Enjoyable footage from the 70s For all those years in the 70s that England were failing to qualify for major tournaments and condemned as a long-ball team, you easily forget how many great players they had at the time. In this footage from 1975 in a friendly against the world champions, the following points struck me: 1. What a great player Alan Hudson was - hardly any caps for England. After this game, Beckenbauer said that Hudson was one of the best players he'd ever played against. 2. Colin Bell - what a motor. 3. Malcolm McDonald should have been a greater player at international level. 4. I didn't see a single long-ball at any point. 5. What a difference a heavier ball makes. 6/ No faked injuries when fouled. 7. Check out Beckenbauer's foul later on. It's hilarious. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_QRB1xyTiI
Another enjoyable England game from the 70s. Watch out for the treatment that Keegan gets throughout the game - particularly at 5.30, which waas missed by the commentator. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gRKEM_wRMI&feature=related
eh? wot the...oh nevermind. At least you could have left all the posts before talk on the current team got started
You have to admit. It's much tidier without those pesky posts. Very impressed that you could name the sides. You're right - it was a very experimental side that the Germans put out. Many of them never to be heard of again. Also makes you realise how long Alan Ball played at the top level for.
The first 2-3 posts after the "threads merged" post were good and relevant. I got the lineups from the DFB site. That German side wasn't really that far off a full strength side, as everyone missing were retirees from 74 (apart from Breitner who was unavailable till 81 anyway and Hoeness who was at the time injured). But one guy who never was capped again was Erwin Kostedde who I think was the first coloured player to play for Germany. Son of an American GI and German mum. Yup. Where was Sammy Lee? Did he play that game? I remember him from the 72 Wembley euro game where he equalised for England and pretty much hurled himself into the net with the ball.
It's true. From what I've read and seen on video, in 1970 England had a fantastic team everywhere but up front - as witnissed by Jeff Astle's horrendous miss v Brasil. If that had gone in, which by rights it should have done, then the "Greatest Team Ever" might have achieved nothing.
Yeah, Brazil 1970 are one of the greatest, but they are overhyped. That whole tournament was filled with stars and attacking football, and Brazil just nudged it. A whole lot of credit that Brazil 1970 gets now has to be given to the other teams to get a fair reflection. Gerd Mueller rates that Germany as the best he played in, and they nudged it against England, and Brazil nudged England in the group stage. They also nudged Uruguay in the semis and had a very close game against Romania (3-2) in the group stage too. Brazil beat Italy (who were knackered after 60 mins) 4-1 in the final, taking control after an hour. Italy nudged out Germany by the slightest margin in the semis (even though the actual game was a one-sided battering from Germany, and had the WORST ref you will ever see). All in all, Brazil, Germany, England in particular, and Italy were nigh on impossible to separate in that tournament. And other teams came close to that group. And everyone played attacking football as if that was the only way to play football.
I think that 1970 was probably the greatest world cup of them all, for the very reasons that you're given.
I don't necessarily disagree with you regarding Brazil 1970 as being over-hyped. That said, and for all the reasons you stated so very well above (and more, as you alluded to in the "other teams came close" statement), the team that emerged as the winner from that glorious tournament would be certain to have achieved a special place in the footballing firmament. Factor in as well the following: Pele's last world cup (following the battering he received in '66); Brazil's semi-final "revenge" against Uruguay for 1950; the free-flowing, attacking football overall, the epic matches from group stage through semi-final (not to disparage Brazil in the least, but Italy simply had nothing left in the tank for the final). Taken all in all, it's not hard to see why that Brazil squad is held in almost mythical esteem, and not simply in Brazil. I don't know whether Italy would regard their '70 squad as their best ever, but certainly England's and West Germany's both would rate among the finest teams ever assembled...from any nation. MHOO.
Yes and yes. International football made football what it is today...and club football is ruthlessly taking it over with more style (marketing) than substance.
I agree 100%. International football has always been the pinnacle for me. It used to be the way that players could bring themselves to the world's attention. I used to love England games, partly because I'd get a chance to see players I'd maybe heard of but certainly not seen before. That's why the World Cup was such a big deal for me. Today because football is so over-televised, there are very few players at the world cup who were unknown on a global stage beforehand. international football takes second place to club football, although it's possibly fair enough, given the amount that the clubs pay players. Shame though.