Group 2 was seen as the weaker semi-final group and West Germany the favourite. The little gamble worked: Argentina and Brazil were avoided, both teams – but especially Brazil – traditionally difficult opponents for West Germany. Poland, Sweden, and Yugoslavia were traditionally the opposite of Brazil – beatable teams, no matter form. Which was important, for West Germany was still struggling.
They opened against Yugoslavia, and although the Plavi tried hard, the Germans won 2-0.
Schwarzenbeck and Acimovic fighting on the ground for no ball. An interesting photo in retrospect: the players look in opposite directions – one for the World Cup, the other – for going home.
Poland – Sweden was a disappointment… the Polish bubble was predicted to burst and contrary to learned opinions, it did not. Sweden played strongly, but lost 0-1. Well… Poland was surely to expire in the next match.
Yugoslavia played good once again and once again their opposition played a notch better. Poland won 2-1. It was probably this match finally opening eyes and Poland suddenly was taken seriously.
West Germany – Sweden was one the most entertaining matches of the tournament – open and attacking. The Swedes did not betray their habits to play well at every match, but their style was convenient for the Germans. It was goal for goal for awhile, then the hosts got the upper hand and the match ended 4-2, not without some weird moments to thrill the watching public.
Bjorn Nordqvist and Ralf Edstrom unable to prevent Gerd Muller from shooting at their net.
Rainer Bonhof, one of the fresh revelations in 1974, takes a shot at the Swedish net – Hellstrom, Bo Larsson (#7), and Jorgem Augustsson are too late… but what a headacke they were anyway.
Perhaps the moment changing the whole match: Jurgen Grabowski’s lucky goal. The ball hit both posts before ending in the net. Hellstrom cannot believe it, but West Germany leads 3-2.
Sweden and Yugoslavia were out before the third round, yet they made entertaining match, much to everybody surprise. Sweden nobody doubted – this is a team always playing honorably – but Yugoslavia was expected to give up. For a change, the Balkan boys did not write the meaningless match off. Sweden won 2-1.
Dzajic shooting and Jan Olsson hiding from the ball – looks like Yugoslavia was stronger?
Well, more of a equal match really – Dzajic attacks followed by determined Andersson. At the end it was Sweden, not Yugoslavia.
Poland – West Germany, the match to decide who will play at the final. Nature played a joke before the match: torrential rain started and ended, clear skies came back, but the pitch was a lake. The mighty German technology was helpless.
Workers tried their best to dry the pitch, to no success.
The natural disaster changed the game immediately: in the swamps, where one may kick the ball with full strength and the ball would not move at all, there was more a battle of wills than plain football.
Gerd Muller trying to move the ball in the mud, tackled by Polish defence of course.
On occasional dry patch Uli Hoeness looks superior, but it is an illusion – predatory Deyna and Domarski surround him.
It is deadly 0-0 and Hoeness misses a penalty. A tie was enough for the Germans, because of better goal difference, but… who can vouch for a tie in the swamps?
Yet, West Germany managed to score and won the match 1-0. This was the match when West Germany was seen as most likely World Champion: it was the German spirit, unbreakable, unshakeable, and never giving up, which was revealed in full. Under terrible conditions, they still tried to play, their physicality aided them and made them slightly better than Poland, and finally won the match. It was also the match when finally the German winning team was forged: defense was no problem, but midfield and especially attack were shaky from the very first match. Helmut Schon tried and tried – Grabowski was in and out; Heynckes was out; Wimmer was in and out; until Bonhof firmly replaced Wimmer in midfield, providing energy in both defense and attack; and Holzenbein was placed at the left wing, with Muller in the centre and Grabowski at the right wing. The changes confirmed a basic truth – competitive long line of players gives much better chances than basic eleven players and the rest of the squad clearly making the numbers from inferior players. A great coach is also innovative one – Schon used Bonhof in unusual role – more like defensive midfielder, which was not his typical position. The attack was even more improvised: neither Grabowski, nor his club teammate Holzenbein were wingers – Grabowski was centreforward and Holzenbein was normally an attacking midfielder. But they played well at their new positions, particularly Holzenbein, who became enormous problem for the opposition with his habit of flying like a butterfly as soon as he was inside the penalty area. Crying with pain, he was dropping dead on the grass… asking for a penalty. Whether given or not, Holzenbein got up healthy and unruffled the next second – he was the first player to do this trick regularly. Today it is a bookable offense, but in 1974 it was not and Holzenbein elevated such fakes to real art. Unfair? May be, but one has to think of those old days: short of actual murder, the refferrees were indifferent to illegal tackles inside the penalty area. To defensive brutality, never punished, Holzenbein responded with pretense hard to distinguish from real foul on one hand, and was very visible to be ignored at the same time. True to habit, the referees rarely blew their whistles for his antics, but defense was confused: what if the referee suddenly gives a penalty? They tried to stay away from Holzenbein, which was no help either, for when left alone the German… scored. He was a deadly weapon and Schon was quick to see the advantage of playing him after discarding Heynckes and unsuccessfully experimenting with Herzog. It was a long and painful road, and a lot of criticism had to be endured, but finally, against Poland, the German team was shaped, additionally boosted by the win in tough swampy conditions. It was after this match when I was almost certain that West Germany will win the tittle. And I was not alone in thinking so – a bittersweet feeling, for Holland were the most exciting team. May be the mud is the true test for champions.
1. West Germany 3 0 0 7-2 6
2. Poland 2 0 1 3-2 4
3. Sweden 1 0 2 4-6 2
4. Yugoslavia 0 0 3 2-6 0

Football is hopelessly irrational – predictions, analyses, expectations, high opinions, reason… all is dust and empty words. Only traditions count, but this is against reason too. Semifinal Group 1 was to be a Russian roulette – one faulty or unlucky move and somebody else may go to the final. Except East Germany, which was to be just a possible troublemaker. And surely Brazil and may be Argentina will finally reveal their true nature. They did… by continuing to play badly.
East Germany opened against Brazil and it was clear that the lesser Germans already played their best match. It was not that they did not fight, but fighting was no longer enough: East Germany lacked imagination and technical skills. It was physical, straight forward team, and very predictable because of that. Brazil struggled and suffered, just like in the first round, but the opposition was simply unable to take advantage. At the end Brazil won 1-0 – and their goal was the best moment of the match:
It was a set peace of a free kick: Jairzinho placed himself in the German wall and strangely was not pushed away by the defenders. Rivelino with fantastic precision kicked the ball exactly where his teammate was staying. Jairzinho dropped on the ground and ball moved through the opening to rest in the net of the unmoving Croy.
This goal was the only difference between artistry and dullness and it settled the match.
Meantime Argentina was annihilated by Holland – 0-4. The Dutch were flying; the Gauchos were entirely off their horses. And it was not like the Tulips were just flying effortlessly: when they had to tackle, they did without mercy. Some romantics…
Suurbier teaches Perfumo how to kill – reason told the opposite, but the Oranje cared not for reason. As for their overall superiority, the final result is the best argument.
The next victim of Holland was East Germany. The physically fit, constantly running Germans were more uncomfortable opponents, but versatile Holland won 2-0 without much difficulty.
Neeskens scores for Holland. This is the most ‘ economical’ performance by the Dutch: they did not really shine.
Argentina and Brazil played slow game, trying to outsmart each other – since the Brazilians were slightly better, they won with a slight margin – 2-1. And it was Holland and Brazil to decide the finalist.
Argentina and East Germany, already out and disinterested, ended in a 1-1 tie.
The battle of the giants… there was no battle: Holland ruled with confidence. 2-0.
Both teams with their reserve kits, thanks to FIFA’s requirements in 1974. At moments, the match was ugly, although it is hard to say who was guiltier by the picture alone – is it a Brazilian trying ti kick a Dutch or is it a Dutch crashing a Brazilian?
Both teams were good at kicking opponents: here is Rijsbergen in action.
Yet, Oranje scored and Brazil did not not. The second goal in the net of the three times World Champions.
1. Holland 3 0 0 8-0 6 points
2. Brazil 2 0 1 3-3 4
3. DDR 0 1 2 1-4 1
4. Argentina 0 1 2 2-7 1
So far, Holland was the supreme team at the tournament. Their performance at the semi-final group was exceptional – not for a second there was a doubt who was in command of the game. The Dutch scored plenty and their improvised defense was… perfect. Holland did not receive a single goal! True, the opposition was clearly outplayed, but the South Americans are devious no matter their momentary form. Holland ended with perfect record and perfect team – Michels did not change his first eleven and used substitutes – at least from fan perspective – largely in jest: to give a few more players a chance to try the grass. However, de Jong played more than well when coming on the pitch.
Brazil reached second place and was to play for the bronze medals, but the team was a disappointment. No magic came out of the magical Brazilians, except for the brilliant goal against East Germany. And their record revealed the sad truth – Brazil was not able even to produce positive goal difference. Yet, they were still considered favourites for the bronze.
The last two played worse than they did in the preliminary groups. DDR was expected to be outsider, but Argentina was a dissapointemnt, steadily going downhill from one match to the next. The East Germans at least exited happy, cherishing sweet memories from the winning match against West Germany. The Argentines… they continued the exodus, although their performance did not make hot property – Carlos Babington, for instance, went to play for Saarbrucken, hardly a big West German club. But forget the losers – Holland was the deservingly big thing, promising exiting final and very likely World Champions wearing orange shirts.

After the round robin stage there was a brief pause before the beginning of next round – semi-final round robin groups were to be played for the first time, but already all doubts about the innovation were gone. The teams reaching the second round were largely deserving – Scotland was missed, but Italy was not, given their awfull performance. New predictions were manufactured in the pause… West German gamble was working – they were in the ‘weaker’ group with Sweden, Yugoslavia, and Poland. Convenient teams for the Germans, it was judged, and the hosts were seen as the favourites. As for the second place, it was to be largely a battle between Sweden and Yugoslavia. Polish bubble was expected to finally burst: they played above themselves, the verdict was, but now it was time for them to settle for… last place.
The other group was really tough – East Germany was considered most likely finishing last, but had a chance to do better too. Unlike Poland, DDR was seen actually getting stronger – fueled by their surprise win over the ideological arch-enemy and facing troubled Brazil and Argentina, it was possible to get a point or two, with some luck may be reaching second place. The real battle was to be between Holland, Brazil, and Argentina. The South Americans were expected finally to start playing their ‘real’ football and although the Dutch looked great, who can tell what the South Americans can pull out of their sleeves? A point nibbled away here, a goal missed there, and the first place may go to… any team except DDR. The news from the team camps kind of supported analyses, predictions, and lunacy. One thing was certain: so far, the tournament was good and was to become better. West Germans trained in their disciplined fashion as ever; the Dutch looked overconfident and relaxed; the Brazilians were grimm and determined; the rest were quiet…
Miguel Angel Brindisi and Carlos Alberto Babington – what the Argentines are doing? Relaxing or learning some new viscious tactic? With such concentration, watch out for them!
Nordqvist, Sandberg, and Hellstrom – the Swedes looked homely and unassuming as always. But look out for them too – their casual attitudes are deceptive. Once on the pitch…
And what a difference: Brazil training hard and very relaxed Cruyff and company. Watch out… Brazil seems determined to return to glory and Holland may be too arrogant already and pay dearly for overconfidence. Why, it should be Brazil engaged in lax training and Holland under disciplinarian Muchels training breathlessly.
No matter – the first round ended and tougher one was coming. Forget what happened just a few days back – it was to be something entirely different from now on. Who had the best chances? Well… West Germany and Holland. May be Holland…

At their opening game against Argentina Druzina Polska dropped their first bomb: they played exciting attacking football and won 3-2. Stunning the football, the Poles also disturbed the situation in the ‘certain’ Group 4 – it was no longer certain one. Poland suddenly had a chance to qualify for the second round.
Polish captain and playmaker Deyna much stronger than his more famous opponent Heredia. New names were noted and they played with white jerseys, not with skyblue-white stripes.

Robert Gadocha with a lethal free kick. The picture clearly tells the difference of class.
‘Iron’ defense vs speedy attack – the bankruptcy of old-style football was evident as well as the end of South American illusions of ‘modern football’: modern football was attacking and scoring. And did the Poles score!
Their second match was clear even before the beginning – there was no doubt that Haiti will lose, the only question was by how many goals. Turned out by seven – the Polish win 7-0 was the second highest result in the whole World Cup. What was not clear before the game was that Poland will be qualifying for the second round – there was possibility, depending on the result of Italy-Argentina. Since this match ended in a draw, Poland surprisingly, but deservingly, qualified before the third round robin round.


Morini clears the ball and Yazalade watches. Italy looked like crawling to the second round.
Good for the Poles, but bad for Argentina – now it was ‘certain’ that they were going home. Poland was still thaught just a lucky freak team – surely they played well so far and pleased everybody, but it was time the Polish bubble to burst. Enthusiasm is one thing; quality – quite another. Besides, Poland does not need any more points and surely will take it easy. Besides, Italy needs just one point and who on earth is the master of scoreless ties and extracting points just when needed? Besides, Rivera and company vs Deyna and whatstheirnames? No contest…
And no contest it was: Poland won 2-1. The result was… a compliment to Italy, for it suggest some kind of almost equal play. On the pitch Poland was much better and short of miracle Italy standed no chance. A second Polish bomb exploded.
Anastazi tackled by Polish defense. The picture really displays the most distinctive feature of total football – those, who practiced it always outnumbered the opposition. Anywhere on the pitch.
The result benefited Argentina; Italy went home in disgrace, and Poland not only ended first in Group 4, but had the best record of all teams – 3 wins in 3 games. Best scoring record too – their lethal attack scored 12 goals. Yugoslavia was second with 10 goals, but 9 of them were scored against Zaire. Poland scored 5 goals in the nets of the most defensive teams! Lubanski was already forgotten – there was a trio of fantastic players – Lato - Szarmach – Gadocha – entertaining the watching public with shattering attacks and goals. There was Deyna commanding the game from midfield. There was Kasperczak running everywhere. There were Gorgon and Szymanowski killing opposite attacks, but going ahead whenever they had a chance. There was Tomaszewski between the goalposts – the goalie called ‘a joke’ by Brian Clough was hardly a joke. The world was quickly learning Polish names.

Before 1974 Poland appeared at World Cup finals only in 1938. It was long time ago and Polish football did not rank high. Their successful elimination of England was mostly seen as a freak accident. Polsih players were largely unknown and the general verdict was that Poland would be just happy to appear at the finals. They were in Group 4, the easiest to predict round robin group: mighty Italy first; strong Argentina second, very weak Haiti last, and Poland – third. They were surely to win over Haiti and to lose against the favourites. When Wlodziemierz Lubanski got heavy injury and was out of the national squad, observers shrugged – without the only relatively famous player, what chances Druzina Polska had? None. True, they were the last Olympic champions, but the Olympics were seen as Eastern European affair without much clout – the Poles were brave enough to resist orders (real or imagined) and eliminate the Soviets at the Olympics, and good for them, but now they were not to play against fellow Comminists, but against real teams. The sensational elimination of England? Just luck and English folly. Don’t bother with Poland.
And nobody bothered - especially since the only relatively good Polish club, Gornik (Zabrze) was going through generational change and was not winning at home. In 1972, at the Olympics, the team was more or less based on Gornik, but now those players were gone (retired or playing abroad their last football years). What was left? Gorgon, Gadocha, and Deyna – may be good by East European standards, but far below ‘real stars’… nobody paid attention to the steady and methodic work of Kaziemierz Gorski, who was building his team for quite a few years, carefully adding and shaping. The lack of interest and expectations was just as well for the coach – without Lubanski he had enough trouble on his head. At the end, it was typical Polish selection of players representing many clubs – the country never had dominant 2-3 teams, providing the bulk of the national team anyway. The list of players was interesting only because of their numbers: one more team with unusual numbers on their backs. The Poles numbered their players by lines – 1,2,and 3 were the goalkeepers; then followed the whole defense; then the midfield, and the strikers got the highest numbers. Number 9 was the central defenseman Zmuda. After the finals the Poles joked that the numbers were due to Adidas – so unknown were the names of the players, that Adidas was not able to figure out who plays what and produced the kit following just the list of names. Jokes are jokes – it was not really Adidas fault, for at the time there were no names on the backs of the shirts, so it was up to the Polish to give numbers, not to Adidas, but still the fact remains: the Poles were absolutely unknown.
Head coach: Kazimierz Górski
No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club
1 GK Andrzej Fischer 15 January 1952 (aged 22) 1 Górnik Zabrze
2 GK Jan Tomaszewski 9 January 1948 (aged 26) 14 ŁKS Łódź
3 GK Zygmunt Kalinowski 2 May 1949 (aged 25) 4 Śląsk Wrocław
4 DF Antoni Szymanowski 13 January 1951 (aged 23) 28 Wisła Kraków
5 DF Zbigniew Gut 17 April 1949 (aged 25) 9 Odra Opole
6 DF Jerzy Gorgoń 18 July 1949 (aged 24) 31 Górnik Zabrze
7 MF Henryk Wieczorek 14 December 1949 (aged 24) 3 Górnik Zabrze
8 DF Mirosław Bulzacki 23 October 1951 (aged 22) 16 ŁKS Łódź
9 DF Władysław Żmuda 6 June 1954 (aged 20) 2 Gwardia Warszawa
10 DF Adam Musiał 18 December 1948 (aged 25) 25 Wisła Kraków
11 MF Lesław Ćmikiewicz 3 May 1947 (aged 27) 32 Legia Warszawa
12 MF Kazimierz Deyna 23 October 1947 (aged 26) 49 Legia Warszawa
13 MF Henryk Kasperczak 10 July 1946 (aged 27) 17 Stal Mielec
14 MF Zygmunt Maszczyk 3 May 1945 (aged 29) 16 Ruch Chorzów
15 FW Roman Jakóbczak 26 February 1946 (aged 28) 1 Lech Poznań
16 FW Grzegorz Lato 8 April 1950 (aged 24) 13 Stal Mielec
17 FW Andrzej Szarmach 3 October 1950 (aged 23) 6 Górnik Zabrze
18 FW Robert Gadocha 10 January 1946 (aged 28) 49 Legia Warszawa
19 FW Jan Domarski 28 October 1946 (aged 27) 13 Stal Mielec
20 FW Zdzisław Kapka 7 December 1954 (aged 19) 2 Wisła Kraków
21 FW Kazimierz Kmiecik 19 September 1951 (aged 22) 9 Wisła Kraków
22 FW Marek Kusto 29 April 1954 (aged 20) 1 Wisła Kraków
Poland at their training camp, posing with visiting pop star Malgorzata Potocka. Can you name the boys? Don’t worry – they were anonymous yet.
After training with the singer, the Polish squad quietly arrived in West Germany. They were not expected to excel.

Argentina opened their first match as favourites. They fought and… lost 2-3 to Poland. A surprise. The result does not really tell the story, though – the Gauchos were outplayed. Just like the rest of the South Americans, they were playing outdated kind of football. They were major disappointment. Their ‘iron’ defense was leaky. They were lucky to escape with such a loss.
Lato (16) scores another one after Carnevali’s (1) mistake. Defense is everything in modern football? The Poles told ‘El Polaco’ different story.
Disgraced, but not discarded – Argentina, like other giants on feet of clay, was told to improve in the second match. They kind of improved, for they played against Italy, equally sluggish, outdated, and defensive minded. Two teams resting on defensive tactics never makes for great match and rarely produces anything else, but a draw. In this case – 1-1.
Houseman scores for Argentina, beating Zoff. Burgnich watches at left. So far 1-0 for Argentina… but not to the end.
The last match against Haiti was not brainer – it was sure that Argentina will win, but it was also sure that winning or not, it would not matter: Poland with two wins already qualified, and it was expected the Poles will lose their match with Italy. Either Poland would not play strongly enough, preserving strength for the next round, or Italy will be finally playing as they should – no matter what, Argentines were goners. They won of course, but heir ‘impecable’ defense allowed a goal again – 4-1. Meantime Poland won and small miracle happened: Argentina fulfilled predictions and finished second in the round robin group! Not by their own efforts, but second they were, going to the second round instead to undeserved summer vacation. Well, prophets emerged anew – the ‘real’ Argentina will show great football at the second round! Just way and see – theor luck will boost confidence and ambition. Why, they may become world champions yet.

There are teams with special aura; teams always feared and considered favourites, no matter their current form. Argentina is such a team, but by 1974 it was a special case, because the gaushos never won anything at the world stage. They were the second strongest South American country, and always ranked among the strongest world teams – the one, which may burst into winning at any moment. And since they failed to qualify for the 1970 World Cup, now, in 1974, they were certainly coming back with a vengeance.
But by 1974 Argentina was in deep crisis – the country was between military dictatorships: one just ended in 1973, and democracy was greeted with escalating Leftist terrorism. Which irritated the men in uniforms (a new Junta came to rule in 1976). The economy was in shambles and the country was already in chaos. What was left, was football.
Well, not quite: Argentine football was slumping in deeper and deeper crisis for more than ten years. It was not entirely separated from the state of the society, yet had its own peculiarities having nothing to do with larger social unrest. Bir part was the club structure: well before 1974 almost all Argentine clubs should have been bankrupted and folded for good – if they were normal football clubs. Every club was indebted with astronomical sums and none was able to repay even a fraction for years. Worse, international success proved to be suicidal – the prime example is Racing Club (Avallaneda), which never recovered financially from… winning Copa Libertadores in 1967. Not until mid-1990s, when it became the first privately owned club in Argentina – and practically a brand new club, for the transformation from public into private club did not include the debts. The trouble with the clubs was they not strictly speaking sports clubs, but something similar to North American community centers: public structures, providing various facilities and services to the surrounding neighbourhoods. The football section, although keeping professional team, and guzzling enourmous amounts of money, was structurally equal to, say, old ladies crochet section. It was very old structure, particularly strengthened during the rule of Peron in the mid-1940s. No politician dared touch football clubs, because touching them meant immediate repercussion from larger society: after all, closing football club meant closing more general services as well. And the clubs remained, accumulating more and more debts and ever short on cash. Which led to frequent strikes by unpaid for months players and by 1974 there were even more weird events: at least on one occasion regular match was not played, because bank’s officials came and ‘ceased’ the whole squad – the only material possession of the debtors. And the best time to ‘collect’ debts was before a game, when the ‘collateral’ was in one peace in the dressing room. No wonder Argentine players were massively moving to play abroad.
In 1972 ‘El Grafico’ estimated about 293 Argentines playing in 23 countries - from Chile to Canada, and from England to Turkey.
The numbers given by one of the greatest football magazines in the world are suspect, indicated by Bulgaria given as Tirkay on the map. The Uruguayans immediately objected the meager 3 Argentines in their clubs, given by ‘El Grafico’ – they said there were about 23 Argentines in Uruguay, only aggravating the reliability of the information. Which is immencely difficult to prove, for one can hardly find any foreign names in Greece, Turkey, and England at the time; Italy and Spain officially did not import foreign players; and as far as USA and Canada are concerned, it was never sure whether a player was a temporary hired hand, or genuine immigrant, intending to stay for good. Since most players were not recognizable names in the sport, most were considered local players in their new lands: ‘oriundi’ of one nationality or another; assuming citizenship and new names (most likely the case in Greece); or economic and political émigrés, making a living from football in countries short on talent, like USA and Canada. But even with reservations, the exodus was huge and alarming, especially when Argentina briefly included a Paraguayan born – and naturalized Argentine – player in the national team. Talent was seemingly drying at home… and, with that, the ever irritating question were foreign-based players to be included in the national team? They were, thanks to the domestic shortage.
The qualifying campaign was successful this time, unlike the one four years ago, but nobody was happy with the team coached by one of the biggest worldwide stars in late-1950s-early 1960s: Omar Sivori. Nothing helped the coach, even the European tour in 1973, which, at least in Europe, got plausible reviews. Sivori was sacked and new coach was hired for the World Cup: one Vladislao Wenceslao Cap.
‘El Polaco’ was unknown in 1974 and even less today, but he was a former national player, part of the Argentine squad at the 1962 World Cup. As a coach, he seemed less adventurress than Sivori, who tried many players, both domesticly and foreign based. Cap settled on well known veterans, some, like Perfumo, were part of the ill-rememberd Argentine 1966 World Cup team; some promising youngsters; and some,who appeared to be in good at the time. The last portion of the team was a mixture of domestic and ‘foreigners’ – Hugo Bargas (Nantes), Ruben Ayala and Ramon Heredia (Atletico Madrid), and Hector Yazalde (Sporting Lisbon, Portugal) were of this category, especially Yazalde, who was unlikely to be called for national duty, if not winning the Golden Boot exactly then. It was a suspect squad, seemingly not based on tactical reasoning, but just a bunch of players in good current form. Cap thought otherwise and stated so – he was the only coach in 1974 to announce defensive tactic – even the Italians did not dare to say openly they were playing defensive game by that time. To Cap, modern football was strictly defensive affair: fortify the defense and if you get occasional chance for counter-attack – good, but not essential. Cap went on record saying that ‘Attacking football is a suicide’. What was the role of Ayala, Yazalde, and Kempes in the team was mystery to all, may be most to the strikers. So far, so good: Argentina was coming to West Germany to stay in their own half, but the imbedded problems of Argentine football protruded once again to the front lines. The team was to fly to Europe on May 4 and the departure was postponed – the players striked, demanding better payment and clarity about it. Negotiations took place, solved at last, and team arrived in Europe on May 12.
Head coach: Vladislao Cap
No. Pos. Player DoB/Age Caps Club
1 GK Daniel Carnevali 4 December 1946 (aged 27) 2 Las Palmas
2 FW Rubén Ayala 8 January 1950 (aged 24) Atlético Madrid
3 MF Carlos Babington 20 September 1949 (aged 24) Huracán
4 FW Agustín Balbuena 1 September 1945 (aged 28) Independiente
5 DF Ángel Bargas 29 October 1946 (aged 27) Nantes
6 MF Miguel Ángel Brindisi 8 October 1950 (aged 23) Huracán
7 DF Jorge Carrascosa 15 August 1948 (aged 25) Huracán
8 MF Enrique Chazarreta 29 July 1947 (aged 26) San Lorenzo
9 DF Rubén Glaria 10 March 1948 (aged 26) San Lorenzo
10 DF Ramón Heredia 26 February 1951 (aged 23) Atlético Madrid
11 MF René Houseman 19 July 1953 (aged 20) Huracán
12 GK Ubaldo Fillol 21 July 1950 (aged 23) River Plate
13 FW Mario Kempes 15 July 1954 (aged 19) Rosario Central
14 DF Roberto Perfumo 3 October 1942 (aged 31) Cruzeiro
15 FW Aldo Poy 14 September 1945 (aged 28) Rosario Central
16 DF Francisco Sá 25 October 1945 (aged 28) Independiente
17 MF Carlos Squeo 4 June 1948 (aged 26) Racing Club
18 MF Roberto Telch 6 November 1943 (aged 30) San Lorenzo
19 MF Néstor Togneri 27 November 1942 (aged 31) Estudiantes
20 DF Enrique Wolff 21 February 1949 (aged 25) River Plate
21 GK Miguel Ángel Santoro 27 February 1942 (aged 32) Independiente
22 FW Héctor Yazalde 29 May 1946 (aged 28) Sporting CP
An early Gaucho version: top, left to right: Carnevali, Guerini, Brindisi, Houseman, Heredia, Correa, Fillol, Ghiso, Pernia, Sanchez.
Bottom: Telch, Babington, Avallay, Chazarreta, Ponce, Alonso, Wolff, Ayala, Esposito, Rosl.
Well, here are those who conquered West Germany in 1973, but Guerini, Ghiso, Pernia, Sanchez, Avallay, Ponce, Esposito, Rosl, and the Paraguayan born Correa were not coming back in 1974. Cap’s selection included 6 foreign based players, but otherwisewas a mixed bag. River Plate and Boca Juniors were practically not represented – only 2 River Plate players were included – and if the giants were not in good shape at the time, it is strange that Independiente was not better represented. Cap included only 2 players from the best club in South America, if not in the world! On the other hand ‘El Polaco’ included 3 players of Huracan and 3 from San Lorenzo , which were the best domestic clubs in 1973-74, but the choice was weird, given how tactically different those clubs were. What was the point of including Huracan’s players, coached by attacking minded (yet unknown to the world) Cesar Menotti, if you want defensive game? Rag-tag selection, but Argentina was seen as one of the favourites, capable at least of going to the second round. In Group 4 they were ranked second after the Italy. Solid number two and who knows what may come later.
But Argentina contributed to the visual revolution of 1974 – they used unusual numbers – the striker Ayala had number 2, the central defenseman Heredia played with number 10, midfielder Babington was number 3, another striker, Balbuena was number 4, and with number 9 played Glaria, a defenseman. And finally Ruben Ayala was the player with longest hair at the World Cup – 45 centimeters long. It was curious display of frivolity by the arch-conservative team, but was it going to win games? Alonso and Brindisi were considered the stars making the winning difference.