In another Football/Soccer Forum, I came across a Thread about interesting and strange facts about the sport.
I even left some posts, however, this thread was started 3-4 years ago and I believe input was sporadic.
Instead, I will use my own Blog to post oddities and interesting facts on soccer, in addition to my regular match posts.
I will add five events per posting.
As always, my aim is to get people involved, therefore if anyone has any comments about these posts please feel free to contribute.
The First series of soccer Trivia/oddities/anecdotes/interesting stories:
1-During the 1982 World Cup Final between Italy and West Germany, with a minute remaining to the conclusion of the match, Italian Coach Enzo Bearzot sent on Franco Causio as a substitute. This was a sentimental gesture, as Causio had been a mainstay of Italy during the 1970s, but was now at the veteran stage of his career largely a substitute and in fact had not played at all during the tournament up to that point.
Causio did not even get to touch the ball, although he did make a throw- in.
Photo From: Azzurri, Storia della Nazionale di calcio tre volte campioni del Mondo, 1910-1983
France Causio prior to the kickoff of (June 10, 1978 World Cup, Argentina 0-Italy 1)
2-French club Paris St. Germain prior to the 1984 UEFA European Championship Finals could have signed Danish striker Preben Elkjaer.
However, PSG President Francis Borelli decided to gamble on Austrian striker Richard Niederbacher. Both players had been playing in the Belgian League that season (Niederbacher at Waregem and Elkjaer at Lokeren).
Borelli had decided on Niederbacher because he was younger and had scored more goals.
Of course, Elkjaer became a big star during the finals and afterwards transferred to Italian club Hellas Verona, while Niederbacher left PSG after only a few months, having failed to make an impact.
Photo : from Onze, July 1984
Preben Elkjaer after scoring Denmark ‘s winner vs. Belgium (June 19, 1984, UEFA Euro Champ., Denmark 3-Belgium 2)
3-Czechoslovakia and Belgium used all their three goalkeepers during the 1982 World Cup.
In Belgium’s case, Starting goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff was dropped for indiscipline after the first round. Theo Custers played vs. Poland in the second round. After conceding three goals, he was also dropped in favor of Anderlecht’s Jacky Munaron for the final match vs. USSR.
For Czechoslovakia, Zdenek Hruska started vs. Kuwait. For the second match vs. England, Stanislav Seman started but was replaced during the match by Karel Stromsik.
Karel Stromsik played the third match vs. France.
Photo From: France Football, Issue 1992,June 12, 1984
Jean-Marie Pfaff prior to the kickoff of (June 6, 1984 Friendly, Belgium 2-Hungary 2)
4- England did not have a sole selector as manager until after the 1962 World Cup. Until then England’s players were selected by a FA Committee and then the manager would coach the chosen players.
Alf Ramsey insisted upon being sole selector as a condition for his acceptance.
5-The 1958 World Cup is the only one to date where all four British Home Nations (England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) participated.
1- Raymond Neal Clemence(Liverpool Football Club) [47 caps / 0 goals]
2- Phillip George Neal (Liverpool Football Club) [24 caps / 3 goals](12-Trevor John Cherry (Leeds United Association Football Club) [22 caps / 0 goals]76)
3- Kenneth Graham Sansom (Crystal Palace Football Club-London) [4 caps / 0 goals]
4- Phillip Bernard Thompson (Liverpool FootballClub) [21 caps / 1 goals]
5- David Vernon Watson (Southampton Football Club) [50 caps / 4 goals]
6- Raymond Colin Wilkins (Manchester United Football Club) [29 caps / 1 goals]
8- Stephen James Coppell (Manchester United Football Club) [21 caps / 5 goals]
7- Kevin Joseph Keegan(Hamburger Sport Verein e.V. / West Germany) [51 caps / 19 goals]
11- Raymond Kennedy (Liverpool Football Club) [14 caps / 3 goals](14-Trevor David Brooking (West Ham United Football Club-London) [34 caps / 1 goals]72)
9- David Edward Johnson (Liverpool Football Club) [5 caps / 5 goals](16-Garry Birtles (Nottingham Forest Football Club) [1 caps / 0 goals]76)
10- Anthony Stewart Woodcock (1.Fussball Club Köln / West Germany)[10 caps / 3 goals]
Coach: Ronald Greenwood
Other Subs:
13-Peter Leslie Shilton (Nottingham Forest Football Club)
15-Peter Simon Barnes (West Bromwich Albion Football Club)
Team Captain: Kevin Joseph Keegan
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Admiral
Uniform Colors: White Shirts, Blue Shorts, White Socks
Argentina:
1-Ubaldo Matildo Fillol (Club Atlético River Plate- Buenos Aires) [22 caps / 0 goals]
4-Jorge Mario Olguín(Club Atlético Independiente Avellaneda) [38 caps / 0 goals]
6-DanielAlberto Passarella (Club Atlético River Plate- Buenos Aires) [38 caps / 15 goals]
3-Alberto Cesar Tarantini (Club Atlético River Plate- Buenos Aires) [39 caps / 1 goals]
2-Jose Daniel Van Tuyne (Club Atletico Talleres de Cordoba-Córdoba) [8 caps / 0 goals]
8-Juan Alberto Barbas (Racing Club de Avellaneda-Avellaneda - Buenos Aires) [9 caps / 0 goals](16-Carlos Luis Ischia (Club Atlético Vélez Sársfield Buenos Aires) [1 caps / 0 goals]53)
5-Américo Rubén Gallego (Club Atlético Newell´s Old Boys –Rosario) [53 caps / 2 goals]
10-Diego Armando Maradona (Asociacion Atletica Argentinos Juniors- Buenos Aires) [14 caps / 4 goals]
7-Santiago Santamaria(Club Atlético Newell´s Old Boys –Rosario) [2 caps / 0 goals](15-Ramon Angel Diaz (Club Atlético River Plate- Buenos Aires) [4 caps / 2 goals]61)
9-Leoplodo Jacinto Luque (Club Atlético River Plate- Buenos Aires) [38 caps / 20 goals]
11-Jose Daniel Valencia (Club Atletico Talleres de Cordoba-Córdoba) [28 caps / 2 goals]
Coach: Cesar Luis Menotti
Booked: Daniel Passarella
Other Subs:
12-Hector Rodolfo Baley (Club Atlético Independiente Avellaneda)
13-Victorio Orlando Ocano (Club Atletico Talleres de Cordoba-Córdoba)
14-Carlos Guillermno Fren (Club Atlético Independiente Avellaneda)
Team Captain: DanielAlberto Passarella
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Le Coq Sportif
Uniform Colors: Light Blue/White Striped Shirts, Black Shorts and Black Socks
Notes:
-Match number 536 for England and number 521 for Argentina.
-The eighth meeting between the nations.
-This was Argentina’s fourth consecutive match vs. European opposition.
-This was Argentina’s first match at Wembley since a Friendly on May 22, 1974 that ended in a 2-2 tie.
England players: David Watson, Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking were the players still remaining from that match.
-The previous match between the two nations was a 1-1 tie on June 12, 1977 Friendly at Buenos Aires.
England players: Clemence, Neal, Cherry, Ray Kennedy, Watson, Keegan, and Wilkins and Argentina players: Passarella, Tarantini, Gallego and Luque were the players still remaining from that match.
England’s Keegan captained England in that match as well.
-Argentina’s previous victory over England was a 1-0 win on June 6, 1964 at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil during the Nations Tournament.
-England’s previous victory over Argentina was a 1-0 win during the infamous 1966 World Cup Quarterfinal at Wembley on July 23, 1966.
The match made famous by Argentina Captain Rattin’s sending off and England manager Ramsey’s “Animals” remark.
-This would be the last match between the nations before the Falklands War on April 1982. As a result the teams did not play each other for the next 6 years.
Photo : from Onze, June 1980
-The next match between the two nations would be on June 22, 1986 during the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
The match ended as a 2-1 win for Argentina.
The match made famous by Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal as well as his marvelous solo goal.
Argentina’s Diego Maradona and England’s Kenny Sansom were the only players still remaining from that match.
-The next match between the nations at Wembely would be a 2-2 tie on May 25, 1991 during the Friendly England Challenge Cup.
-Both Captains Passarella and Keegan managed their respective national teams, as did Diego Maradona.
Photo : from Onze, June 1980
- This friendly match has been noted to be as one of the only matches between the nations that was not marred by some type of on or off the field controversy.
-This was Argentina’s first match in their 1980 European tour. They would go on and play vs. Republic of Ireland and Austria as well.
-Argentina’s Star from the previous World Cup Mario Kempes was unavailable for this match, as his Spanish club Valencia CF had retained him for the upcoming Cup Winners Cup Final vs. Arsenal.
Argentina’s English based pair, Osvaldo Ardiles and Ricardo Villa (both of Tottenham Hotspur FC) were also not called up by Argentina manager Menotti.
Villa was out of national team reckoning and Menotti was still unsure whether to include Ardiles for his 1982 World Cup plans.
Striker Daniel Bertoni was also missing for Argentina.
Photo : from Onze, June 1980
-Argentina was awarded their penalty kick after Maradona was fouled by Sansom in the box.
-Argentina defender Alberto Tarantini had played in England the previous season at Birmingham City FC. His stay there had ended with him jumping into a crowd to fight a heckling fan.
-Argentina’s Carlos Luis Ischia and England’s Gary Birtles earned their first caps.
-Seven of Argentina’s players had been in the 1978 World Cup winning side.
-This was the third time England had beaten a reigning World Cup champion at Wembley.
Photo : from El Grafico Number 3163 (May 1980)
-Both captains (Keegan and Passarella) scored in this match.
When Passarella was about to take his penalty kick, Keegan stood right behind him and with his finger indicated to Clemence that Passarella would kick to the left side. He was right, although Clemence was unable to stop the shot.
-England would not defeat Argentina until June 7, 2002 during the 2002 World Cup in South Korea/Japan. England would win 1-0 on a David Beckham penalty kick.
-Tony Woodcock and Kevin Keegan were England’s only foreign-based players. They both played for clubs in West Germany.
All of Argentina’s players were home based.
-Due to Hugo Eduardo Villaverde’s injury, Olguin played as Argentina’s stopper. Van Tuyne replaced Olguin as right back.
-This match was also billed as the battle between Maradona and Keegan, the two best players in the world.
-At the end of the match the Wembley crowd chanted, “You are no longer Champions”, but applauded Maradona who left the field after swapping shirts with Keegan.
13-Thomas Hörster (Turn und Sportverein Bayer 04 Leverkusen e.V.)
14-Hans Pflügler (Fußball-Club Bayern München e.V.)
17-Ulrich 'Uli' Borowka (Sport Verein Werder Bremen von 1899 e.V.)
Team Captain: Klaus Allofs
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Adidas
Uniform Colors: White Shirts, Black Shorts, White Socks
England:
1- Peter Leslie Shilton (Derby County Football Club) [92 caps / 0 goals]
2- Vivian Alexander Anderson(Manchester United Football Club) [28 caps / 2 goals]
3- Kenneth Graham Sansom (Arsenal Football Club-London) [77 caps / 1 goals](16-Stuart Pearce (Nottingham Forest Football Club) [3 caps / 0 goals]77)
5- Anthony Alexander Adams (Arsenal Football Club-London) [4 caps / 0 goals]
6- Gary Vincent Mabbutt(Tottenham Hotspur Football Club-London) [13 caps / 1 goals]
7- Peter Reid (Everton Football Club-Liverpool) [11 caps / 0 goals]
8- John Charles Bryan Barnes (Liverpool Football Club) [32 caps / 3 goals]
4- Glenn Hoddle (Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club / France) [45 caps / 8 goals](14-Neil John Webb (Nottingham Forest Football Club)[1 caps / 0 goals]65)
11- Christopher Roland Waddle (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club-London)[29 caps / 4 goals](15-Mark Wayne Hateley (Association Sportive de Monaco/ France)[25 caps / 9 goals]51)
9- Peter Andrew Beardsley(Liverpool Football Club) [16 caps / 2 goals]
10- Gary Winston Lineker (Fútbol Club Barcelona / Spain) [25 caps / 20 goals]
Coach: Robert William Robson
Other Subs:
13- Christopher Charles Eric Woods (Rangers Football Club- Glasgow / Scotland)
12- Mark Wright (Derby County Football Club)
Team Captain: Peter Leslie Shilton
Official Kit Supplier/Designer: Umbro
Uniform Colors: Red Shirts, White Shorts, Red Socks
Notes:
-Match number 534 for West Germany and number 624 for England.
-England Captain Bryan Robson and Terry Butcher missed this match through injury.
German Lothar Matthaus missed this match through injury as well.
-This was England’s first loss since the loss vs. Sweden on September 1986.
-The previous match between the nations on German soil was on February 22, 1978 (2-1 West German win).
-The previous match between the two nations was a 3-0 English win in Mexico’s Azteca stadium on June 12, 1985 during the Azteca 2000 Tournament.
West German players: Herget, Brehme, Thon and Littbarski and English players: Shilton, Sansom, Hoddle, Reid, Lineker, Barnes and Waddle were the players still remaining from that match.
Both Managers were also present during that match.
-Pierre Littbarski scored on a direct corner Germany's second goal.German Wuttke scored after coming on as a substitute.
-England’s previous victory over West Germany on German soil was a 1-0 Friendly win on May 12, 1965 at Nuremberg.
-West Germany’s previous victory over England was a 2-1 away Friendly win at Wembley on October 13, 1982.
West German players: Allofs and Littbarski and English players: Shilton, Sansom and Mabbutt were the players still remaining from that match.
England manager Robson was also present at that match.
-The next match between the nations would be the World Cup 1990 Semifinal on July 4, 1990 that West Germany won on a penalty kick shoot-out after a 1-1 tie in Turin, Italy.
West German players: Kohler, Buchwald, Brehme, Reuter, Thon and Völler and English players: Shilton, Pearce, Waddle, Beardsley and Lineker were the players still remaining from that match.
Lineker once again scored for England. Andreas Brehme scored West Germany’s goal.
Both managers were present during this match as well.
Photo From: Chronik des deutschen fussballs, 2005
-England’s next victory over Germany would be a 1-0 win on June 17, 2000 during the UEFA European Championships at Charleroi, Belgium.
No players who were present in this match took part in that one.
-West Germany’s Rudi Voller and England’s Glenn Hoddle became national team managers of their respective nations.
John Barnes also managed Jamaica.
-West Germany’s Pierre Littbarski had just rejoined Fußball-Club Köln that season after spending one season in France playing for Racing Club Paris.
-Fußball-Club Köln had on their squad former English international Tony Woodcock who was no longer in national team reckoning.
-Both managers managed UEFA cup winning sides. Robson managed Ipswich Town FC in 1981 and Beckenbauer managed Bayern Munich to victory in 1996.
Both ended their national team managing careers within one day of another. Robson managed England for the last time on July 7, 1990 vs. Italy (Third Place match), while Beckenbauer led West Germany to the World Cup win the next day on July 8, 1990.
-West Germans Allofs and Voller and Englishman Waddle, all played at some point in their career for French club Olympique de Marseille.
Englishman Trevor Steven who was unavailable at this match would also play for Olympique de Marseille.
West German manager Beckenbauer also briefly managed Olympique de Marseille, with Waddle as one of his players.
-West Germany had already played a friendly vs. France a month before and their league season also had started sooner than England. This was England’s first match of the season.
Therefore the Germans were sharper and fitter.
-Both Eike Immel and Frontzek joined the English Premier League (both joined Manchester City).
-Everton pair Gary M. Stevens and Trevor Steven were unavailable for this match. As was Germany’s Thomas Berthold who had just joined Italy’s Serie A club Hellas Verona.
-Afterwards, England manager Robson stated that at this level a goal from a direct corner was unacceptable.
-German Squad selected for this match:
Goalkeepers-Eike Immel (Stuttgart), Bodo Illgner (koln)
Defenders: Matthias Herget (Uerdingen), Jurgen Kohler (Koln), Guido Buchwald (Stuttgart), Hans Pflugler (Bayern Munich), Michael Frontzeck (M’Gladbach), Stefan Reuter (Nuremberg)
Midfielders: Andreas Brehme (Bayern Munich), Pierre Littbarski (Koln),Olaf Thon (Schalke), Wolfgang Rolff (Leverkusen), Wolfram Wuittke (Kaiserslautern)
Strikers: Rudi Voller (AS Roma / Italy), Klaus Allofs (Olympique de Marseille / France)
-Englishman Neil Webb earned his first cap as a substitute. In doing so, he became the 1000th player to be used by England as an international.
-Before the match, Beckenbauer had called Linekrer and Beardsley as the ‘world’s best strikers’.
