This is just for fun and take it with a pinch of salt. Nevertheless, the more 'we' have these type of flimsy public polls, the easier it will be to track the evolution/changes in thinking and assessments. (note: all previous posts were exclusively lists/polls by 'experts' or references to polls among peers and managers) In January 1980 Onze magazine asked IFOP (click) to conduct a poll among their "target group". 3715 people responded to the questions. Interesting to see is the difference between 'best' and popularity. As addition and comparison, here the France Football public vote at the end of 1989 (26 December 1989). (only among double or triple Ballon d'Or winners) And by the same Onze magazine in 1995. The dubbed "Super Onze d'Or". December 1995. SUPER ONZE D'OR 1976-1995 : 1. Michel Platini...................................74,07 % 2. Marco van Basten..............................10,25 % 3. Diego Maradona..................................4,75 % 4. Roberto Baggio....................................3,76 % 5. Romario...............................................3,11 % 6. George Weah.......................................1,93 % 7. Hristo Stoichkov...................................0,93 % 8. Lothar Matthaüs....................................0,52 % 9. Jean-Pierre Papin..................................0,28 % 10. Kevin Keegan.......................................0,27 % 11. Paolo Rossi...........................................0,06 % 12. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge........................0,04 % 13. Robby Rensenbrink...............................0,02 % 14. Mario Kempes......................................0,01 % https://footballyesterdayandtoday.blogspot.com/2015/12/onze-dor-1995.html
^v The 1980 Onze poll's complete pages for the ones who like the pictures (like me) https://footballyesterdayandtoday.blogspot.fr/2017/03/les-footballeurs-preferes-des-francais.html First the mag cover + the first page of the article then, at the end, all the other pages. Exple : The online source : http://fr.1001mags.com/magazine/onze (you must browse the pages one by one being careful not to click outside the mag's page...or, the simplest thing to do is to download it, it's for free).
I have now the 1975 World Football Handbook (published September 1974). I will post the 50 names later but it's interesting that the one of Pelé was indeed changed. He was retiring and it is said: "still, surely, the greatest player of all time". The 1971 handbook (I'll post that later too), from after the 1970 World Cup, still marked him out as "probably the greatest inside-forward of his generation". Also the one of Cruijff was (entirely) different from the one of the 1976 Handbook - this was before the 3rd EPotY. First sentence: "The living evidence that one man can make a team. [...] His instant adaptation and surprising triumph in Spanish football is not the least remarkable feature of an extraordinary career." The write-up from after the 1974-75 season was entirely revised somehow, see previous page. (bold-faced word 'can' is printed in italics in the book) Anyway, I thought about already sharing this but the 50 names will come.
1975 World Football Handbook (published: 10 September 1974) "Fifty World Stars" Ruben Ayala (Atletico Madrid and Argentina - b. 1950) Hugo Bargas (Nantes and Argentina - b. 1946) Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) Ferenc Bene (Ujpest and Hungary - b. 1944) Romeo Benetti (Milan and Italy - b. 1945) Hristo Bonev (Lokomotiv Plovdiv and Bulgaria - b. 1947) Paul Breitner (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1951) Billy Bremner (Leeds United and Scotland - b. 1942) Miguel Brindisi (Huracan and Argentina - b. 1950) Carlos Caszely (Levante and Chile - b. 1950) Mike Channon (Southampton and England - b. 1948) Clodoaldo (Santos and Brazil - b. 1949) Johan Cruyff (Barcelona and Netherlands - b. 1947) Kazimierz Deyna (Legia Warsaw and Poland - b. 1947) Florea Dumitrache (Dynamo Bucharest and Romania - b. 1948) Dragan Dzajic (Red Star and Yugoslavia - b. 1946) Ralf Edstrom (PSV and Sweden - b. 1952) Elias Figueroa (Internacional and Chile - b. 1946) Robert Gadocha (Legia Warsaw and Poland - b. 1946) Arie Haan (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1948) Jupp Heynckes (Borussia Monchengladbach and West Germany - b. 1945) Barry Hulshoff (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1946) Tommy Hutchison (Coventry City and Scotland - b. 1947) Jairzinho (Botafogo and Brazil - b. 1944) Sandy Jardine (Rangers and Scotland - b. 1948) Pat Jennings (Tottenham Hotspur and Northern Ireland - b. 1945) Piet Keizer (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1943) Murtaz Khurtsilava (Dynamo Tbilisi and Soviet Union - b. 1943) Hans-Jurgen Kreische (Dynamo Dresden and East Germany - b. 1947) Ruud Krol (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1949) Ladislav Kuna (Spartak Trnava and Czechoslovakia - b. 1947) Wlodzimierz Lubanski (Gornik and Poland - b. 1947) Enver Maric (Velez Mostar and Yugoslavia - b. 1948) Sandro Mazzola (Internazionale and Italy - b. 1942) Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) Gerrie Muhren (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1946) Johan Neeskens (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1951) Gunther Netzer (Real Madrid and West Germany - b. 1944) Branko Oblak (Hajduk Split and Yugoslavia - b. 1947) Karl Odermatt (Basle and Switzerland - b. 1942) Paulo Cesar (Flamengo and Brazil - b. 1949) Pelé (Santos and Brazil - b. 1940) Luis Pereira (Atletico Madrid and Brazil - b. 1949) Luigi Riva (Cagliari and Italy - b. 1944) Roberto Rivelino (Corinthians and Brazil - b. 1946) Gianni Rivera (Milan and Italy - b. 1943) Peter Shilton (Leicester City and England - b. 1949) Paul van Himst (Anderlecht and Belgium - b. 1943) Herbert Wimmer (Borussia Monchengladbach and West Germany - b. 1944) Dino Zoff (Juventus and Italy - b. 1942) It adds up to 50 names indeed.
Here's a French book from 1977. "Les histoires extraordinaires des grands buteurs" by Charles Bietry https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Biétry It has a foreword by the recently passed Raymond Kopa. In order of appearance: Di Stefano (b. 1926) H. Revelli (b. 1946) Fontaine (b. 1933) Müller (b. 1945) Hurst (b. 1941) Dahleb (b. 1952) Pelé (b. 1940) Berdoll (b. 1953) Combin (b. 1939) Bjekovic (b. 1947) Eusebio (b. 1942) Keita (b. 1946) Cisowski (b. 1927) Puskas (b. 1927) Cruijff (b. 1947) Piantoni (b. 1931) Onnis (b. 1948) Gondet (b. 1942) Lacombe (b. 1952) Marche (b. 1924) Bianchi (b. 1949) Skoblar (b. 1941) Platini (b. 1955) The last one is also the youngest and had scored by then 47 league goals in 69 games (including 12 penalties). Played interestingly in the beginning of his career very often with #9 at his back (also the 1978 cup final for example, a high point in his stay at Nancy).
Sorry, little mistake here. This was since his club was promoted back to the First Division in 1975. In the two seasons between 1975 and 1977 he scored 47 league goals (12 pens) in 69 games. Between 1972 and 1974 he played as a teenager also in the First Division but scored just 4 goals in 26 games (without penalties). He's from 21 June and thus born pretty late in his age group/cohort (ofc his father was his trainer and sporting director at the club etc.). I'll do 1970 and 1971 handbook next. Most probably after the weekend.
Given the lack of a digital archive (as far as I know - does @wm442433 have a clue?) it is difficult to search through this excellent publication but I accidentally came across something comparable - which is also mentioned on the internet a few times I see. At the end of 1976 L'Equipe (sports publication with the highest circulation) asked their readers about the greatest sportsmen of the year. Again, like the Onze readers poll, take it with a pinch of salt, but the final order was: Eric Tabarly (France, sailor), Niki Lauda (Austria, racing driver), Johan Cruijff (Netherlands, footballer) and Eddy Merckx (Belgium, cyclist). The chosen headline for the vote results was: "the irreplaceables". A title that aptly covered some of the back stories. With sole regard to football, L'Equipe also contributed to this one I saw, but that was already typed down: https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/unofficial-european-ideal-teams-1971-1980.1985633/ (their journalists/editors, not readers of course).
Try to continue this with the 1970 and 1971 editions. World Football Handbook 1970 (published August 1969) "World Stars" Florian Albert (Ferencvaros and Hungary - b. 1941) Amancio Amaro (Real Madrid and Spain - b. 1939) Georgi Asparuhov (Levski and Bulgaria - b. 1943) Alan Ball (Everton and England - b. 1945) Gordon Banks (Stoke City and England - b. 1937) Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) Ferenc Bene (Ujpest and Hungary - b. 1944) George Best (Manchester United and Northern Ireland - b. 1946) Enrique Borja (Universidad and Mexico - b. 1945) Anatoliy Byshovets (Dynamo Kyiv and Soviet Union - b. 1946) Bobby Charlton (Manchester United and England - b. 1937) Mario Coluna (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1935) Johan Cruyff (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1947) Dragan Dzajic (Red Star and Yugoslavia - b. 1946) Mike England (Tottenham Hotspur and Wales - b. 1941) Eusebio da Silva Ferreira (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1942) Giacinto Facchetti (Internazionale and Italy - b. 1942) Janos Farkas (Vasas and Hungary - b. 1942) Jano Geleta (Dukla and Czechoslovakia - b. 1943) Jaime Graca (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1942) John Hughes (Celtic and Scotland - b. 1943) Geoff Hurst (West Ham United and England - b. 1941) Jairzinho (Botafogo and Brazil - b. 1944) Jimmy Johnstone (Celtic and Scotland - b. 1944) Salif Keita (St. Etienne and Mali - b. 1946) Brian Labone (Everton and England - b. 1940) Denis Law (Manchester United and Scotland - b. 1940) Wlodek Lubanski (Gornik and Poland - b. 1947) Roger Magnusson (Marseilles and Sweden - b. 1945) Oscar Malbernat (Estudiantes and Argentina - b. 1944) Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (Penarol and Uruguay - b. 1945) Bobby Moore (West Ham United and England - b. 1941) Bobby Murdoch (Celtic and Scotland - b. 1944) Pelé (Santos and Brazil - b. 1940) Roberto Perfumo (Racing Club and Argentina - b. 1942) Martin Peters (West Ham United and England - b. 1943) Jose Pirri (Real Madrid and Spain - b. 1945) Odilon Polleunis (St. Trond and Belgium - b. 1943) Luigi Riva (Cagliari and Italy - b. 1944) Roberto Rivelino (Corinthians and Brazil - b. 1946) Gianni Rivera (Milan and Italy - b. 1943) Pedro Rocha (Penarol and Uruguay - b. 1942) Karl Heinz Schnellinger (Milan and West Germany - b. 1939) Josip Skoblar (Hanover 96 and Yugoslavia - b. 1941) Alberto Spencer (Penarol and Ecuador, Uruguay - b. 1937) Eduard Streltsov (Torpedo Moscow and Soviet Union - b. 1937) Lajos Szucs (Ferencvaros and Hungary - b. 1943) José Torres (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1936) Paul van Himst (Anderlecht and Belgium - b. 1943) Dino Zoff (Naples and Italy - b. 1942) This are 50 names. The oldest in this list is Mario Coluna, who was 33 years old (almost 34). The youngest is Cruijff, followed by the two months older Lubanski. Here is 1969 (published August 1968): https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/ol...-esp-1950s-1970s.2038892/page-2#post-35257879
World Football Handbook 1971 (published August 1970) Florian Albert (Ferencvaros and Hungary - b. 1941) Amancio Amaro (Real Madrid and Spain - b. 1939) Pietro Anastasi (Juventus and Italy - b. 1948) Georgi Asparuhov (Levski and Bulgaria - b. 1943) Alan Ball (Everton and England - b. 1945) Gordon Banks (Stoke City and England - b. 1937) Julio Baylon (Allianza Lima and Peru - b. 1950) Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) Ferenc Bene (Ujpest and Hungary - b. 1944) George Best (Manchester United and Northern Ireland - b. 1946) Billy Bremner (Leeds United and Scotland - b. 1942) Anatoliy Byshovets (Dynamo Kyiv and Soviet Union - b. 1946) Bobby Charlton (Manchester United and England - b. 1937) Albert Chesternijev (CSKA Moscow and Soviet Union - b. 1941) Mario Coluna (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1935) Johan Cruyff (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1947) Ron Davies (Southampton and Wales - b. 1942) Dragan Dzajic (Red Star and Yugoslavia - b. 1946) Mike England (Tottenham Hotspur and Wales - b. 1941) Eusebio da Silva Ferreira (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1942) Giacinto Facchetti (Internazionale and Italy - b. 1942) Gerson (Sao Paolo and Brazil - b. 1941) Helmut Haller (Juventus and West Germany - b. 1939) Geoff Hurst (West Ham United and England - b. 1941) Jairzinho (Botafogo and Brazil - b. 1944) Jimmy Johnstone (Celtic and Scotland - b. 1944) Salif Keita (St. Etienne and Mali - b. 1946) Ove Kindvall (Feyenoord and Sweden - b. 1943) Andrej Kvasnak (Malines and Czechoslovakia - b. 1936) Brian Labone (Everton and England - b. 1940) Francis Lee (Manchester City and England - b. 1944) Wlodek Lubanski (Gornik and Poland - b. 1947) Roger Magnusson (Marseilles and Sweden - b. 1945) Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (Penarol and Uruguay - b. 1945) Bobby Moore (West Ham United and England - b. 1941) Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) Bobby Murdoch (Celtic and Scotland - b. 1944) Pelé (Santos and Brazil - b. 1940) Roberto Perfumo (Racing Club and Argentina - b. 1942) Martin Peters (Tottenham Hotspur and England - b. 1943) Jose Pirri (Real Madrid and Spain - b. 1945) Odilon Polleunis (St. Trond and Belgium - b. 1943) Luigi Riva (Cagliari and Italy - b. 1944) Roberto Rivelino (Corinthians and Brazil - b. 1946) Gianni Rivera (Milan and Italy - b. 1943) Pedro Rocha (Penarol and Uruguay - b. 1942) Lajos Szucs (Honved and Hungary - b. 1943) José Torres (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1936) Tostao (Cruzeiro and Brazil - b. 1947) Paul van Himst (Anderlecht and Belgium - b. 1943) Dino Zoff (Naples and Italy - b. 1942) This are 51 names. Anastasi (b. 1948) is the youngest and missed the World Cup due to injury. After him Cruijff is the youngest, who is two and four months younger than Lubanski and Tostao respectively. Mario Coluna is again the oldest.
When I make a final overview are there certain categories to have a look at? This is how the youngest and oldest developed so far. (this is by year of publication, in August or September of a year) Youngest 1965: Best (b. 1946) 1966: Best (b. 1946) 1967: Best (b. 1946) 1968: Cruijff (b. 1947) 1969: Cruijff (b. 1947) * 1970: Anastasi (b. 1948) --- 1974: Edstrom (b. 1952) 1975: Houseman (b. 1953) Oldest 1965: Yashin (b. 1929) 1966: Yashin (b. 1929) 1967: Yashin (b. 1929) 1968: Hamrin (b. 1934) * 1969: Coluna (b. 1935) 1970: Coluna (b. 1935) --- 1974: Pelé (b. 1940) 1975: Zoff (b. 1942) *) Kurt Hamrin played and won the CWC final in 1968, scored both goals in the final (4 goals in 8 CWC games, no pens). He's one of three included players of Milan (Rivera, Schnellinger). Johan Cruijff played the EC final in 1969. He's the only included Ajax player among the 50 names (6 goals in 10 EC games, no pens). .... can also list league titles.
The 1972 edition is very good and complete but had not a players list included, and there wasn't a 1974 edition (caused by change in publisher), so the 1973 edition remains: 1973 World Football Handbook (published: august 1972) "World Stars" Amancio Amaro (Real Madrid and Spain - b. 1939) Atillio Ancheta (Gremio and Uruguay - b. 1948) Luis Artime (Fluminense and Argentina - b. 1938) Alan Ball (Arsenal and England - b. 1945) Gordon Banks (Stoke City and England - b. 1937) Franz Beckenbauer (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) George Best (Manchester United and Northern Ireland - b. 1946) Billy Bremner (Leeds United and Scotland - b. 1942) Albert Chesternijev (CSKA Moscow and Soviet Union - b. 1941) Hector Chumpitaz (Universitario and Peru - b. 1943) Clodoaldo (Santos and Brazil - b. 1949) Terry Cooper (Leeds United and England - b. 1944) Johan Cruyff (Ajax and Netherlands - b. 1947) Teofilo Cubillas (Alianza Lima and Peru - b. 1949) Ron Davies (Southampton and Wales - b. 1942) Florea Dumitrache (Dynamo Bucharest and Romania - b. 1948) Dragan Dzajic (Red Star and Yugoslavia - b. 1946) Eusebio da Silva Ferreira (Benfica and Portugal - b. 1942) Giacinto Facchetti (Internazionale and Italy - b. 1942) Gerson (Sao Paulo and Brazil - b. 1941) Franz Hasil (Feyenoord and Austria - b. 1944) Rinus Israel (Feyenoord and Netherlands - b. 1942) Jairzinho (Botafogo and Brazil - b. 1944) Jimmy Johnstone (Celtic and Scotland - b. 1944) Salif Keita (St. Etienne and Mali - b. 1946) Jakob Kuhn (Zurich and Switzerland - b. 1943) Francis Lee (Manchester City and England - b. 1944) Wlodek Lubanski (Gornik and Poland - b. 1947) Roger Magnusson (Olympique Marseille and Sweden - b. 1945) Ladislao Mazurkiewicz (Atletico Mineiro and Uruguay - b. 1945) Sandro Mazzola (Internazionale and Italy - b. 1942) Bobby Moore (West Ham United and England - b. 1941) Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich and West Germany - b. 1945) Volodymyr Muntyan (Dynamo Kiev and Soviet Union - b. 1946) Gunter Netzer (Borussia Monchengladbach and West Germany - b. 1944) Karl Odermatt (Basle and Switzerland - b. 1942) Wolfgang Overath (Cologne and West Germany - b. 1943) Pelé (Santos and Brazil - b. 1940) Roberto Perfumo (Cruzeiro and Argentina - b. 1942) Martin Peters (Tottenham Hotspur and England - b. 1943) Jose Pirri (Real Madrid and Spain - b. 1945) Luigi Riva (Cagliari and Italy - b. 1944) Roberto Rivelino (Corinthians and Brazil - b. 1946) Gianni Rivera (Milan and Italy - b. 1943) Pedro Rocha (Sao Paulo and Uruguay - b. 1942) Josip Skoblar (Olympique Marseille and Yugoslavia - b. 1941) Mordechai Spiegler (Paris FC and Israel - b. 1944) Tostao (Vasco da Gama and Brazil - b. 1947) Wim van Hanegem (Feyenoord and Netherlands - b. 1944) Paul van Himst (Anderlecht and Belgium - b. 1943) Berti Vogts (Borussia Monchengladbach and West Germany - b. 1946) This are 51 names. Clodoaldo is the youngest here (September 1949), followed by Cubillas (March 1949). The oldest is Gordon Banks (1937). Youngest 1965: Best (b. 1946) 1966: Best (b. 1946) 1967: Best (b. 1946) 1968: Cruijff (b. 1947) 1969: Cruijff (b. 1947) * 1970: Anastasi (b. 1948) --- 1972: Clodoaldo (b. 1949) * --- 1974: Edstrom (b. 1952) 1975: Houseman (b. 1953) Oldest 1965: Yashin (b. 1929) 1966: Yashin (b. 1929) 1967: Yashin (b. 1929) 1968: Hamrin (b. 1934) * 1969: Coluna (b. 1935) 1970: Coluna (b. 1935) --- 1972: Banks (b. 1937) --- 1974: Pelé (b. 1940) 1975: Zoff (b. 1942) *) Kurt Hamrin played and won the CWC final in 1968, scored both goals in the final (4 goals in 8 CWC games, no pens). He's one of three included players of Milan (Rivera, Schnellinger). Johan Cruijff played the EC final in 1969. He's the only included Ajax player among the 50 names (6 goals in 10 EC games, no pens). Clodoaldo of Santos and Brazil won the so called 'Independence Cup' with Brazil (tournament status still up for debate). Gerson, Jairzinho, Rivelino and Tostao the other squad members (and starters) included among the 51 names.
Again, pinch of salt, buyers beware etc. but this is from 1990 as noted in France Football. Although it was finally the case in 1995, France Football was considering a Ballon d'Or open to all players. Pelé did not receive this 'honor' (or how you want to name it) at the match itself, but he had celebrated his 50th birthday with a prominent match on 31 October 1990. After the 1984 one (the #2000 issue) I was looking at other possible FF publications and got this, published January 1987: It's a book with photos. https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michel_Drucker Also other players, even goalkeepers as Toni Schumacher are mentioned and covered, but these below had an individual profile. Non French players: Di Stefano (b. 1926) Garrincha (b. 1933) Pelé (b. 1940) Skoblar (b. 1941) Beckenbauer (b. 1945) Muller (b. 1945) Best (b. 1946) Cruijff (b. 1947) Bettega (b. 1950) Keegan (b. 1951) Rep (b. 1951) Socrates (b. 1954) Rummenigge (b. 1955) Susic (b. 1955) Maradona (b. 1960) Laudrup (b. 1964) Socrates instead of Zico surprised me a bit, but then I somehow remembered this comment by @wm442433 https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/ba...-players-been-eligible.2037905/#post-34986449 Mister Drucker (b. 1942) was obviously impressed by the young Laudrup, as well as the guy Laudrup was often compared with, I see. http://www.football365.fr/michel-drucker-evoque-johan-cruyff-son-idole-2428003.html
Zico and Socrates were seen as a duo though (inseparable), it is true, like for the friendly match that saw Brazil to beat France in Paris in 1981 (where by the way Platini, Giresse but also Battiston and Larios were missing through injury). Then Drucker had, I guess, more the 1986 game in mind as he commented the latest World Cup (with Roger Piantoni) and we know that Zico only entered by the end of the games into this tournament. And Socrates played well in this match against France (the touches of the ball, the passes, his positionning...he only missed that penalty in the end...Zico missed within the 90 minutes...). But all in all maybe that he prefers Socrates to Zico, it's not impossible, maybe a bit. At least he preferred to talk about him rather than Zico for his 15 or 16 foreign players selection. Is Zico talked about a bit at the same time in the profile? (+ good links! ... 365foot)
This list was made by Ramón Melcón (spanish ex referee, coach and journalist) The first one: 1920-1954 This era was divided into two, for the spanish players: Classical 1920-36 and Modern 1939-54. Being the cut the spanish civil war.
R.Melcón Stars Teams Spain 1920-36: Zamora - Zabalo, Quincocés - Samitier, Gamborena, Peña - Vantolrá, Regueiro, Lángara, Iraragorri, Gorostiza Spain 1939-54: Eizaguirre - G.Alonso, Parra, Aparicio - Gonzalvo III, Puchades - Epi, Panizo, Zarra, César, Gainza Europe 1920-54: Zamora - Rosetta, Quincocés - Samitier, Petit, Meazza - Matthews, Ben Barek, Sindelar, V.Mazzola, Finney South America 1920-54: Tesoriere - Nasazzi, Bauer - Scarone, Monti, Zizinho - Leónidas, Erico, Pontoni, Martino, Orsi World 1920-54: Zamora - Bauer, Quincocés - Samitier, Petit, Meazza - Matthews, Ben Barek, Pontoni, Martino, orsi
The Spain XI, was similar to the first era, with the inclusion of one half and Zarra from the second era. I tend to agree with this, but also including Ciriaco or Parra instead of the skilled defender Zabalo. From the european XI, all of them are "All stars material", but I pick Meazza as IR and pick Sarosi and Kada as Halves. About the SA team, Tesoriere is a good choice, but I'd pick Livingstone or Máspoli (not mentioned). At the back, Da Guia x Bauer. In the halves line, must be included Leandro Andrade and Sastre. At the forward line, my quintet will be: Orsi, Scarone, Erico, Moreno, Ademir. Very close as subs Leonidas, Pedernera and Zizinho
The second part of the Melcon compilation was "The contemporary idols selection". In fact it was the first one issued, but the second in chronologycal order. Contemporary Idols: 1954-1970 The better players from the main countries in this period (Europe, Spain and then South America)
Interesting in case of the 22 selected Spanish players are their main clubs: Real Madrid (9): Marquitos (b. 1933); Pirri (b. 1945); Del Sol (b. 1935); Gento (b. 1933); Santisteban (b. 1936); Marsal (b. 1934); Velazquez (b. 1943); Amancio (b. 1939); Molowny (b. 1925) Barcelona (6): Ramallets (b. 1924); Biosca (b. 1928); Segarra (b. 1927); Suarez (b. 1935), Basora (b. 1926); Gallego (b. 1944) Atletico Madrid (3): Garate (b. 1944); Rivilla (b. 1936); Collar (b. 1934) Athletic Bilbao (2): Garay (b. 1930), Carmelo (b. 1930) Betis (1): Biosca (b. 1948) Sevilla (1): Campanal (b. 1932) Only one I doubted is "Gallego". Which one does he mean? I went for this one? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallego_(footballer) Then among oriundi, nationalized players there's also: Real Madrid (5): Rial (b. 1928), Di Stefano (b. 1926), Tourino (b. 1944), Santamaria (b. 1929), Puskas (b. 1927) Barcelona (3): Villaverde (b. 1930), Eulogio Martinez (b. 1935), Kubala (b. 1927) Atletico Madrid (2): Heriberto Herrera (b. 1926), Heraldo Bezera (b. 1945) Valencia (1): Jara (b. 1941) Among selected, never nationalized, foreigners also a few passed by: Real Madrid (2): Didi (b. 1928), Kopa (b. 1931) Barcelona (1): Cruyff (b. 1947) Total (1954 - 1970?? or 1978??): (if present in more than one category) Real Madrid (16): Molowny (b. 1925); Di Stefano (b. 1926); Puskas (b. 1927); Didi (b. 1928), Rial (b. 1928); Santamaria (b. 1929); Kopa (b. 1931); Gento (b. 1933); Marquitos (b. 1933); Marsal (b. 1934); Del Sol (b. 1935); Santisteban (b. 1936); Amancio (b. 1939); Velazquez (b. 1943); Tourino (b. 1944); Pirri (b. 1945) Barcelona (10): Ramallets (b. 1924); Basora (b. 1926); Kubala (b. 1927); Segarra (b. 1927); Biosca (b. 1928); Villaverde (b. 1930); Eulogio Martinez (b. 1935); Suarez (b. 1935); Gallego (b. 1944); Cruyff (b. 1947) Atletico Madrid (5): Heriberto Herrera (b. 1926); Collar (b. 1934); Rivilla (b. 1936); Garate (b. 1944); Heraldo Bezera (b. 1945) Is this until 1970 or until 1978? If it is until 1978 then I had expected Luis Pereira for instance among the honorable mentions somewhere. But if the body of work pre-1970 is important, then I can understand he did too little before that (playing first division level football for the first time in 1968, nationwide Brazilian champion in 1969).
Sorry that I missed this. In the meantime I got the full book instead of a digital photocopy and it's a little bit different as I thought, in the sense that also other players got an individual profile (I'll post that later). Here's the one of Socrates (and Skoblar, who is in the list above) - which I had already seen before and with Zico mentioned indeed. Which is perhaps understandable with Socrates applauded in the intro of the book. A few other (preferred) players received a longer profile though. So to correct the mistake (or half-mistake) I'll post the complete list later.