Maybe this as a 5th team, having refreshed my memory slightly more, but I'll stop here (going with 2 box to box midfielders in this wing-back system with 2 supporting forward/AMs, so not necessarily demoting other midfielders I mentioned before or potentially gave a * to in theory, or strikers who I could have put in a front 2 or 3 likewise): Campos (Mexico); Costacurta (Italy), Geiger (Switzerland), Ivanov (Bulgaria); Winter (Netherlands), Sammer (Germany), D.Baggio (Italy), Selymes (Romania); Owairan (Saudi Arabia), Dumitrescu (Romania); Raducioiu (Romania)
Possibly Hong Myung-Bo for any of the 3 CBs (in the sweeper position if coming in for Costacurta or Geiger probably, otherwise on the left of the 3, not that that would matter too much). I'd tend to think he'd be getting in (one of the selections, or an overall list summarising the top performers) if he did, based as much on what he did going forwards, or moreso, as what he did defensively - I guess the balance would be more that way than for the 3 I put in there above anyway. For Albert for example though, to an extent, the same might apply, and I had him in team 2. If I made team 1 in a formation with 3 CBs and wing-backs too Albert would probably even get into that, even though he didn't play in that system as an outright sweeper - I think it'd be making the team less good overall anyway probably to do that even if I could fit the players in pretty representative roles in terms of how they played with perhaps Mauro Silva in midfield with Letchkov/Hagi lining up either side/ahead of him, behind Romario/R.Baggio, which would take out two Swedes in Thern and Brolin; in a way Belodedici/Petrescu/Selymes would fit such a system ideally obviously but I think it'd be that I'd retain Jorginho/Sergi in a best XI even so (and at least Benarrivo would be in line before Selymes too still I guess), and they did play like wing-backs in some respect, and I'd probably give Albert the nod over Belodedici overall for the tournament).
I have added one more source to the spreadsheet. It is from Superfútbol magazine. Unfortunately, the magazine did not provide the ratings for the semifinals, the final, or the third place match. In this image I put the screenshot of the players with the best average (with a minimum of 4 matches) taking into account all the sources I have.
Since this page doesn't apparently factor in La Stampa grades.... Football Ratings: Average ratings World Cup 1994. (football-ratings.blogspot.com) The ones on the free archive would add another Italian source (and the articles and comments might be interesting for Italian speakers). I'd not going to delve much into it today, but I haven't yet found a ratings summary, but did find some reports with ratings as follows: La Stampa (1994-07-06) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Nigeria vs Italy: Nigeria - Rufai 6, Eguavoen 5, Okechukwu 5.5, Nwanu 5.5, Emenalo 6, Finidi George 4.5, Okocha 6, Oliseh 6, Amunike 6.5 (Oliha 5.5), Yekini 5, Amokachi 6 (Adepoju 5); Italy - Marchegiani 6, Mussi 6, Costacurta 6.5, Maldini 6, Benarrivo 6, Berti 5 (D.Baggio 6.5), Albertini 6, Donadoni 5, Signori 5.5 (although lower down in the write-up it says 5), Massaro 5.5, R.Baggio 7 La Stampa (1994-07-10) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Italy vs Spain: Italy - Paglliuca 7, Tassotti 6.5, Costacurta 6.5, Maldini 7, Benarrivo 6, Conte 6 (Berti 6), Albertini 6 (Signori 6.5), D.Baggio 8, Donadoni 6, R.Baggio 7, Massaro 6; Spain - Zubizarreta 6, Ferrer 6.5, Abedlardo 6.5, Nadal 5, Alkorta 6.5, Otero 6, Goicoechea 5.5, Caminero 5.5, Bakero 6 (Hierro 6), Sergi 6 (Salinas 5), Luis Enrique 5 La Stampa (1994-07-04) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Romania vs Argentina: Romania - Prunea 6, Petrescu 6.5, Prodan 6, Beldedici 7, Mihali 6, Munteanu 6, Selymes 5.5, Lupescu 6.5, Popescu 6.5, Hagi 8, Dumitrescu 8; Argentina - Islas 6, Sensini 5.5 (Bello 6), Caceres 5, Ruggeri 5, Chamot 5.5, Redondo 6, Basualdo 6, Simeone 6.5, Ortega 6.5, Batistuta 7.5, Balbo 7 La Stampa (1994-06-23) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Romania vs Swizerland (perhaps a good sign that all of the games are covered?): Romania - Stelea 5, Petrescu 5, Prodan 5, Belodedici 5.5, Mihali 4.5, Lupescu 5.5, Popescu 5, Munteanu 5, Hagi 6, Raducioiu 5.5, Dumitrescu 5.5; Switzerland - Pascolo 6.5, Hottiger 6, Herr 6.5, Geiger 6, Quentin 6.5, Ohrel 6, Bregy 6, Sforza 6.5, Sutter 7.5, Knup 7, Chapuisat 6.5
Hi. You won't believe that this morning I tried to go to the Stampa archive to try to get ratings of old World Cups and the Italians from 62-63, but I wasn't able to get to this page. You read my mind
I have searched from 58 to 70 but I don't see ratings and the pages look very bad. What is the procedure to use to make it look good?
I think the first World Cup ratings they did on a wide scale might be 1994 (I didn't find any for 1970, 1974 etc myself). The best thing to do to find ratings for a particular game is to enter surnames of two or three participating players, then narrow the search to the correct year if necessary, and then look for a result that is from the day after the game was played. There is a magnifying glass that can be clicked on to enlarge the screen for the relevant pages once you have selected one, and it's possible to scroll through the 'results' (the names of the players - if there is an error then it's possible to just narrow the search to one surname too, in that particular issue) that have been identified in that issue of the newspaper (not only to scroll through the pages).
La Stampa ratings for all matches from the 1990 World Cup https://www.bigsoccer.com/threads/t...e-1990-world-cup.2009583/page-2#post-40456649
I'm doing this a bit randomly, but some more.... La Stampa (1994-06-26) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Argentina vs Nigeria: Argentina - Islas 6, Sensini 6.5, Ruggeri 6, Caceres 6, Chamot 6.5, Simeone 6.5, Redondo 6.5, Maradona 7, Caniggia 8, Batistuta 6.5, Balbo 6; Nigeria - Rufai 6, Eguavon 5.5, Okechukwu 6, Nwanu 6, Emenalo 6, Siasia 7 (Adepujo 6), Amokachi 7, Oliseh 7, Finidi 6, Yekini 6.5, Amunike 6 On the same page (2 days after the game and in smaller print)... Sweden vs Russia: Sweden - Ravelli 6, R.Nilsson 6, Andersson 6, Bjorklund 6, Ljung 5, K.Andersson 6.5, Thern 6.5, Schwarz 6, Ingesson 6, Dahlin 8, Brolin 6.5; Russia - Kharin 6, Nikifirov 6, Khletsov 6, Onopko 6, Gorlukovich 4.5, Mostovoi 6, Borodjuk 6, Kuznetsov 6, Popov 5.5 (Karpin 6), Radchenko 5.5, Salenko 6.5 La Stampa (1994-06-27) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Bulgaria vs Greece: Bulgaria - Mihailov 6.5, Krememliev 6, Ivanov 5.5, Tzventanov 6, Houbtchev 6, Yankov 6, Letchkov 8, Balakov 6, Kostadinov 5 (Borimirov 6.5), Sirakov 6, Stoichkov 7.5; Greece - Atmatzidis 4, Apostolakis 6, Kalitzakis 6, Karagiannis 5.5, Karataidis 6, Nioplias 5.5, Marangos 6, Hantzidis 5.5 (Mitropoulos 5), Kofdis 6, Machlas 6, Alexoudis 4.5 (Dimitriadis 5.5) La Stampa (1994-06-26) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Belgium vs Netherlands: Belgium - Preud'homme 8, Staelens 7, Grun 7, Albert 6, De Wolf 5.5, Borkelmans 5 (Smidts 6), Van der Elst 6, Emmers 6, Scifo 6.5, Weber 6.5, Degryse 7; Netherlands - De Goey 6, Valcyx 5.5, Koeman 5, F.De Boer 5.5, Rijkaard 6, Wouters 5.5, Bergkamp 6, Taument 5 (Overmars 6), R.De Boer 5.5 (Witschge 6), Roy 5 La Stampa (1994-07-10) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Brazil vs Netherlands: Brazil - Taffarel 5, Jorginho 6, Aldair 6.5, Marcio Santos 7, Branco 6.5, Mazinho 6, Mauro Silva 6.5, Dunga 6.5, Zinho 6, Bebeto 7, Romario 7.5; Netherlands - De Goey 5, Wouters 5, Koeman 6, Valckx 6.5, Witschge 6.5, Rijkaard 6 (R.De Boer 6), Jonk 6, Winter 6.5, Overmars 5, Bergkamp 6.5, Van Vossen 5 (Roy 5.5) La Stampa (1994-07-03) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Germany vs Belgium: Belgium - Ilgner 6, Helmer 6, Kohler 6, Matthaus 6 (Brehme 6), Berthold 6, Buchwald 6, Sammer 6.5, Wagner 5.5, Hassler 6, Voller 8, Klinsmann 7; Belgium - Preud'homme 6, Albert 6.5, Smidts 5, Grun 6.5, De Wolf 5.5, Emmers 6, Staelens 5, Van der Elst 5, Scifo 6, Nilis 5, Weber 6 And also Spain vs Switzerland: Spain - Zubizarreta 7.5, Ferrer 6.5, Nadal 6, Alkorta 6.5, Abelardo 6.5, Camarasa 6, Goicoechea 5, Hierro 7, Bakero 6, Sergi 6.5, Luis Enrique 7; Switzerland - Pascolo 6.5, Hottiger 6, Herr 5, Geiger 5, Quentin 5 (Studer 6), Ohrel 6, Bregy 6, Sforza 5.5, Bickel 5.5, Chapuisat 6, Knup 5
I think I forgot to mention before that it's necessary to do the searches after selecting the box that says 'Text contents', therefore deselecting 'Metadata'. Anyway, here are the rest of the grades for other Brazil and Italy games.... La Stampa (1994-06-21) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Brazil vs Russia: Brazil - Taffarel 6, Jorginho 6, Rocha 6, Marcio Santos 6, Leonardo 6.5, Mauro Silva 6.5, Dunga 6.5, Zinho 7, Rai 7, Bebeto 7, Romario 8; Russia - Kharin 6.5, Kuznetsov 6, Gorlukovich 5.5, Khlestov 5.5, Nikifirov 6, Ternawski 5, Piatniski 6, Radchenko 6.5, Tsymbalar 6, Karpin 6, Yuran 5 (Salenko 6) La Stampa (1994-06-25) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (I'm only noting grades where one is awarded and in this case Brazil's goalkeeper Taffarel doesn't get one, because of lack of action I suppose, which would make calculating his average tricky - I'd probably do it leaving out this game, though maybe using a 6 as his grade would be ok too - presumably it happened in Serie A games too and I'd thought DBS Calcio used La Stampa as one source for some years maybe so I'm not completely sure how they'd do it but I would think probably by not including such 'appearances' in the total too - I've seen IIRC similar non-grades in tournaments from La Repubblica for example, posted on Big Soccer) Brazil vs Cameroon: Brazil - Jorginho 6.5, Aldair 6.5, Marcio Santos 6.5, Leonardo 6.5, Mauro Silva 6.5, Bebeto 7, Dunga 6.5, Zinho 6.5, Rai 6.5, Romario 7; Cameroon - Bell 6, Tataw 5, Song 4.5, Mbouh Mbouh 6, Kalla 5.5, Agbo 6, Libiih 6, Foe 6.5, Embe 5.5, M'Fede 6, Omam Biyick 6 La Stampa (1994-06-29) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (I'm not detailing them now, but Russia vs Cameroon and Republic of Ireland vs Norway also here) Brazil vs Sweden (group stage): Brazil - Taffarel 5, Jorginho 6, Leonardo 5.5, Marcio Santos 5, Aldair 6, Mauro Silva 6 (Mazinho 6), Dunga 6, Rai 5.5, Zinho 5.5, Bebeto 5.5, Romario 7.5; Sweden - Ravelli 6, R.Nilsson 6, P.Andersson 6, Ljung 6, Kamark 5.5, Thern 6, Schwarz 6, Ingesson 6, Larsson 5.5, K.Andersson 7, Brolin 7 La Stampa (1994-06-19) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Italy vs Republic of Ireland: Italy - Pagliuca 5, Tassotti 5, Baresi 5, Costacurta 6, Maldini 5, Donadoni 5, Albertini 5, D.Baggio 5, Evani 5 (Massaro 6), R.Baggio 5, Signori 5; Republic of Ireland - Bonner 7, Irwin 6, McGrath 7, Babb 6.5, Phelan 7, Houghton 7, Keane 6, Sheridan 6, Townsend 6.5, Staunton 7, Coyne 6 La Stampa (1994-06-24) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (same for Pagliuca here as I said about Taffarel before, but for different reasons so I'm putting Marchegiani's name first for Italy as the replacement goalie who came on for Roberto Baggio early) Italy vs Norway: Italy - Marchegiani 7, Benarrivo 6, Costacurta 6.5, Baresi 6 (Apolloni 6), Maldini 6, Berti 6.5, Albertini 6.5, D.Baggio 7, Signori 7.5, Casiraghi 6.5; Norway - Thordsvedt 7, Haaland 5, Berg 6, Bratseth 6, Bjornebye 5.5, Rushfeldt 6 (Jakobsen 5.5), Bohinen 5, Mykland 5 (Rekdal 5), Leonhardsen 6, Flo 5.5, Fjortoft 5 La Stampa (1994-06-29) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : InteItalyrnet Archive Italy vs Mexico: Italy - Marchegiani 6.5, Benarrivo 5.5, Apolloni 6.5, Costacurta 6.5, Maldini 6, Berti 4.5, Albertini 6.5, D.Baggio 6.5 (Donadoni 5.5), Signori 6, R.Baggio 4.5, Casiraghi 6; Mexico - Campos 5.5, Gonzales 6.5, Suarez 6, Ramirez Pareles 5.5, Del Olmo 6.5, Bernal 7, Ambris 6, Garcia Aspe 6.5, Luis Garcia 5, Hermosillo 5, Alves Zague 6.5 La Stampa (1994-07-05) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (Republic of Ireland vs Netherlands here too, with for example Bergkamp on 7.5 and Overmars on 7, but I'll come back to that another time) Brazil vs USA: Brazil - Jorginho 5.5, Aldair 6, Marcio Santos 6, Leonardo 4, Mauro Silva 6.5, Dunga 5.5, Zinho 6 (Cafu 6), Mazinho 5, Bebeto 6, Romario 7; USA - Meola 6, Clavijo 5, Balboa 6.5, Lalas 6.5, Caligiuri 6, Dooley 6.5, Perez 6 (Wegerle 6), Sorber 5, Ramos 6 (Wynalda 5.5), Jones 5.5, Stewart 5.5 La Stampa (1994-07-14) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Italy vs Bulgaria: Italy - Pagliuca 6.5, Mussi 6.5, Costacurta 6.5, Maldini 7, Benarrivo 6.5, Berti 6, Albertini 7, D.Baggio 6 (Conte 6.5), Donadoni 6.5, R.Baggio 8, Casiraghi 6; Bulgaria - Mihailov 6, Kiriakov 6, Ivanov 6, Houbtchev 5.5, Yankov 5, Zsvetanov 5.5, Letchkov 6, Sirakov 6.5, Balakov 6, Kostadinov 5.5, Stoichkov 5.5 La Stampa (1994-07-14) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Sweden vs Brazil (semi-final): Sweden - Ravelli 6.5, R.Nilsson 5, P.Andersson 6, Bjorklund 5, Ljung 5.5, Ingesson 6, Thern 4.5, Brolin 5.5, Mild 6, K.Andersson 5, Dahlin 5; Brazil - Taffarel 6, Jorginho 6.5, Aldair 6, Marcio Santos 6, Branco 6, Mazinho 5 (Rai 5.5), Mauro Silva 6, Dunga 6, Zinho 5.5, Bebeto 6.5, Romario 7 La Stampa (1994-07-18) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Italy vs Brazil (World Cup Final): Italy - Pagliuca 5, Mussi 6.5 (Apolloni 6.5), Baresi 8, Maldini 7, Benarrivo 6, Berti 6.5, Albertini 6, D.Baggio 6, Donadoni 6, R.Baggio 6.5, Massaro 5.5; Brazil - Taffarel 7, Cafu 6.5, Marcio Santos 6.5, Aldair 6.5, Branco 6.5, Mazinho 6, Dunga 6, Mauro Silva 6.5, Zinho 5.5, Bebeto 5.5, Romario 6
Average ratings for Brazil Taffarel - 5.8 (5 ratings) Jorginho - 6.08 (6 ratings) Aldair - 6.25 (6 ratings) Marcio Santos - 6.14 (7 ratings) Branco - 6.33 (3 ratings) Mazinho - 5.6 (5 ratings) Mauro Silva - 6.36 (7 ratings) Dunga - 6.14 (7 ratings) Zinho - 6 (7 ratings) Bebeto - 6.36 (7 ratings) Romario - 7.14 (7 ratings) Ricardo Rocha - 6 (1 rating) Leonardo - 5.8 (5 ratings) Rai - 6.13 (4 ratings) Cafu - 6.25 (2 ratings) Average ratings for Italy Pagliuca - 5.88 (4 ratings) Tassotti - 5.75 (2 ratings) Costacurta - 6.42 (6 ratings) Maldini - 6.29 (7 ratings) Benarrivo - 6 (6 ratings) Conte - 6.25 (2 ratings) Berti - 5.75 (6 ratings) Albertini - 6.14 (7 ratings) Signori - 6.1 (5 ratings) D.Baggio - 6.43 (7 ratings) Donadoni - 5.67 (6 ratings) R.Baggio - 6.33 (6 ratings) Massaro - 5.75 (4 ratings) Marchegiani - 6.5 (3 ratings) Mussi - 6.5 (3 ratings) Baresi - 6.33 (3 ratings) Evani - 5 (1 rating) Apolloni - 6.33 (3 ratings) Casiraghi - 6.17 (3 ratings)
I still feel like Hagi would at least be a legitimate contender for player of the tournament (I know that's a 'best moments' video, but it did remind me of a few of the moments I'd forgotten and not seen since - others I remembered/had seen recently - and it does a good job of highlighting how well he was playing in general or at least quite often in the tournament). The other two being Roberto Baggio and Romario. Re: those two, I suppose there would be some relevant context in terms of looking at La Stampa's average ratings for them for group stage and knockout stage (slightly harshly or not Baggio's group stage ratings not being very high at all): Baggio group stage - 4.75 (2 ratings) Romario group stage - 7.5 (3 ratings) Baggio knockout stage - 7.13 (4 ratings) Romario knockout stage - 6.88 (4 ratings)
Check out the channel aswell This is another good one(for the WC 2006 thread ) There are some other seasonal comps of Roberto baggio ballon dor 1993 and Zinedine Zidane ballon dor 1998 Re Hagi He is the only player im aware of besides James Rodriguez 2014 who was a serious contender for the world cup golden ball despite not making it beyond the WC Quarter finals Micheal laudrup 1986 was also another in a world where Diego Maradona didn't exist
Doing the same for the other semi-finalists now, Sweden and Bulgaria (remaining games not already covered in the posts above, are noted below): La Stampa (1994-06-21) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Cameroon vs Sweden: Cameroon - Bell 5, Tataw 6, Song 6, Mbouh Mbouh 6.5, Kalla 6, Agbo 6.5, Foe 6.5, Libiih 6.5, Mfede 6, Embe 6.5, Omam Biyick 6; Sweden - Ravelli 5.5, R.Nilsson 5, P.Andersson 5.5, Bjorklund 6, Ljung 6.5, Schwarz 6, Blomqvist 5.5 (Larsson 6.5), Ingesson 6, Thern 6, Dahlin 6, Brolin 6 La Stampa (1994-06-23) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Nigeria vs Bulgaria: Nigeria - Rufai 7, Nwanu 6, Eguavoen 6, Iroha 6, Uche 6.5, Oliseh 6.5, Amokachi 7, Siasia 6.5, Finidi 6.5, Yekini 7, Amunike 6; Bulgaria - Mihailov 6, Kremenliev 5, Ivanov 6, Tzsvetanov 5.5, Houbtchev 6, Yankov 5, Letchkov 6, Balakov 5.5, Borimirov 5.5, Stoichkov 5.5, Kostadinov 6.5 (Can't see Argentina vs Bulgaria ratings in the football/sport section between the 1st and 4th of July at all, or Nigeria vs Greece from the same group) La Stampa (1994-07-04) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Sweden vs Saudi Arabia: Sweden - Ravelli 6.5, R.Nilsson 6, P.Andersson 6.5, Bjorklund 6.5, Ljung 7, Schwarz 6, Thern 6.5, Ingesson 7, Brolin 6.5, Dahlin 6, K.Andersson 6.5; Saudi Arabia - Al Deayea 5.5, Zebermawi 5, Al Kalaiwai 6, Al Jawad 6 (Al Ghesheyan 6.5), Madani 5.5, Amin 5, Al Bishi 5, Saleh 6, Al Jaber 6, Falatah 5, Owairan 5.5 La Stampa (1994-07-06) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Mexico vs Bulgaria: Mexico - Campos 7, Suarez 5.5, Ramirez Perales 5.5, Ambris 6, Ramon Ramirez 6, Bernal 6, Garcia Aspe 6.5, Galindo 5.5, Rodriguez 6, Luis Garcia 5, Zague 6; Bulgaria - Mihailov 7.5, Kremenliev 6, Houbtchev 6.5, Borimirov 6, Kiriakov 6.5, Letchkov 7, Balakov 5.5, Yordanov 6.5, Kostadinov 6.5, Sirakov 6, Stoichkov 7 La Stampa (1994-07-11) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Bulgaria vs Germany: Bulgaria - Mihailov 6.5, Ivanov 6, Tzvetanov 6, Houbtchev 6, Yankov 6, Kiriakov 6, Letchkov 6.5, Sirakov 6, Balakov 6.5, Stoichkov 7, Kostadinov 5.5; Germany - Ilgner 6, Wagner 5 (Strunz 5), Kohler 5, Matthaus 6, Helmer 5, Hassler 6.5, Buchwald 5, Moller 6, Berthold 5, Klinsmann 6.5, Voller 5.5 Romania vs Sweden: Romania - Prunea 6, Petrescu 5, Prodan 5.5, Belodedici 5, Selymes 6, Munteanu 5.5, Lupescu 6.5, Popescu 6, Hagi 6.5, Raducioiu 7, Dumitrescu 6; Sweden - Ravelli 7, R.Nilsson 6, P.Andersson 5.5, Bjorklund 5.5, Ljung 6, Schwarz 5, Mild 5, Ingesson 6, Brolin 6.5, Dahlin 6, K.Andersson 6 La Stampa (1994-07-17) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Sweden vs Bulgaria (3rd Place Play-Off): Sweden - Ravelli 7, R.Nilsson 6, P.Andersson 6, Bjorklund 6, Kamark 6, Schwarz 6, Larsson 7, Ingesson 6, Mild 7, Brolin 8, K.Andersson 7; Bulgaria - Mihailov 5 (Nikolov 6), Ivanov 4.5 (Kremenliev 6), Tzvetanov 5.5, Houbtchev 6, Yankov 5, Kiriakov 5, Balakov 6, Letchkov 5, Kostadinov 4, Sirakov 5.5, Stoichkov 6
I can see an XI of the first phase too Thorstvedt (Norway); Sensini (Argentina), Bratseth (Norway), Grun (Belgium), Phelan (Republic of Ireland); Finidi (Nigeria), Bahja (Morocco), Hagi (Romania), Caniggia (Argentina); Romario (Brazil), Salenko (Russia)/Batistuta (Argentina) I'm guessing it's not based on the average ratings as they aren't shown (maybe La Stampa didn't show them in summary form at the end either, which is maybe why they could omit some games from being rated, if that's what they did).
Average ratings for Sweden Ravelli - 6.36 (7 ratings) R.Nilsson - 5.71 (7 ratings) P.Andersson - 5.93 (7 ratings) Bjorklund - 5.83 (6 ratings) Ljung - 6 (6 ratings) K.Andersson - 6.33 (6 ratings) Thern - 5.9 (5 ratings) Schwarz - 5.83 (6 ratings) Ingesson - 6.14 (7 ratings) Dahlin - 6.2 (5 ratings) Brolin - 6.57 (7 ratings) Kamark 5.75 (2 ratings) Blomqvist - 5.5 (1 rating) Mild - 6 (3 ratings) Larsson - 6.33 (3 ratings) Average ratings for Bulgaria (Argentina game missing) Mihailov - 6.25 (6 ratings) Kremenliev - 5.75 (4 ratings) Ivanov - 5.6 (5 ratings) Tzvetanov - 5.7 (5 ratings) Houbtchev - 6 (6 ratings) Yankov - 5.5 (6 ratings) Letchkov - 6.42 (6 ratings) Balakov - 5.92 (6 ratings) Kostadinov - 5.5 (6 ratings) Borimirov - 6 (3 ratings) Sirakov - 6 (5 ratings) Stoichkov - 6.25 (6 ratings) Kiriakov - 5.88 (4 ratings) Yordonov - 6.5 (1 rating) Nikolov - 6 (1 rating)
Re: this I seem to think I may have had a group stage XI in mind myself (maybe I mentioned before, but I don't think I wrote it out), even if it was basically a 'latest' best XI for the tournament overall at the moment I started to think about that, although I can't be sure if I would have had a reserve XI in mind too already as such (I think I did at the end). I'm pretty sure I was picking in a 4-4-2 too, and if I make an estimation of what I seem to think my group stage XI would have been (with a reserve choice too) this is what I'd say - choice 1 followed by choice 2: Preud'homme (Belgium), Taffarel (Brazil); Jorginho (Brazil), Petrescu (Romania) Aldair (Brazil), Grun (Belgium) Belodedici (Romania), Albert (Belgium) Sergi (Spain), Chamot (Argentina); Letchkov (Bulgaria), Finidi (Nigeria) Jonk (Netherlands), Thern (Sweden) Hagi (Romania), Garcia Aspe (Mexico) Amunike (Nigeria), Sutter (Switzerland); Bebeto (Brazil), Caniggia (Argentina) Romario (Brazil), Klinsmann (Germany) I'd feel unsure about some things though, like if I did pick a reserve XI already whether Caniggia was definitely in it (and if so whether definitely as forward rather than winger), whether Klinsmann was, and which out of Amunike and Sutter would have been in the main XI at that point, assuming one of them was (also which out of them ended in the final reserve XI which I have a clearer recollection of and I'm pretty sure Luis Enrique was on the left for the first XI even though he didn't play every minute in that position, and one of those two would have been reserve). Some players (Bergkamp as a main example, but also Hassler possibly and Raducioiu too I guess) might have been quite narrowly missing being in the group stage reserve XI and also the end of tournament one. This is what it was at the end (I posted it before I think, or at least the first XI, even if am tempted to change it retrospectively to a 4-3-2-1 and bring in Letchkov for Luis Enrique in effect like I said, with Brolin and Baggio as support forwards): Preud'homme (Belgium), Taffarel (Brazil); Jorginho (Brazil), Emmers (Belgium) Aldair (Brazil), Belodedici (Romania) Maldini (Italy), Albert (Belgium) Sergi (Spain), Benarrivo (Italy); Brolin (Sweden), Letchkov (Bulgaria) Thern (Sweden), Jonk (Netherlands) Hagi (Romania), Balakov (Bulgaria) Luis Enrique (Spain), Amunike (Nigeria)/Sutter (Switzerland); R.Baggio (Italy), Bebeto (Brazil) Romario (Brazil), Stoichkov (Bulgaria) In terms of the progression of changes I'm thinking it was something like this, for the first XI: After round of 16 games: Albert in for Belodedici, Thern in for Jonk, Luis Enrique in for Amunike or Sutter After quarter-finals: Baggio in for Bebeto After semi-finals: Maldini in for Albert After 3rd Place Play-Off: Brolin in for Letchkov I'd be particularly unsure about the Italian entry points though, and it could even have been the other way round: Maldini first then Baggio after the Bulgaria game, or both at the same time (after QFs or after SFs). Anyway, I'll try and get a La Stampa average ratings summary post done for Netherlands and Spain players today too, and then follow up with one for the other quarter-finalists Romania and Germany.... EDIT - Re: what I said about Amunike/Sutter, I think similar might apply to Hassler/Finidi in terms of their names possibly interchanging (I'm not quite sure who I would have had as 2nd for right midfielder after the group stage now, but I'm thinking not Brolin because he mostly hadn't played in that position by that point, even if he assisted a goal with a pass from that area of the pitch already vs Brazil with a very good pass). I'm also thinking it is actually more likely I'd have moved Baggio into the first XI after the semi-finals, since although he had a very good game vs Spain, Bebeto did against the Netherlands too. Maybe Maldini even finally went into my first XI only after the final (even though he played most of it as left back in the end, not CB), although I'd thought I had a recollection that Brolin in was the last change to it.
Grades for the remaining games of the Netherlands and Spain: La Stampa (1994-07-05) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Republic of Ireland vs Netherlands: Republic of Ireland - Bonner 5, Phelan 5, Kelly 6, Babb 6.5, McGrath 6.5, Keane 6, Townsend 6.5, Houghton 6.5, Sheridan 6.5, Staunton 6 (McAteer 5.5), Coyne 6; Netherlands - De Goey 6, F.De Boer 6.5, Koeman 6.5, Valckx 6, Rijkaard 6, Witschge 6, Jonk 6, Winter 6.5, Overmars 7, Bergkamp 7.5, Van Vossen 6.5 (Roy 5) La Stampa (1994-06-19) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (Switzerland vs USA here too, for future reference, with free-kick scorers Wynalda and Bregy both on 7 and USA goalie Meola and Swiss left winger Sutter on 6.5) Spain vs South Korea: Spain - Canizares 6.5, Ferrer 7, Abelardo 6, Nadal 5, Alkorta 6, Hierro 7, Sergi 6, Guerrero 5 (Caminero 7), Goicoechea 6, Luis Enrique 5.5, Salinas 6; South Korea - Choi In Young 5.5, Choi Young II 6, Kim Pan Keun 5.5, Park Jung Bae 5, Hong Myung Bo 6, Lee Young Jin 6.5, Ko Jeung Woon 6, Noh Jung Yoon 6, Kim Soo Sung 5.5 (Seo Jung Won 7), Hwang Sung Hon 6, Shin Hong Ji 6.5 La Stampa (1994-06-22) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Germany vs Spain: Germany - Ilgner 5, Strunz 6, Kohler 6.5, Matthaus 5.5, Berthold 6.5, Brehme 5.5, Hassler 6, Effenberg 6, Sammer 6, Moller 6.5 (Voller 6.5), Klinsmann 7; Spain - Zubizarreta 5, Ferrer 6, Alkorta 6.5, Hierro 6.5, Abelardo 6, Sergi 6.5, Goicoechea 6.5, Guardiola 6, Caminero 6, Luis Enrique 5.5, Salinas 6 Netherlands vs Saudi Arabia: Netherlands - De Goey 6, F.De Boer 5.5, Rijkaard 6, Koeman 5.5, Wouters 6, Overmars 6 (Taument 6), Jonk 6.5, R.De Boer 6, Bergkamp 6, Roy 5.5 (Van Vossen 6), Van Gobbel 5; Saudi Arabia - Al Deayea 5.5, Al Dosari 6, Al Khlawi 6, Madani 6, Amin 7, Al Bishi 6.5, Mohammed 7 (Hamzah Falatah 6.5), Owairan 6 (Saleh 6), Al Jawad 6.5, Al Muwallid 6 La Stampa (1994-06-28) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (Germany vs South Korea here for future reference, with Ilgner and Hassler on 7, and Klinsmann among others on 6.5) Bolivia vs Spain: Bolivia - Trucco 4.5, Pena 5.5, Samba 5, Rimba 6 (I think it's a 6, not an 8 anyway), Borja 5, Soruco 5, Melgar 5.5, Ramos 6 (Moreno 5), Soria 5.5 (again a bit unclear but the left digit seems the same as the right one, so guess it's not 6.5) (Castillo 5.5), Erwin Sanchez 6 (again I'm assuming it's not an 8); Spain - Zubizarreta 6, Ferrer 6, Abelardo 6, Caminero 7, Voro 6, Guardiola 6, Sergi 6, Goicoechea 5.5, Guerrero 6, Felipe 5 (Hierro 5.5), Salinas 5 La Stampa (1994-06-30) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive (Belgium vs Saudi Arabia here too, with Owairan getting a 7.5 and the Saudi goalkeeper one of a couple with 7s) Morocco vs Netherlands: Morocco - Aloui 6, Azouzi 6 (Daoudi 6.5), Triki 7, Neqrouz 5, Hadriqui 6, Samadi 6, Hababi 6.5, Bouyboud 6 (Hadji 6.5), Bahja 6, Nader 7; Netherlands - De Goey 6.5, F.De Boer 5, Koeman 5, Valckx 5.5, Witschge 6, Wouters 6, Overmars 6.5 (Taument 6), Jonk 5, Winter 5.5, Bergkamp 6.5, Van Vossen 5.5 (Roy 6)
Another discovery - a La Stampa XI "of the first two rounds" i.e first two group games of each nation.... Preud'homme (Belgium); Sensini (Argentina), Grun (Belgium), Hierro (Spain), Leonardo (Brazil); Caniggia (Argentina), Siasia (Nigeria), Oliseh (Nigeria), Maradona (Argentina); Romario (Brazil), Batistuta (Argentina). 4-4-2 or 4-3-3 with Caniggia in attack and Maradona in midfield.
For final Romania and Germany games now: La Stampa (1994-06-28) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Germany vs South Korea: Germany - Ilgner 7, Berthold 6, Kohler 6, Matthaus 5, Brehme 6.5, Hassler 7, Buchwald 6.5, Sammer 6, Effenberg 5.5, Klinsmann 6.5, Riedle 5; South Korea - Choi In Young 3 (Lee Wan Jae 6), Shin Hong Gi 6, Park Jung Bae 6, Hong Myung Bo 7, Choi Young Il 5.5, Kim Pan Keun 6, Ko Jeaung Won 5.5, Lee Ypung Jin 5 (Chung Jong Son 6), Cho Jin Ho 6, Kim Joo Song 6.5, Hwang Sun Hong 6.5 La Stampa (1994-06-20) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Colombia vs Romania: Colombia - Cordoba 4, Escobar 6, Herrera 6, Perez 5, Perea 4.5, Gomez 5, Alvarez 5.5, Rincon 5.5, Asprilla 6, Valderrama 6, Valencia 7; Romania - Stelea 8, Petrescu 7, Prodan 6, Belodedici 7, Mihali 5.5, Lupescu 6, Popescu 6, Munteanu 6, Raducioiu 8, Hagi 8, Dumitrescu 5.5 La Stampa (1994-06-27) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive USA vs Romania: USA - Meola 5, Clavijo 5, Balboa 5.5, Lalas 6, Caligiuri 5.5, Dooley 6, Harkes 5.5, Sorber 6, Ramos 5 (Jones 6.5), Stewart 5, Wynalda 5; Romania - Prunea 5.5, Petrescu 7, Prodan 6, Belodedici 6, Selymes 6.5, Munteanu 5.5, Lupescu 6.5, Popescu 6, Hagi 6.5, Raducioiu 6.5, Dumitrescu 5.5 La Stampa (1994-06-18) : Editrice La Stampa : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive Germany vs Bolivia: Germany - Illgner 7, Effenberg 5.5, Matthaus 6, Kohler 6.5, Berthold 6, Brehme 6, Hassler 6, Moller 6.5, Sammer 6, Riedle 5, Klinsmann 6.5; Bolivia - Trucco 7, Borja 6, Rimba 6, Quinteros 6, Sandy 6, Cristaldo 6, E.Sanchez 6.5, Soria 6, Melgar 6, Baldivieso 6, Ramallo 5 (Etcheverry 4)
So the changes after the 3rd games were Thordsvedt for Preud'homme, Bratseth for Hierro, Phelan for Leonardo, Bahja/Hagi for Siasia/Oliseh, Finidi for Maradona and Salenko now sharing a place with Batistuta. Plus I notice they changed from picking the coach of Argentina to picking the coach of Brazil!