In preparation for the
World Cup in Brazil, this series is an in-depth look back at the 1982
tournament, held in Spain.
This was the second World
Cup I watched and still remains my favourite.
There is a saying that the World Cup you remember most was the one you
watched when you were around ten years old, yet I was that age when the 1978
tournament in Argentina took place. But
the tv coverage then was patchy, and with some of the matches being broadcast
late at night I had no chance of getting to see them. Two other reasons for 1978 failing to quite
do it for me, was that only Scotland qualified from the home nations, plus there
were no standouts sides. There was no
‘total football’ from the Dutch, despite their retention of many players from
1974, and the absence of Johann Cruyff clearly affected them greatly. Brazil, despite containing Zico and Rivelino,
were a shadow of the 1970 side.
1982 was an expanded
format which 24 sides competing rather than 16 as had been the standard since
1950. With the advancement in television
coverage, matches played at times more acceptable to a viewer in England, this
tournament was bigger, better and blatantly more colourful. Add to that, three home nations qualified,
England, Scotland and Northern Ireland it was an infinitely more attractive
tournament for me than the previous one.
The football was of a much higher standard than four years before, and
not only did we see a Brazilian side which still remains one of the most
exciting international teams I have ever witnessed, but also France, West
Germany and Italy played some attractive football. Many players’ reputations were forged in this
tournament, with players such as Socrates, Falcao, Eder, Pierre Littbarski,
Jean Tigana, Alain Giresse, Gaetano Scirea, Antonio Cabrini and Diego Maradona,
all made their entrance on the world stage here. Players such as Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Michel
Platini, Zbigniew Boniek and Paolo Rossi had all appeared in 1978 but were now
moving towards their peak as they began to dominate world football.
Another personal reason
for this tournament remaining special for me, was that I am youngest in a large
family, with all my brothers a lot older than me. In 1978 world football was still full of
players from my brothers’ era, such as Cruyff, Breitner, Bettega, Rensenbrink,
Neeskens and Krol, with the names of Beckenbauer, Pele and Muller still
mentioned in many quarters. 1982 felt
like the beginning of a new era. The
1980 European Championships had been won by a West German side full of many new
players, and by 1982 they had enhanced this team further. So, this felt like ‘my World Cup’ for my
time.
Spain was chosen as the
host nation for this tournament as far back as 1966. At the time the hosts for 1974 and 1978 were
decided as well, and Spain had agreed a deal with West Germany that they would
support them for the 1974 tournament, in return for German support for
1982. We have now become used to the
build-up of major sporting events being full of claims such as “the hosts
aren’t ready”, and “stadiums may not be completed on time”, but back then this
was fairly uncommon.
There were concerns over
Spanish stadium workers threatening to strike during the finals over pay and
conditions. As late as a week before the
World Cup was due to kick-off, Spain’s leading newspaper, El Pais, describes
Mundial ’82 as ‘the great national disaster’.
Grounds are still being finished, ticket sales are disappointing and the
organisers merely hope to break even.
In addition to domestic disputes,
there was another major international incident which threatened to affect
things. The Falklands War was in
progress. Argentinian forces had invaded
the Islands, governed by Britain, in an attempt to take control. Britain had responded by sending a naval
taskforce to repel them. This made
things very difficult for FIFA. With
three British nations due to complete in Spain, there was uncertainty as to
whether the British Government would ‘allow’ them to take part. The government had already given a directive
there should be no contact between British representative teams and Argentina,
when hostilities began in April. FIFA had
subsequently advised the Government there was no prospect of Argentina being
asked to withdraw, particularly as they were the defending champions.
For a while the
Government had taken the view it would be up to the football authorities in
each country to decide what to do. But
then casualties increased and there was concern the Government would take
matters into their own hands. They
ultimately decided a withdrawal would provide Argentina with a wonderful
propaganda opportunity and when it became obvious no other countries would
withdraw in support of the home nations, all of them competed as arranged.
Things weren’t
particularly easy for the Argentinians either.
As holders they only had friendlies to play. Just before the tournament they beat Bulgaria
and Romania which ended a run of 6 games without a win. But for the players they had been exposed to
their own media coverage of the Falklands War and the message at home was very
much that Argentina was winning and the War would soon be over, with the result
in their favour. When they arrived in
Europe, they found the story a completely different one to get used to and
realised their countrymen were dying in the conflict. The team found it difficult to concentrate,
not really knowing what was happening back home.
Italy was another team in
some uncertainty. Managed by Enzo
Bearzot, they’d spent the past four years re-building the side which finished 4th
in Argentina. Italian football had been
rocked by a match fixing scandal which claimed their star striker, Paolo Rossi,
who was banned inititally for three years until 1983. The ban was appealed and eventually reduced
to two years, but Rossi didn’t return to professional football until the end of
April 1982. He played one international,
away to Switzerland, before the tournament and looked horribly short of
match-fitness in the early games. He was
almost dropped for the Brazil match which would be the making of him.
With the expanded
tournament came some teams who had never competed in a finals tournament
before, such as Algeria, Cameroon, Honduras, Kuwait and New Zealand. To date, for El Salvador, Kuwait and Peru it
is still the last time they competed in at the finals.
Probably the biggest
influence for me was that we were now out of the 1970’s football, with its
dull, defensive mindset. The 1970s with
its Formica, brown furniture, flares and endless strikes. The 1970s had taken international football
down a dark sullied passage which was signposted “don’t go in that direction as
you might concede a goal, and then you’ll have to score two”.
1980s football, with its
colour, hairstyles and sunshine just seemed to be all the more appetising and
positive. But don’t get me wrong, it
wasn’t all sweetness and light, but when you look back at your childhood it’s
always sunny, isn’t it?
Maybe the only reason the
1982 World Cup was a joy to remember was because there was an exciting
Brazilian team to watch. Football is
always a joy to watch when the Brazilians are in form as they play the game so
well, there’s so much fun and laughter.
There was no fun and laughter in 1974 or 1978, but 1982, with its French
midfield, the relentless German efficiency and the tactical nous of the
Italians. Not to mention the naïve
exuberance of the Algerians, Cameroons, and above all else – the Irish. Has there ever been a host nation who has
suffered as embarrassing a loss as the Spanish did against the plucky Irish
from the North? A team filled with wily
old professionals who’d been around the block many times, yet still found a
place for the youngest player in World Cup history.
For England it was a
journey which ultimately lead to disappointment, but they could hang onto the
stats which say, played 6, lost 0, and the only goal they conceded came midway through
the first half of their first match.
They beat the French, and the Germans couldn’t break them down
either. But for England the story was of
them not quite understanding the format.
Just get through the group stage and worry about things later, as the Germans,
Italians and French did. Once into the
second round, you need to be clinical, and the English do not do ‘clinical’,
certainly not under Ron Greenwood. Had
West Germany and Austria not arranged their match then England might have been
playing the Austrians who were decimated with injuries, come the second
phase. But the biggest reason for
England’s failure to make the Semi-Finals was the fitness of Kevin Keegan and
Trevor Brooking. England never lost a
qualifying match when those two were playing together. They rescued the campaign in Budapest, yet
when it came to the finals both were injured they were only able to make an
appearance for the last 35 minutes of the final match. Yet Keegan almost won it as his header went
agonisingly wide. He got blamed for
that, as often Keegan did, whilst the fact Mariner, Francis & Woodcock had
failed to get a goal between them for 270 minutes of the competition.
I have decided to post a day-by-day account of the tournament, rather than "this is what happened in this group, and then this is what happened in that group", so you get a feeling of the tournament building - just like you will with Brazil 2014.
So, join me as we re-live
the 1982 World Cup – day by day. It’s
just like being there.
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