1974 FIFA World Cup
The 1974 FIFA World Cup was the 10th FIFA World Cup, was played in West Germany between 13 June and 7 July. The tournament marked the first time that the current trophy, the FIFA World Cup Trophy, created by the Italian sculptor Silvio Gazzaniga, was awarded; the previous trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, had been won for the third time by Brazil in 1970 and awarded permanently to the Brazilians. This was the first out of three World Cups to feature two rounds of group stages; the host nation won the title. The victory was the second for West Germany, who had won in 1954. Australia, East Germany and Zaire made their first appearances at the final stage, with East Germany making their only appearance before Germany was reunified in 1990. West Germany was chosen as the host nation by FIFA in London, England on 6 July 1966. Hosting rights for the 1978 and 1982 tournaments were awarded at the same time. West Germany agreed a deal with Spain by which Spain would support West Germany for the 1974 tournament, in return West Germany would allow Spain to bid for the 1982 World Cup unopposed.
Ninety-eight countries took part in the qualifying tournament. Some of football's most successful nations did not qualify, including 1966 champions England, France and quarter-finalists of the 1970 tournament Mexico, Spain, 1966 third-place finishers Portugal, 1970 quarter-finalists Peru, Czechoslovakia and Romania; the USSR was disqualified after refusing to travel for the second leg of their playoff against Chile as a result of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état. The Netherlands and Poland qualified for the first time since 1938. Scotland was back in the Finals after a 16-year absence. Argentina and Chile were back after having missed the 1970 tournament and Yugoslavia was back after missing both the 1966 and 1970 tournaments. First-time qualifiers were East Germany; as of 2018, this was the last time Haiti and Zaire qualified for a FIFA World Cup finals, as well as the last time Spain failed to qualify. This was the first tournament in which the defending champions played in the opening game as opposed to the hosts, although this was changed back to the hosts for the 2006 tournament, held in Germany.
The following 16 teams qualified for the final tournament. The tournament featured a new format. While the competition once again began with the sixteen teams divided into four groups of four teams, the eight teams which advanced did not enter a knockout stage as in the previous five World Cups but instead played in a second group stage; the winners of the two groups in the second stage played each other in the final, with the respective runners-up from each group meeting in the third place play-off. This was one of, it was decided in advance that if the host nation progressed to the second stage their matches would not take place simultaneous to the other matches but instead be held in the other timeslot. The tournament was held in bad weather, the stadia had few protected places. Few western European nations had qualified, of which only The Netherlands, West Germany and Sweden made it past the Group Stage. Fans from the Eastern Communist neighbour states such as East Germany were hindered by political circumstances.
Carlos Caszely of Chile became the first player to be sent off with a red card in a World Cup match, during their match against West Germany. Red cards were formally introduced in World Cup play in 1970, but no players were sent off in that tournament. Two teams made a powerful impact on the first round; the Netherlands demonstrated the "Total football" techniques pioneered by the top Dutch club Ajax, in which specialised positions were abolished for the outfield players, individual players became defenders, midfielders or strikers as the situation required. The Dutch marked their first World Cup finals since 1938 by topping their first-round group, with wins over Uruguay and Bulgaria and a draw with Sweden. Sweden joined the Dutch in the second group round after beating Uruguay 3–0. Poland, took maximum points from a group containing two of the favourites for the tournament, they beat Argentina 3–2, trounced Haiti 7–0 beat Italy 2–1 – a result that knocked the Italians out of the Cup and resulted in Argentina qualifying for the second group round on goal difference.
Argentina would not fail to win either of their opening two games of a World Cup again until 2018. While Haiti didn't do well in their first World Cup finals they did have one moment of glory. In their opening game against Italy, they managed to take the lead with a goal from Emmanuel Sanon, before losing 3–1; that goal proved to be a significant goal as it ended Dino Zoff's run of 1142 minutes without conceding a goal. Group 2 was a close group. With Brazil and Scotland drawing all their games against each other, it was decided by the number of goals these three teams scored when defeating Zaire. Yugoslavia hammered the African nation 9–0, equalling a finals record fo
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam, that plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed its name to SC Feijenoord in 1912, SC Feyenoord in 1974, Feyenoord Rotterdam in 1978, when SC Feyenoord became a separate amateur team. Since 1937, Feyenoord's home ground has been Stadion Feijenoord, nicknamed De Kuip. Feyenoord is one of the most successful clubs in the Netherlands, winning 15 Eredivisie titles, 13 KNVB Cups, 4 Johan Cruyff Shields. Internationally, it has won one European Cup, two UEFA Cups, one Intercontinental Cup; the club has played continuously in the top tier of the Dutch football system since gaining promotion to Eerste Klasse in 1921, more times than any other club in the country, including the likes of Ajax and PSV Eindhoven. Feyenoord is known as a people's club with a huge international support; the club's most successful period in history was the 1960s and'70s, when Coen Moulijn and Ove Kindvall led the club to six league titles, two European trophies, an Intercontinental Cup, thereby becoming the first Dutch club in history to win both the European Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.
In the 21st century, Feyenoord ended an 18-year league title drought in 2017 and won the 2002 UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund in its home stadium. Feyenoord has a longstanding rivalry with Ajax, a clash between two teams from the two biggest cities in the Netherlands, called De Klassieker; the club's anthem is "Hand in Hand". As of 2019, Feyenoord will become a multi-sports club; the football club Wilhelmina was founded in the pub De Vereeniging on 19 July 1908 and played in blue-sleeved red shirts and white shorts. Between 1908, 1910, 1911, 1912, the club underwent a series of changes of name and team colours, becoming Hillesluise Football Club in 1909, RVV Celeritas. Upon earning promotion to the National football association in 1912, the club renamed to SC Feijenoord, changed uniform once again, adopting the red and white shirts, black shorts and black socks that they still wear today. In 1918, Feijenoord were promoted to the highest level of Dutch football and moved to the ground Kromme Zandweg.
After 18 years, the formation of the club and a mere three years after they were promoted to the highest level of Dutch football Feijenoord earned their first honours by capturing the national league championship in 1924. The team enjoyed a string of successes in the latter half of the decade, taking divisional titles in 1926, 1927, 1928 and 1929, winning their second national championship in 1928. Feijenoord won their first Dutch Cup in 1930 by scoring the only goal in a derby final against Excelsior, they continued to dominate their division with three consecutive titles, but were winless in subsequent championship finals. Five years after their first cup win, Feijenoord took the prize for a second time in 1935, by beating Helmond Sport. Feijenoord started to attract more fans to their stadium at Kromme Zandweg, in 1933, they decided to build a new facility; the club moved to the Feijenoord Stadion in 1937, playing the first match there on 27 March against Beerschot. During this period Feijenoord won three consecutive division titles from 1936 to 1938, with their third and fourth national championships coming in 1936 and 1938.
During World War II, Feijenoord played their matches at Sparta Rotterdam's Kasteel, as the Nazis had occupied De Kuip. When Het Kasteel was unavailable due to clashes with Sparta fixtures, Feijenoord played at their former ground, the Kromme Zandweg. Feijenoord's again won a division title with a national championship in 1940, their fifth Dutch title. During the German occupation of the Netherlands, play continued in Dutch football leagues, though the 1945 championship was cancelled as the war came to its conclusion. During this period, Feijenoord's only trophy was a divisional championship in 1943. After the war, Feijenoord did not perform as well as they had in previous decades, not challenging in their division and so missing the national playoff rounds. On 30 June 1954, the chairmen of the three biggest Rotterdam teams organised a meeting in Utrecht, attended by several chairmen of other clubs and a delegation of the KNVB to discuss the start of professional football in the Netherlands; the professional era commenced with the first Eredivisie season in 1954/1955.
Feijenoord were one of the clubs participating in the inaugural Eredivisie and have never been relegated. One of the most memorable matches in these first years of professional football was the clash between Feijenoord and the Volewijckers at 2 April 1956, which Feijenoord won 11–4, with nine goals by Henk Schouten. Feijenoord would grow an intense rivalry with Ajax. Matches between the two clubs were dubbed as de Klassieker; the first memorable Klassieker from a Feijenoord point of view took place at 11 November 1956, when Daan den Bleijker scored four times to give Feijenoord a 7–3 win over their archrivals. Feijenoord claimed their first professional Eredivisie Championship and their sixth Dutch Championship in 1961. On the road to the title Ajax was beaten 9–5 in De Kuip, four of Feijenoord's goals were scored by Henk Schouten; the following season, they played their first European Cup match facing IFK Göteborg. The Swedes were beaten 8 -- 2 in Rotterdam. Feijenoord were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur in the following round.
In 1962, Feijenoord defended their Dutch Championship title and rea
Austria national football team
The Austria national football team is the association football team that represents Austria in international competition and is controlled by the Austrian Football Association. Austria has qualified for seven FIFA World Cups, most in 1998; the country played in the UEFA European Championship for the first time in 2008, when it co-hosted the event with Switzerland, most qualified in 2016. The Austrian Football Association was founded on 18 March 1904 in the Austro-Hungarian Empire; the team enjoyed success in the 1930s under coach Hugo Meisl, becoming a dominant side in Europe and earning the nickname "Wunderteam". The team's star was Matthias Sindelar. On 16 May 1931, they were the first continental European side. In the 1934 FIFA World Cup, Austria finished fourth after losing 1–0 to Italy in the semi-finals and 3–2 to Germany in the third place play-off, they were runners-up in the 1936 Olympics, again losing to Italy 2–1, despite having been beaten in the quarter-finals by Peru, following the Peruvians' withdrawal.
However, according to an investigation, the surprise victory by Peru was deliberately annulled by Adolf Hitler to favour the Austrians. The team qualified for the 1938 World Cup finals, but Austria was annexed to Germany in the Anschluss on 12 March of that year. On 28 March, FIFA was notified that the OFB had been abolished, resulting in the nation's withdrawal from the World Cup. Instead, the German team would represent the former Austrian territory. Theoretically, a united team could have been an stronger force than each of the separate ones, but German coach Sepp Herberger had little time and few matches to prepare and merge the different styles of play and attitude; the former Austrian professionals outplayed the rather athletic yet amateur players of the "Old Empire" in a "reunification" derby, supposed to finish as a draw, yet in the waning minutes, the Austrians scored twice, with Matthias Sindelar demonstratively missing the German goal, subsequently declining to be capped for Germany.
In a rematch, the Germans took revenge, winning 9–1. In early April, Herberger inquired whether two separate teams could enter anyway, but "Reichssportführer" Hans von Tschammer und Osten made clear that he expected to see a 5:6 or 6:5 ratio of players from the two hitherto teams; as a result, five players from Austria Wien, Rapid Wien and Vienna Wien were part of the team that only managed a 1–1 draw in Round 1 against Switzerland, which required a rematch. With Rapid Wien's forward Pesser having been sent off, not satisfied with two others, Herberger had to alter the line-up on six positions to fulfill the 6:5 quota again; the all-German team led the Swiss 2–0 after 15 minutes, but lost 4–2 in Paris in front of a rather anti-German French and Swiss crowd, as few German supporters were able to travel to France due to German restrictions on foreign currency exchange. After World War II, Austria was again separated from Germany. Austria's best result came in 1954 with a team starring midfielder Ernst Ocwirk.
They lost in the semi-finals 6–1 to eventual champions Germany, but finished third after beating defending champions Uruguay 3–1. Over the years, a strong yet lopsided rivalry with Germany developed. At the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, the Austrian team was a disappointment. Defeats to the eventual champions Brazil, the emerging Soviet Union and a draw against a weakened England prevented the team from reaching the next round. Still holding to the great popularity in the country, under new coach Decker they again made an international sensation in the era. In front of a record crowd of over 90,000 spectators, made possible by the expansion of Prater Stadium, the team could beat the Soviet Union 3–1 and Spain 3–0. However, due to lack of money, Austria decided not to participate at the 1962 World Cup in Chile, the team fell apart; the abrupt end of Austria's success in the post-war period led to the clear 0–6 loss against Czechoslovakia in 1962, from which many players and Karl Decker did not recover.
After the end of Decker era, the team was unable for a long time to connect to the old successes. Due to the great popularity of the Austrian team, on 20 October 1965, Austria succeeded as the third team of the continent to defeat England at home. Two goals in a 3–2 victory were achieved by Toni Fritsch, nicknamed "Wembley Toni". However, in the same year, Austria failed for the first time to qualify for the World Cup in the 1966 edition, ending third against a still-strong Hungary and East Germany. In the summer of 1968, Leopold Šťastný, the successful Slovak coach of Wacker Innsbruck, took over the national team. Despite failing to qualify for the 1970 World Cup, the new coach emphasized developing new players rather than relying on the old guard. Supported by a large football euphoria, Austria came close to qualifying for the 1974 World Cup in Germany; the qualifying round was tied for first place between Austria and Sweden, despite tiebreakers based on points and goal difference, therefore a playoff was needed for qualifying, held in Gelsenkirchen.
In order to have enough time to prepare, the championship round was suspended and the stadium in Gelsenkirchen was prepared five days before the playoff. On snow-covered ground, Austria lost 1–2, but with numerous missed chances such as hitting the crossbar. Anchored by Herbert Prohaska and striker Hans Krankl, backed up by Bruno Pezzey, Austria reached the World Cup in 1978 and 1982 and both times reached the s
Forward (association football)
Forwards are the players on an association football team who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, are therefore most responsible for scoring goals. Their advanced position and limited defensive responsibilities mean forwards score more goals on behalf of their team than other players. Modern team formations include one to three forwards. Unconventional formations may include none; the traditional role of a centre-forward is to score the majority of goals on behalf of the team. The player may be used to win long balls or receive passes and retain possession of the ball with their back to goal as teammates advance, in order to provide depth for their team or help teammates score by providing a pass. Most modern centre-forwards operate in front of the second strikers or central attacking midfielders, do the majority of the ball handling outside the box; the present role of centre-forward is sometimes interchangeable with that of an attacking midfielder in the 4–3–1–2 or 4–1–2–1–2 formations.
The term "target man" is used to describe a particular type of striker whose main role is to win high balls in the air and create chances for other members of the team. These players are tall and physically strong, being adept at heading the ball; the term centre-forward is taken from the early football playing formation in which there were five forward players: two outside forwards, two inside forwards, one centre-forward. When numbers were introduced in the 1933 English FA Cup final, one of the two centre-forwards that day wore the number nine – Everton's Dixie Dean a strong, powerful forward who had set the record for the most goals scored in a season in English football during the 1927–28 season; the number would become synonymous with the centre-forward position. The role of a striker is rather different from that of a traditional centre-forward, although the terms centre-forward and striker are used interchangeably at times, as both play further up the field than other players, while tall and technical players, like Zlatan Ibrahimović, have qualities which are suited to both positions.
Like the centre-forward, the traditional role of a striker is to score goals. They are fast players with good ball control and dribbling abilities. More agile strikers like Michael Owen have an advantage over taller defenders due to their short bursts of speed. A good striker should be able to shoot confidently with either foot, possess great power and accuracy, have the ability to link-up with teammates and pass the ball under pressure in breakaway situations. While many strikers wear the number 9 shirt, the position, to a lesser degree, is associated with the number 10, worn by more creative deep-lying forwards such as Pelé, with numbers 7 and 11, which are associated with wingers. Deep-lying forwards have a long history in the game, but the terminology to describe their playing activity has varied over the years; such players were termed inside forwards, creative or deep-lying centre-forwards. More two more variations of this old type of player have developed: the second, or shadow, or support, or auxiliary striker and, in what is in fact a distinct position unto its own, the number 10, exemplified by Dennis Bergkamp.
Other number 10s who play further back, such as Diego Maradona and Zinedine Zidane, are described as an attacking midfielder or the playmaker. The second striker position is a loosely defined and most misapplied description of a player positioned somewhere between the out-and-out striker, whether he is a "target-man" or more of a "poacher", the Number 10 or attacking midfielder, while showing some of the characteristics of both. In fact, a term coined by French advanced playmaker Michel Platini, the "nine-and-a-half", which he used to describe Roberto Baggio's playing role, has been an attempt to become a standard in defining the position. Conceivably, a Number 10 can alternate as a second-striker provided that he is a prolific goalscorer. Second or support strikers do not tend to get as involved in the orchestration of attacks as the Number 10, nor do they bring as many other players into play, since they do not share the burden of responsibility, functioning predominantly as assist providers.
In Italy, this role is known as a "rifinitore" or "seconda punta", whereas in Brazil, it is known as "segundo atacante" or "ponta-de-lança". The position of inside forward was popularly used in the late nineteenth and first half of the twentieth centuries; the inside forwards would support the centre-forward and making space in the opposition defence, and, as the passing game developed, supporting him or her with passes. The role is broadly analogous to the "hole" or second striker position in the modern game, although here there were two such players, known as inside right and inside left. In early 2–3–5 formations the inside-forwards would flank the centre-forward on both sides. With the advent of
La Máquina
La Máquina is a nickname given to the River Plate football team from 1941 to 1947. The core group of la Máquina were forwards Juan Carlos Muñoz, José Manuel Moreno, Adolfo Pedernera, Ángel Labruna, Félix Loustau; the team won three Copa Aldao's, among other titles. The nickname was given to them by Borocotó, a Uruguayan sports journalist working for El Gráfico, after River Plate defeated Chacarita Juniors 6–2 on 12 June 1942. Borocotó used that adjective to illustrate the performance of the forward line on the field. For their dynamism and rotating positions, La Máquina is considered a precursor of the famous Clockwork Orange as it was nicknamed the Netherlands national football team that played the 1974 FIFA World Cup; the first time they played together was on June 1942, in Estadio Monumental v. Platense. River Plate won with Félix Loustau replacing Aristóbulo Deambrossi as left winger. From 1943 to 1946 the team finished as runner-up twice. Other players that took part of La Máquina were Aristóbulo Deambrossi, Carlos Peucelle, Alberto Gallo and Renato Cesarini.
Primera División: 1941, 1942, 1945, 1947 Copa Ibarguren: 1941 Copa Escobar: 1941 Copa Ibarguren: 1942 Copa Aldao: 1941, 1945, 1947
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça, is a Spanish professional football club based in Barcelona, Spain. Founded in 1899 by a group of Swiss and Catalan footballers led by Joan Gamper, the club has become a symbol of Catalan culture and Catalanism, hence the motto "Més que un club". Unlike many other football clubs, the supporters operate Barcelona, it is the fourth-most valuable sports team in the world, worth $4.06 billion, the world's second-richest football club in terms of revenue, with an annual turnover of €690.4 million. The official Barcelona anthem is the "Cant del Barça", written by Jaume Picas and Josep Maria Espinàs. Domestically, Barcelona has won 25 La Liga, 30 Copa del Rey, 13 Supercopa de España, 3 Copa Eva Duarte, 2 Copa de la Liga trophies, as well as being the record holder for the latter four competitions. In international club football, Barcelona has won 20 European and World titles: 5 UEFA Champions League titles, a record 4 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, a joint record 5 UEFA Super Cup, a record 3 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, a joint record 3 FIFA Club World Cup.
Barcelona was ranked first in the International Federation of Football History & Statistics Club World Ranking for 1997, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 and occupies the second position on the UEFA club rankings. The club has a long-standing rivalry with Real Madrid. Barcelona is one of the most supported teams in the world, the club has one of the largest social media following in the world among sports teams. Barcelona players have won a record number of Ballon d'Or awards, with recipients including Johan Cruyff, as well as a record number of FIFA World Player of the Year awards, with winners including Ronaldo, Romário and Rivaldo. In 2010, three players who came through the club's youth academy were chosen as the three best players in the world in the FIFA Ballon d'Or awards, an unprecedented feat for players from the same football school. Barcelona is one of three founding members of the Primera División that have never been relegated from the top division since its inception in 1929, along with Athletic Bilbao and Real Madrid.
In 2009, Barcelona became the first Spanish club to win the continental treble consisting of La Liga, Copa del Rey, the UEFA Champions League, became the first Spanish football club to win six out of six competitions in a single year, by winning the Spanish Super Cup, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Club World Cup. In 2011, the club won five trophies; this Barcelona team, which won 14 trophies in just 4 years under Pep Guardiola, is considered by some in the sport to be the greatest team of all time. By winning their fifth Champions League trophy on 6 June 2015, Barcelona became the first European club in history to achieve the continental treble twice; the highest paid sports team in the world, in November 2018 Barcelona became the first sports team with average first-team pay in excess of £10m per year. On 22 October 1899, Hans Gamper placed an advertisement in Los Deportes declaring his wish to form a football club. Eleven players attended – Walter Wild, Lluís d'Ossó, Bartomeu Terradas, Otto Kunzle, Otto Maier, Enric Ducal, Pere Cabot, Carles Pujol, Josep Llobet, John Parsons, William Parsons – and Foot-Ball Club Barcelona was born.
FC Barcelona had a successful start in regional and national cups, competing in the Campionat de Catalunya and the Copa del Rey. In 1902, the club won its first trophy, the Copa Macaya, participated in the first Copa del Rey, losing 1–2 to Bizcaya in the final. In 1908, Hans Gamper – now known as Joan Gamper – became club president in a desperate attempt to save Barcelona from extinction, finding the club struggling not just on the pitch, but financially and after not winning a competition since the Campionat de Catalunya in 1905, he said in a meeting, "Barcelona must not die. If there is nobody, going to try I will assume the responsibility of running the club from now on." Club president on five separate occasions between 1908 and 1925, he spent 25 years in total at the helm. One of his main achievements was ensuring Barça acquire its own stadium and thus generate a stable income. On 14 March 1909, the team moved into the Camp de la Indústria, a stadium with a capacity of 8,000. To celebrate their new surroundings, the club conducted a logo contest the following year.
Carles Comamala won the contest, his suggestion became the crest that the club still wears – with some minor changes – as of the present day. With the new stadium, Barcelona participated in the inaugural version of the Pyrenees Cup, which, at the time, consisted of the best teams of Languedoc and Aquitaine, the Basque Country and Catalonia; the contest was the most prestigious in that era. From the inaugural year in 1910 to 1913, Barcelona won the competition four consecutive times. Carles Comamala played an integral part of the four-time champion, managing the side along with Amechazurra and Jack Greenwell; the latter became the club's first full-time coach in 1917. The last edition was held in 1914 in the city of Barcelona. During the same period, the club changed its official language from Castilian to Catalan and evolved into an important symbol of Catalan identity. For many fans, participating in the club had less to do with the game it
