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African Champions’ Cup

African Champions’ Cup 1972

First Round

ASFA Ouagadougou UpV Djoliba AC Mli 1-3 0-1 1-4 Aigle Nkongsamba Cam Olympique Real CAf 3-1 0-1 3-2 Al-Ahly (Tripoli) Lby Al Merreikh Sud w/o x AS Forces Armées (Dakar) Sen AS Cotonou Dah 3-0 3-2 6-2 Hafia FC (Conakry) Gui ASFAN (Niamey) Nig 4-1 1-1 5-2y Hearts of Oak Gha Abaluhya United Ken w/o x Majantja Les Kabwe Warriors Zam 2-2 0-9 2-11 AS Saint Michael Mad Young Africans Tan 2-0 0-1 2-1 Saint George Eth Lavori Publici Som 3-1 1-1 4-2 TP Mazembe Zai Police Gab 2-0 1-1 3-1 Africa Sports IvC bye Canon Yaoundé Cam bye Dynamic Togolais Tog bye Ismaili Egy bye Simba FC Uga bye WNDC Ibadan Nga bye x Al Merreikh and Abaluhya United withdrew before 1st leg; Abaluhya United were later renamed AFC Leopards y 1st leg Feb 13, 2nd leg Feb 27

Second Round

Africa Sports IvC TP Mazembe Zai 1-2 2-5 3-7 Canon Yaoundé Cam Hafia FC (Conakry) Gui 3-2 1-4 4-6z Dynamic Togolais Tog Aigle Nkongsamba Cam 1-1 3-4 4-5x AS Forces Armées (Dakar) Sen Djoliba AC Mli 2-0 0-2 2-2y Ismaili Egy Al-Ahly (Tripoli) Lby 0-1 2-1 2-2 3-4p Kabwe Warriors Zam AS Saint Michael Mad 2-1 3-0 5-1 Simba FC Uga Saint George Eth 4-0 1-1 5-1 WNDC Ibadan Nga Hearts of Oak Gha 1-0 0-3 1-3 x Dynamic Togolais were dissolved in 1974 y Forces Armées withdrew after 2nd leg z 2nd leg Apr 2

Quarterfinals

Al-Ahly (Tripoli) Lby Simba FC Uga 1-1 0-3 1-4 Hafia FC (Conakry) Gui Djoliba AC Mli 3-0 1-2 4-2x [Aly Badra Kolev, Thiam Ousmane “Tolo”, Chérif Souleymane] [Cheick Fantamady Diallo 1, ? 2-1; Petit Sory 28] Hearts of Oak Gha Kabwe Warriors Zam 7-2 2-1 9-3 TP Mazembe Zai Aigle Nkongsamba Cam 4-1 2-1 6-2 x 1st leg Sep 17, 2nd leg Oct 22

Semifinals

Hearts of Oak Gha Simba FC Uga 1-1 0-1 1-2 TP Mazembe Zai Hafia FC (Conakry) Gui 3-2 o/w x [Bwanga 22, Tshinabu 41, 3-2; Bwanga 7og, Soriba Edenté 65] x 1st leg Nov 5, 2nd leg Nov 19; TP Mazembe refused to play the 2nd leg contesting the eligibility of the referees assigned by CAF; CAF awarded the 2nd leg 2-0 by forfeit to Hafia which thus qualified for the final

Final (Dec 10 and 22) Stade du 28 Septembre, Conakry and Nakivubo, Kampala

Hafia FC (Conakry) Gui Simba FC Uga 4-2 3-2 7-4

[Petit Sory 19, Chérif Souleymane 35, 3-2, Aliou N’Jo Léa 4-2; Wandera 2-1, 2-2]

[Wasswa 74, Sukuma 88; Chérif Souleymane 67, Thiam Ousmane “Tolo” 69, Aliou N’Jo Léa 76]

Simba FC, the Army team from Uganda, lost the final.

Hafia won their first African cup. Unfortunately, no picture of the victors seems to exist.

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West Germany – England. European Championship 1/4 Finals

And the big drama at the end: England and West Germany. Two great teams, playing exciting football. Very personal to me as well – I was big fan of England. The first leg in London is the best match between national teams I ever saw. It was breathtaking football, attacking, fast, tough, yet fair. No simulations, no tactically wasted time. Gentlemen’s game in the rain. Hoeness scored first in the 26th minute, and I regained hope in 77th minute, when Francis Lee equalized. But it was not to be… 85th minute… a penalty kick for the Germans. I was unable to watch – and I missed it therefore. Netzer scored. Today I regret my fear and superstition… for I missed a great duel between Banks and Netzer. And Muller in 89th minute made it 3-1 for West Germany. I was both happy and unhappy – my guys lost, but what a match.

Not a single dull moment.

This match more than less established total football on the national teams level – there was visible difference between England and West Germany: the Brits were not free, they did not cover fearlessly the whole field regardless of nominal player’s post. Their defense was in a line, which may be the thing to do today, but clearly was dangerous liability in the 1970s – too easy to penetrate. Bobby Moore was somewhat static when contrasted to Beckenbauer. The Germans changed positions and it was difficult to say who was defender and who – a striker. They improvised and their moves were unpredictable. England was worthy and brave opponent, yet, it was clear to whom the future belong.

England did step down without a fight, but after the first match there was no hope – the second leg in West Berlin ended 0-0. If football was ‘fair’ game, England and West Germany should have played the final. Alas, it was only quarterfinal…

Gordon Banks saves this one, but Gerd Muller had the last word – in the last minute too.

Captains Moore and Beckenbauer are all smiles before the beginning of the second leg in West Berlin. They respected each other, but friends or no friends, the German smile lasted longer.