Football Journey

The Bundesliga was the place to be, but this season the top European championship was a carbon copy of the German second division. Much stronger, of course, yet, clearly divided into 3 parts – 2 hopeless outsiders at the bottom, fairly equal main bulk, and 2 favourites way above the rest of the league.

Eintracht (Braunschweig) was dead last with 20 points – hardly a surprise. They were the only team winning less than matches in this championship. They were also the only team scoring less than 1 goal per game average: 32 goals in 34 matches. The next weak scorers were Schalke 04 with 40 goals. Nothing really strange… Eintracht were never strong and their main aim was survival. Perhaps their squad explains the disastrous season: their best players were veterans, who reached their peak in the first half of the 1970s – Franke, the Yugoslavian Popivoda, and Worm. Players of the past.

The other outsider was also expected failure, although such a collapse was perhaps unexpected. Werder (Bremenn) had weak 1970s, staying in the lower part of the table year after year. This year they were not even able to fight for survival – 25 points was 5 points better than Braunschweig, but also 4 points less than the 16th placed. Werder scored lots of goals – 52 – but received much more. Actually, they ended with the worst defensive record – 93 goals. The next leaky defense belonged to Fortuna (Dusseldorf) – 72 goals. Werder allowed in their net nearly 3 goals per game average!

The squad was nothing much, of course, but still one can feel sorry for a newcomer – the English national team central-defender Dave Watson came to play in Germany, following Keegan and Woodcock. And immediately faced relegation… Well, Watson was hardly a stranger to second division football, but what a disappointment. With the relegation of Werder the number of the original members of the Bundesliga was further reduced – only a handful of the initial Bundesliga remained constant members.

Nine clubs – half the league – were concerned with escaping relegation. The unlucky one was decided by goal-difference: MSV Duisburg, Bayer Uerdingen, and Hertha West Berlin finished with 29 points. Hertha had the worst goal-difference and ended 16th.

Somewhat strangely Hertha was unable to build strong team – it was notoriously up and down club, more often down. Money was a problem and may be because of that Hertha’s squads were always strange: oldish stars were frequently hired for a season or two, but serious team-building was never done. This year Kleff, one of the best goalkeepers of the 1970s, was at hand – and ones again, it was a player already beyond his peak. Of course, Kleff was not alone – there were few more good players and one of the top German coaches at the time, but chemistry was wrong. Hertha was relegated.

Up the table was the large group of fairly equal teams – stretched from 16th to 5th place. In the middle of the table were those already declining – Borussia Moenchengladbach (7th), Schalke 04 (8th) – those not improving for some time – Fortuna Dusseldorf (11th), Eintracht Frankfurt (9th), and 1. FC Koln (5th), and those, who were pretty much the same all the time – clubs like MSV Duisburg, VfL Bochum. Only one club was seemingly rising: Borussia Dortmund.

6th this season with 36 points. Not really strong, but a promising team – Burgsmuller, Votava, Geyer, Freund, Immel. Coached by Udo Lattek. Not first rate yet, but the crisis of the early 1970s was over and Borussia was seemingly on the right track. How far they would go remained to be seen.

The ‘bulk’ was topped by slightly stronger then most teams, which competed for third place – but nothing more than that. 1.FC Kaiserslautern and VfB Stuttgart. Up and coming Stuttgart, not ready for competing for the title yet, and notoriously fluctuating Kaiserslautern, having a good season. Shoulder to shoulder to the end – the opponents finished not only with equal points – 41 – but also with exactly the same goal-difference – 75-53. Perhaps head-to-head record determined the final positions – Kaiserslautern was placed 4th.

Unpredictable team, but having young promising coach – Feldkamp, and depending on strong group of players: some familiar for years – Hellstrom, Gaye, Bongartz, Wendt – and some bright young players of the next generation, rapidly becoming famous – Topmoller, Briegel, Groh. Good year, but one was reluctant to bet on the Lauters.

Stuttgart was lucky to get bronze medals, but they were noticed earlier as the rapidly climbing up team.

Still not the polished product – a bunch of highly promising young players: Karl-Heinz and Bernd Forster, Ohlicher, Roleder; some veterans – Volkert and the Yugoslav Holcer; and some reliable, but not great professionals like Hadewicz and the Austrian Hattenberger. And the big current star in the middle of it: Hansi Muller. Stuttgart needed a little bit further shaping, a bit of minor changes to be ready to conquer the Bundesliga. They were not yet close to best.

Above the league were revived Bayern and Hamburger SV – the best teams this season. They fought to the end for the title. Hamburger SV outscored Bayern by 2 goals – 86 to 84, but Bayern won 2 more matches and Hamburger SV finished 2nd with 48 points. 7 points ahead of Stuttgart – the top clubs were never concerned of any other club, but only of each other.

HSV perhaps lacked a bit of character, for there was no other reason for losing the title: they had the best squad at the moment. Buljan, Hrubesch, Jacobs, Memering, Hieronymus, Reimann, Hartwig, Nogly, Hidien, Kargus – a great mix of experienced veterans and talented youngsters. And three superstars – Kaltz, Magath, and Keegan. One in every line, conducting the team. Magath was perhaps the relative newcomer to stardom, but in this season he was recognized as the rival of Hansi Muller. The coach Branco Zebec needs no introduction too. Wonderful team, but they lost the title, however minimally. Character… well, everything was going to be strengthened soon – with a new coach, a master of character building and motivation.

Bayern was overwhelming champion – 22 wins, 6 ties, and 6 losses. They scored slightly less goals than HSV and had slightly better defensive record. The rivals lost exactly the same number of fixtures – 6 each – so the title was determined by another factor: HSV ended with 8 ties and 20 wins; Bayern – 6 ties and 22 wins. Thus, 2 points of difference were built. Character won – Bayern always excelled in that. It was great moment – Bayern ended its slump, had a new team at last, andwon their first title since 1974. Their 5th title, which equaled them with Borussia Moenchengladbach, but the Bavarians were still trailing their arch-rivals by Bundesliga titles. No matter – they came back, were on winning track again, and started the new decade on top – meantime, Borussia was declining.

Pal Csernai was instrumental, although not a coach as great as Lattek or Cajkovski. But he broke at last the stigma of the great team of the first half of the 1970s and used whatever players he had at hand well. It was different generation and Csernai utilized its strength,which was not refine andht skilful mastership of great players, but physical, determined, and disciplined approach, compensating the lack of great skills. The return of Paul Breitner was instrumental – he obviously understood well that his team-mates were not at all Beckenbauers and Mullers and proclaimed that football is a war. A war should be fought with only one objective: winning it, no matter how. Breitner took the reigns of the team, spurring it by foul language whenever he felt motivation was lacking. To a point, the new Bayern did not deserve so skilful player, but Breitner did not mind much and adapted – it was enough to have one player with skill and imagination, if the rest run like hell and keep discipline. Rummennige, the other superstar in the squad, more than welcomed Breitner – at last there was somebody to organize the flow and give great passes. The rest were largely helpers… and the whole make of the team was quite ordinary. Maier and Schwarzenbeck were out – both played symbolic role this season, no longer key players. The second raters of the old Bayern were at hand: Durnberger, Gruber, Kraus, Horsmann. Precisely the backbone of the new Bayern – they were with the team for years, always dependable and reliable, but with limited abilities. None ever became a star – they were just support players in great physical shape. And to this group were added more similar to the reliable bunch – Augenthaler, Dremler, Dieter Hoeness, Niedermayer, and Junghans. Junghans was the least satisfying – true, it was almost impossible for anyone to shine after the era of Sepp Maier, but Bayern needed better goalkeeper than only a reliable one. Junghans had a good season, but he was not a permanent solution and goalkeeping remained a problem for some time. Perhaps because the new Bayern was too mechanical and ordinary they needed great keeper – defensive mistakes happened and they were costly. As a whole, this Bayern was not exciting team to watch – they were workers, mechanical, methodical, good warriors, never giving up, but hardly pleasant to watch. The new German football was shaping – it was based not on excellence, but on determination and will. Breitner realized it and accepted the reality, but it was still too bad that he – an excellent player – had to articulate the football model of the 1980s. Run, fight, prevail, and to hell with beauty. Well, it worked… Bayern won and the more exciting team, Hamburger SV, finished below. Who can argue with winners?

 

The Southern group was similar to the Northern. Three outsiders, two of which way bellow the rest of the league. Relatively equal bulk up to 4th place. Separate team, stronger than the main clubs, but weaker than the favourites, at 3rd place, and something like like a duel between 2 teams for the top spot. This season the Southern group had 21 members.

With 21 points FV Wurzburg was dead last. The only team with less than 10 wins in the league.

Rochling (Volklingen) was a place above with 22 points. Anything memorable about them? They allowed 101 goals in their net, if this could be a distinction.

MTV Ingolstadt was much stronger than two teams at the very bottom – they finished with 29 points. But they were not really close to the next team – FV Frankfurt, the last of the main bulk of teams, ended with 32 points in safety.

Above the three relegated clubs, nothing much interesting.

Kickers (Offenbach) had good years in the first half of the 70s, but now were middle-of-the-road second division club – they finished 8th with 43 points, better than Freiburger FC only on goal-difference. The top of the bulk was not far ahead:

1. FC Saarbrucken was 5th with 47 points. SV Darmstadt 98 was 4th with 48 points. The Bundesliga was not a concern for most of the league – nor was relegation.

Stuttgarter Kickers was on its own – stronger than the typical league, but nothing to do with promotion.

Third with 52 points – 4 points clear from Darmstadt, but 7 points behind the 2nd placed team.

At least the Southern group was not dominated by one club – Karlsruher SC and 1. FC Nurnberg competed almost to the end the season. Karlsruher scored the most goals in the league – 104 – but lost the battle at the end by 2-point difference.

26 wins, 9 ties, 5 losses, 88-38 goal-difference, and 62 points – enough for finishing first. Here are the champions in their most important match of the season – against Karlsruher SC in the 40th round:

From left: Norbert Eder, Bernhard Hartmann, Horst Weyerich, Peter Stocker, Siegfried Susser, Herbert Heidenreich, Jan Majkowski, Bertram Beierlorzer, Jürgen Täuber, Detlef Szymanek, Reinhold Hintermaier.

Once again 1. FC Nurnberg was returning to top flight, and once again had not a team for anything significant there – apart from Norbert Eder, no really strong players. But great for the moment – champions of the Southern Second Division, directly promoted.

The runners-up of the two groups had one more chance for promotion: the play-off between Karlsruher SC and Rot-Weiss Essen took place in June. Karlsruher SC hosted the first leg and they took full advantage of home turf, destroying Rot-Weiss 6-1. A week later it was just a protocol match: Rot-Weiss tried to break the odds, but it was impossible. They won 3-1, which was at least a good effort. However, not enough for promotion – Karlsruher won 6-4 on aggregate and were promoted to first division.

Rot-Weiss (Essen) – the losers of the play-off and rightly so. They finished 2nd in the North, but were not even close to the champion Arminia.

Karlruher SC lost direct promotion at the very end of the season, but not their second chance. Well done at the end.

So, the three promoted clubs were Arminia Bielefeld, 1. FC Nurnberg, and Karlsruher SC. All had played Bundesliga football before. Neither appeared to be up and coming team. It was familiar picture by now: former members of the Bundesliga were the winners of the Second Division, quite easily. Most of the second level clubs were not even close to the few favourites, which in their turn were nothing special and after going up were soon relegated again.

 

West Germany was recognized as having the best league football already and the turning the new decade was met optimistically. After the end of the season optimism would be cemented with European title, won by exciting national team. Yet, not everything worked as well as desired. The professional second division was problematic – it was clear by now that most participants were really small ones, not able to compete for promotion. The second division became somewhat predictable – former members of the Bundesliga were stronger than the rest, but they were not getting stronger. So far, only one promoted from second division club disrupted the status quo – Wuppertaler SV. It was a meteoric rise, followed immediately by a fall: Wuppertaler SV was relegated right after winning medals and by the end of the 1970s they were among the outsiders of the second level. Few cities were represented by more than one club – Hannover had 3: Hannover 96, OSV Hannover, and Arminia Hannover; Koln -2: Viktoria and Fortuna; Freiburg – 2: SC Freiburg and Freiburger FC; and Ingolstadt – 2: ESV and MTV – but instead of the lure of a derby, those teams only showed characteristic weakness of West German football. Peculiarly, West Germany was unable to produce 2 strong clubs in one town. The closest to that happened in the mid-60s, when TSV 1860 and Bayern were equally good, but TSV 1860 quickly faded after that. At best, a city was able to support one strong clubs and one in second division, way weaker than the first. The teams mentioned above suggested only one thing: cities unable to keep even one decent club and perhaps dispersing their resources too much to have descent football at all. A great division was already formed: about 20 strong and well organized professional clubs and huge number of small, insignificant clubs, better suited for semi-professional existence. The Germans were thinking of reforming the second division – and did that shortly after the end of this season. This year the original format only confirmed the problems: only 2 clubs competed for promotion in the Southern group and the Northern group was one-team show, without any rival.

Same with the outsiders at the bottom of the tables: Wuppertaler SV was last with 16 points in the Northern group.

Wuppertaler SV. From playing the UEFA Cup in the early 70s to starting the 80s in third division.

Arminia (Hannover) was next to last with 17 points. One last look at a club practically unknown today.

OSC Bremerhaven – 18th with 27 points. Far stronger than the last two, yet, way weaker than the rest of the league – the 17th, SC Herford finished with 31 points. Then money… the last three were relegated, as the rules stipulated, but they were joined by the 11th placed DSC Wanne-Eickel, which lost its professional license, because it was unable to meet financial requirements.

Brave season for the small club, but there was no future – not among the professionals anyway. One of the reasons in favour of reducing and reorganizing the second division: most clubs were too small to be financially stable. Playing in professional league often meant playing hide and seek with bankruptcy.

The league was gradually spread up to 4th place – Viktoria (Koln) topped the bulk of fairly equal teams, divided by a point or two. They finished with 46 points, same as SG Wattenscheid 09, but for better goal-difference. Nothing special – 3rd place was never an option this season.

Hannover 96 finished 3rd with 52 points. Obviously, way stronger than the league. But never coming aiming at first place either – Hannover 96 competed with Rot-Weiss (Essen) for second place, and lost it by 2 points.

Like Hannover 96, Rot-Weiss was a former Bundesliga member, thus, much stronger than purely second division clubs, but also not strong enough for winning the championship. Second, with 54 points, still gave them a chance: they were going to the play-off between the second division silver medalists for the third promotional spot.

Arminia (Bielefeld) dominated the championship from beginning to end. Outstanding season, really – they lost only matches, tied 6, and won 30, scoring 120 goals in the process. Amazing scoring achievement, but defense was not neglected either – Arminia allowed 31 goals, which is less than 1 goal per match.

Judging by the numbers, Arminia was seemingly experiencing a revival – the last time they were heard of was as a prime culprit in the infamous bribing scandal of the early 70s. Arminia was badly wounded by it, even looked like crushed forever. Now they were coming back, but their rise was viewed skeptically: Arminia were smallish club and their fantastic season was not that much because of great new squad, but because of generally weak league. Promotion was fine, but Arminia was expected only to battle for mere survival the next year.

 

Liverpool had a chance for a triple this season. It was a big possibility until the semi-finals of the cups. Both times Liverpool drew the strongest opponent, which in a way was even better – overcoming the real opposition early meant almost sure cup. Both times Liverpool was visiting at the first leg and both times the results heavily favoured the Reds: in the Football League Cup, they lost 0-1 in Nottingham. In the FA Cup, they drew 0-0 tie in London against Arsenal. Unfortunately, the home games did not go well – Nottingham managed to keep the result at a 1-1 tie. Liverpool was eliminated. Then an epic followed: Arsenal also managed to a 1-1 tie. A third match was scheduled and it ended again 1-1. A forth match. And here Arsenal prevailed 1-0. No cups for Liverpool, then. But what a drama and what a historic event: 4 matches were played to decide the finalist – never before and never again. The longest semi-final of all time.

Meantime the other semi-finals went on quieter note. Wolverhampton lost the first leg to 3rd Division Swindon Town 1-2, but won 3-1 at home and moved to the League Cup final. West Ham United tied their home match against Everton 1-1 and looked like the 2nd division team was a goner. But surprisingly they won in Liverpool 2-1 and reached the FA Cup final. As usual, the Football League Cup final was played first. Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Nottingham Forest. The Wolves enjoyed a strong season and Nottingham not so great, but still odds were in favour of Bryan Clough’s squad. The final was fairly equal, but eventually the Wolves scored a goal, courtesy of Gray. Nottingham failed to score and lost.

Nottingham finished empty-handed this season – but empty-handed in England. They still got a trophy, though. This was their 3rd consecutive League Cup final – and the first they lost. This was also the last domestic success for a long time – their next chance for winning a trophy will come in 1989.

Wonderful season for Wolverhampton Wanderers – it looked like the decline was over and new bright period was starting. Perhaps the happiest was Emelyn Hughes: a winner with Liverpool, the great defender was winner again. This was second Football League Cup for the Wolves, but also their last big success.

A London FA Cup final for the first time since 1975. Back than it was a battle between 1st and 2nd division clubs. Now it was the same. West Ham United appeared in both finals, but this time they were the underdog representing Second Division. Arsenal seemed too strong to be beaten by a team having so-so season in the lower division. In 1975 the 2nd division team fought bravely, but lost. But it was different this time: in another pretty much equal game a single goal was scored – like in the League Cup final. And like the other final, the unanswered goal was scored by the underdog. Trevor Brooking was the hero. West Ham United won.

Bad luck for the Gunners. Unfortunately, not a great team… coming close to winning, but only that.

Happy winners, including the teddy bear. The Hammers won their 3rd – and so far last – FA Cup. It was great not only because Hammers proved stronger than Gunners: it was a victory bringing hope to down and out club, which was quite demoralized. They had a team which should have been in first division, but suffered in the second. Winning the Cup was perhaps very important moral boost. Not to mention that they beat city rivals in good shape. Trevor Brooking proved to be still the great player,, collecting trophies. West Ham was not going to be a great club, but tough they were and winning was not to end. Yet.

 

 

The English clubs dominated Europe and the premier league was still attractive, but there was something new: it was becoming similar to the continental leagues. There were outsiders. And there was a dominant club. The big question was who would challenge Liverpool. However, there was no match so far – one or another club had a strong season, but the next year it was someone else. The English did not particularly like that – it was boring and similar to the Continental championships, which were always looked down. To become like them meant only one thing: degrading. But concerns had little to do with battles on the pitch.

Since 1976-77 every season had outsiders and this one only continued the trend.

Bolton Wanderers were last with 25 points. Like Chelsea the previous season and Leicester City in 1977-78, the last team in the league won only 5 matches.

Derby County finished 21st with 30 points. Hardly a surprise – Derby County was sinking since 1975.

With 31 points Bristol City settled at the 20th place. It was quite clear that neither Bristol City, nor Bolton Wanderers were going to play first division football any time soon – if at all. Derby County was not expected to come back quickly either. The last 3 teams in the league were obviously weaker than the rest: Everton, 19th this season, finished 4 points ahead of Bristol. There was a gap between the outsiders and the better clubs consistently after 1976-77.

The group of declining clubs was also familiar by now: Manchester City – 17th and Leeds United – 11th, but Woolverhamton Wanderers had a strong year. Stoke City, coming back from relegation, was also in this group – by now, they were only fighting to stay in the league. Tottenham Hotspur was still shaky, but trying to build a new team and promising one too. However, so far a team good only for mid-table position. No new promising team emerged in 1979-80 – rather, the teams noticed in the previous years as going up continued their climb, with the caveat that none was going to match Liverpool. To a point, the group of West Bromwich Albion, Aston Villa, and Ipswich Town reached its peak: all to be second-best. Nottingham Forest apparently reached its peak too and it was not particularly high: occasional success, but not building a dynasty. Manchester United was hoped to deliver more than they actually did. Arsenal was perhaps the best example of strong English clubs at that time: they consistently maintained a place among the best in the league. This year – 4th. But they were unable to compete for the title. Looking ahead, only two clubs seemed promising:

Tottenham Hotspur – 14th this year, but there was strong skeleton already formed: Osvaldo Ardiles, Glenn Hoddle, Mark Falco, Ricardo Villa. With some additional good players, Tottenham had a future.

Southampton took different road. They finished 8th and looked ambitious.

Unlike Tottenham, Southampton did not appear making a strong team from scratch. They preferred to hire famous veterans. The old players got a spark in a new club – at least for a season or two. Then new veterans replaced them. Mike Channon was pretty much the only true member of Southampton – he was playing for them for years. Alan Ball and Charlie George were the old stars of this year, but they were not going to last. Ivan Golac, one of the first successful foreigners in England, and Phil Boyer were seemingly going to stay longer. So far, so good – it all depended on new recruits for the next season. Seemingly, Southampton was making a team for one season at the time. How long they would be able to gamble successfully was anybody’s guess, but so far the approach worked.

From this perspective, the top of the league appeared a bit suspect.

Nottingham Forest finished 5th with 48 points. They clinched the top place of a group of rather similarly strong clubs – that is, not very strong. Far behind the really strong. Apparently, Nottingham was not to be a great club and already were falling down to the bulk of competitive upper-mid-table teams. Tony Woodcock went to play in West Germany. It was not sure that Trevor Francis, Garry Birtles, and Viv Anderson will stay with Nottingham for a long time. Brian Clough was brilliant, but his approach was peculiar – depending largely on well-known oldish players, no longer needed by their former clubs. But those were players getting older and no better – no wonder the team was already slipping down the table. The great season of 1977-78 was more and more looking like one-time wonder. The gap was opening – Arsenal finished 4 points ahead of them.

Arsenal fought with Ipswich for the bronze and lost the race by a point. Strong team, but not a title contender. May be the attempt to keep a balanced squad was the reason why – too many old players. Brady, Stapleton and O’Leary were running the show, but it was not exactly a team built around them: with the exception of Pat Jennings, Arsenal had a bunch of likely counter-productive veterans – Sammy Nelson, Malcolm Macdonald, Pat Rice, and John Hollins. They were no winners, unfortunately. Not hungry anymore.

Perhaps the reason why Ipswich Town bested Arsenal, if only by a point.

Younger and hungrier team. It was not Mick Mills and Kevin Beattie running the team, but Mariner, Brazil, Osman, Butcher, Burley, Wark. The foreign recruits were well chosen – Arnold Muhren and Frans Thijssen were not only solid professionals, but players eager to prove themselves after years of playing second-fiddle in their native Holland. They blended perfectly. Of course, Bobby Robson was the coach and he wanted success too. So far, bronze medals was the best his team was able of.

And good as they were, Ipswich were entirely outside the race for the title. With 53 points they finished 5 points behind the silver medalists. The battle for the title was between two teams – Liverpool and Manchester United. The opponents run together to the end, but the Red Devils lost the title by 2 points. Liverpool won one more game and that was that.

Back row: K Moran, J Nicholl, G McQueen, P Roche, G Bailey, S Paterson, A Grimes, J Jordan;

Middle row: L Brown (Physio), S McIlroy, A Ritchie, M Duxbury, T Connell, J Greenhoff, S Houston, T Cavanagh (Asst. Manager), D Sexton (Manager);

Front row: M Thomas, T Sloan, L Macari, M Buchan, R Wilkins, S Coppell and A Albiston

It looked like Manchester United were finally restoring their leadership and once again were ready to win and even dominate. A bit familiar, though… United had a squad, which judged by names should have been champion, like most of the 1970s. At a glance, 14 former, current, and future national team players. Great veterans – Macari, McIllroy, Buchan, current major stars – Jordan, McQueen, Wilkins, Coppel. Players, expected to be big stars very soon – Bailey, Nicholl. Typical Manchester United, but now the key players were clearly from newer generation, not stigmatized by the unfortunate first half of the 1970s. If anybody was going to challenge the dominance of Liverpool, it was this squad – or so it looked. They came close, they appeared ready – the next year, surely.

Liverpool were used to it by now – there was a challenger every year, but every year it was a different one too. None lasted longer – seemingly, confident Liverpool was able to destroy every opponent. One run was deadly enough – the challenger was gone, licking wounds after that. Liverpool did not dominate the league entirely, matched by Manchester United, but the two leaders left the rest far behind. At the end, Liverpool won by a small margin. Small, but it was there. 25 wins, 10 ties, 7 losses, 81-30 goal-difference. The scoring record reveals Liverpool’s supremacy: they outscored the rest of the league by far – the next best strikers, Ipswich, managed only 58 goals; and had the best defense also by far – Manchester United, with the next best defense, allowed 35 goals. Liverpool had everything – class, experience, confidence.

It was useless to count Liverpool’s titles by now. It was pointless to list the stars – the squad was world famous. The magic was working – and it was in fantastic ability of the club and its managers to recruit new players. Nothing major, hardly ever a famous player – just two or three, largely unknown guys, every year. And similar number of great aging stars were released. Liverpool sold Keegan without a second thought. Emelyn Hughes was also gone – other club perhaps would linger and keep a legendary player, but Liverpool was braver: it was time, there were new movers and shakers in the team, development required those belonging to the past to be out. And they were replaced by ‘suspect’ youngsters – a strange import from Israel – Avi Cohen (Since when Israel has football players?), Frank McGarvey (Who?), Sammy Lee (Huh?). Well, they blended well – not starters, of course, but promising support. It was familiar by now – Fairclough, Alan Hansen, Allan Kennedy, most recently – David Johnson. Every one of them was unknown at first. Liverpool managers never made a mistake, thus ensuring great future without sacrificing the great present. Perfect squad. True champions. And to the disgust of the rest of England, Liverpool established itself as a Continental great club: head and shoulders above the other English clubs in every respect, dominating the league and certainly going to dominate it. Leaders even in new trends – perhaps they were the club least needing cash, but they signed with Hitachi and presented the sponsor’s add on their shirts.

Liverpool collected one more title. Meantime observers cried out that English transfers went insane…

Lots of money spent… and Liverpool was unbeatable.

 

Second Division – as ever, the only Second Division in the world attracting international interest. So many well known clubs, some of them quite recently successful and even playing international football. Not just weel respected players were found in second league, but even famous names – Trevor Brooking was playing there.

Charlton Athletic finished last with 22 points – a miserable season, in which the team was the league’s outsider. They finished 5 points behind the next to last.

Burnley settled at the 21st place with 27 points. Once upon a time, Burnley was to feared – now, they were going to taste 3rd Division football.

With 29 points, Fulham ended 20th – the third relegated team. It was not that long ago they almost won the FA Cup – in 1975. Now not only going down, but were among the pariahs of the league – the three clubs at the bottom of the table were well bellow anybody else: Bristol Rovers, 19th, finished with 36 points – 7 more than Fulham.

Four clubs should be mentioned for one reason only: it was surprising to see them in this league. Less so Newcastle United, for they had not been impressive for many years.

9th this season. Seemingly, Newcastle was going to stay in Second Division for awhile.

QPR was 5th, but not really in the race for promotion. It was only a few years ago when they were arguably the most exciting and promising English team. They lost the 1975-76 championship by a single point… and now: second division members.

Chelsea ended 4th , 4 points ahead of QPR, and losing promotion on worse goal-difference.

Going down lately… relegated in 1974-75, promoted in 1976-77, relegated again in 1978-79, and missing promotion in 1979-80. Chelsea had financial troubles and they were escalating.

West Ham United finished 7th their second season in Second Division. Not much… nothing, really.

Just imagine – Trevor Brooking, one of the top English and European players, struggling in Second Division. With seemingly not bad team-mates: Billy Bonds, Frank Lampard, Phil Parkes, Paul Allen, David Cross, Jimmy Neighbour… Perhaps rebuilding started too late, but the reason was most likely different: the late 1970s were tough times for the London clubs. QPR, Chelsea, Fulham, Charlton… Three clubs were in First Division, but Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace played in the second level a year or two ago. London was down. However, West Ham United still had teeth. A teeth seen only in England.

The battle for the top spots was fierce – 4 clubs competed for 3 promotional spots. Chelsea lost on goal-difference. Birmingham City elbowed Chelsea and took the 3rd place – and the last promotion.

Birmingham was just relegated and going back to First Division was great. However, Birmingham had modest decade in top flight, mostly trying to survive and this vintage was no more promising. Don Givens and Archie Gemill were the stars, but both already reached their peak a few years back. Pat van den Haowe was Dutch import, alas, one of the unknown Dutch players. Birmingham City was more lucky than strong. With 53 points, they ended 2 points behind the champions – it could have been them on top, but reality was still different: not an up and coming team.

Sunderland finished with 54 points and second. Sunderland spent most of the 1970s in Second Division – they were promoted in 1975-76, only to be relegated the next season. Now – going up again.

Like Birmingham, nothing much. Sturdy team, no big stars. Going up meant largely trying to stay there and no more.

Leicester City won the championship with 55 points. Relegated in 1977-78, they were eager to play first division football again. Difficult victory, but there was England – no big favourites, tough chase instead. Trophies count, so Leicester was a second division champion, but champion.

Leicester City was much stronger during the 70-s than its companions Sunderland and Birmingham City, but not anymore. Compared to the wonderful team of the first half of the 70-s, this vintage was rather weak. Similar to the other two promoted clubs and therefore not expected to play big role in the highest league. But there was one young player, who very soon will be a big world-famous star: Garry Lineker. So far unknown, but going up anyway – or so it looked like at the end of 1979-80 season.

 

Third Division. Wimbledon finished last with 34 points. Mansfield Town was 23rd with 36 points, Southend United – 22nd with 38, and Bury – 21st with 39 points. Those four were relegated. Up the table, in safety and nothing more, were the smallish English clubs of no interest. Except one:

Sheffield United, down on its luck, was 12th.

Better fate for their city rivals – they finished 3rd with 58 points.

Sheffield Wednesday ended with just a point more than Chesterfield, but it was enough – they clinched the last promotional spot. Jack Charlton was no loser as a player, and no loser as a manager. Going up, always going up. Sheffield Wednesday did not play in Second Division since 1974-75 and saying good-buy to Third Division perhaps was not spectacularly, but the feeling was great nevertheless.

Blackburn Rovers finished 2nd with 59 points and the Third Division champions were Grimsby Town with 62 points. The top three were promoted, of course. Sheffield Wednesday was seemingly the most promising of the trio – not because of their name, but because they lost the least number of matches this season – 9, and scored the most goals in the league – 81.

England. Dominating European football on club level, but financially, the English clubs were running debts, some in dire straits already. It was this season sponsors names appeared on team shirts. There was resistance to the idea and at the beginning only a handful of clubs used adds – Liverpool, Everton, Leeds United. The number of foreign players was steadily increasing and some got approval by fans and press. The rest was business as usual – English football was still attractive show.

Huddersfield Town won the IV Division with 66 points.

(Back) Robson (coach), Hanvey, Topping, Fletcher, Sutton, Taylor, Starling, Brown, Lillis, Mellor, Gartland, Haselden (physio/coach).

(Middle) Hart, Branagan, Holmes, Sandercock, Laverick, Robins, Robinson, Gibson, Bielby.

(Front) Smith, Cowling, Buxton (manager), Brook, Armstrong.

The champions distinguished themselves with scoring record: there is nothing unusual in that most goal were scored in the lowest professional league, but 101 goals is remarcable achievement. Over 100 goals were not scored in England since 1975-76, when Lincoln Town scored 111.

Three more teams were promoted along Huddersfield Town: Walsall, 2nd with 64 points, Newport County, 3rd with 61 points, and Portsmouth.

Portsmouth was lucky to clinch the last promotional spot – they ended 4th thanks to better goal-difference. Bradford City also finished with 60 points, but had to stay in the IV Division for the next season.

The grain of salt came from the Cup final. It was exceptional final: on their famous stadium, Real Madird A met Real Madrid B. Real Madird vs Castilla CF. An unique event, but also questionable. The second teams of the clubs were not allowed to play in the same league with the A teams, but were permitted to play in the Cup tournament. Apparently, nobody envisioned the possibility of two sides of the one club to compete for the cup – or, if somebody did when the rule was established in the past, it was believed that honorable sportsmanship will prevail. But nobody seriously thought such a final possible – and when the impossible happened, the spirit of the time was very different. In 1980 such a final looked like a scam – nobody believed the B team will even try to oppose the A team. There was no question not only who the winner will be, but even what colours the finalists will use: the B team without any fuss will dress in the reserve kit. There was no point to play the final at all. The other clubs surely pointed a finger and complained – and soon enough the rule was changed. Which provided further unique historic point: a second division finalist, two teams of the same club at the final. Never to be repeated anywhere. The final ended as expected: Real Madrid won 6-1 and enjoyed a double. The critics point was confirmed by the result. On the pitch, the final was seemingly fair – at least judging by the vicious tackles delivered by the Castilla’s defenders. But they often missed the ankles… and no matter how they tried, Castilla looked obviously weak, not even close to Real. Which is technically understandable – a mid-table second division team, no matter how enthusiastic, would be weaker than mighty club like Real. As a second team of same Real, it stands to reason that there is huge gap between the stars and mostly promising, but not good enough for the first team players. The most Castilla could do would be on individual level: youngsters trying hard to impress the coaching stuff of the A team, yet, careful not to prevent the stars from winning. Tackle, but miss. Kick the ball a bit off-target. Run energetically, but misread a bit the game flow. Make an interesting, but not dangerous pass. Try to impress, but make sure to lose. A difficult task really, for first and formost Castilla had to lose – and impress in the same time. A lot of running was done as a result.

And all ended cheerfully – there was no loser: both teams smiling with the cup, all winners, for all are Real Madrid players. Precisely the picture all other clubs and their fans hated to see: the end of competitive football, a scam. But unique one nevertheless.

Losers before the match was even started, yet, this is the squad which achieved the biggest success in the history of Castilla CF. It may be a B team of Real, but still has its own bit of history – and this final stands as the highest, never to be repeated again, point. And because Real won the title as well, Castilla was going to play international football too – in the next Cup Winners Cup. Which presented one more amusing possibility: imagine Real eliminated in the European Champions Cup, but Castilla running strong and winning the Cup Winners Cup? Theoretically, possible… the second team with European trophy and the A empty-handed. And from possibility, all kind of suspect activities were easily imagined too: such as Real giving players to Castilla mid-season to ensure they win in Europe. Apart from dark speculations, let see who was on the field for Castilla: Agustin, Gallego, and Pineda. Familiar as Real Madrid players a few years later. The captian Javier Castaneda did not make the first team, but had a good career – after the final he went to play 11 years for Osasuna. Hardly a star… as a whole, this Castilla vintage gave little to big brother…

Which enjoyed a double and therefore was happy.

Unlike the championship, winning the Cup was never a question. Standing from left: Garcia Remon, Stielike, Cunnigham, Benito, San Jose, Pirri, Camacho.

Crouching: Juanito, Del Bosque, Angel, Santillana.

One more trophy and perhaps Cunningham was the happiest of them all, for he started his career in Madrid with a double – his first titles. And, as it turned out, no star had to fear ambitious youngsters from the B team – nobody was invited to take the place of established player after the final.

At the end, the front picture in AS Color sums this final best.

The First Division was divided into three groups during 1979-80 season – 2 outsiders, two favourites, running head to head to the end, and between the lowest and the highest vast fairly equal bulk, almost a league by itself. 13 points separated the bronze medalist from the third relegated team at 16th place. 13 points also separated bronze from silver…

Malaga was last with 19 points.

Standing, from left:Burgueña,Orozco,Brescia,Cantarutti,Viberti,x,x,Mesquida,x,Corral,Popo,Nacho,Muñoz Pérez; Middle row:Javi,Aido,Migueli,Vargas,Salguero,Santi;

Sitting:Salcedo,Castro,Juan Carlos,Astorga,Alcaide?,Macías,Aráez,Filgueira,Collantes,Martín.

To a point, Malaga was largely a warning for the newly promoted: promoted in 1978-79, relegated in 1979-80. The longest time Malaga played in Primera was 5 consecutive seasons. Normally, they lasted a year or two. They were hopelessly last, finishing with fewer points than they actually earned: 3 points were deducted as a penalty for forfeiting their match against AD Almeria.

Thanks to the deducted points, Burgos CF finished 19th. They were really the worst team team this year, earning just 20 points.

The only thing to say about Burgos has nothing to do with their pathetic season, but about their history and that only from contemporary standpoint. Burgos was found in 1922 as Gimnastica Burgalesa Club de Futbol. In 1948 the name was changed to Burgos Club de Futbol and under this name they reached and played their bit in the top Spanish league. But today the club has two foundational years – 1922 and 1994 and this is because they disappeared in 1983 due to grave financial problems. Their reserve team – Burgos Promesas – was renamed Real Burgos Club de Futbol and played under this name until 1993, when once again the club was bankrupt and dissolved. Only to be refounded again as Burgos Club de Futbol. The painfully familiar scheme of preserving a club without paying mounting debts, leading to historic confusion. Arguments are pointless – if only Burgos was not relegated in 1980, money would not have been a problem; if money was not a problem, they would have been outsiders in 1979-80. Which came first – the chicken or the eggs?

Unlike the two outsiders, the third relegated club fought to the end and lost the battle for survival.

Dwarfed by its giant neighbours – Atletico and Real – Rayo Vallecano is the third significant club in Madrid, but the world was largely unaware of its existence until 1976-77, when Rayo Vallecano won promotion for the first time. Modest and somewhat restricted to its own neighbourhood, Vallecas, Los Franjirrojos (the Red Sashes) is almost a club from another city: nobody seriously considers a match between them and the big two a derby. And so big are the neighbours, Rayo Vallecano never managed to elevate itself from its insignificant predicament. Going to Primera in 1977 was their biggest success since founded in 1924. Staying in Primera was almost heroic achievement, but the Cindarella story ended in 1979-80. They fought as much as they could, but at the end were 2 points short – Hercules (Alicante) survived with 28 points – Rayo finished with 26 and unlucky 16th. No surprise, really. They had only one great player – Fernando Morena. The Uruguayan star delivered what he was hired for – 20 goals – but he was the only strong player in the team and his performance was not enough to save the club. Rayo Vallecano went down to its familiar second division apparently for good.

This was not a great year for another club from Madrid – Atletico had miserable season. They finished 13th with 31 points. Five points ahead of minuscule Rayo Vallecano, but 22 points behind Real. If Rayo Vallecano escaped relegation, may be they would have been proud to be on similar level with Atletico, but from the other point of view it was only shame: to be compared to Rayo was a disgrace.

Sinking so low seemed illogical: Luis Aragones, already successful and respected, was coaching them. The squad was strong, as far as names, one more Brazilian star was added to Luis Pereira – Dirceu, no less. But the crisis is understandable: Atletico aged as a team. No radical changes were made for a long time – only small additions. Some key players left (Leivinha) or were too old to make a difference (Ayala). Luis Pereira was beyond his peak and Dirceu did not fit well for whatever reason. Atletico needed a new squad, a full rebuild. The season should have been a wake-up call – a bit too late may be, but much needed.

The other club in need of waking call was Barcelona – they finished 4rd, but far behind the leading clubs. Since the real measure for Barcelona is only Real Madrid, the red signal for danger was flashing: Barcelona ended with 15 points less than their arch-enemy and Real was not particularly great . Barcelona suddenly found itself in unlikely company – similar to Sporting Gijon, Real Betis, Salamanca, and Almeria.

Like Atletico Madrid, Barcelona needed radical rebuilding – they kept a cluster of players too long. There were problems unsolved for years – particularly goalkeeping. Asensi and Rexach were getting too old. Krankl and Simonsen presented a problem for the future – they were both strikers, but the team needed a defender and a playmaker to organize a new team around them. Which meant that both foreigners were not going to last, for they represented to a point the old guard. At least one of them was to be out soon to open space for a foreign midfielder. A good goalkeeper had to be found – and quickly.

The weakness of the usual strong clubs – Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, Sevilla, Real Zaragoza – suddenly elevated smaller clubs.

The league debutante Almeria finished 10th. Excellent season for almost anonymous club. Of course, they benefited by the weakness of the traditionally strong, but never mind. The team depended on 5 South Americans – the typical for Spanish clubs combination of Argentines (Daniel Pavon and Ricardo Martinez), Paraguayans ( Rolon and Oscar Lopez), and the odd Brazilian (Odair). Some of them were surely oriundi – to have that many foreign players did not make sense otherwise.

Salamanca finished 9th , a point better than Almeria. The big star of this vintage was a newcomer – the Paraguayan striker Carlos Diarte, who arrived from Valencia. Diarte never achieved European fame, but in Spain he was a star – one of the first crop of foreigners, he arrived in 1973, when he was just 19-year old.

Real Betis ended 5th , 2 points behind Barcelona. Up and down club, but this season clearly up and once again coming on top of their rivals Sevilla.

Yet, none of the clubs above was really rising – they simply had a good season, most likely not to be repeated. The rising clubs were two: Sporting Gijon and Real Sociedad.

Sporting Gijon bettered Barcelona by a point and got the bronze medals. Gijon jumped from 14th place the previous season to 3rd, leaving for the first time the lower half of the table. The team was not made of famous players, but it was sturdy, well rounded, and lead by a big star – Quini. Enrique Castro, known as Quini, was already the top Spansih striker and a goal-scoring machine. He was the top scorer of the league this year with 24 goals. In attack, Quini was helped by newly added Aguilar, who had been a starter of Real Madrid for years. The formula was good in general: individually, the players were not so great to attract the appetites of the big clubs. Sporting was strong as a team, but there was a question mark: Quini. It all depended on how long he will stay with the club – of he moved the scheme was liable to collapse. And the danger was real: Sporting had no means to keep a superstar. Thus, Sporting Gijon was up and coming, but continued rise depended largely on Quini.

The other ascending club was entirely different: Real Sociedad had an young and very talented generation, almost entirely home-made. The bright youngsters were still only hopefuls, so they were not yet a target for the big clubs. But they were going up and there was no doubt that this squad will be a decisive factor in Spanish football very soon. Real Sociedad run for the title this season and lost it by a point. They lost only one match! They also had the best defensive record by far – Real Sociedad allowed only 20 goals. Real Madrid and Barcelona shared the second best record, receiving 33 goals each.

The club from San Sebastian had their best season ever, but still the feeling was that this achievement will be outdone soon. So far, Lopez Ufarte and Zamora were recognized as almost full-fledged stars, but already the big name – and captain of the team – was the goalkeeper Arconada. He debuted in 1973 and by now was experienced, yet still young – just 26 years old, which for goalkeepers is not even the peak. No wonder Real Sociedad received so few goals – Arconada was rapidly becoming one of the best European goalkeepers. Perhaps luckily for the club, Arconada appeared when the big clubs had the previous generation of solid keepers still playing well (Iribar, Reina, Sadurni). By 1979-80 the veterans were gone, those of the immediate next generation aged (Garcia Remon and Miguel Angel), Arconada was national team regular, and Real Sociedad was rising – no point to go elsewhere. And he did not – he was in the right club at the right time. His greatest years coincided with the greatest years of Real Sociedad. The best was still to come. As for the picture, Real Sociedad here is dressed in their second kit – since their usual colours will fly for quite some time, let see their lesser known second option.

At a glance – nothing new: Real Madrid champion once again. But it was difficult victory – Real Madird prevailed by a single point, winning a tough race from start to the end. A happy end, but the future did not look bright – Real Sociedad was breathing in the neck of mighty Real Madrid. But for the club and the fans only victory counts – and this season gave them a double, so everybody was happy.

The usual suspects, dressed in blue: standing from left: Garcia Remon, San Jose, Cunningham, Benito, Pirri, Camacho.

First row: Stielike, Juanito, Del Bosque, Garcia Hernandez, Santillana.

What can one say? A famous squad. The top Spanish players of the 1970s plus Stielike, already recognized as an international mega-star, and fresh strong addition in Cunningham, who apparently settled well. With Vujadin Boskov at the helm, everything looked just fine. The future was also seemingly bright: Stielike and Cunningham provided a backbone for the years to come. But this team won the championship with difficulty and was far from overwhelming. And as great as these players were, Real Madrid was reduced to domestic victories – internationally, the 1970s were poor. And even poorer was the performance of the Spanish national team, which was based largely on Real’s stars. Stielike and Cunningham had few trophies with their previous clubs and nothing with their national teams. Real was strong, no doubt about it, but not all that strong – the point was not missed by the administration. It was a very successful season, but with a grain of salt.