If Dutch football slipped a bit, their Belgian neighbours somewhat improved. The improvement showed itself largely on international level, but when two teams of a single country reach European finals at the same time, it is hardly a freak accident. Like Holland, Belgium was traditionally unimpressive league, dominated by two clubs. Unlike Holland, Belgian football was plagued by financial instability. During the 70s some reforms and tightened rules were tried, the most visible from outside was the enlarged league – a curious move, for other countries in the same financial predicament went the opposite way (Scotland, Austria, and Switzerland reduced their top leagues). Thus, 19 teams played in the 1975-76 season, a weird number, not really making sense. When the dust settled, one thing was immediately obvious: the sharp decline of Standard (Liege) – they finished 8th. Signs of reshaping were detected in the first half of the 70s, but probably this season finally made permanent the new duopoly – no longer Anderelecht – Standard rivalry, but Anderlecht – FC Bruges. With time, Standard somewhat restored its leading position, but only as the third strongest Belgian club. On the other hand, FC Bruges was perhaps taken seriously at last as legitimate contender. They won the championship confidently, with comfortable 4-point difference. Anderlecht finished 2nd, but the champions outscored them by 16 goals: FC Bruges scored 81 goals to Anderlecht’s 65. Of course, the joy in the Bruges camp was huge – it was their 3rd title so far – but there was more to it. If their winning in 1973 was shrugged off as more or less one time wonder (what else could be since there were 53 years between first and second title), the 1976 victory showed consistency: FC Bruges arrived and were to stay on top.

Or may be not… their photo is fun and the kit is cool, but how serious can be a team looking like that? Sponsored by denim jeans manufacturer? Goofy, somehow… Or may be not so goofy… Standing, from left: Mathieu Bollen (assistant-coach), Birger Jensen, Daniel De Cubber, Georges Leekens, René Vandereycken, Eddie Krieger, Ulrik Le Fèvre , Hugo Pieters.
Sitting: Jos Volders, Fons Bastijns, Roger Van Gool, Norbert De Naeghel, Ernst Happel (coach), Julien Cools, Raoul Lambert, Konrad Holenstein, Dirk Sanders.
Ernst Happel, the Austrian coach, who led Feyenoord to the European Champions Cup in 1970, was at the helm. His reputation was not just solid, but still rising – the success with FC Bruges just moved Happel higher, and soon he will be among the few best coaches in the world. His team was impressive as well, although not based on terribly expensive stars. The best known player was Raoul Lambert, one of the top Belgian players at the time. The three foreign players were lesser known: the young Austrian full back Eddie Krieger and two Danes – the goalkeeper Birger Jensen and the winger Ulrik Le Fevre. Like Krieger, Jensen was very young; but unlike the Austrian, he was not a national player of his home country. Le Fevre was solid and well known professional, who came from Borussia (Moenchengladbach). International star he was not and by now he was already fading, but his vast experience was helpful. The rest of the team was not really known outside Belgium, but not for long: some reputations soared precisely this season – Georges Leekens, Rene Vandereycken, Fons Bastijns, Roger van Gool. FC Bruges was no joke.
The season was good for another, smaller, Belgian club as well: KSC Lokeren.
The ‘Tricolores’ had checkered history, more troubles than success, and their latest move fitted the tradition: in 1975 they acquired Wlodzimierz Lubanski. The biggest Polish star surely, but what a risk – the whole transfer was based on his heavy injury, preventing him from playing at the 1974 World Cup. In Poland Lubanski was considered uncurable… which was the whole reason for allowing him to play abroad. Looked like Lokeren got nothing… but the striker recovered and with his help Lokeren had one of their best seasons. They finished 4th, thanks to the ‘goner’. The ‘goofy’ deal suddenly turned out to be a golden egg. Standing, from left: Hogenboom, Verschuren, Somers, Evevaert, Suykerbuyk, Vekkeneers, Novak – coach, Van Lessen, Lubanski, Verheyen, Dalving, De Paepe.
Sitting: Hansen, Ingels, Puis, Derycker – president, Devrindt, De Koning, De Schrijver.
Well, Mr. Derycker has every right to be so big with a lucky strike like Lubanski’s transfer… Apart from the Polish star KSC Lokeren was not much: only Johan Devrindt was quality player – well established national player, who played at 1970 World Cup and the 1972 European Championship final round. However, he was aging. Eventually two other players acquired some fame as Belgian national players – Maurice De Schrijver and especially Rene Verheyen – but it was much later, in the 1980s. Sure, there were two more foreigners, but small caliber – the Danish striker Halfdan Hansen and the Dutch defender Jan De Koning. Derycker was getting fat from Wlodzimierz Lubanski and Johan Devrindt. Mostly from Lubanski, really – one man made a huge difference. It was clear that Lubanski was a player for bigger and better club, and may be the player was very unlucky. Who knows? Communist officials rarely made good transfers and the wellbeing of the players they sold was never a concern for them. But Lubanski was considered finished and just lucky to get professional contract. He was not really expected able to play again… Anyhow, Lubanski deserves admiration for his loyalty: his recovery propelled him among the stars once again and surely he had better options after the 1975-76 season – but he stayed with Lokeren, where it was painfully clear that nothing really big will happen.

Since PSV Eindhoven won a double thie year, the Dutch Cup finalists got lucky – they were to play in the Cup Winners Cup, a rare occasion for Roda JC.
The club from Kerkrade was small an unasuming: since mid-1950s, when ‘De Limburgers’ (then under different name) won the Dutch league, there was no even partial success. Cup final was big thing in Kerkrade, and the boys used the opportunity the best they can – and they almost did it, losing the final 0-1 in overtime. Perhaps the final was more telling about the relative strength of PSV Eindhoven… the ‘new Dutch miracle’ barely clinched victory over nobodies. As for Roda JC – nobody was seeing them as uo and coming, but the modest team deserved respect.

When lost Cup final is just about the greatest success in about 20 years, it is obvious the losers were small club. And there was really nothing to brag about Roda JC – they had only two players worth mentioning: Dick Advocaat (thanks to his current reputation as a coach!) and Dick Nanninga, who gained some fame during 1978 World Cup. In 1976 both players were not making waves and hardly known, which speaks more about Roda JC’s spirit this year and places more question marks on the possible greatness of PSV Eindhoven. Anyhow, such thoughts are relative only in large perspective – Cup tournament follow their own logic and are full of surprises. When the season was finished, Ajax and Feyenoord were empty-handed, literally playing second fiddle in Dutch football. Was a sign of long-term decline?

Holland was the football of the 1970s, right? So far, it looked like solidly so… all principal stars of total football were playing. Cruijff, Neeskens, Rep were the focus of attention, no concerns. Holland was the standard for everything in football, and may be because of that early signs of decline were not detected, or at least not comprehended. The negative side was eclipsed by the positive: Ajax struggled, already three years without a domestic title, and a pale shadow of itself. Feyenoord was aging dangerously (although Van Hanegem and company had surprisingly long careers and many years yet to play – bringing with that the obvious way to decline: impossibility to replace great stars with younger feet). One after another, the superstars were going to play abroad and hardly any great talent was stepping up to replace them. But Holland was still superior on international level, where the national team was fearsome. True, Cruijff and company failed to win the European Championship, finishing lower then at the 1974 World Cup, but nobody seriously taught them in decline – Holland was established power by now. And on club level – PSV Eindhoven was the third Dutch sensation, proving that the country’s football was may be getting stronger, not weaker. If not the last year, then this year; if not this year, then the next one – surely another European Cup was going to Holland really soon. It couldn’t otherwise: just like Ajax and Feyenoord, the new Dutch powerhouse was playing fast attacking football. It was not ‘classic’ total football, but… something taken to be a new variation of total football, which, when finally ripe, may be even more exciting than the original.
And it looked like PSV Eindhoven was fulfilling expectations fast – at home, it was traditionally tough battle with Feyenoord and Ajax, who finished second and third, Feyenoord one point behind the champions, and Ajax – 3 points behind. But the Phillips boys looked much better – scoring 89 goals, the most in the league, when allowing only 27 goals in their own net in 34 matches. Also the best league record. Seemingly, PSV Eindhoven was dedicated to more balanced football, than their German approximation Borussia (Moenchengladbach) – attack-minded, but keeping strong defense as well. Doubts about the real strength existed, however: the club was not that strong when playing the European cup tournaments. At home – it was not overwhelming victorious either: aging Feyenoord, and unsettled Ajax, in which Rinus Michels was back coaching, but by now only three players from the great original squad remained – Krol, Suurbier, and Hulshof – were not exactly outplayed and left behind in the dust. They appeared quite equal to the champions, which was not the case only a few years earlier with Ajax.
But PSV Eindhoven managed to win the Dutch Cup as well – a double and their best performance so far. Considering that PSV were champions in the distant 1963 for the last time before 1975, the double in 1976 strongly suggested confident dominance for the years to come.
As for the squad, it was practically the same as the year before (which hardly helps with the names – there are number of misspelled names above. British photo of the same time simply misspells different names. Above, the third from left, first row is not ‘Rraay’, but Adrie van Kraaij. Or van Kraay? Hmmm) Only Bjorn Nordqvist was no longer in the team – the 33-years old veteran returned to Sweden and IFK Goteborg. The new foreign recruit was typically Dutch deal: Nicholas Deacy was acquired from Hereford United. Ever heard of him? No matter – he was young (born 1953) and inexpensive. Yes, he played for the national team of Wales, but that’s about everything. However, the deal worked for both club and player, so no harm done. Other newcomers were defenders – Jan Poortvliet and Huub Stevens. Both eventually played for Holland, but perhaps are better known as coaches, Stevens in particular. As a whole, the Dutch champions were just at the right age – the team was mostly 25 or younger , yet already vastly experienced. The core consisted of national players, however, almost all played second fiddle in the Oranje selections. The exception were the van de Kerkhof twins – they were increasingly becoming key players in the Dutch national team, and surely pulled the strings in PSV.
At the moment, they were the bright future of Holland, making sure van Hanegem’s and Cruijff’s legacy will be continued. The twins were athletic, great runners, and fearless. The high-speed attacks of PSV depended on them. However, the brothers differed from the original Dutch superstars: fitness, determination, will power were perhaps on even higher order than those of previous players, but the new stars were more German than Dutch – they were more physical than technical, and their creativity left a lot to be desired. They dominated the field, but crushing opponents was not the same as outplaying them. Since they were still young, improvement was expected, and with them PSV Eindhoven was seen as the next ruler of European football. Soon, very soon… The life of twins: raising together, falling together – Rene and Willy (right) van de Kerkhof carried out of the pitch, injured in match against FC Amsterdam – Rene in the 8th minute of the first half, and Willy in the 8th minute of the second. May be their sameness was what prevented PSV Eindhoven of becoming a great team.

Portuguese football was ranked high in the 1970s by inertia rather than real strength: the 60s propelled the country’s football high and after that combination of memory and expectations for revival kept its reputation. Unfortunately, the 70s were rather dark years – by 1976 all old heroes were gone into retirement. There was hope that after the uncertain period – the first half of the 70s – of changing generations Portuguese football will get better with new stars. But the expectations failed and the reason for that may have been the general condition of local football: it never had vast numbers of talented players, but just a strong group of 20, may be 30, outstanding players, concentrated largely in Benfica and Sporting. No other club was capable of challenging the status quo so far, although there were some steady improvements (FC Porto) and declines (Belenenses). At the end, how good Portuguese football would be depended largely on how good Benfica would be… and by mid-70s the team looked very promising. Once again Benfica was on top in the 1975-76 season. Sitting, from left: Bento, Moinhos, Jordao, Nelinho, Diamantino.
Middle: Cabrita – assistant coach, Sheu, Nene, Eurico, Bastos Lopes, Baptista, Mata da Silva, Mario Wilson – coach.
Top: Henrique, Barros, Toni, Martins, Artur.
I remember liking this squad a lot and expecting it becoming a real European powerhouse at the time: it was the selection, of course, bringing such ideas. The squad was brimming with talent – it was difficult to find out who did not play for the Portuguse national team here. May be only Moinhos and Mata da Silva? Just may be… the rest not only played regularly for Portugal, but almost coincided as national players – take the goalkeepers: Henrique was the regular national team keeper just 2 years ago and now Bento was prime candidate for the national team jersey. Who was number one and who the back up in Benfica? Very competitive squad, by the look of it – may be Jordao came short of filling the giant shoes left by Eusebio, but may be Diamantino will remedy that? And such competitiveness was going all the way up to the coaching stuff itself – Cabrita, who already has been head coach of Benfica, was now mere assistant of Mario Wilson. This was a team of conquerors… Benfica lost only three matches in the league, scoring massive 94 goals in 30 games, and receiving measly 20. Impressive record… the next best scoring team ended with 30 goals less! Not to mention poor CUF, finishing last – they scored only 15 goals this season, almost 80 goals less than the champions. The Eagles were seemingly ready to fly again…
But were they? After all, Benfica was not dominating the rather weak Portuguese league: they finished only 2 points ahead of Boavista (Porto), a club not exactly known as a contender, and actually a small club… May be it was just easy to beat the likes of CUF, Uniao de Tomar, Leixoes…. Sporting (Lisbon) and FC Porto were apparently weak… Belenenses, already going downhill for years, finished third – 10 points behind the champions and their squad provides good counter-point for the relative strength of Benfica: By now, a rare success for Os Belenenses. This is line up from 1976-77 season, but essentially the squad was the same in 1975-76: top, left to right: Quaresma, Sambinha, Melo, Joao Cardoso, Isidro.
Bottom: Luis Horta, Amaral, Vasques, Jose Rocha, Alfredo, Esmoriz.
Hardly a squad able to compete with Benfica, the difference of class is obvious. And this was one of the better sides in Portugal – imagine the rest. And yet Benfica failed to dominate even such clubs: the champions were not able even to reach the Cup final! Vitoria (Guimares) and Boavista (Porto) competed for the Cup and Boavista won 2-1. It was wonderful for the club – the won the Cup in 1975 and now repeated their success! Boavista and Vitoria coming out to compete for the Portuguese Cup.
Once again, black and white checkered shirts triumphed. For Boavista, the best years of their history (so far) started – the team remained strong, at least in Portugal, to the early 1980s. Very bearded squad, but darlings really – Boavista played (from what I have seen) mellow, technical football. Nothing great, but enjoyable to watch. Having a soft spot for the underdog, I was happy for them and still like them. But in more realistsic terms, Boavista was hardly the bright future of Portuguese football – revival did not come in the 70s. Not only the new stars were not on the level of those from the 60s, but they often went to play abroad – mostly lured by Spanish clubs. It was difficult to compensate the drain of talent – Portuguese clubs rarely had money for big foreign stars. It was difficult to keep them too – the Argentine goal-scoring machine Hector Yazalde already moved to Olympique (Marseille). The only big foreign name by 1976 was the Peruvian great Tefilo Cubillas. Cubillas in attack for FC Porto.
For the player, it was obvious step up on the European ladder, for he arrived from Switzerland. In terms of money, the transfer was not that great, speaking of the iconomic capacity of Portuguse football – no club was really able to buy major star or to compete with Spanish, French, and German clubs. At the end, Portugal was not able to achive revival in the 1970s neither by domestic players, nor by imports. The expectations were placed on Benfica, but it was FC Porto eventually to bring significant and improving change – so far, there was no sign of it, largely because FC Porto operated quietly. Acquiring Cubillas was an early step really.
As for Benfica… it suffices to say that Mario Wilson coached them only this season.

Crvena zvezda won nothing this year… and Dinamo (Zagreb) mirrored Zvezda: they finished 3rd in the championship and reached the Cup final. Which they lost… it was all Croatian final and the local derby was won by Hajduk (Split). Yet, more accurately, Dinamo mirrored rather the fate of Partizan (Belgrade), not Zvezda’s – just like the ‘Gravediggers’, ‘Modri’ (the Blues) were in long decline, playing second fiddle during the first half of the 70s not only to the Belgrade clubs, but to their Croatian rivals Hajduk too. And just like Partizan they hardly had memorable squad for a long time – therefore, third place and Cup final were somewhat of a success… well, the fans would disagree: what kind of success is finishing third, a good 5 points behind Hajduk? On the brighter side, the Blues were 4 points ahead of Crvena zvezda… and lost the Cup final in overtime 0-1. Bad year? Not so bad one? Almost good… the losing Cup finalists: first row, left to right: Bonic (?), Janjanin, Kranjcar, Vabec, Senzen.
Middle row: Jovicevic, Bedi, ?, Bobinac, Brucic.
Third row: Stincic, Bogdan, Kuze, Miljkovic, Blaskovic, Vlak.
Like Partizan, Dinamo had only one national player – Drago Vabec. Unlike Bjekovic (Partizan) – Vabec was a regular in the national team this year. The relatively good performance of the club may have been caused by opportunity, similar to Partizan’s – the lack of national team players was advantegous in the domestic tournaments. And yet unlike Partizan, Dinamo’s squad was more promising – eventually some (still too young in 1975-76) players became national team members. Kranjcar in particular. So far, only Vabec was a star and he was not enough for bringing trophies to Zagreb.
The Cup went to Split. 1970s were truly Hajduk’s years and the club rightly deserved its nickname ‘Majstori s mora’ – ‘Masters from the sea’. Hajduk finished second in the championship, one point behind Partizan, but with best defensive record – least goals allowed (22) and least losses – only 4. The Cup final was also tough, but this time Hajduk won over local archrivals Dinamo (Zagreb). Of all ‘grand’ Yugoslavian clubs Hajduk was the oldest – founded in 1911 – and preserving its original name. It was also a big club from a small town – Split was… well, provincial by all means. But unlike any other club, it was perfectly organized: Hajduk developed excellent youth system, constantly producing great players, and had the best transfer policy as well – it was shrowd enough to provide healphy income for the club without compromising the quality of the team. Players were sold abroad for good money, but only when replacement was available. The only revolt against the policy came from Zungul, already a star in 1975-76, who run away from the club without permission, but that happened later. For now – 5th Cup collected and everybody happy.
Another strong season for Hajduk and the best Yugoslavian squad as well. Unlike Crvena zvezda, no crisis occurred when stars went abroad or retired – Muzinic, Dzoni, Jerkovic, Buljan, Peruzovic, Surjak were still young and the the backbone of the national team already. Zungul was making a name for himself fast as well – and played for the national team. And Boljat and Katalinic were pushing ahead too. The future was bright. The present was to be envied – a model club. No wonder the boys from Split were not tempted to go to Zagreb and Belgrade.

Yugoslavia continued to maintain the strongest East European championship. Measures cannot be precise, yet, the Yugoslavian domestic football was at least a notch stronger than most countries on the continent. Partizan (Belgrade) won the title – another difficult to measure aspect. On one hand, Partizan is traditionally one of the strongest clubs in the country, the arch-rival of Crvena zvezda. On the other hand, the best years of the club were obviously in the distant past – Partizan won their last title in 1964. After 1970 even the rivalry kind of changed – the Belgrade axis was replaced by Serbia vs Croatia axis: Crvena zvezda vs Hajduk (Split). The reasons were unclear, but Partizan somewhat lost ground – they hardly had a squad as strong as those of Crvena zvezda and Hajduk for years and 1975-76 season was no exception. Hard to put a finger on anything, but it was obvious that Partizan was unable to recruit the best players. One reason was the feroucious rivalry with Crvena zvezda: to this very day the number of players who played for both clubs is tiny. But it was similar in Croatia as well – Hajduk players rarely moved to Dinamo (Zagreb) and viceversa. Strong hatred for the opposition cancels exchange. The result was a change of status quo – Partizan and Dynamo played second fiddle for years. To a point, the success of the ‘gravediggers’ (depending on sympathy or lack of it, the nickname of Partizan means adoration or contempt) was heroic and truly joyous for the long-suffering fanship. A title at last. It was not a confident win by any means – Partizan clinched first place one point better than second-placed Hajduk. May be outside factors made the victory possible – Hajduk and Crvena zvezda had too many players in the national team and preoccupation with the European Championship weakened them on the home front. Crvena zvezda was also going through change of generations – old players were steadily going abroad after 1974 and new team was not ready yet (they finished 4th). May be Partizan won by an accident, but the ‘gravediggers’ used the opportunity, fought for the title and grabbed it. Their 7th title – by numbers alone, the Army club was still the main rival of Crvena zvezda. Champions at last: standing from left: Kozic, Tomic, Arsenovic, Djordjevic, Djurovic, Ivancevic.
First row: Bjekovic, Zavisic, Todorovic, Vukotic, Kunovac.
Not a bad team, but mostly second-tier players. At the time, only Nenad Bjekovic was included in the national team and not as a regular starter – between 1968 and 1976 he played only 22 matches for Yugoslavia, scoring 6 goals. Bjekovic was mostly a domestic star and he was the top goalscorer of the season with 24 goals. His goals undoubtly helped Partizan – the champions ended with most wins and most goals scored – but still he was not considered good enough to play for Yugoslavia in the European campaign. Well, there was plenty of talent in Yugoslavia… which may be makes Partizan’s victory more important: they overcome strong opposition, somewhat against the odds. Even so, not a really great team… may be really helped by Crvena zvezda’s predicament.
As noted earlier, Crvena zvezda was going through generational change – from the great team of only two years back just a few remained: the Petrovic brothers, Krivokuca, and Acimovic. Bogicevic and former OFK Beograd defender Stepanovic were also around, but they, Acimovic, Krivokuca, and Ognjen Petrovic were due to move to foreign clubs. The replacement were talented, and unlike Partizan’s squad, were to become national team regulars, almost every one of them, but so far were too young and unsettled. Crvena zvezda was shaky and not a contender – they finished 4th, a place they rarely ended at, so it was a disaster year in a way. Top, from left: Ognjen Petrovic, Jelikic, Krivokuca, Keri, Muslin, Baralic.
Bottom: Vladimir Petrovic, Filipovic, Savic, Acimovic, Stamenkovic.
May be a disaster by the club’s standards, but unlike the champions two players were stars in the national team – Ognjen and Vladimir Petrovic. As for the rest – they were just in need of little time, for this is practically the team reaching the UEFA Cup final in 1979. Unlike Partizan, Crvena zvezda was able to recruit better talent. Ocasional slip, then… which is never an excuse for fanatical supporters.

A little tour of the domestic league of 1976 European Champions. Banik (Ostrava) – Dukla (Prague). Nehoda (Dukla) scores in the net of Michalik (Banik). At the end of the season Michalik was champion of CSSR, but Nehoda champion of Europe. They were to play side by side for the national team soon.

The Bratislava derby Slovan – Inter. Hardly friends… although Jurkemik (left, Inter) and Masny (Slovan) were together in the national team and lifted the European Cup.
Oil and arms go together… well, not always. Inter (in stripes) had no respect for the rifle-makers - Zbrojovka. The unfortunate goalkeeper Hron can only watch Pospisil (#10) scoring and the match ended at that – 1-0 for Inter (Bratislava). And the match no gun ever win… against the referee. Sarganek dismises Zbrojovka (Brno) players Kroupa nd Vaclavicek. Kind of bored, isn’t he? More riflemen, this time in attack: Zbrojovka (dark shirts) vs SKLO Union (Teplice). Tough life for a goalkeeper… but who is attacking and who is defending? Well, Dukla (Prague) tries to score in the net of Inter (Bratislava). Slovaks were increasingly under Czech siege this season.
It was not an easy victory of the Czechs at all – Slovaks still had enough teeth left. Dusan Kabat (Spartak Trnava) makes a full of Dukla (Prague) defender. Alas, the great team of Trnava was already declining.
Not much love between Czechs either: Barat (Bohemians Prague, in stripes) strikes a bit before Huml (Banik Ostrava) tackled him. Bohemians were playing better and better, but it was the year of Ostrava, so it was Huml victorious at the end of season. More of the Czech – Slovak battles? Slavia (Prague) had a strong season and here their stopper Frydrich almost scores in the net of Inter (Bratislava, in stripes).

Czech year at last! Segmuller (Slavia Prague) went together with the ball in the net of Slovakian VSS Kosice. Football as bliss.

Football as misery… unfortunately, once again it was Slovak misery… Dukla just scored against Jednota (Trencin). Poor goalie Machac behind the post and the stopper Mojzis are devastated so much, there is no need to show their faces.
Completely Czech year at every level, and the future was seemingly Czech too… Seventeen years old Josef Jurkanin already in attack for Sparta (Prague). Winning the Second Division and adding the Czechoslovakian Cup for a good measure.
Arguably, 1976 was the best Czechoslovakian year ever.