BOBBY ROBSON-A GENT: KNOCKER WEST? NOT QUITE

 July 31st 2009 was the day that English Football lost the great Bobby Robson, a brilliantly modest coach and gentleman. I have mentioned Sir Bobby on many occasions such is his influence on our nation's game.

Here is one from May 2018:
http://baileyfootballblog.blogspot.com/2018/05/more-than-manager.html

On the other hand, not being a pillar of the game was Enoch "Knocker" West.
Born in 1886 at Hucknall Torkard in Nottinghamshire, West first played for Sheffield United and in 1905 was transfered to Nottingham Forest for £5. During the 1905 season, Knocker scored almost a 100 goals for Forest and eventually in 1910, he was transfered to Manchester United, where he, a "bull of a centre forward"(a force of nature), helped the club win a First Division League Medal in 1911, as United pipped the holders, Aston Villa, by one point.
The team celebrated their success with a day at Chester races, where, by all accounts, Knocker had a good time and a laid a few bets!

That season Nottingham Forest were relegated.

When the league closed due to the War in 1915, he had played in 334 matches and scored 168.

During the last period of league competition before the war, The FA had investigated a match between Liverpool and Manchester United, implying that there had been some "match fixing" by players going on;
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1915_British_football_betting_scandal
and Knocker had been implicated and found guilty.

He was banned for life and despite going to the High Court in 1917, he was not reprieved and that was curtains for Knocker; he had to take the "rap".
By 1945 the ban was lifted and Knocker could play again-he was well over 60. He died in 1965 aged 79.

THE FIRST FEMALE FOOTBALLERS TO PLAY FOR ENGLAND?

See this.....https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/extra/LNoYd7se8m/the-lost-lionesses 

Just as Great Britain's Women footballers were boomeranged out of the 2020/1 Olympics by Australia, to help the future success, a huge investment from Sky Sports and the BBC has been made, allowing Women's Super League matches to be broadcast from 2021-2. The Women's World Cup is scheduled in 2023. 

50 years ago a pioneering "unofficial squad", of 14 England women footballers, mostly teenagers, found themselves ostracised and shamed for having the cheek to play in the 1971, August, World Cup. 

Recently, in Bedfordshire, half the original "Lost Lionesses 1971" squad gathered for a reunion. Leah Caleb at 63 years old and Janice Emms (69) (her daughter and badminton Olympic silver medal star, 2004, is Gail Emms) met and played "keepy up" in the garden. 

Half a century ago, Caleb was 13 years old and Gillian Sayell, 14, standing at 4'10", who took the pitch at Mexico City's Azteca Stadium, in front of a packed crowd of 90,000, daunting or what?

A group of Chiltern Valley Ladies' football team, whose home base was Crawley Green Sports and Social Club, was formed by Harry Batt, who became an "unofficial" team from England, travelling half way round the world. When they returned the FA banned the players for months and Harry was banned for LIFE! Harry never spoke about the event again and he retired a broken man. Batt had fought against France in the Spanish Civil War and had been a merchant seaman in the Second WW. Some reward for his patronism. He died in 1985, aged 78.

Kit designer Martine Rose discovered the "story" and has recently immortalised it with Nike, by creating an England supporters' shirt that is genderless and reversible. One side is printed with "71" and the other The Lost Lionesses. She brought as many of the squad together as she could, a meeting that had not happened properly for 50 years. 

These women began their venture at a time when females were not encouraged to play football, typical of the everyday "sexism" that faced female footballers, especially youngsters. Across the board, women's football was ignored and subject to ridicule, although most parents were supportive and helpful in keeping their girls and the team going. 

The trip to Mexico was by Jumbo Jet funded by sponsors Martini and Rossi. Arriving at Mexico City, the girls were quickly aware of the effects of heat and humidity, not to mention the altitude. Marlene Rowe, now 73, worked at the Post Office and decided to form a team, when she was 20. She became aware that the press were at the airport to greet them off the plane, not someone famous travelling in First Class. The daring English girls, epitomised "swinging London", and the press dubbed them "las chicas de Carnaby Street"!

The party had police motorbike escorts, hundreds watching their training sessions and a busy hotel. It was a story (game) of two halves, because off the pitch they were "hits" but on the pitch they were not "hits", for their first match was lost 1-4 to Argentina. (the England goal was scored by 15 year old Paula Rayner). The opposition were very physical and against Mexico they shipped 4 goals and 8 of the girls went to hospital to treat wounds! This meant they were out of the tournament but the organisers were so enamoured by the English girls that they insisted on another match, a friendly against France which ended 2-3. 

Batt's team of schoolgirls and part-time payers had been amazing and amazed. When the squad returned to England, they were cheerfully greeted by their families and friends and there was a mild local newspaper report, BUT they were banned by the FA, which seems petty to say the least. Paula Mills is still playing "walking football", Yvonne Bradley is helping Shrublands U13s and some of the London girls support grassroot teams, such as East London Ladies and they regularly talk to schools about their experience and to encourage girls to try the football.

The first FIFA Women's World Cup took place  in China in 1991.

The Lost Lionesses:

PS. today is the anniversary of the England World Cup win 1966 and the day of the FIRST World Cup Final between Uruguay 4 v 2 Argentina in 1930.

SAMMARINESE

San Marino, makes the sporting news today BUT the country is more famous for its named Grand Prix F1 rather than football in which it is 210^th in FIFA's rankings. Actually the F1 race takes place at Imola, not in San Marino. However, there are one or two other special Olympic moments for this small Republic. With a population of nearly 38,000, the country has entered one man in the judo, one of each in shooting, one women in swimming and one male in wrestling. The country's medal total remains at ONE! and today, this matches those powerful sporting nations of Finland, Kuwait, Cuba, Israel, Ivory Coast, Argentina and Portugal on the medals' table. 

Alessandra Perilli (born April 1, 1988) is a female, Sammarinese professional target shooter. Her hometown is Borgo Maggiore. She finished 4th after a draw and shoot off for 2nd place with a French and a Slovakian shooter in the Women's Trap at the 2012 Summer Olympics. She won San Marino's first ever Olympic medal, a bronze. Gian Marco Berti also shot, ranked 18th and as a pair they will shoot later in the mixed event.

The Olympic committee sent a "universality" invitation to San Marino to enter a swimmer, so Arianna Valloni swam the 1500m freestyle and was ranked 32nd. Therefore she did not swim after her heat! Myles Amine was also invited to wrestle in the Men Freetsyle 86 kg competition. As yet, no results.

In November 1993, Davide Gualtieri scored the fastest goal in World Cup history (at the time), after Stuart Pearce under hit a back pass after 8.3 seconds of a qualifier at Wembley. The goal scorer dined out on that for the rest of his career and at 41, he is a computer salesman, who speaks no English and has his wife translate for him when he is interviewed, every time his country draws England in a competition.

So far the two countries have met five times with scores at 6-0, 1-7, 5-0, 0-8, 5-0 (all England wins, home and away).

When England thumped San Marino 7-1 in 1993 the team was:

Seaman, Dixon Pallister Walker Pearce Ripley Ince Platt Sinton Wright Ferdinand. Who remembers the first few minutes of this game?

The first unofficial soccer international SM played was in 1986 v a Canadian Olympic side and the first official international against Switzerland was in 1990, they didn't win.

They have since played 177 times, won 1 drawn 6 and lost the rest obviously. Goals For 25 Against 746. The one win was against Liechenstein in a friendly.

San Marino have twins playing in goal and at centre back-their understanding is not as good as it should be. One of their players could not play because of a staffing problem in his bar, so he pulled out!

With a population of around 38,000 you would think he could find a temporary barman? Giuoco means "game" and calcio, of course you know...means football.

THE BUNDESLIGA-ANNIVERSARY

West Germany's 1954 World Cup win was done with players who were not professionals, from a country that did not have a National League organised. In 1960 Eintracht Frankfurt had reached the European Cup Final losing comfortably to Real Madrid 6-3. Nuremberg had been thumped 6-0 by Eusebio's Benfica in the 1960 European Cup competition and Werder Bremen had met Athletico Madrid in the Cup Winners' Cup losing 2-4. Cologne had crashed out of the UEFA Cup to Internazionale. In 1962, the National team had lost the quarter-final tie of the World Cup to Yugoslavia 1-0. Something had to change.

Prior to the formation of the Bundesliga, German football was played at an amateur level in a large number of sub-regional leagues until in 1949, part-time (semi-) professionalism was introduced and only five regional Oberligen (Premier Leagues) remained spread across the country. Regional champions and runners-up played a series of playoff matches for the right to compete in a final game for the national championship. 

On 28 January 1900, a national association, the Deutscher Fusball Bund (DFB) had been founded in Leipzig, with 86 member clubs. The first recognised national championship team was VfB Leipzig who beat DFC Prague 7–2 in a game played at Altona on 31 May 1903. The two world wars had a significant influence on the history of the nation's league structure.

Through the 1950s, there were continued calls for the formation of a central professional league, especially as professional leagues in other countries began to draw Germany's best players away from the semi-professional domestic leagues. 

At the international level, the German game began to falter as German teams often fared poorly against professional teams from other countries. A key supporter of the central league concept was national team head coach Sepp Herberger who said, "If we want to remain competitive internationally, we have to raise our expectations at the national level."

Meanwhile, in East Germany, a separate league was established with the formation of the DS-Oberliga (Deutscher Sportausschuss Oberliga) in 1950. The league was renamed the Football Oberliga DFV in 1958 and was generally referred to simply as the DDR-Liga or DDR-Oberliga. The league fielded 14 teams with two relegation spots. Below the distribution of major clubs:

The Bundesliga was founded in 1962 in Dortmund and the first season started in 1963. The structure and organisation of the Bundesliga, along with Germany's other football leagues, have undergone frequent changes. The regional Oberliga had to be restructured altering the cumbersome arrangement designed to cope with a large country that had been divided into regions. On August 24th 1963, a new era in German football began. Following the "reunification" in 1990, the East German leagues were merged into the West German system. Dynamo Dresden and FC Hansa Rostock were immediately seeded into the top-tier Bundesliga division, with other clubs sorted into lower tiers.

The players were licensed which meant they could earn a capped salary and the new league had 16 clubs, this time not including Bayern Munich, who conjected but whose complaint held no sway with the league officials. There was a fear that the new league would be dominated by the top clubs but the first eight championships were won by eight different champions. On August 24th 1963, a new era in German football had begun.

The Bundesliga sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga or 1. Bundesliga is a professional association football league. At the top of the German football system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary football competition. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation. Seasons run from August to May. Most games are played on Saturdays and Sundays, with a few games played on weekdays. All of the Bundesliga clubs qualify for the DFB-Pokal (The Cup). The winner of the Bundesliga qualifies for the DFL-Supercup, a one off tie between the Winners of the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal Cup.

Fifty-six clubs have competed in the Bundesliga since its founding. Bayern Munich has won the title 30 times, the most among Bundesliga clubs. However, the Bundesliga has seen other champions, with Borussia Dortmund, Hamburger SV, Werder Bremen, Borussia Monchengladbach, and VfB Stuttgart most prominent among them. 

The Bundesliga is ranked fourth in Europe according to UEFA's League Coefficient ranking based on performances in European competitions over the past five seasons. Bundesliga led the UEFA ranking from 1976-84 and in 1990. It has also produced the European top clubs six times. Bundesliga clubs have won eight UEFA Champions' Leagues, six UEFA Europa Leagues, four European Cup Winners' Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, two FIFA World Cups and three Intercontinental titles. Its players have accumulated nine Ballon d'Or awards, one The Best FIFA Men's awards, three European Golden Shoes and three UEFA Mens' Best Player awards including UEFA Club Footballer of the Year. 

WORLD CUP PLACING: 1934 3rd; 1938 1st; 1950 Banned; 1954 Champs; 1958 4th; 1962 Q-f; 1966 Rup; 1970 3rd; 1974 Champs; 1978 6th; 1982 2nd; 1986 2nd; 1990 Champs; 1994 Q-f; 1998 Q-f; 2002 Rup; 2006 3rd; 2010 3rd; 2014 Champs; 2018 22nd!

WILLIAM LING (Part 2)

By the start of the 1948-9 season, William Ling had become a Football League referee, and within 3 years had been appointed to control the FA Cup Final in 1951, in which Newcastle United beat Stanley Matthews' Blackpool, who lost to Jackie Milburn's two goals. On the day of the Final, Ling spotted a policeman as he arrived at Wembley Stadium. He recognised him as a player he had sent off previously during a Sunday league fixture and as he passed him, said: "Now what do you think?" The officer replied: "I still think you are no f***ing good!"

Next for Ling came the 1954 World Cup Finals, which was only his second international tournament. He was one of a group of four referees appointed from the UK . The others were Benjamin Griffiths of Wales, Arthur Ellis of Yorkshire and Charles Faultless of Scotland. In the course of the tournament, Ling had already refereed the Group match between Hungary and West Germany (in which the Hungarians had won 8–3 against the West German team of mainly reserve players) and then assisted Englishman, Ellis who during the famed Battle of Berne quarter-final, sent off three players in the Brazil v Hungary fiesty tie at the Wankdorf Stadium, Berne.  

Ling's part in the World Cup Final, between Hungary and West Germany was controversial because he accepted linesman Griffith's offside flag, in the final minutes to deny Hungarian star Ferenc Puskas, a 3-3 equalizer, which could have sent the game into extra-time.

West German radio reporter Herbery Zimmerman had called Puskás offside well before he kicked, but who is he to be believed!.

Will Meisl, a journalist, observed that the Hungarian, goalkeeper Grosics, had struck Ling following the final whistle. Nothing came of this incident and the mood amongst the Hungarians had settled when the trophy was handed to the West Germany. The Hungarians had lost their first match in 30, a record stretching back to May 1950.

The game's referee Arthur Ellis commented: "I thought it was going to be the greatest game I'd ever officiate. I was on top of the world. Whether politics and religion had something to do with it, I don't know, but they behaved like animals. It was a disgrace. It was a horrible match. In today's climate so many players would have been sent off the game would have been abandoned. My only thought was that I was determined to finish it."

The Times newspaper correspondent on 28 June 1954, drew a similar conclusion; "Never in my life have I seen such cruel tackling, the cutting down of opponents as if with a scythe, followed by threatening attitudes and sly jabs when officialdom was engaged elsewhere."

"This was a battle; a brutal, savage match," recalled Hungary manager Gustav Sebes, who needed four stitches for a facial wound received during the fighting. "At the end we had won 4–2 but it wasn't over yet. Brazilian photographers and fans flooded on to the pitch and police were called to clear it. Players clashed in the tunnel and a small war broke out in the corridor to the dressing rooms - everyone was having a go; fans, players and officials." It's only a game!!

OLYMPIC FOOTBALL: WILLIAM LING Part 1

The 1948 Olympic Games was held in London, the first major World sporting event held in Britain following the Second World War. The official opening took place at Wembley on July 29th, but the competition had begun on the 26th, with the kick off of two Preliminary Round ties. Luxembourg beat Afghanistan 6-0 at the Goldstone Ground (Brighton's ground until the Amex was built) with a crowd of 6,000. The other Prelim involved Ireland, who lost 3-1 to The Netherlands at Fratton Park, Portsmouth in front of 3,000.

Great Britain beat The Netherlands 4-3 aet in a First Round tie at Highbury, then beat France 1-0 in Quarters, and lost to Yugoslavia 1-3 in the semi-final. GB went on to the Bronze medal match where they lost to Denmark 5-3, in front of a Wembley crowd of 50,000. The GB goalkeeper was Scot, Ronnie Simpson, who 19 years later was in Celtic's "Lisbon Lions" team that beat Iner-Milan, to become the first British club to win the European Cup (Champions' League Final as it is now known).

The biggest crowd was 60,000 at Wembley which saw Sweden defeat Yugoslavia 3-1 to win Gold.  

Bernard Joy, the sports' journalist, wrote at the time: William Ling rose quickly through the ranks as a referee. He was initially on the supplementary list as a Football League match official but even so, was selected to participate in the 1948 Olympics' football tournament. Ling refereed both the first round match involving Sweden v Austria (3-1), the quarter-final involving Italy (Denmark won 5-3) and was then selected for the Final between Sweden and Yugoslavia. The final itself turned on two penalty decisions early in the second half (both which were denied to the Yugoslavians) and which affected their temperament. 

Joy wrote: "The setbacks rattled the Yugoslavs, their behaviour got out of hand for a spell and they did not recover their rhythm. What made matters worse was when Gunnar Gren converted a penalty midway through the second half. It is true that Gunnar Nordahl was bowled over, but the offence looked no worse than those committed by the Swedish centre half Bertil Nordahl". 

Here is the ball used in the Olympic Final match at Wembley between Sweden and Yugoslavia, won by the Swedes 3-1.

KOREANS

 Football on This Day – 25th July 2012

The 2012 Olympics hadn’t officially started when the football tournament hit a serious snag in Glasgow. The womens' match at Hampden Park between North Korea and Colombia was delayed by an hour, after the North Koreans protested when a South Korean flag accompanied their team on the giant screen at the ground. 

It was the first major FIFA women's tournament to be staged within the UK, and marked the first time a team representing Great Britain took part in the women's tournament. Games were played at: The Millenium Stadium Cardiff, City of Coventry, Hampden Park, Wembley, Old Trafford, St James' Park (Newcastle) 

Twelve teams reached the football finals: GB, Sweden, France: Cameroon, South Africa, Colombia: Japan, North Korea, New Zealand, US, Canada, Brazil. The USA won Gold, Japan Silver, Canada bronze and France came 4th. Great Britain lost to Canada in the Q-F. North Korea came 3rd in their group and did not qualify for the knock-out stage.

North Korea's Male footballers created a shock in the FIFA World Cup 1966, when they qualified for the finals in England by beating Australia 6-1 and 3-1 in two ties both held in Phnom Penh. All the other legitimate African countries had withdrawn as a protest over qualification procedures. South Africa was suspended by FIFA for obvious reasons (at that time), so North Korea had a bit of a walk through!

Portugal, led by the great Eusebio, were debutants for the World Cup finals, qualifying for the first time after trying since 1934. They won their European group including Czechoslovakia, Romania and Turkey. They were then led into their qualifying group with Brazil (including Pele), Bulgaria and Hungary. They won 3 out of three, scoring 3 goals in each match and conceding 2 overall. 

In the quarter-finals Portugal met North Korea who had beaten Italy 1-0 in their group and drawn with Chile 1-1, (lost to Soviet Union 0-3). All their games were played at Ayresome Park, Middlesbrough, whose locals had adopted them as diminuitive heroes.  The game was carved into history after 22 minutes Portugal with all its stars were 0-3 down.

The Middlesbrough fans were delirious with their "adopted" national team. Then, Eusebio took charge; scoring 4 including 2 pens. Half time 3-2. Final score 3-5. Crowd 51,780! Right, the Koreans score against Portugal.

Note left Portuguese centre forward, Torres, towering over the Koreans!

I remember the Korean's Quarter-final game against Portugal, played at Goodison Park on July 23rd. I was playing an U15 schools' county cricket cup final at Hove, home of Sussex CCC. News was being fed onto the pitch from fine leg. Portugal won and so did Collyers' GS, Horsham!

Later, England beat Portugal 2-1 in the semi-final on the 26th July and the rest is history.

PARALYMPICS 2021

In 1948, German-born neurologist, Sir Ludwig Guttmann, organized a sporting competition in England involving World War II veterans with spinal cord injuries. An international movement was born from his efforts, leading to the first official Paralympic Games, held in Rome, Italy in 1960. The games started 6 days after the Olympic Games' closing ceremony. In 1992, the schedule changed, and these days, the winter and summer games alternate every 2 years.

In 2012, it became mandatory for cities that are chosen to host the Olympic Games must also host the Paralympics, which will see athletes with disabilities or impairments compete in sports like athletics, cycling, judo, rowing, swimming, and volleyball. 

The last Summer Paralympics, 2016, were held in Rio de Janeiro. The last winter paralympic games were in Pyeongchang, South Korea in 2018.

The latest Summer Paralympic Games were supposed to be held in 2020, but were moved to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They are held at the same Host City as the Olympics, i.e.Tokyo, a trend since the Seoul 1988 Paralympics and the Albertville 1992 Winter Paralympics. 

There are no public holidays in Japan during the games, so Tokyo will be in full urban action during this Paralympic Games. The games go on until September 5th.

This will mark the second time Tokyo has hosted the Paralympics, as they were held there in 1964 following the 1964 Summer Olympics. These Summer Paralympics were originally known as the 13th International Stoke Mandeville Games, games that were first held in England; the site of the original games, very much on a smaller scale. 

The 1964 Games, although still formally an edition of the International Stoke Mandeville Games, were the first to use the term "Paralympic" in association with the event; the term "Paralympic Games" was approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) first in 1984, while the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) was formed in 1989. In contrast with the 1960 Italy Games, many events had more than three participants, meaning that athletes were no longer guaranteed a medal upon completing their event. The 2020 Games will see the introduction of badminton and taekwondo to the Paralympic programme, replacing sailing and 7-a-side football. 

The 2022 Winter Paralympics in planned to take place in Beijing, China, from March 4 to 13, 2022. 

WOMEN AND OLYMPIC FOOTBALL

 

A Great Britain Olympic team was selected by the FA for the men's Olympic football competitions between 1908 and 1972, but this was only for our male amateur players. The UK had stopped entering teams into the Olympic Football Tournament by the time of the first women's football competition was held in 1996, due to The FA abolishing the distinction between amateurism and professionalism in 1972. The spirit was that we should not enter what was regarded as an amateur competition. Hmm!

Therefore, Great Britain Women's football was not involved in the Olympics until 2012 when there was a squad made up with players from the "British countries", obviously. GB reached the Quarter-finals losing to Canada 0-2 at Coventry's Ricoh stadium. En route they beat New Zealand (1-0) in Cardiff, Brazil (1-0) in London and Cameroon (3-0) in Cardiff. Eventually the team was recorded as coming 5th. The 2012 squad was made up from Chelsea 2 players, Arsenal 6, Everton 3, Lincoln 2, Birmingham 3 and 3 from women playing for Swedish teams. 

Team manager was Hope Powell (above) who played 66 times for England and scored 35 goals from 1978-87 and then was England team manager from 1998-2013, taking charge of the Great Britain squad for these London Olympics.

There was no agreement to run a Great Britain squad in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil.

In 2020 (2021) the Japan Olympics, the Great Britain squad is being managed by Norwegian, Hege Riise (below). Recently, there was a warm up friendly against New Zealand in Tokyo on July 14th and the team has already beaten Chile 2-0 in a first qualifying match. Later GB will meet hosts, Japan (July 24th) and Canada (27th), somewhat tougher opposition, hoping to progress on to greater things. 

The squad is made up from 10 players from Man City, 5 from Chelsea, Arsenal 4 and 1 from each of Man Utd, Houston Dash, Everton, Lincoln Ladies and Birmingham City. 19 are English, 1 Welsh and 2 Scots, with 5 from the 2012 tournament.

The next Olympics will be held in France in 2024 and the USA in 2028.

EXETER CITY v FLUMINENSE

Football (Futbal) in South America was introduced by Europeans, who at the end of the 19th Century were colonising the continent and introducing European habits. There were influences from the "public schools", cricket clubs and similar European comforts to establish the "Global game". 

In 1914, the English Football Association was asked by its Argentine counterparts to send out an English team to help improve the standard of Argentinian football, which was taking root. So, a non-league side, Exeter City, who were then members of the Southern League, was sent by boat to Argentina. The tour yielded five wins, one draw and two defeats. One loss was in a match that kicked off 12 hours after the players got off the boat. 

In the first of the 8 matches, they beat a team of English expats 3-0. The second match was against one of the two major regional teams in Brazil. Brazil was is a huge country and their football was based in two separate regional centres, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo. Their first match was against the Rio select side and Exeter won 5-3. The last match on the tour was played on July 21st 1914, was against a combined Rio and Sao Paulo side and was considered to be the first match played by the Brazilian "national" team, representing the nation's FA, founded just weeks before. In their first official match, Brazil beat Exeter City 2-0 and the fans certainly came out to witness the occasion at Fluminense's 6,000 capacity, Estadio das Laranjeiras ground. An estimated crowd of 10,000 was present to witness the match. 

Brazil's XI featured Arthur Friedenreich, who was born in Sao Paulo, to Oscar Friedenreich, son of an immigrant German businessman and Mathilde, a black Brazilian washerwoman and the daughter of freed slaves. Friedenreich was the first professional football player of Afro-Brazilian origin, because at that time football was dominated by Whites, and Blacks were not accepted. He faced many barriers because of racism, and he could not attend the same places where white players were, such as swimming pools, tennis courts and parties. Also Friedenreich found it hard to make connections and friends in the world of Brazilian football due to the color of his skin. 

Friedenreich played football from his early childhood.  At first in his career was not very good and did not get established until 1925. He played over 400 games for clubs including Paulistano and Sao Paulo, finishing at Flamengo, with over 20 apps for Brazil, scoring 10 goals. He married his girlfriend, Jonas and together they had a son who they named after Friedenreich's father, Oscar. Both outlived Friedenreich but were left with no money.

Friedenreich was often said to be the pioneer of ‘jogo bonito’ or ‘the beautiful game’, a style frequently associated with Brazilian football. The style involved playing very quickly, with short passes as well as quick touches and combinations. It also relied on taking many long shots and attacking with 2-3 pacy strikers to disorient the defence. Despite being a shorter player (5 ft 7 in) he was known for his pace, power, and brilliant technical dribbling. 

The Exeter tour yielded five wins, one draw and two defeats. The only other loss was in a match that kicked off 12 hours after the players got off the boat.

So when you think of Brazil winning the World Cup, give a thought to the part Exeter City played in starting it all off! In Europe another kind of "battle" was beginning in 1914.

This July, Exeter City has just played Taunton Town and Tiverton Town FCs in pre-season friendlies- a long boat ride from Rio.

Exeter City F.C. was formed from two predecessor clubs, Exeter United F.C. and St Sidwell's United. Exeter United was a football club from Exeter, Devon, that played between 1890 and 1904. In 1904, Exeter United lost 3–1 to local rivals St Sidwell's United and after the match it was agreed that the two clubs should become one. The new team took the name 'Exeter City' and continued to play at Exeter United's ground, St James Park, where Exeter City still play today. Exeter United was formed from the cricket team of the same name and were one of the first football teams with the moniker 'United'. St Sidwell's United (which had also been known as St Sidwell's Wesleyans and St Sidwell's Old Boys) was a club that had formed from the regulars who frequented the Foresters Inn in Sidwell Street, Exeter, although the pub was always known as the Drum and Monkey. The team played in St Sidwell's old colours of green and white.

On 10 September 1904, Exeter City played its first ever competitive match, a 2–1 victory at St James over 110th Battery of the Royal Artillery, in the East Devon League. 

In 1908, Exeter City A.F.C. became a limited company and a full-time professional team, applying successfully for membership of the Southern League, replacing Tottenham Hotspur!! 

City changed to its current colours of red and white in 1910. This was after having had a poor start to the season (only two wins out of 11). City abandoned its supposedly unlucky green and white kit, and turned out for the first time in red and white striped shirts at home to West Ham Utd on 12 November. The result of the game was a 0–0 draw, but five consecutive league wins came for the club in December, and the change of colours stuck.

Exeter City were invited by the Football League to become founder members of the Third Division in 1920.

CRASTER ROVERS FC-A SLICE OF HISTORY-so far

I get the occasional nudge from football loving chums and here's one from a  book bought by David, as he was poking around a bookshop during a recent holiday in Northumberland. The centre of attention, for me, is a section on the history of Craster Rovers FC, who played in the North Northumberland League, a part of the North East of England "pyramid", lying between the Rivers Tweed and Wansbeck.  

One season in 1927-8, Craster won the North Northumberland League and if the team was ever short of a player they would sign up Sir John Craster, a local dignatory who would don the kit and play for the team. At the end of the season, he would invite the chaps to his stately home, receive the team in his Reading Room and present the medals and cups. Maybe a tankard or two was consumed also.

Craster Rovers would meet teams, during their season, from The Pirate, a pub side from Berwick, on the Scottish border and Alnwick Duke's School Old Boys. A quaint mixture. 

The book covers some historic moments in the 1950s, written by team members, pictured below. They  played in the Northumberland Minor Cup Final 1950, a major occasion for the village. They were all local lads and one, Adam Dawson, by all accounts went on to play for Chesterfield FC. Heaven knows how that happened? Others whom you wouldn't want to be tackled by included, Dougie Hogg who had experience of being sent off through rough tackling, Ralph who treated goalkeepers like Nat Lofthouse used to and Jimmy the Brick-enough said!

Training did not occur much, in those days, as the lads sorted that out for themselves, but I guess they kept pretty fit through the week, working, many on fishing boats. Getting to games was often left to individuals although one of the team had a Rolls Royce. He would have been first on the team sheet.

There were at this time, three father and son combinations in the team; the Robsons, Dawsons and MacLarens as pictured below. Post war, they reckon they had their best team, relieved from the burden of confrontation with the Germans and happy to take on the likes of local clubs Berwick FC, Alnwick, Wooler, Embleton, Amble and Bamburgh. Seahouses would be regarded as their local rivals and boat loads of supporters would come across to the harbour to cheer their teams on. 

Craster played at Bamburgh Cricket Club, on a sloping pitch that took wayward footballs down to the sea. The slope, it was reckoned, gave Craster a two goal advantage, often cited by the defeated opposition. The club played on land owned by Lord Howick  and a grant from the local Parish Council enabled them to build a clubhouse; it was worth £400, a fortune at that time.

I have tried hard to get some updated information on the club, but have drawn a blank. The club known as Craster was in dire straights so joined up with local Embleton FC. A local newspaper announced this: 

"A fixture was held on December 11th 2020: one of the biggest "local rival" games of the season for Craster & Embleton United tomorrow; known as Crembleton, they take on Alnwick Town Development team in what will be one of their biggest and toughest games of the season to date for the boys in blue.

Kick off is 4:30pm tomorrow afternoon under the lights at Alnwick's new 4G pitch which the "Crembleton" squad are looking foward to stepping foot on to see what their new facilities look like."

Search the web for any recent news....

 

IT'S THE MASONS-KEEP IT A SECRET!

 The first rules of football were drawn up by the new Football Association during 6 meetings at the end of 1863, at the Freemasons’ Tavern, on Great Queen Street in London, now the New Connaught Rooms next door to Freemasons’ Hall.

After the very first match under the new football governing rules, way back in January 1864, a toast was drunk – how very Masonic in itself – to ‘success to football, irrespective of class or creed’.

There are a number of Masonic Lodges named after their famous teams – Anfield Lodge, No. 2215, Everton Lodge No. 823 and more recently the Football Lodge No. 9921.

The Football Lodge was the brainchild of David Lallana, father of England star, Adam Lallana. Members of the Lodge share their passion for the love of the game and through Freemasonry, they hope to connect with the grass roots of the sport in the community.

Many famous players and managers have enjoyed the companionship of Freemasonry including: Sir Alf Ramsey, who played for a number of top flight teams, including Southampton and Tottenham Hotspurs and later went on to manage Ipswich Town where he reigned for 10 years. His most famous role (which needs no explanation) was to lead England to victory at the 1966 World Cup. He was initiated into Waltham Abbey Lodge No.2750, Hertfordshire, England on the 5 October 1953 at the age of 33.

 Don Revie played for several football teams including Manchester City from 1951 to 1956. He then went on to manage Leeds United from 1961 to 1974, with whom he won the F.A. Cup in 1972 and the European Cup in 1973, Don Revie became the manager of the England football team between 1974 and 1977. He had been initiated into Leodiensis Lodge No.4029, in 1965.

Ron Greenwood started his playing career at Chelsea Football Club, leaving for a brief spell to play for Brentford, whom he supported as a lad. He then returned to Chelsea before finally going to Fulham FC. In July 1977 Ron Greenwood was appointed full-time manager of England ending his 15-year association with West Ham United. Ron Greenwood became a Freemason in 1956 at the end of his final season as a player. He was a member of Lodge of Proven Fellowship, No. 6225. The symbol (left) represents the Masonic "Order" and it's relevance may be found by using the www.

The blue colours of the Manchester City kit look familiar! Manchester City originally formed in 1880 and were then known as St Mark’s, in West Gorton, played in red and black colours (the club’s change stripnow). In 1887, they then changed the club name to Ardwick – an area close to West Gorton. However, it is reported that in 1894 the club found itself in financial hardship and had to be rescued from bankruptcy by the then club secretary, Joshua Parlby. The club adopted the name, Manchester City, at the same time the club adopted the Masonic colours of pale blue shirts and white shorts. Because of the lack of detailed records, there is no irrefutable proof that either Parlby or his predecessor Lawrence Furniss (also thought to have been closely linked Freemasonry) were Masons, but Sidney Rose, lifetime president of the club and a director for much of the last 30 years, has no such doubts. ‘It’s always been my understanding,’ says Sidney, a member of the Old Mancunians’ Lodge, ‘that the real founders of the club became involved in 1894 when there was some sort of financial crisis, and that they were Masons, or certainly had close Masonic connections.' That was why they started playing in pale blue, the colours of Freemasonry.

Surrey Freemasons and football also have a close link. One lodge in particular – Old Palace Lodge No.7173, sponsors the shirts of a local youth team – Selsdon Junior FC (see below) which was founded in 1975. It is one of the most successful junior football teams in the county. Gareth Southgate started his junior playing days at the club!!! We do not know if Gareth has been signed on to a "Lodge".

For years, Freemasonry has battled conspiracy theories that its members secretly run the world – but now the shadowy organisation is planning to rule the football field!!

This week, the organisation’s Grand Master, the Duke of Kent, is set to grant a warrant for the first Football Lodge – a place where members meet – in Hampshire. Players, managers and referees, who are Masons, will gather four times a year to listen to guest lecturers from the world of football, as well as perform a series of Masonic rituals, though the organisation claims that many of the stereotypes, such as secret handshakes, are false.

Footballing stars from the past, including Stanley Matthews, Dixie Dean  and Nat Lofthouse were all Masons

In recent years the Masons have sought to expand their appeal by setting up a range of ‘special interest’ lodges.  Groups include a biker gang called the Widows Sons and ‘a Lodge of Brevity’ for the ‘modern man’ where meetings are about half the normal four hours.

The Football Association was formed in 1863 at the Freemasons’ Tavern in London – now The Grand Connaught Rooms.A petition to form a Football Lodge will be considered at the meeting of the Grand Master’s Council. Want to know more?

https://www.britannica.com/topic/order-of-Freemasons

MAURICIO- A YOUNGSTER

Mauricio Baldivieso, below, made his debut for his local Club Aurora from Cochobamba* against La Paz in the Bolivian First Division on July 19th 2009; he became the youngest  footballer to play at the top level in South America; he was 12 years old (3 days off his 13th birthday) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PVsNVXmZZQ the link does cover his story, sort of....you will see much of the "best" of South American football!!!

All this despite Cochobamba* being the first place where rugby union in Bolivia was played! 

*(Quechua refers to a lake....bampa refers to the "pampa" which means grassland plain in Latin America).......

Coming on as a late sub, he was subjected to a nasty "welcome to adult football" tackle (see video above) which resulted in much entertainment for the crowd. The manager of Aurora at the time was Julio Cesar...Mauricio's dad! Mauricio played at Aurora through to 2013 making 20 apps and scoring 3 goals. In 2013, at 16 years old, he then played at Real Potosi, then for Nacional Potosi, for a spell, until 2014, moving to Universitario de Sucre for a season, but only played 3 times. 

Then he joined  Jorge Wilstermann, in 2015, where the club's chairman.....Dr Jorge Rojas changed his club's colours to red and blue because "the colours mean force, ferocity and total dedication in the field". Mauricio left the club in 2016 after 8 games and 1 goal. Baldivieso signed for Club San Jose, where he made just 13 more appearances as a professional before being released in 2018.

Some other youngsters:

In May 2019, Liverpool's Harvey Elliot became the youngest Premier League player in history at 16 years and 30 days old. 

Just over a year after Elliot's achievement, RCD Mallorca's Luka Romero broke La Liga's 80-year record by making his debut at 15 years and 219 days old.

In November 2020, Borussia Dortmund prodigy Youssoufa Moukoko's appearance from the bench against Hertha Berlin a day after his 16th birthday made him the Bundesliga's youngest ever player.

EDDIE FIRMANI

Eddie Firmani, born in Cape Town in 1933, played as a centre or inside forward when he joined English team Charlton Athletic in 1950. He became a regular goal scorer, including scoring five goals in a 6–1 win against Aston Villa in 1955 and totalling 50 goals in 100 apps. At the time the Charlton team included several South Africans, John Howie, Stuart Leary and Sid O'Linn. During his first spell with Charlton he married Pat Robinson, daughter of the club's assistant manager. 

On July 18th 1955, he moved to Italian team Sampdoria (63 apps/52 goals) for £35,000, a record fee for a British club, beginning an eight-year spell in Italy, when he also gained three caps for the Italian national team, qualifying for the national team because his grandfather was Italian. Firmani was paid £5,000 signing on fee and his wage rose from £15-150 p.w.,  a fortune at the time. He next played for 8 years with Internationale (82 apps/38 goals) and Genoa (62/25).

While playing in Italy, he was given a nickname which was later modified twice. He was originally called Il Tacchino (The Turkey) because he flapped his elbows when he ran. It was first changed to Il Tacchino Freddo (The Cold Turkey) for the way he celebrated his goals, before he was finally known as Il Tacchino d'Oro (The Golden Turkey) when he began scoring with greater frequency.

In 1960 Firmani wrote a volume of autobiography "Football with the Millionaires", which provides an interesting contrast between the lifestyle of Italian footballers and their English counterparts in the era of the maximum wage.

He returned to England in 1963, linking up again with Charlton, now playing in the second division. After two years he moved to Southend United in the third division but returned to The Valley for a third spell with Charlton two seasons later. In total, he made 177 appearances for the Addicks, scoring 89 goals. In recognition of his talents, he was named as Charlton's greatest overseas player in 2005.

Firmani is the only man ever to have scored 100 League goals in both England and Italy, albeit only 50 in the English First Division. In 1975, he played one game for the Tampa Bay Rowdies of the NASL.

In 1967 Firmani was appointed Charlton manager and retired as a player. Firmani thus became the first Italian international to manage an English club. In his second season in charge, Charlton finished third in the Second Division just missing out on promotion. He was fired in March 1970 with the Addicks battling against relegation to the Third Division.

Firmani moved to North America and managed several NASL sides: Tampa Bay Rowdies, NY Cosmos and Philadelphia Fury. He was named the NASL coach of the year in 1976, when he guided Tampa Bay to the best regular season record. He also led the Rowdies to the finals of the NASL's indoor tournament in 1975 and 1976, winning the latter. 

In 1977 Firmani was signed by the Cosmos mid-season, after having resigned from the Rowdies for personal reasons. At the time the Cosmos had a team featuring Pele, Beckenbauer, Chinaglia and  Brazil's World Cup-winning capt in 1970, Carlos Alberto and the Cosmos won back-to-back titles in 1977 and 1978. In June 1979, he coached the New Jersey Americans and later returned to coach in the NASL as coach of the Fury.

He later managed Canadian sides in 1983-93 and went back to the NASL 1996. Firmani later coached in the Middle East during the mid-to-late 1980s, and in the early 1990s, where he worked as a manager in both Kuwait and Oman. He was also held captive during the First Gulf War but was released unharmed.

PREMIER LEAGUE

Within weeks of the rule-change, the first penalty shoot-out in a professional match in England took place in the first sponsored competition played in the country, The Watney Cup (p.s.Watney was a brewery company! famed for their trade mark "Red Barrel beer").  It was a perfect competition to introduce the shoot-out with three rounds in just a week in pre-season there was no room for replays. So on Wednesday 5th August 1970 before 34,007 faithful at Boothferry Park Hull City entertained a full-strength Manchester United in the semi-final of the competition. At the end of 90 minutes it was 1-1, at the end of extra time it remained 1-1 and so penalties it was, five apiece as a start. None other than George Best took the first penalty in a shoot-out and scored. Player manager Terry Neill scored for Hull - 1-1. Brian Kidd scored for United, Ian Butler for City - 2-2. It became 3-3 when Bobby Charlton and Chris Simpkin scored for their respective clubs. Then Denis Law entered history by becoming the first player who failed to score, Hull 'keeper Ian McKechnie making a save. Hull's Ken Wagstaff missed his so still 3-3. Willie Morgan made it 4-3 for United and it became sudden death for Hull - they needed to score to be able to continue with the shoot-out while a miss would see them lose. Up stepped Hull goalkeeper Ian McKechnie and the world - and McKechnie in particular - was soon to learn how quickly a penalty-saving hero can turn into a penalty-missing villain. His attempt hit the bar and went over, Hull were out, and the name McKechnie became the first to be engraved on a long list whose enduring fame is largely reliant on a penalty miss! 

17th July 1991 was when the Premier League officially took the final step to reality, when 22 of the old Football League Division One sides moved across the "divide" lead by the top 5 clubs; Arsenal, Everton, Liverpool, Man U and Tottenham H. There was a "Founder Members" agreement, which allowed the clubs migrating to the Premier League being allowed to compete for the English FA Cup and ironically, the English Football League Cup. With all this change, inevitably agreements over TV Deals and lucrative Sponsorship contracts were allowed. The P.L. kicked off in 1992. The idea was that the best teams in the P.L. would be able to compete in European competitions more effectively. Any evidence of that?

On July 14th 1994, at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena USA, the first World Cup Final to be decided by a penalty shoot out took place after a 0-0 draw between Brazil and Italy. Brazil won their fourth World Cup title, after a 3-2 penalty win.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLPM_JSbGvI

ALF AND NOBBY-PAIR UP! JIMMY DIDN'T

On July 16th, England won their second Group One match in the 1966 World Cup Finals at Wembley, against Mexico. Goals came from Bobby Charlton and Roger Hunt. England won 2-0. Over 92,000 saw this win which began with Bobby Charlton scoring after 37 minutes, just when the English crowd was beginning to lose their faith. The referee? Concetto Lo Bello of....you guessed it, from Italy. Mexico came third in the group and did not progress.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=verILGdy1PI

Previously, on the 11th, there had been a rather unpleasant meeting with Uruguay, it was boring, negative and the South Americans came with a nine man defence and went away with a 0-0 draw. A crowd of over 87,000 saw the Uruguayan goalkeeper, Mazurkiewicz become the first foreign goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet against England at Wembley...that is a remarkable fact! The England team: Banks, Cohen, Wilson, Stiles, J Charlton, Moore, Ball, Greaves, R Charlton, Hunt, Connelly. The ref: Istvan Zsolt of Hungary. Uruguay ended up runners up in Group One.

In the final group game, on July 20th, England beat France 2-0, with Roger Hunt bagging twice. The Peruvian referee, Arturo Yamsaki Maldonado, apparently allowed a disputed "offside goal" when Jackie Charlton's header came off the cross bar and Hunt poached the rebound in. Hunt scored a second when the French goalie let the ball slip out of his hands and he was there again to tap in. Jimmy Greaves was injured and didn't appear in Ramsey's selection again. Nobby Stiles was criticised by press and others for his rough tacking and the FA put Ramsey under pressure to drop him....Ramsey did not and the matter, not Nobby, was dropped. 

Greaves had scored four goals against Norway on June 29th, which was the sixth occasion he had scored three or more goals for his country in one match. This included three against Luxembourg 1960,  vScotland 1961, v Northern Ireland (four goals) in 1963 and again in 1964. He had 57 starts and 44 goals for his country. Good choice Alf?