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This World Cup, played at high altitude in the
mid-afternoons, in the middle of a hot summer, in
Mexico had a tragic qualifying competition. There
would be two teams from Central and North America;
Mexico, who qualified automatically as hosts, and
the winner of the qualifying competition. Despite
its vast population, the United States was not a
force in the world of football, thus it was always
likely that the second qualifier would be a football
mad Latin country. At that time Honduras had a large
immigrant population, who had come from its Central
American neighbour El Salvador. Hondurans maintained
that they were being overrun, whereas the El Salvadorian
migrants insisted that they were discriminated against
and victimised. Of course both countries were in
serious economic difficulties, so it was not difficult
to stir up trouble and cause a rise in tensions,
such an outcome would be welcome to the governments
of the day, who could distract attention away from
their own inadequacies. There were three football
matches in all, both home matches being won by the
hosts, which meant that a decider was required at
a neutral venue. All these matches were marred by
crowd trouble; a difficulty made worse by wholly
irresponsible clashes on the border between the
militaries of the two countries. Four days before
this final encounter both nations had cut off diplomatic
relations. El Salvador won the decider three-two
in Mexico after the game had entered extra time.
One week later this football victory was followed
up by an invasion of Honduras, with planes bombing
various targets and ground troops attempting to
move in in the wake of the planes. The invasion
was not a success and US pressure forced a ceasefire;
however, two thousand people had died.
Elsewhere in the world there had been tensions,
Israel’s victory in the Six Day War in 1967 may
have enhanced her military reputation, but it did
nothing to endear her to the Islamic states. Fortunately,
Arab Morocco was placed in a different group in
the first round, which reduced some of the potential
for trouble. Morocco’s presence meant, as well,
that there was again an African country competing
in the World Cup finals. Israel had qualified at
the expense of European opposition, so, despite
the atlas placing Israel on earth’s largest continent,
there was no representative from Asia, where the
game had still to catch the popular imagination.
European team managers knew that winning the World
Cup in the Americas had never been managed by their
forbears, not just because there had been comparatively
few tournaments staged there; but because of the
extreme heat, a problem for Latin sides too, but
one with which they were more able to cope. An obvious
form of preparation was to play a series of friendly
matches against Latin American opposition in the
period leading up to the World Cup. This was what
Alf Ramsey proceeded to do for England. One of England’s
games was against Columbia, which reasonably enough,
was contested in Bogotá, the capital of Columbia.
One reason international football teams possess
large entourages is to provide a degree of protection
against cupidity and greed; such a development was
still in the embryo stages in 1970, but even had
the team been better chaperoned, it was likely that
the following sting would still have been attempted.
England captain Bobby Moore was with his namesake
Bobby Charlton in the jewellery store that was inside
the hotel they were staying at, eventually they
left the store. Shortly afterwards Moore was accused
of stealing a gold made from emerald and gold worth
£600 in 1970 prices. Moore denied ever having seen
the bracelet, never mind taking it. Eventually both
players were permitted to depart, the incident appeared
to be closed. The England team departed to play
another friendly match in another South American
country. Heading back to Mexico England stopped
off in Columbia, something they would probably not
have done had they anticipated what was to come.
Incredibly, as it appears now, and astonishingly,
as it appeared to the England players then, Moore
was arrested. There was, allegedly, another witness.
England had to depart for Mexico sans captain Moore.
Moore was kept under house arrest whilst British
diplomats used all their skills in an attempt to
secure Moore’s release. They were able to show that
this same sting had been attempted on visiting bullfighters
and singers, who had mostly paid up in an attempt
to avoid any embarrassment or loss of freedom. Moore
was released on bail, which enabled him to rejoin
his team-mates in Mexico, although it was clear
that the preparation of the England team had been
disrupted. Eventually this second alleged witness
disappeared, and two years later the owner of the
store and one of his assistants were charged with
conspiracy. Some wondered if Moore would have been
detained but for the unfortunate match between England
and Argentina in the 1966 World Cup.
The first round divisions were:
Group 1:
Soviet Union
Mexico
Belgium
El Salvador
Group 2:
Italy
Uruguay
Sweden
Israel
Group 3:
Brazil
England
Romania
Czechoslovakia
Group 4:
West Germany
Peru
Bulgaria
Morocco
These groupings perfectly illustrated the folly
of the divisional system without a proper system
of seeding. At the time Brazil were considered the
finest team in Latin America, whilst a similar accolade
was afforded England in Europe. Simply observing
that England were world champions and Brazil former
world champions should have alerted anyone to the
unbalanced weightings. Moreover, Czechoslovakia
were former finalists themselves and were manifestly
not a pushover. One could add that there were weaker
teams than Romania in Mexico in 1970. By contrast
group one only had one serious contender, the Soviet
Union, who had been European champions in 1960 and
had reached the semi-finals in 1966. Group two,
at least, had two respectable sides, who did qualify
for the next round. Group four was scarcely more
challenging than group one. A betting man could
have made money by forecasting that the eventual
winner would come from group three.
Several great players were to make their presence
known in 1970. Franz Beckenbauer, who had already
appeared in the 1966 World Cup Final for West Germany,
had fully matured as a player. Nicknamed “the Kaiser”,
this highly gifted footballer was equally at home
marshalling a defence or leading an attack. Football
formations had continued to evolve over the years,
yet the scope for finding new methods was still
there. Because of Beckenbauer West Germany were
able to adopt a sweeper system, for the great man
was able to sit in front of the back four to intercept
and break up attacks, often before they had even
occurred to his opponents. His magnificent movements
on and off the ball, when he played in his position
just behind his midfield, meant that he had time
to send forward the most telling pass, short or
long, it mattered little to Beckenbauer, for he
could do them both. His timing was such that he
could run forward to adding telling pressure to
a West German attack, but could scamper back so
rapidly that his absence was scarcely noticed. He
offered West Germany both security and menace, and
was largely responsible for West German successes
in international football.
Born in Rio de Janeiro on Christmas day 1944, Jairzinho
made his debut for Brazil in 1963 against Chile.
However, injury and the presence of the great Garrincha
meant that Jairzinho didn’t have a sustained run
in the Brazilian team until the 1970 World Cup.
Lightly built, Jairzinho would have preferred to
have played in a more central position in the Brazil
attack, however, the presence of the supreme football
artist Pelé meant banishment to the wings; nonetheless,
Jairzinho was deadly, for his shooting was powerful
and accurate. There, perhaps, has never been a more
exciting player than Jairzinho, who liked nothing
more than sprinting at terrifying speed towards
the opposing goal line; not easy to dispossess,
the opposing fullback would, as like as not, make
a clumsy challenge that would send Jairzinho flying:
he was, therefore, very prone to injury. In compensation
for his team, giving away a free kick to Brazil
has always been a risky proposition if the goal
is within range. Jairzinho scored several spectacular
goals in his career, of which more anon.
Tostao, who had performed credibly for Brazil in
1966, was perhaps the bravest player who played
in the Finals in 1970. For he had been struck full
in the face by a ferocious clearance from Corinthians
defender Ditao in a match in the Brazilian league
in 1968; the force of the clearance was such that
one of Tostao’s retinas had become detached. Tostao’s
doctors recommended an operation, and they warned
the forward that they could give no guarantees were
he to continue to play professional football. Danny
Blanchflower, captain of the great Tottenham Hotspur
side of the 1960s, once commented: “Football is
not really about winning, or goals, or saves, or
supporters: it’s about glory. It’s about doing things
in style, doing them with a flourish; it’s about
going out to beat the other lot, not waiting for
them to die of boredom; it’s about dreaming of the
glory ...”. This sentiment epitomised Tostao (and
Brazil), who decided to risk much for the chance
of the title “World Champion”. Tostao remained a
very influential player for Brazil, although he
had become much more cagey when it came to challenging
in the air. Tostao had lost none of his perceptiveness
when it came to positioning in anticipation of through
balls; his ability to trap and bring under control
a ball remained unsurpassed, as did his skill in
holding onto possession until support had arrived.
Often his opponents couldn’t even see the ball,
never mind put in a tackle. For he could twist and
turn, sinuously advancing to the opponent’s goal
whilst so doing; what made him the worst nightmare
for many a defence was the extreme difficulty of
guessing what Tostao would do next. Highly experienced,
Tostao had made his debut for Brazil in 1963, he
was never to play better than he did in 1970.
At twenty-eight years of age Giancinto Fachetti
was in the prime of his career. Capable of running
eighty meters in 8.8 seconds, he provided a security
at left back that was unmatched in Europe. Operating
the catenaccio system made the Italian team was
the most defensively minded in the competition,
scoring against them was extremely difficult. Yet
Fachetti, with his pace, also presented a serious
menace to opposing defences, scoring no less than
ten times in one season at club level in Italy,
no mean feat for a defender in that most security
conscious of leagues. With that scoring reputation
it was unbelievable but true that Fachetti could
man mark an opponent out of the game. Born in 1942
in Treviglio, Fachetti made his international debut
in 1963 against debut. He was part of the Italian
side humiliated by North Korea in 1966. His lengthy
international career ended in 1977, when he was
a member of the Italian side beaten by England at
Wembley. He was perhaps a trifle unfortunate never
to belong to a team that won the World Cup.
Whatever the limitations of staging the contest
in midsummer in a hot country, i.e. teams being
required to play for ninety minutes plus in unbelievably
hot temperatures, the football that was served up
was sublime. Brazil, still smarting from her premature
elimination in 1966, wanted to show who was the
real champion, and was successful. For Pelé and
Tostao were on top of their game, whilst Jairzinho
and Rivelino constituted a magnificent find. It
is arguable that there has never been a stronger
side than that fielded by the Latin American giants
in 1970. England too, had strengthened since 1966,
Alan Mullery being a notable addition. Thus it was
no surprise when the second game clash between these
two formidable sides, played on 7 June 1970, was
dubbed the “real final”. Unfortunately for England,
the temperature in Guadalajara reached 98 degrees
Fahrenheit, a figure significantly in excess of
what could be considered prudent: the England players
took sodium tablets to ameliorate the effects of
dehydration. The one-nil score line was in no way
indicative of how exciting that match was; for the
seventy thousand plus spectators saw treats such
as the goal that never was, and this after only
ten minutes. Jairzinho, who was in top form for
this game, picked up the ball on the extreme right,
once he had shaken off his marker Tommy Cooper;
his angle was such that it was impossible to gauge
whether he would shoot at the near or far post,
moreover Pelé was superbly situated to head the
ball should Jairzinho pick him out. Gordon Banks,
still rated the world’s number one goalkeeper, moved
to cover the near post, which was the most likely
destination of any ball released by Jairzinho, while
there was every expectation that the England defenders
would prevent the ball ever reaching the far post.
In the event, Jairzinho chipped the ball very high
in the air, no England defender could reach it,
surely it would pass harmlessly by? But no, Pelé
jumped, he rose so high that it seemed impossible;
furthermore, the timings of the pass and the jump
were perfectly synchronised, almost as if they had
been choreographed; Pelé had time to divine where
Banks was, and directed a powerful header towards
the far post, furthermore the ball was directed
downwards, for it would be impossible for a goalkeeper
to rush the length of the goal, dive and prevent
the ball going in. Banks did the impossible, knocking
the ball upwards with one hand over the bar. A stunned
Pelé later recalled his thoughts: “At that time
I hated Banks more than any man in football. I just
couldn’t believe it. But when I cooled down I had
to applaud him with all my heart. It was the greatest
save I have ever seen”. Later on Geoff Hurst is
presented with a chance to put England ahead, unfortunately
he was never to possess the goal scoring instinct
of Jimmy Grieves, he paused and then shot weakly.
He should have taken the opportunity, and left the
problem of whether he was offside to the match officials.
It was a costly error. The match was goal less at
half time, but it was an evenly contested affair
with which both sides could be satisfied. The contest
between the giants resumed in the second half, could
the strongest attack in the competition, Brazil’s,
break through against the most formidable defence
available, that of England? Fourteen minutes into
the second half the answer came back in the affirmative,
although not before Francis Lee had headed a cross
straight at Felix, who was in goal for Brazil: one
needed more than that to win such a match.. Tostao
was running down the left touchline in possession
of the ball, Moore moved out of central defence
to support England right back Newton, he was followed
by Labone. Moore decided that this support, and
the danger presented by Tostao, was such that the
best option was to try and tackle the Brazilian
genius. It was a fatal error for Tostao recovered
quicker than Moore, the Brazilian swept in a quick
pass towards Pelé who was entering the penalty area,
shadowed, as he had been throughout the match, by
the superb Alan Mullery. The danger of a shot from
this position forced Terry Cooper to move towards
Pelé to block. Quick as a flash Pelé passed to his
right where Jairzinho was rushing in towards the
exposed England left; Martin Peters stormed back
in an attempt to fill the hole, while Banks rushed
out of goal to reduce the angle, but it was too
late. Jairzinho found the gap that Banks could not
cover and sent the ball thundering into the far
corner. A stunned Banks kneeled on the ground, it
was a body blow. Yet the game was not over as a
contest, England substitute Astle fluffs a chance
to equalise when his shot skids past the wrong side
of a post. Later on a header from Astle puts Ball
into a position to score, yet the Everton player,
who was soon to join the Arsenal, was unable to
do anything. Later on Ball partly redeemed himself
when his shot skimmed over the bar. But it was not
to be. Brazil had won the game that should have
been the final by the narrowest of margins. Luckily,
however, both teams were still in the competition.
Thus Brazil had won her opening two games, for
she had beaten a resurgent Czechoslovakia four-one
in her opening game after being a goal down. Indeed
that game served as a wake up call to watch out
when Brazil had a free kick; for Rivelino, who reputably
had the hardest shot in football had smashed the
free kick between the goal posts even though the
Czechoslovaks had marshalled a six man wall; their
undoing was that the free kick was being taken just
outside the box but very near the centre, so that
Rivelino had a near perfect view of the Czech goal
and a choice of where to place the ball. Jairzinho
was at the end of the wall and had stepped smartly
aside at just the right moment for Rivelino.
Brazil eventually won Group Three with England
a convincing second.
As expected, West Germany swept aside all opposition
in a weak Group Four. Italy scored a solitary goal
in Group Two in their opening match and then shut
up shop in the way that only Italian sides are capable
of. No more goals were scored by either side in
matches involving Italy in that group, which proved
sufficient to come top. In a weak Group One the
hosts had the added advantage that infighting fatally
undermined the Belgium camp; thus for the first
time Mexico progressed beyond the first round of
a World Cup, behind a much diminished Soviet team.
Coming first in group three meant that Brazil had
to face the runners up of group four in the quarterfinals.
The four-two result in favour of Brazil occasioned
no surprise, nor were the Brazilians ever in much
trouble. Italy easily overcame the hosts Mexico
four-one, the only surprise was that Mexico scored
a goal. The extremely dull match between the Soviet
Union and Uruguay was goal less after ninety minutes,
the South Americans managing to score the decisive
goal only after the game had reached extra time.
The game of the round was between the finalists
of 1966, England and West Germany. For England there
was a disaster when goalkeeper Gordon Banks suffered
from food poisoning. He had to be replaced at a
late stage by Chelsea’s Peter Bonetti, who was not
remotely in the same class. England were therefore
already without their best player before a ball
had been kicked. West Germany would have been further
encouraged that the venue was León where they had
played and won all their group games. West Germany
were popular with the locals, who took to hooting
the horns of their cars outside the hotel where
England were staying on the night before the match;
indeed Banks was of the opinion that the food poisoning
was not accidental: “the more I look back, the more
I believe my food could have been tampered with”.
Notwithstanding this, the start of the match was
a disaster for West Germany with Alan Mullery and
Bobby Moore in fine fettle and dictating events.
This dominance being converted into a goal for Mullery
after just over half an hour. This supremacy was
maintained all the way to half time and the beginning
of the second half. Five minutes after the interval
the match seemed to be over as a contest when Martin
Peters scored from a Newton cross. West Germany
had forty minutes to do something, so with just
over half an hour left they brought on Grabowski.
In the appalling heat of that day this fresh pair
of legs lent new impetus to West Germany, but still
they could not score. Then with twenty-two minutes
left, a catastrophic blunder from Bonetti, who dived
too late to save a shot from Beckenbauer, resulted
in the ball ending up in the right hand corner.
West Germany were undeservedly back in the game.
Nonetheless, the match should still have been won
by England; however, England manager Ramsey panicked,
taking off two world class players, Bobby Charlton
and Martin Peters, in the matter of a few minutes,
when it was obvious that the struggling Terry Cooper
should have been replaced. England’s organisation
disintegrated, thus enabling Uwe Seeler to score
from a back header after a slip by the tired Brian
Labone. The score was level now with eight minutes
of normal time left. The exhausted players fought
on until the game reached extra time. Stamina would
now be more important that footballing skill. The
fates then dealt a cruel blow to England; four years
previously in the World Cup final Geoff Hurst scored
a goal that should not have been allowed, he now
scored a perfectly legitimate goal that was disallowed,
a form of delayed justice. Finally Gerd Müller volleyed
a tremendous shot home from mid-air that signalled
the end for England, their exhaustion and loss of
two of their most creative players making any hope
of a fight back just a pipe dream. England were
left to rue what might have been, for they thrown
away a won game.
The pairings now made it certain that there would
be one team from Latin America and one from Europe
in the final, for Brazil had to face Uruguay, and
West Germany Italy. This time Brazil would make
certain there would be no repeat of what happened
twenty years previously in the 1950 World Cup when
they had unexpectedly lost to their smaller neighbours.
The three-one score line barely doing justice to
their supremacy. The match between Italy and West
Germany, however, was a much more absorbing contest,
in stark contrast to all of Italy’s previous games
in the competition. At first the game started in
a manner highly suited to Italian tastes, for Boninsegna
had struck home in the ninth minutes of play after
two fortunate rebounds. Entirely predictably this
served as the cue for the Italian players to withdraw
and attempt to play the remainder of the match without
another goal. This was something in which they were
peerless, having done this very thing in three of
their matches of the World Cup to date. This enabled
West Germany to dominate the field, they were able
to gather a surprisingly large number of chances,
with Beckenbauer, in particular, unlucky not to
win a penalty. Nonetheless the Italian luck held,
the longer the match went on, the more desperate
the West Germans became. A cynical tackle on Beckenbauer,
with half an hour left to play, sent the West German
talisman tumbling. Such was the force of the fall
that Beckenbauer dislocated his shoulder. Schön
the West German manager had already used one of
his permitted two substitutions, the obvious thing
to do would have been to replace the injured Beckenbauer;
yet there was a genuine dilemma, Beckenbauer was
the one truly great player in this German team,
he had served as the fulcrum of most West German
attacks, to replace him would almost have been tantamount
to capitulation. The clincher for Schön was the
willingness of Beckenbauer to continue, notwithstanding
his quite useless right arm; so Patzke was removed
from the West German defence and replaced by Held.
The gamble appeared to be in vain when a powerfully
struck shot from Held was cleared off the line,
then Albertosi in goal for Italy brilliantly saved
a Seeler effort. Ninety minutes had been played,
the increasingly frantic Germans threw every available
player into the attack, losing two-nil would have
been no different to one-nil. Finally the Italian
game plan was busted when a fast low cross from
Grabowski on the left was met by Schnellinger, who
put the ball home. West Germany would have to play
their second extra-time game in as many matches.
This was much worse in the hellishly hot conditions
of the Azteca stadium in Mexico City in front of
an ecstatic crowd of eighty thousands, than it would
have been in Europe; for the venue was at a very
high altitude, and midsummer in Mexico is far more
challenging that in Europe. At least Beckenbauer’s
right arm was now strapped, but the odds still favoured
the Italians in a game now likely to be determined
by blunders. Incredibly the first error came from
an Italian substitute, Poletti, from which Müller
was able to capitalise after just four minutes of
extra time. West Germany were now two-one up in
a match that was now both entertaining and farcical;
within minutes Italy had scored twice, courtesy
of Burgnich and Riva, three - two, what else could
happen? Surely the drama was over? But no, just
over five minutes later Müller scored again, literally
throwing his head towards the ball. West Germany
learnt that a minute can be a long time, for that
was all Boninsegna needed to cross to Rivera from
the goal line on the left, Rivera made no mistake.
West Germany had lost, but they had given their
all, they had displayed bravery and determination
when it would have been all to easy to have sunk
to an ignominious one-nil defeat.
Brazil were to face their antithesis on 20 June
1970, extravagant attacking would be met by stonewalling
and blanket defence. Exuberant ambition would challenge
cynicism. Two Latin sides would fight, one from
Europe, the other from the Americas; two countries,
who had two wins each, would battle to win the Jules
Rimet Trophy for the third time and be entitled
to keep it. Probably nearly everyone who had an
interest in the game but no Italian ties wanted
the South Americans to win. More than one hundred
thousand people crowded into the Azteca stadium
on 21 June 1970. They were rewarded with some spectacular
passing and movement from the Brazilians who dominated
right from the beginning. In the eighteenth minute
Italy’s hopes of a successful dour defence, and
a solitary successful strike, were ended when Rivelino
crossed from the left; Pelé rose majestically to
meet it and headed downwards, this time there was
no Gordon Banks to make a stupendous, impossible
save. Italy had conceded, they would have to come
out and play, which might expose them to further
damage. Yet the pattern did not alter all that much,
the Italians knew just how dangerous Brazil could
be, their hopes still rested on a lucky break, which
was precisely what happened. In the thirty-eighth
minute Clodoaldo casually back-heeled the ball.
He had not being paying attention and the Brazilian
defenders were a fraction too slow to react, instead
Boninsegna slipped in and raced for goal, the onrushing
Brazilian goalkeeper Felix tried to do what he could,
however, he was easily side-stepped; Italy were
suddenly, and completely against the run of play,
level. Brazil just carried on as they had been,
yet there were no further goals in the first half.
The pattern did not alter in the second, it took
Brazil all of twenty minutes to break through this
time; Gerson sending a thunderously powerful shot
towards the Italian goal after he had successfully
wrong footed his markers by pivoting just outside
the penalty box. This time there would be no gift
from the boys from Brazil, five minutes later a
Gerson free kick was headed by Pelé into the path
of Jairzinho, Jairzinho simply guided himself and
the ball between the goal posts past the goal line.
There could be no doubt as to the result, one met
with approval by the crowd as Brazil continued to
press. The performance was capped by yet another
goal, four minutes from the end Alberto’s charge
towards the Italian penalty area from the right
was anticipated by Pelé who expertly placed the
ball in his path, all Alberto had to do was shoot,
shoot accurately and shoot hard, he did so, the
ball accelerating towards the far post past a beaten
goalkeeper. Brazil had won, they had won possibly
the finest finals ever despite all the organisational
difficulties, the high altitude and the obscene
temperatures, they had won with one player Jairzinho
becoming the first ever to score in every game,
they had won with perhaps the finest footballing
team ever assembled by a nation contesting the World
Cup finals. Zagalo Brazil’s manager had himself
played for the successful 1958 and 1962 sides.