Diego Maradona and Michel Platini, Part Two

Diego Maradona

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, old series, issue 33, August 1979 / French By Antonio Cabrini) 

(Magazine / Language : Onze, May 1980 / French By Jean-Pierre Frimbois) 

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, New series, issue 9, December 1980 / French By Guillermo Blanco) 

(Magazine / Language : France Football, Issue 1813, January 6, 1981 / French) 

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, new series, issue 16, July 1981 / French) 

Photo From : Mondial, New series, issue 9, December 1980

(Diego Maradona)

Diego Maradona

Michel Platini

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, Old Series, Issue 1, February 1977 / French By Michel Nait-Challal) 

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, Old Series, Issue 6, July 1977 / French) 

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, Old Series, Issue 8, September 1977  / French) 

(Magazine / Language : Mondial, old series, Issue 11, December 1977  / French) 

(Magazine / Language : France Football, Issue 1662, February 14, 1978 / French By Ferruccio Berbenni)  

Photo From : Mondial, Old Series, Issue 1, February 1977

(Michel Platini, October 9, 1976, World Cup Qualifier, Bulgaria 2-France 2)

Michel Platini

The uncapped, Part Two

1- Derek Mountfield

Defender Derek Mountfield was part of the excellent Everton side of the mid 1980s.

During the 1984/85, his excellent displays for Everton had many predicting an England National Team future for him.

However, England Manager Bobby Robson never selected him.

Photo from: France Football, Issue 2027, February 12, 1985

(Derek Mountfield with Everton, 1984/85)

2- Paulinho Cascavel

Paulinho Cascavel was a Brazilian striker that made his name in Portuguese League Football.

He was Portugal’s League top goalscorer with Vitoria Guimaraes during the 1986/87 season with 22 goals.

He earned a move to Sporting Lisbon and was once again top goalscorer the following season (1987/88) with 23 goals.

Despite these achievements he was never selected by Brazil.

Photo from: Mondial, new series, Issue 90, September 1987

(Paulinho Cascavel)

 

3- Benito Carbone

Benito Carbone was an Italian forward who played for Torino, Napoli and Internazionale Milano among others.

However, his best years were in the English Premier League after he joined Sheffield Wednesday in 1996.

He later played for other English clubs such as Aston Villa, Bradford City, Derby County and Middlesbrough.

Despite his fine displays, he was never selected by Italian selectors such as Cesare Maldini and Dino Zoff.

Photo from: Calcio 2000, Issue 18, April 1999

(Benito Carbone with Sheffield Wednesday)

4- Norbert Nachtweih

East German defector  Norbert Nachtweih would most certainly have gained caps had it not been for international rules that impeded International selection for defectors.

He joined Eintracht Frankfurt upon his defection in 1976 and with them won the UEFA Cup in 1981.

He joined powerhouse Bayern Munich and admirably performed for seven seasons as a defender and midfielder and won four Bundesliga titles.

Photo from: Foot Magazine, October 1986

(Norbert Nachtweih of Bayern Munich, September 27, 1986, Werder Bremen 1-Bayern Munich 1)

5- Ken Monkou

Ken Monkou was a dutch defender who started out at Feyenoord in the mid 1980s.

He joined the English League in 1989 and had a successful career playing for Chelsea and Southampton.

Despite his fine displays overseas, he weas never called up by Holland.

Photo from: 90 minutes, March 12, 1994

(Southampton’s Ken Monkou)

Football’s Quarrels and Feuds, Part two

1- Diego Maradona and Luis Reyna

Peru’s Luis Reyna would probably not be remembered today, were it not for his brutal treatment of Maradona during Peru and Argentina’s World Cup Qualifying clashes on June 23, 1985 (0 to 1 Peru win) and June 30, 1985 (2 to 2 tie).

Reyna’s handling of Maradona was similar to Italian Claudio Gentile’s during the 1982 World Cup.

Photo from: El Grafico Number 3429, 1985

(Luis Reyna and Diego Maradona)

Photo from: Mondial, new series, issue 65, August 1985

(Luis Reyna and Diego Maradona)

2- Gerard Houllier and David Ginola

In France’s crucial World Cup Qualifier on November 17, 1993 vs. Bulgaria (1 to loss Bulgaria win), with the match tied in the dying seconds, France had a free kick on the left side, David Ginola over hit a cross and gave the ball away to Bulgarians who scored through Emil Kostadinov on a breakaway in the last seconds and eliminated France.

Afterwards France Manager Gerard Houllier publicly blamed Ginola for giving the ball away and causing France’s elimination on his own.

He even said that France ‘were stabbed in the back’ by this action.

In 2011, Ginola sued Houllier for slander when he made disparaging remarks about him for the incident, but the lawsuit was dismissed.

Photo from: Onze-Mondial, Issue 49, February 1993

(France Manager Gerard Houllier)

Photo from: Onze-Mondial, Issue 59, December 1993

(Emil Kostadinov scoring the winner with Alain Roche unable to stop, November 17, 1993, World Cup Qualifier, France 1-Bulgaria 2)

Photo from: Les Bleus,le livre Officiel de L'equipe de France, Author Dominique Grimault

(David Ginola walking off dejected after the loss, November 17, 1993, World Cup Qualifier, France 1-Bulgaria 2)

3- Andy Cole and Teddy Sheringham

Despite being teammates for a number of years, England and and Manchester United strikers did not speak to one another.

The incident that caused the rift was during Any Cole’s debut for the English National Team on March 29, 1995 at Wembley in a friendly vs. Uruguay (scoreless tie.)

In the 71^st minute, Andy Cole replaced Teddy Sheringham, and as Sheringham was walking off Cole extended his arm, but Sheringham ignored him and did not wish him good luck or anything of the sort.

Photo from: World Soccer, September 1997

(Teddy Sheringham with Manchester United)

Photo from: Onze-Mondial, Issue 70, November 1994

(Andy Cole with Newcastle United)

4- Luis Cubilla and foreign based Uruguay players

Upon taking over as Uruguay National Manager in 1991, Luis Cubilla had criticized the foreign based players for Uruguay’s failure in 1990 World Cup.

He had even excluded midfielder Ruben Pereira from the 1991 Copa America squad as soon as he joined an Italian club.

The leading foreign based players ,that included Ruben Sosa, Enzo Francescolli, Daniel Fonseca and Carlos Aguilera in effect boycotted the national team.

With the results not improving, finally in the summer of 1993, Luis Cubilla was forced to make peace with the leading players in time for the 1993 World Cup Qualifiers in July-August.

Despite their return Uruguay did not qualify for the World Cup and Cubilla resigned.

Photo from: France Football, Issue 2428, October 20, 1992

(Daniel Fonseca in action for Napoli, 1992/93)

Photo from: El Grafico, July 1993

(Enzo Francescolli upon his return to the National team, July 17, 1993, Uruguay 3-Peru 0)

Photo from: El Grafico, July 1993

(Uruguay Manager Luis Cubilla)

Photo from: El Grafico, July 1993

(Ruben Sosa, September 17, 1989, World Cup Qualifier, Uruguay 2-Bolivia 0)

5- Fernando Redondo and Daniel Passarella

Upon taking over as Argentina Manager had insisted on all National team players to have short hair.

Newspapers reported that Fernando Redondo was excluded because he refused to cut his long hair.

Passarella said that Redondo’s exclusion was based upon his insistence on only playing in central midfield, refusing to do it on the left side.

Nevertheless, efforts were made to include him.

On January 22, 1997, Fernando Redondo rejected the opportunity to play for Argentina and on n February 22, 1997 , Fernando Redondo announced his decision not to play for  the national team while Passarella was in charge.

Others thought his refusal to play under Passarella was because of the style and mentality of Passarella’s tactics. 

Photo from: Mondial, old series, issue 26, January 1979

(Daniel Passarella)

Photo from: World Soccer, July 1994

(Fernando Redondo)

Tributes

Tributes: Mario Esteves Coluna (August 6, 1935-February 25, 2014)

               Phillipe Mahut (March 4, 1956-February 8, 2014)

Over a month after Eusebio, another Benfica and Portugal Legend, Mario Coluna has passed away. RIP.

Also in the beginning of this month, former French defender Phillipe Mahut passed away. RIP

Unless you followed French soccer in the early 1980s you most probably would not be familiar with Mahut.

He was a defender who made his name at FC Metz and was part of France’s 1982 World Cup squad. He only earned 9 caps from 1981 to 1983. He was mostly regarded as a defensive cover option by Michel Hidalgo.

Articles:

(Magazine / Language : World Soccer, November 1963 / English, By Jorge Rivera) 

 (Magazine / Language : Calcio 2000, Issue 18, April 1999 / Italian )

(Book / Language : 100 Melhores do Futebol Portugues, Vol II, Author Rui Dias, 2002 / Portuguese)

Mario Coluna

(Mario Coluna in an interview with BBC prior to the 1968 Champions Cup Final at Wembley vs. Manchester United)

Photo from: 100 Melhores do Futebol Portugues, Vol II, Author Rui Dias, 2002

(Mario Coluna)

Photo from: Onze, Issue 69, September 1981

(Phillipe Mahut during his first cap for France vs. Frank Vercauteren, September 9, 1981, World Cup Qualifier, Belgium 2-France 0)

Photo from: Mondial, new series, issue 30, August 1982

(Phillipe Mahut after joining AS Saint Etienne in the summer of 1982)

The First Time ….., Part Four

1-The First Time an Italian Serie A match was televised was on February 5, 1950 for the match between Juventus and AC Milan (1 to 7 AC Milan win). The commentator was Carlo Bacarelli.

Photo From: 100 Anni del Campionato del Calcio

(AC Milan squad during the first ever televised match, February 5, 1950, Juventus 1-AC Milan 7)

2- The First Time that a goalkeeper was ever sent off World Cup History was when Italy’s Gianluca Pagluica was ordered off during their match vs. Norway on June 23, 1994 at East Rutherford, New Jersey (1 to 0 Italy win) .

He was sent off for fouling Oyvind Leonhardsen as the last man. Italy used three substitutes for the first time ever in World Cup History.

Photo From: World Soccer, May 1994

(Gianluca Pagliuca, March 23, 1994, Germany 2-Italy 1)

3- The First Time that a son played in the World Cup Finals after his father was during the 1970 World Cup, on May 31, 1970, when Mexico’s José Vantolrá lined up vs. USSR (Scoreless tie).

His father, Martin Ventolra, played for Spain during the 1934 World Cup match vs. Italy on June 1, 1934 (1 to 0 Italy win).

During the Spanish Civil War, he had emigrated to Mexico, where his son was born. They are also the only father and son combination from different countries.

By the way the first father and son to represent the same nation were Roger and Patrice Rio of France.

Roger played for France vs. Austria on May 27, 1934 at Turin (3 to 2 Austria win) and Patrice played v.s Italy on June 2, 1978 at Mar Del Plata (2 to 1 Italy win).

Photo From: Todo Sobre La Seleccion Espanola, Felix Martialay, 2006

(Martin Ventolra, June 1, 1934, World Cup, Italy 1-Spain 0)

Photo From: Football Magazine

(José Vantolrá with Mexico, 1970)

Photo From: Onze, Issue 10, October 1976

(Michel Rio with Nantes, 1976/77)

Photo From: Les Bleus Author Denis Chaumier, 2004

(Roger Rio)

4- The First Time that a player was sent off in a Final of a World Cup was during the 1990 World Cup Final match between Argentina and West Germany on July 8, 1990 (1 to 0 West Germany win).

Argentina’s Pedro Damian Monzón had come on as a substitute in the second half when he was sent off in the 63^rd minute.

He was followed by teammate Gustavo Abel Dezotti, 23 minutes later.

Photo From: Soccer International, July 1991

(Pedro Damian Monzón being sent off, July 8, 1990, World Cup, West Germany 1-Argentina 0)

5- The First Time that a player missed three penalty kicks in the same match was when Argentina’s Martin Palermo missed all his 3 attempts on July 4, 1999, during the Copa America macth vs. Colombia (0 to 3 Colombia win).

By the time the third penalty kick was awarded, Argentine Manager Marcelo Bielsa had been sent off. He had instructed Roberto Ayala to take the penalty kick, but his instructions sent by mobile phone did not go through.

Photo From: World Soccer, January 1999

(Martin Palermo with Boca Juniors)

Photo From: World Soccer, August 1999

(Martin Palermo , July 4, 1999, Copa America, Colombia 3-Argentina 0)

Short International Careers, Part Four

1- Christian Hochstätter

Christian Hochstätter was a midfielder with Borussia Moenchengladbach during the 1980s and 1990s.

He received two caps under Franz Beckenbauer when he took an experimental squad on a tour of South America on December 1987.

In Both matches of the tour he came on as a substitute.

For his first match on December 12, 1987 in Brasilia (1 to 1 tie with Brazil), he replaced Andreas Brehme in the second half.

For his second match on December 16, 1987 in Buenos Aires (1 to 0 loss to Argentina), he replaced Manfred Schwabl in the 73^rd minute.

Photo From: Fussball Magazin, January 1988

(Christian Hochstätter with Borussia Moenchengladbach, 1987/88)

2- Gennaro Ruotolo

Italian midfielder Gennaro Ruotolo owed his solitary cap due to his excellent 1990/91 season with Genoa under Osvaldo Bagnoli that culminated in UEFA Cup qualification.

Azeglio Vicini selected him for the end of the season ‘Scania 100’ Tournament in Sweden in June 1991.

He started for Italy on June 12, 1991 vs. Denmark (2 to 0 win). Massimo Crippa substituted him in the 61st minute.

Juventus even tried to sign him that summer however, Genoa refused to sell.

Photo From: Guerin Sportivo, November 21-27, 1990

(Gennaro Ruotolo, November 11, 1990, Fiorentina 2-Genoa 2)

3- Chris Sutton

When Kenny Dalglish as Blackburn Rovers Manager acquired the uncapped Chris Sutton from Norwich City for a record fee in 1994, his international future seemed bright. In that first season 1994/95, he formed the SAS partnership with fellow striker Alan Shearer and won the English Premier League title.

He had to wait until 1997 for his first and only cap, when Glenn Hoddle selected him for a friendly vs. Cameroon on November 15, 1997 at Wembley (2 to 0 England win).

In that match he replaced Paul Scholes in the 79^th minute.

He effectively ended his national team career when in February 1998; he refused to play for the England B team in a friendly vs. Chile.

Photo From: World Soccer, April 1998

(Chris Sutton with Blackburn Rovers, 1997/98)

4- Patxi Salinas

Spanish Defender Francisco ‘Patxi’ Salinas was the younger brother of striker Julio Salinas. They were both Athletic Bilbao products.

He earned both of his caps in 1988 at the beginning of Luis Suarez’s reign as National Team Manager.

In fact he earned both of his caps with his brother Julio.

For his first cap on September 14, 1988 vs. Yugoslavia at Oviedo (1 to2 loss), he started the match and was replaced in the 60^th minute.

For his second and Final cap on October 12, 1988 vs. Argentina in Seville (1 to 1 tie), he replaced Aitor Beguiristain in the 79^th minute.

Photo From: Don Balon- March 20-26, 1995

(Patxi Salinas with Celta Vigo, 1994/95)

5- Patrice Garande

Patrice Garande was a French striker developed at Guy Roux’s Auxerre Academy. He was joint League Top goalscorer for 1983/84 season.

He was part of France’s 1984 Olympic title winning squad.

He had to wait until 1988 to gain his solitary cap in a friendly vs. Northern Ireland in Belfast on April 27, 1988.

He started the match and was replaced by Phillipe Fargeon in the 83^rd minute.

Photo From: Mondial, new series, issue 100, July 1988

(Patrice Garande at Saint Etienne, 1987/88)

Magazine Awards, Part Five

France Football’s Ballon d’Or:

Year 1988:

Player of the year: Marco van Basten (Holland and AC Milan)

Photo From: France Football, Issue 2229, December 27, 1988

(Marco van Basten)

 France Football’s Ballon d’Or

Onze’s Onze d’Or:

Year 1981:

Player of the year: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern Munich and West Germany)

Photo From: Onze, Issue 72, December 1981

Onze d’Or

World Soccer’s Player of the Year:

Year 1986:

Player of the year: Diego Maradona (Napoli and Argentina)

Manager of the Year: Guy Thys (Belgium)

Team of the year: Argentina

Photo From: World Soccer, December 1986

(Diego Maradona)

 World Soccer Player of the Year

France Football’s African Ballon d’Or:

Year 1980:

Player of the year: Jean Manga-Onguene (Cameroon and Canon Yaounde)

Photo From: France Football, Issue 1813, January 6, 1981

(Jean Manga-Onguene)

France Football’s African Ballon d’Or

Events and Consequences, Part Six

1- Event:

The wife and children of Argentinean defender Oswaldo Piazza involved in a car accident on April 8, 1978.

Consequence:

On April 6, 1978, Oswaldo Piazza arrived in Argentina after his French club Saint Etienne had granted his request to join Argentina training camp in time to be included for the World Cup Finals squad.

Two days later, due to the accident he had to go back to France.

He missed out on the chance to become a World Cup Champion on home soil.

Photo From: Mondial, old series, issue 25, December 1978

(Oswaldo Piazza with Saint Etienne, 1978)

2- Event:

The Falklands War between Great Britain and Argentina in the spring of 1982.

Consequence:

The disastrous tour of South America by the Republic of Ireland national Team.

The Republic of Ireland had arranged a match vs. Argentina and initially the FAI had no objections to the match, however political pressure and the refusal of many English clubs (as well as the players themselves) to release their Irish Internationals forced the FAI to drop the match.

The tour still went ahead, but only 15 players were available as the English based players had left on tours of their own with their respective clubs and the League of Ireland squad was touring New Zealand around the same time.

With a weakened side, Ireland succumbed to defeats to Chile (0 to 1) on May 21, 1982 and a heavy loss to Brazil (0 to 7) on May 27, 1982.

To make matters worse the money owed to the players at the start of the tour had still not been paid.

The mood within the camp was so negative that Liam Brady threatened to leave and return to Italy after the Brazil match.

In fact he initially stayed in Brazil to return home, while the rest of the squad traveled to Trinidad.

Assistant manager Terry Conroy had to stay behind to convince Brady to change his mind.

Ireland Manager Eion Hand threatened to resign unless the players were fully paid which was eventually done.

A third match was hastily arranged vs. Trinidad and Tobago on May 30^th, but a dejected Ireland lost that match as well (1 to 2).

Photo From: Mondial, new series, issue 19, October 1981

(Juventus based Liam Brady, one of the only top level Ireland players available for the disappointing South American tour of 1982)

3- Event:

Allan Simonsen’s injury collision with France’s Yvon Le Roux on June 12, 1984.

Consequence:

Allan Simonsen had been Denmark’s most famous player in the Seventies due to his exploits with Borussia Moenchengladbach and had even been France Football’s European Player of the year in 1977 and later joined Barcelona.

Due to the fact that Denmark was still not a footballing power his achievements had mainly been at the club level.

Now nearing the end of his career he got an unexpected chance to appear in a major Finals Tournament with his National team when a new generation of Danish stars plus Simonsen qualified to the UEFA European Championships in 1984. However, during the very first match vs. France on June 12, 1984 (1 to 0 France win), he was seriously injured in a collision with French defender Yvon Le Roux and missed the rest of the tournament.

In fact he was out injured for many months and once back was never the same player. He was included in Denmark’s 1986 World Cup Finals squad but in a peripheral role and retired shortly afterwards.

Photo From: L’Annee du Football, 1984

(Allan Simonsen and Yvon Le Roux after the collision, June 12, 1984, European Championships, France 1-Denmark 0 )

Photo From: Guerin Sportivo, June 20-26, 1984

(Allan Simonsen being stretchered off, June 12, 1984, European Championships, France 1-Denmark 0 )

4- Event:

France National team tying (one to one) with Cyprus in a World Cup Qualifier on October 22, 1988.

Consequence:

With World Cup Qualification in jeopardy with the accompanying loss of revenue, Bordeaux President Claude Bez, convinced French Federation President Jean Fournet-Fayard to replace Manager Henri Michel with former star Michel Platini.

Henri Michel was dismissed on November 1, 1988.

Michel Platini, with no coaching experience, had only retired as a player about a year before.

Gérard Houllier was also named as his assistant.

Photo From: Mondial, new series, issue 105, november december 1988

(Michel Platini’s first press conference as National Team Manager on November 3, 1988, left to right: Assistant Coach Gérard Houllier, Michel Platini, Federation President Jean Fournet-Fayard, Bordeaux President Claude Bez)

5- Event:

Chilean goalkeeper Roberto Rojas (‘El Condor’) feigning an injury during a World Cup Qualifier vs. Brazil on September 3, 1989 that Brazil was winning one to zero.

This led the Chile squad to walkout during the match.

Consequence:

During the match a firecracker from the stands landed near Rojas. Rojas immediately fell down and held his face as if the object hit him.

His teammates came near him, as did the team doctor. As he was being ‘treated’, the doctor poured Mercurochrome on him to give the impression that the object had bloodied him.

Clearly the purpose was to fake an injury to have the result overturned in Chile’s favor.

The Chilean players carried Rojas out and refused to play and walked out.

After a few minutes the referee ended the match.

Photos clearly revealed the trickery and Chile and Rojas were punished.

On December 8, 1989, FIFA handed out the sentences for Chile’s walkout.

Chile was to be excluded from the 1994 World Cup.

International bans were handed out against Chile Coach Orlando Aravena and player Fernando Astengo for leading the team out of pitch.

Roberto Rojas was banned for life for his trickery attempt by feigning injury.

Incidentally, it was former Brazilian Manager Tele Santana that gave a lifeline to Rojas’ tattered career by appointing him as São Paulo Futebol Clube’s goalkeeping coach in 1994.

The person who threw the firecracker was 23-year-old Rosemary Mello. She later posed for the Brazilian Edition of Playboy to pay the fine.

Photo From: Onze-Mondial, Issue 71, December 1994

(The instant of firecracker landing near Rojas)

Photo From: Foot Magazine, October 1989

(Photos that appeared at Brazil’s Placar Magazine, showing the trickery)

Photo From: Calcio 2000, Issue 25, December 1999

(Rojas holding his face in apparent pain)

Photo From: France Football, Issue 2265, September 5, 1989

(Chilean players carrying out Rojas)