing I don't think. In theory I guess Carbajal loses out for France Football's second XI to Grosics if sticking to higher grades in single games taking precedence, but on that basis (if not over-ruled by playing in the knockout stage...and getting a 4 in that game) Del Aguila could actually make it in instead of Sandor, also of Hungary. Norman of England, like Haller, might lose out with his two 4s and a 5, due to switching roles seemingly, in terms of the second XI. That kind of applies for Sacchi too of course, but he's clearly in the first XI surely since he has the top average, albeit over few games (more than 2 though, which I set as the limit - I can't be 100% sure France Football would have too).
I didn't get Yugoslavia right in general actually for some reason, so: Sekularac 5-6-4-5-3-4 =4.5 Radakovic - 4-4-5-4-4 =4.2 (lower average than Solymosi re: the original France Football XIs I did, albeit level before the 3rd place game even if with less 5 out of 6 grades by that point too) Soskic - 4-5-4-4-4-4 =4.17 Durkovic - 4-5-4-4-4-5 =4.33 (more games than Troche so he's in the first XI now) Galic - 5-4-5-4-3-3 =4 Maybe a 3-2-1-4 (or 3-2-3-2) works actually, with one defensive wing-half and one creative one, one withdrawn inside forward and one goalscoring inside forward (according to what RoyoftheRovers used to tell us for example I think that was a common setup of this time, verging on 4-2-4 like Brazil in 1958 or the WW if that's what we call Hungary's system of 1953 for example). I think Galic, like Greaves for England, was basically playing like a goalscoring inside forward. Sekularac's role would be more like that of Haynes in the England team, as an AM as we'd say today. This video is quite good for Galic I noticed: Milan Galić - legenda Partizana - YouTube So maybe (still deeming 3 games enough, and keeping Sandor in as second right winger given what I said before) 1st XI: Schroijf; Durkovic, Popluhar, Marzolini; Sacchi, Masopust; Sekularac; Garrincha, Ivanov, Seeler, Charlton 2nd XI: Grosics; Troche, Markovic, Schnellinger; Norman, Rojas; Haller; Sandor, Tichy, Galic (alternatively Albert, or Albert instead of Haller even, but I think his role in Hungary's team this World Cup wouldn't fit that exactly so Haller with two games as inside forward gets the nod (otherwise could be Toro of Chile I guess, with more games played - Haller only averages 4 himself as an inside forward apparently although Becker did say he covered the opposing half back vs Yugoslavia so maybe it's not clear what Germany's system was like and I don't recall anything about that from memory - he played somewhat more defensive so not as a pure winger I guess anyway and Becker said that was too much or he didn't fancy it but FF gave him a 5 anyway), and Galic has higher top ratings and more games than Albert), Zagallo That should be correct now I think. It was just the Yugoslavs I'd not calculated things for fully for some reason before.