Monday, October 28, 2013

Debate Topic, Part Two

Due to some positive feedback, I have decided to make the debate topic a weekly special


Topic
When Arrigo Sacchi came on the scene in 1987 with AC Milan he was credited with breaking down the catenaccio culture and bringing a more attack minded approach to the Italian game.
Many attributed his employment of zonal marking over the man-to-man marking as the reason for a more attacking game.
Years later, Giovanni Trappatoni, insisted that the Public had bought ‘hook, line and sinker’ the notion that zonal marking equaled attacking football.
He asked observers to compare the years 1987 through 1991, when both managers were managing the Milanese clubs of AC Milan and Internazionale Milano.
He argued that statistics show that his Inter scored more goals and conceded more goals during this period, despite employing man to man marking.
What are your thoughts on this, as well as each manager’s legacy


We could also discuss Sacchis’ reign as Italy national team manager with his tactics.



Photo from: Guerin Sportivo, October 31-November 6, 1990
(Giovanni Trappatoni)

Photo from: Guerin Sportivo, April 26-May 2, 1989
(Arrigo Sacchi)



Sunday, October 6, 2013

Franz Beckenbauer, The National Team Manager, Part III (1988-90)

(Note: I would like to once again thank http://www.zani.co.uk/ for uploading this article http://www.zani.co.uk/franz-beckenbauer-the-national-team-manager-part-iii-1986-88 )


Franz Beckenbauer started his final phase as Manager by adding a few touches to the fine squad of the 1988 Euros.
Gone was goalkeeper Eike Immel, who would not accept to be understudy to the new number one goalkeeper, the young Bodo Illgner.
Matthias Herget was also ultimately replaced by veteran Bayern Munich Captain Klaus Aughentaler, who earned a recall in the Fall of 1989 after a 3-year absence.
Olaf Thon, despite joining Bayern Munich, had not stepped up the occasion during the Euros and this enabled the inclusion of Koln’s Thomas Haessler, who became a mainstay of the National Team following the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Werder Bremen striker Karl-Heinz Riedle also entered the fray to give competition to Jurgen Klinnsman alongside already established Rudi Völler.

Photo From: Sport Bild, October 14, 1998
(Assistant Holger Osieck and Franz Beckenbauer)

In fact Riedle scored a minute into his debut vs. Finland, after coming on for Dieter Eckstein, in the First World Cup qualifying match at the end of August 1988, that the Germans won 4 to 0.
Holger Fach of Bayer Uerdingen also made his debut and played another four matches into the following year, but was eventually dropped.
Lothar Matthaus and Andreas Brehme joined Italy’s Internazionale Milano in the summer of 1988 in a joint deal from Bayern Munich.
They took to the Serie A with delight and took their game to a higher level by playing key roles in Inter’s first Scudetto in nearly a decade.
For this first post-Euros season (1988/89), West Germany played many tight encounters in a difficult World Cup qualifying group.
They were drawn with recent European Champions Holland, Wales and Finland.
Following the relatively easy win vs. Finland, they played a Friendly in September vs. USSR that was billed as Oleg Blokhin’s farewell to the Soviet national team.
With Haessler, Klinnsman, Riedle and Fach on duty with the Olympic squad in Seoul and Matthaus and Brehme unavailable, Beckenbauer presented a makeshift squad.
Matthias Herget was recalled and played in his final match, as did Thomas Allofs, brother of Klaus and Leverkusen’s Herbert Waas.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Knut Reinhardt also earned his first cap.
Werder Bremen midfielder Günter Hermann also earned his debut, though he would only play one more time in a Friendly before the 1990 World Cup Finals.
Borussia Dortmund’s young midfielder Andreas Möller also made his debut and he would go on to serve Germany well into the next decade.

Photo From: Fussball Magazin, No. 4, April 1990
(Andreas Möller in his debut for West germany, September 21, 1988, West Germany 1-USSR 0)

This experimental squad skippered by Littbarski in Matthaus’ absence, won by the narrowest of margins with an own goal.
Following the Olympics, the West Germans faced their biggest test, by hosting the Dutch in a World Cup qualifier in Octobe at Munic’s Olympiastadion.
The Germans in full strength were unable to breach the Dutch defense and the match ended in a scoreless tie.
The talking point of the match was the Germans refusal to swap jerseys with the Dutch at the end of the match.
This was in protest to Ronald Koeman’s disrespectful display with Olaf Thon’s exchanged jersey, at the conclusion of their Euro semifinal in the previous June, when he pretended to wipe his backside with the jersey.
The Germans started the New Year (1989) by playing a Friendly vs. Bulgaria in Sofia in March.
They won 2 to 1 with goals by Völler and Littbarski.
This was followed by another difficult qualifier in April vs. the Dutch in Rotterdam.
By now, Dortmund’s Möller was established in the National team set up and Riedle had temporarily supplanted Klinnsman as Völler’s striking partner.
He headed West Germany’s goal midway through the second half vs. the Dutch that appeared to be the winner until Marco van Basten scored an equalizer in the closing minutes.
Wolfgang Rolff played his Final match for West Germany by coming on with a quarter of an hour left.

Photo From: Het Nederlands Elftal, De Histoire van Oranje, 1905-1989
(Karl-Heinz Riedle scoring, April 26, 1989, World Cup Qualifier, Holland 1-West Germany 1)

The Germans ended the season by playing another difficult qualifier at Cardiff vs. Wales.
Alois Reinhardt of Leverkusen earned his first cap in a side captained by Völler in Matthaus’ suspension.
The West Germans started the World Cup season (1989/90) by playing a Friendly at Dublin vs. Republic of Ireland in September.
Due to the absence of the Italy based players, Beckenbauer selected another makeshift squad.
The match ended in a one to one tie with Hans Dorfner, in a rare outing,  scoring for West Germany.
Dorfner’s Bayern teammate and goalkeeper Raimond Aumann earned his debut by coming on in the second half.
Bayern Munich striker Ronald Wohlfarth also earned a recall, three years after his debut, though it would be his last.
Holger Fach also played in his last match for West Germany.
For their next qualifier in October, they demolished Finland by a score of 6 to 1 in Dortmund.
By now, Jurgen Klinnsman had joined Matthaus and Brehme at Internazionale Milano in the Serie A and he celebrated his reclaimed starting position by scoring.
Andreas Möller scored his first two goals for Germany and Littbarski, Völler and Matthaus with a penalty rounded out the scoring.
Klaus Aughentaler was recalled as Libero to the National team and would remain until the end of the World Cup.
Dortmund’s Frank Mill also earned a recall and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Uwe Bein made his debut.

Photo From: Chronik des deutschen fussballs, 2005
(Jurgen Klinnsman, October 4, 1989, World Cup Qualifier, West Germany 6-Finland 1)

The Final World Cup qualifier was in November vs. Wales in Koln.
Lothar Matthaus was absent and Littbarski captained the side in his home stadium with Dorfner, in his final match for West Germany, standing in for Matthaus.
The match was played shortly a week after the Fall of the Berlin wall.
The Germans had to win to qualify alongside the Dutch and the pressure was on.
After going behind, the Germans equalized through Völler midway through the first half.
Three minutes into the second half, Thomas Haessler scored West Germany’s winner with a brilliant first time volley and the Germans were through to the World Cup.

Photo From: Sport Bild, October 14, 1998, number 42
(Thomas Haessler scoring West Germany’s winner, November 15, 1989, World Cup Qualifier, West Germany 2-Wales 1)

West Germany entered the World Cup year (1990) knowing that Franz Beckenbauer would step down at the conclusion of the Tournament.
Their first match of the New Year was a Friendly in February vs. France in Montpellier that the Germans lost to 2 to 1.
Andreas Möller scored Germany’s goal and Alois Reinhardt played his final match.
In the weeks leading up to this match, Beckenbauer had attempted to recall veteran Klaus Allofs, in fine form at Bordeaux, as a cover option as a striker but Allofs turned him down.
Their next Friendly was in April vs. Uruguay at Stuttgart.
The match ended in a three to three tie with goals with Matthaus, Völler and Klinnsman scoring for West Germany.
At the end of the European League season in May, Franz Beckenbuaer assembled a 27-man squad to be trimmed to 22 before the deadline for Finals squad selection.
On May 14, 1990, Stefan Kuntz, Knut Reindhart, Hans Dorfner and Roland Grahammer were dropped from West Germany’s pre-selection squad.
On May 16, 1990, Holger Fach had to pull out through injury and the Final 22 players were set.
For its two final Friendlies prior to the World Cup, West Germany played vs. Czechoslovakia and Denmark in late May with matches ending in 1 to 0 wins.
For the Denmark match, all the players who had made the World Cup Finals squad played along with two who made their debuts.
These included third goalkeeper Andreas Köpke and Koln defender Paul Steiner, in his only appearance for West Germany.
West Germany entered the World Cup in confident mood; the squad already contained five players (Matthaus, Brehme, Klinnsman (at Inter) and Berthold, Völler (at AS Roma) who played in the Serie A.
Another two were due to join them next season, Haessler and Riedle had already signed for Juventus and Lazio respectively.
The West Germans were based in Milan, home to Matthaus, Brehme and Klinnsman’s club Internazionale.
They demolished Yugoslavia and the United Arab Emirates by the scores of (4-1) and (5-1) respectively.
Captain Lothar Matthaus stamped his authority by scoring three impressive long-range efforts in both matches.

Photo From: Chronik des deutschen fussballs, 2005
(Lothar Matthaus, June 15, 1990, World Cup, West Germany 5-United Arab Emirates 1)

Strike partners Klinnsman and Völler scored in these matches as well.
They rounded out the first round by tying Colombia one to one with an exciting last few minutes where both teams scored.
The Germans were paired with rivals Holland in the second round.
In a match mostly remembered for the Rijkaard / Völler spitting and sending off incident, West Germany defeated Holland 2 to 1 in an impressive display with goals by Klinnsman and an a beautiful long range goal from Brehme.
In the quarterfinals, West Germany defeated Czechoslovakia with a penalty kick by Matthaus, in a comfortable match that they dominated and were rarely troubled.
Their toughest match was perhaps in the Semifinals vs. England in Turin.
Littbarski and Bein were carrying slight injuries, therefore Olaf Thon started in midfield, as Beckenbauer insisted that to face England players have to be one hundred percent fit.
The Germans in Green uniforms scored first through a deflected free kick from Brehme in the second half.

Photo From: Onze-Mondial, July 1990
(Andreas Brehme scoring, July 4, 1990, World Cup, West Germany 1-England 1)

They seemed headed for victory when Gary Lineker snatched a late equalizer and the match went to extra time.
The extra time remained scoreless and the match was to be decided by a penalty kick shoot-out. The West Germans showed their confidence by scoring in all their four attempts and earned a place in the Final vs. Diego Maradona’s Argentina on July 8, 1990.
This marked the first time in World Cup history that the two previous Finalists were paired again in a Final.
The West Germans despite dominating the entire match were unable to breach the Argentine defense intent on playing for a penalty kick shoot-out.
With five minutes left, the Germans were awarded a controversial penalty kick after Völler was fouled by Roberto Sensini in the box.
Andreas Brehme scored from the ensuing penalty kick and the West Germans were World Cup Champions for the third time in their history.

Photo From: Soccer International, August 1990
(Andreas Brehme, Pierre Littbarski and Lothar Matthaus, July 8, 1990, World Cup, West Germany 1-Argentina 0)

Franz Beckenbauer became the First Player to win a World Cup as a Captain and Manager. He became only the second player to do so, after Brazil’s Mario Zagallo had achieved the feat in 1958 and 1970.
Incidentally, both his first match as Manager in 1984 and this final match in 1990 were both vs. Argentina managed by Carlos Bilardo.

Photo From: Chronik des deutschen fussballs, 2005
(West germany squad, July 8, 1990, World Cup, West Germany 1-Argentina 0)

He left the West German National team in a much better shape than he started.
In six years he had built a very good team that could only get strengthened with the integration of former East German players with the impending re-unification on the horizon.
Despite this World Cup victory, team Management was perhaps not his strong suit and he eyed Administrative Positions for his future.
A few months later, he was tempted into Management by the persuasive Olympique Marseille President Bernard Tapie.
He joined the team as the season was already underway and was unable to make any headway. After a number of negative results, he was moved upstairs as Technical Director at OM and eventually left at the end of the season.
The following season (1991/92), with Bayern Munich in the middle of one of its worst seasons, he joined Bayern’s Board of Directors and eventually became Club President in 1994.
Despite two temporary Coaching stints with Bayern in 1994 and 1996, he has remained in Administrative Positions and even become the DfB Vice President, as well as, chairing the organizational committee for the 2006 World Cup hosted in Germany.

Photo From: Chronik des deutschen fussballs, 2005
(Franz Beckenbauer)

Saturday, October 5, 2013

New Addition: Debate Topic, Part one

One of my aims for this blog is to have more participation from readers, I have therefore started, on a trial basis, a discussion topic section.
Each time, I will present two discussion topics and hopefully have other readers input and ideas on the subject.


Topic 1
Sérgio BernardinoSerginho Chualapa’ of São Paulo Futebol Clube has always been presented as the scapegoat for Brazil not winning the 1982 World Cup.
Despite scoring two goals in the World Cup, historically, he has been perceived to be the weak link in that fine squad.
For all (specially Brazilian readers out there), what are your theories as to why?

Photo from: Onze-Mondial, December 1989
(Serginho and Daniel Passarella, July 2, 1982, World Cup, Brazil 3-Argentina 1)




Topic 2
It  has long been suggested that had Mark Robins not scored for Manchester United, in the FA Cup vs. Nottingham Forest in January 1990, Alex Ferguson would have been fired.
While that may be true for the moment, in retrospect, I believe the 1991 Cup Winners Cup victory vs. Barcelona seems more critical.
Without this victory he may still have been fired in the then near future.
This triumph was the catalyst for Manchester United making a push for the League Title in the following seasons.
What are your theories as to why?  

Photo from: Onze-Mondial, June 1991
(Mark Hughes and Ronald Koeman, May 15, 1991, Cup Winners Cup, Manchester United 2-Barcelona 1)

New Addition: The First Time ….., Part one

1- The First Time a player was sent off playing for England was on June 5, 1968, during the UEFA European Championships when Allan Mullery was sent off in the 87th minute in a match vs. Yugoslavia that England lost 0 to 1.
He was sent off after kicking Dobrivoje Trivic who had tackled him.


Photo From : World Soccer, May 1971
(Joe Grima and Allan Mullery, February 3, 1971, EC Qualifier, Malta 0-England 1)


2- The First Time Italy wore the blue jerseys was on January 6, 1911 at Milan in a Friendly vs. Hungary that they lost 0 to 1.
They had worn white jerseys in their first two ever matches in 1910.


Photo From: Il Libro Azzurro del Calcio Italiano, Authors: Pericle Pratelli, Pasquale Scardillo, 1974
(Italy squad, January 6, 1911, Italy 0-Hungary 1)


Photo From: La Nazionale Italiana, 1978
(Italy squad, January 6, 1911, Italy 0-Hungary 1)


3- The First Time the Belgian National Team were referred as ‘the Red Devils’ (Les Diables Rouges) was in 1906.
They had won their three matches that year (April 22, 1906 (France 5-0), April 29, 1906 (Holland 5-0) and May 13, 1906 (Holland 3-2).
Pierre Walckiers, the Editor of ‘La Vie Sportive’ wrote that their players had conducted themselves like ‘Red Devils’ and the term became part of the Belgian Football Lexicon.

Photo From: IFFHS-Belgique-Belgie (1904-1940)
(Belgium squad, April 22, 1906, France 0-Belgium 5)


4- The First Time the French National team defeated England was on May 5,  1921, when they won by a score of 2 to 1 at Paris’ Pershing Stadium.
It must be pointed out that the England team was actually the England Amateur team, but was nevertheless a significant achievement for a team that had lost heavily over the years to the same Amateur team.
The match date also marked the Centenary of Napoleon’s death.

Photo from: Capitaines des bleus depuis 1904, Author Vincent Duluc
(Lucien Gamblin heading, May 5, 1921, France 2-England (Amateur) 1)


5- The First Time an English Club ever won the League and Cup Double was on the inaugural season of English League (1888/89).

Preston North End achieved this feat by going through the season undefeated and became known as ‘The Invincibles’.

Photo from: Soccer Monthly, March 1979
(Preston North End FC, the First ever England Double winners)

Friday, October 4, 2013

New Addition: Short International Careers, Part one

Another new feature that I will be starting on this blog is about players who had very short international careers


1- William Prunier
The defender from Auxerre was selected in Gerard Houiller’s first match as France Manager in a Friendly vs. Brazil on August 26, 1992.
France were outplayed at home and lost 0 to 2 and Prunier did not have a good match along with the rest of his teammates.
This turned out to be his solitary cap.

Photo from: Onze-Mondial, March 1993
(William Prunier with Auxerre, 1992/93)


2- Daniele Zoratto
Parma midfielder Daniele Zoratto was 31 years old when Arrigo Sacchi selected him to start in a World Cup Qualifier vs. Switzerland at Bern on May 1, 1993.
He owed his selection to Parma’s excellent season that culminated in a third place finish and triumph in the Cup Winners Cup.
Italy lost this match 0 to 1 and Zoratto himself was substituted in the 64th minute by Gianluigi Lentini with Italy trailing behind in the match.
This turned out to be his solitary cap.

Photo from:World Soccer, April 1994
(Italy Squad, Top, left to right: Paolo Maldini, Pietro Vierchowod, Moreno mannini, Dino Baggio, Gianluca Pagliuca, Bottom, left to right: Roberto Mancini, Daniel Zoratto, Roberto Baggio, Giuseppe Signori, Diego Fuser, France Baresi, May 1, 1993, World Cup Qualifier, Switzerland 1-Italy 0)



3- Michel Kreek
Dutch midfielder Michel Kreek earned his cap mostly due to refusal of the entire Ajax contingent to turn up for the national team.
The Ajax players had complained of their already busy program and did not want to take part in a Friendly match vs. Portugal, set up for commercial reasons.
Kreek had left Ajax, only months earlier, as he was unable to break into the team.
He had done reasonably well at Italian club Padova.
These defections earned Kreek, who otherwise would probably not have been selected, a rare outing with the national team.
The dutch team featuring many newcomers lost the Friendly on February 22, 1995 at Eindhoven by a score of 1 to 0.
With the Ajax contingent back, Kreek was never selected again.


Photo From: Het Nederlands Elftal, de histoire van oranje, 1989-1995, Authors: Matty Verkamman and Henk Mees
(Michel Kreek is standing, third from the left, February 22, 1995, Holland 0-Portugal 1)

4- Phil Parkes
Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Phil Parkes earned his only cap in Alf Ramsey’s final match as England manager in a Friendly vs. Portugal at Lisbon on April 3, 1974 that ended in a scoreless tie..
Phil Parkes was one of the best English goalkeepers in the 1970s.
However, his bad luck was that he had to compete with Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and Ray Clemence, which explains why he did not receive other opportunities.

Photo From: Soccer Monthly, Annual 1983
(Phil Parkes)



5- Francisco Llorente
Francisco ‘Paco Llorente’ Gento was the nephew of Real Madrid legend Francisco Gento.
He was called up by Spain in a UEFA European Championships Qualifier vs. Albania in Sevilla on November 18, 1987 ( 5 to 0 Spain win).
He had earned this opportunity following his brilliant display in the Champions Cup vs. Porto on November 4, 1987. Real Madrid had come from behind to win that match with Llorente assisting on both of Michel’s goals.
For the Albania match, he came on at halftime replacing Ramon Caldere.
Llorente managed to score Spain’s fourth goal in the 67th minute, 22 minutes into his debut.

Despite scoring in his debut, he was never called up again by Spain, as in all his years at Real, he was never an automatic choice.

Photo From: AS Color, December 1988
(Francisco ‘Paco’ Llorente with Real Madrid 1988/89)

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Magazine Awards, Part Two

France Football’s Ballon d’Or:

Year 1983:
Player of the year: Michel Platini (Juventus and France)


Photo from: France Football, December 27, 1983 Issue 1968
(Michel Platini on the cover of France Football)


Onze’s Onze d’Or:

Year 1977:
Player of the year: Kevin Keegan (Liverpool/SV Hamburg and England)

Photo from: Onze, December 1977
(Kevin Keegan on the cover of Onze)



World Soccer’s Player of the Year:

Year 1983:
Player of the year: Zico (Udinese and Brazil)
Manager of the Year: Sepp Piontek (Denmark)

Team of the year: SV Hamburg


Photo from: World Soccer, December 1983
(Zico on the cover of World Soccer)


Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Events and Consequences, Part Three

1- Event:
Belgian club FC Liege setting a transfer fee for Jean-Marc Bosman for his move to French Second Division Club Dunkerque, even though his contract had expired in the summer of 1990.

Consequence:
THE BOSMAN RULING


Photo From: World Soccer, August 1995
(Jean-Marc Bosman)



2- Event:
Marco van Basten scoring all four goals for AC Milan in a Champions League Match vs. IFK Gothenburg on November 25, 1992.

Consequence:
Up until that point Barcelona’s Bulgarian player Hristo Stoichkov had looked the favorite to be France Football’s Ballon d’Or winner.
The hype surrounding this performance, along with his fine form in the Serie A, propelled him to edge ahead in the voting.
His manager Fabio Capello described him as the best player in the World after the match.
Stoichkov himself complained that van Basten was elected ahead of him only because of these 4 goals.


Photo From: World Soccer, March 1995
(Hristo Stoichkov)

Photo From: Onze-Mondial, December 1992
(Marco van Basten with AC Milan, 1992/93)

3- Event:
SV Hamburg goalkeeper punching Bayern Munich’s Jurgen Weggman after the latter scored Bayern’s winner in 1987 West German Super Cup (July 28, 1987, Bayern Munich 2-SV Hamburg 1)

Consequence:
Not only was Stein sent off, but he was outright dismissed by Hamburg.
New SV Hamburg manager, the Yugoslav Josip Skoblar, opted for Yugoslavian goalkeeper Mladen Pralija as a replacement.
Pralija was such a disaster that he cost both his and his manager’s job and Hamburg had a poor season.

 
                            Photo From: Fussball Magazin, January February 1984
(Uli Stein, December 11, 1983, Intercontinetal Cup, Gremio 2-SV Hamburg 1)


4- Event:
The Yugoslavian conflict escalating with the war in Bosnia in 1992.

Consequence:
Yugoslavia, who had qualified for the Finals of the UEFA European Championship Finals were banned, with weeks to go, due to political sanctions imposed.
Denmark, who had finished second in the group, were invited in their place and with minimal preparations surprisingly won the tournament.


Photo from: World Soccer, May 1996
(Denmark squad Euro Champs, June 26, 1992, UEFA European Championships, Denmark 2-Germany 0)


Photo From: France Football, January 4, 1994, Issue 2491
(Yugoslavia’s last squad before the embargo, March 25, 1992, Holland 2-Yugoslavia 0)



5- Event:
Horst Hrubesch and Danish Lars Bastrup leaving SV Hamburg at the end of the successful 1982/83 season.

Consequence:
The designated successors Dieter Schatzschneider and Wolfram Wuttke, acquired from Fortuna Koln and Schalke respectively,  performed well below expectations.
They lost their European Crown vs. Dinamo Bucharest in the second round and lost the League title to Stuttgart.
They were portrayed as the scapegoats for SV Hamburg’s poor 1983/84 season.
Wuttke was able to resurrect his career and reputation to some extent by transferring to Kaiserslautern and even playing for the West German national team.



Photo From: Fussball Magazin, March April 1983
(Dieter Schtazschneider with West Germany’s Youth Team)



Photo From: Fussball Magazin, November 1986
(Wolfram Wuttke with Kaiserslautern)

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Transfers that did not happen, Part Three

1- Lothar Matthaus had an offer to join Real Madrid in the summer of 1991 and he himself was very eager to join them.
However, the Internazionale Milano management refused.


Photo From: Onze-Mondial, January 1991
(Lothar Matthaus, December 16, 1990, Internazionale Milano 1-Fiorentina 1)


2- Before joining Olympique Marseille in the summer of 1990, Ghana’s Abedi Pele had practically agreed to join Paris St. Germain from OSC Lille.
His previous spell (1987/88) at Olympique Marseille had not been a happy one and he was reluctant to rejoin, however, OM President Bernard Tapie convinced him to sign.

Photo From: Onze-Mondial, May 1993
(Abedi Pele, April 21, 1993, Champions League, Club Brugge 0-Olympique Marseille 1)


3- Following the 1982 World Cup, France and Bordeaux midfielder Alain Giresse had an offer to join Internazionale Milano.
Despite the lucrative offer, the long serving Bordeaux Captain chose to remain at home.

Photo From: Onze, March 1982
(Alain Giresse and Gaetano Scirea, February 23, 1982, France 2-Italy 0)


4-Aberdeen and Scotland midfielder Gordon Strachan had signed a pre-contract to join West Germany’s FC Koln in 1984.
Instead he joined Manchester United who had to pay a fee to Koln as compensation.

Photo From: World Soccer, February 1992
(Gordon Strachan scoring for Scotland, June 8, 1986, World Cup, West Germany 2-Scotland 1)


5-Real Madrid’s Mexican striker Hugo Sanchez almost joined Barcelona in 1991.
However, Barcelona were forced to pull out of the deal due to fans’ protests because of his history with Real.


Photo From: L’Annee du Football, 1988
(Real Madrid’s Hugo Sanchez vs. Porto during their Champions Cup Matchups in the Fall of 1987)