When Two Worlds Collide

Daniel Williamson

Description

In 1960, at the start of a tumultuous decade that saw major global change, the Intercontinental Cup was born. For the first time, this ambitious annual cup crowned a world club champion, pitting the kings of the two great footballing continents - Europe and South America - against each other. In an era before money ruined the global balance of football, neither dominated. From the Estadio Centenario and the Maracanã, to Old Trafford and the San Siro, the most iconic stadia in world football hosted Intercontinental Cup games. The star players of their respective generations participated - from Puskás and Di Stefano in the inaugural 1960 edition, to legends such as Pele, Ronaldo, Zico and van Basten. When Two Worlds Collide charts the Intercontinental Cup's colourful 44-year history, from its trailblazing inception to 2004 when the last ball was kicked in Yokohama. The controversial clashes of the late 1960s, the cup's decline in the 70s and the pivotal 1980 rebirth in Japan are all covered.

Informations

• Publié par: Pitch Publishing
• Date de parution: 18 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781801502979
• Langue: English

Extrait

First published by Pitch Publishing, 2022
Pitch Publishing
A2 Yeoman Gate
Yeoman Way
Durrington
BN13 3QZ
www.pitchpublishing.co.uk
Daniel Williamson, 2022
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Any oversight will be rectified in future editions at the earliest opportunity by the publisher.
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Print ISBN 9781801501453
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Contents
Acknowledgements
1. The First Kings of the Intercontinental Cup
2. Pel and the White Ballet
3. Grande Inter
4. The Battle of Montevideo
5. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
6. Johan Cruyff and the Sons of God
7. Independiente, Cup Kings
8. From the Ashes
9. A New Dawn
10. I am Simply Zico
11. Champions of the Century
12. Platini, Del Piero and the Old Lady
13. In the Good Times
14. Beyond the Dream
15. A Country in Turmoil, a Team in Triumph
16. Jogo Bonito
17. German Success
18. The Gal cticos
19. Treble Winners in Tokyo
20. The Viceroy of Japan
21. The Final One
22. The Sun Sets on the Intercontinental Cup
Statistics
Bibliography
Photos
To Greta, Frieda, and Lottie
Acknowledgements
THANKS TO those who supported Blue Gold Passion: A History of Boca Juniors . Every single person who purchased my first book and said kind things gave me the confidence to pursue this project.
Thanks to Pitch Publishing for once again giving me the platform, and to Duncan Olner for another fantastic cover.
Thanks again to Matt Evans for his proofreading and support throughout the whole process.
I d like to thank my interviewees from the bottom of my heart. Each one of them gave up their time out of nothing but kindness and a passion to discuss football. In no particular order: former Nottingham Forest captain John McGovern; Oscar Ruggeri, who won the Intercontinental Cup with River Plate in 1986 months after lifting the World Cup with Argentina; legendary Milan manager Arrigo Sacchi; Red Star Belgrade president Svetozar Mijailovi ; Patrick Nally, the pioneer who helped create the Toyota Cup in 1980; Bruno Freitas; Dickie Randrup; Steven Scragg; T o Benjamin; Tom Campbell; Tom Nash; Tom Robinson; Nigel Appleton; Paul Groenendijk; Colin Abbott; Martin da Cruz; lvaro Campos; Nacho Tierno; Maur cio Wiklicky; Rick Joshua; Terry Duffelen; Juan Jos Melos; Adam Digby; Emmet Gates; Ciaran Crilly; Peter Coates; Alexandre Giesbrecht, Richard Hall and Eduardo lvarez.
Thanks also to the following helpful people: Zafer Albayrak, Nenad Mijaljevi , Patricio C rdoba, Ryan Baldi, Daniel Pinder, Peter Renner, Markus H rwick, Joe Terry, Daniel Taylor, George McCaffery, Phil Ball, Miel Brinkhuis, Paul McQuade, Nick Dorrington, Joshua Law, Andy Mitten, Graham Denton, Darren Paul, Carl Brace, Emanuel Ro u, Barney Chilton, Kristian Bengtson and Philip Buitendijk.
1
The First Kings of the Intercontinental Cup
RESPLENDENT IN all white, Real Madrid were the pre-eminent club in early organised football in Europe, winning the first four editions of the European Cup. The knockout tournament, featuring the best clubs on the continent, was the brainchild of Gabriel Hanot, editor of L quipe . In a December 1954 column the influential Hanot suggested the idea and it soon gathered pace.
In September 1955, just over a year after UEFA was founded in Switzerland, the first ball was kicked in the newly established European Champion Clubs Cup, commonly known as the European Cup.
In May 1960, Real Madrid made it five wins in a row, destroying Eintracht Frankfurt 7-3 at Hampden Park with Alfredo Di St fano and Ferenc Pusk s grabbing three and four goals respectively. Miguel Mu oz became the first person to win the European Cup as both a player and manager.
Across the Atlantic, the first edition of the Copa Libertadores - South America s answer to the European Cup - was under way. Pe arol were the first rulers of the continent, defeating Paraguay s Olimpia over two legs in June 1960. In a tournament featuring seven teams, Pe arol s fearsome striker Alberto Spencer was the top scorer with seven goals. The Ecuadorian also had the distinction of scoring the first hat-trick in the competition.
Jos Ramos de Freitas, the Brazilian president of CONMEBOL, corresponded with his UEFA counterpart, secretary-general Pierre Delaunay, to set up a match between the premier side on each continent. There had been many friendly matches and other tournaments between European and South American sides, but this new competition promised to be a regular, annual event. The European/South American Cup, also known as the Intercontinental Cup, was born.
The World Cup of international football was, by now, 30 years old, and firmly established. From 1960 onwards a de facto world champion of the club game could be crowned. Europe and South America were by far the strongest continents in terms of football, so this title could hardly be argued. Still, FIFA refused to acknowledge the cup as a world championship due to the absence of representatives from Asia, Africa, and North and Central America. To the world s governing body it was an unofficial friendly match based on the cooperation of two regional confederations.
Rules were agreed between UEFA and CONMEBOL. The ties would be two-legged, with the home federation tasked with providing the match officials. Teams were to be awarded points per leg rather than counting an aggregate of goals scored. Were a tie-breaker required, it would take place within days, on the continent where the second leg was hosted. There would be an annual alternation in the order of matches, with the first one taking place in South America.
On 26 June 1960 Real Madrid lost the final of the Copa del General simo to local rivals Atl tico. The next night, less than 2km from the Bernab u, the victors celebrated at local restaurant El Bosque. Meanwhile, Los Blancos were on their way to Montevideo, the capital of a country a 1951 New York Times article dubbed the Switzerland of the Americas .
The first leg of the inaugural Intercontinental Cup took place on 3 July 1960 at the Estadio Centenario, the iconic venue which hosted the first World Cup Final. In the build-up to the game the winter weather was mild but, the afternoon before, the temperature plummeted and rain battered the port city, turning the pitch into a mud bath.
The visitors all-white kit - on which the UEFA crest had replaced Real Madrid s - was soon filthy, and the Spaniards were unable to display their speed and skill. Francisco Gento, injured in the domestic cup final a week earlier, was missing, limiting their attacking options.
Pe arol, in their classic yellow and black stripes - featuring the CONMEBOL logo - were also crippled by the conditions. The resulting 90 minutes was a damp squib for the more than 70,000 spectators, which included 2,000 Spanish expatriates who travelled from Buenos Aires. What was meant to be a showcase of the two best sides on the planet failed to live up to expectations.
During the goalless draw, home fans booed Real Madrid s South American-born contingent, saving most of their ire for Jos Santamar a. The defender hailed from Montevideo and represented local rivals Nacional for almost a decade, as well as the Uruguayan national team, before moving to Spain in 1957 and switching international allegiance to La Roja.
Two months later the sides met for the return. As it was the week before the start of the Spanish domestic campaign, Real Madrid s pre-season preparations were in full swing. They had been holed up at El Escorial, the historical residence of the king of Spain located approximately 45km (28 miles) north-west of the capital.
The Pe arol delegation arrived six days before the match, but treated it as a holiday, spending much of their time sightseeing and enjoying the high life. Many complained about the weather with temperatures in Madrid north of 35 o C.
At 8.30pm on 4 September, English referee Ken Aston blew his whistle to start the game, and the Real Madrid stars who were denied in Uruguay could not be contained on their home turf. In front of 120,000 Madrile os, Pusk s - part of the legendary Magical Magyars side which thrashed England 6-3 at Wembley in 1953 - opened the scoring after some neat interplay on the edge of Luis Maidana s 18-yard box. Di St fano is credited with the second goal, although the ball deflected off the inside of his leg from a Pusk s shot.
Pusk s doubled his tally with a long-range free kick. Just before half-time Chus Herrera, who tragically died from cancer in 1962 aged just 24, made it 4-0 to Real, poking the ball past Maidana from 12 yards. Gento, recovered from the injury that sidelined him in the Centenario, made it 5-0 to complete the demolition, looping the ball over the head of the advancing goalkeeper from the best part of 40 yards.
Pe arol were blown away by Real Madrid, although they did grab a late consolation through the prolific Spencer. The ecstatic home fans invaded the pitch, and UEFA president Ebbe Schwartz presented the new trophy to Los Blancos captain Jos Mar a Z rraga. The cup s design saw a golden ball supported by four columns. The marble-effect base featured the UEFA logo as well as a map of South America, a symbol of collaboration between the two continents and confederations separated by an ocean but united b