The Day The Beautiful Game Died - Spain 1982 World Cup on July 5th in Barcelona

[Norman Bell]

Yes re the Austria v West Germany game. In fact i think its because of this game that all final group games in major tournaments now kick off at the same time. It was awful sportsmanship from both countries.

Don’t forget the awful Battiston/Schumaker incident too in this World Cup. Schumacher almost killed him.

This was also the Tournament where a team won it's opening game by 10 - 1 and still did not make it into the next round
Hungary beat El Salvador by that incredible margin and then lost their next two games. Argentina managed 4 points and Belgium 5 to make it into the next phase.

When the draw came out for the opening group stages it was felt that Argentina and Italy would win their groups and Brazil would play Poland and Belgium in the second phase not Italy and bitter rivals Argentina. The original draw had to redone after a massive balls up live on television, FIFA and blithering incompetance, well who would have thought that !

 

[Macman]

This was also the Tournament where a team won it's opening game by 10 - 1 and still did not make it into the next round
Hungary beat El Salvador by that incredible margin and then lost their next two games. Argentina managed 4 points and Belgium 5 to make it into the next phase.

When the draw came out for the opening group stages it was felt that Argentina and Italy would win their groups and Brazil would play Poland and Belgium in the second phase not Italy and bitter rivals Argentina. The original draw had to redone after a massive balls up live on television, FIFA and blithering incompetance, well who would have thought that !

Weird isnt it that I remember so much from the 78, 82 and 86 World Cups, yet very little from recent ones. I was 10 in 1982 and remember it all so vividly and what i was doing at the time.

And yes, like you, I do remember the original draw being messed up. Yet can hardly remember a thing I did last week.

 

[Norman Bell]

Weird isnt it that I remember so much from the 78, 82 and 86 World Cups, yet very little from recent ones. I was 10 in 1982 and remember it all so vividly and what i was doing at the time.

And yes, like you, I do remember the original draw being messed up. Yet can hardly remember a thing I did last week.

Here I go again sounding like Grandpa Abe Simpson about " times past " but I was 9 in 1974 when I was transfixed by Germany 1974. Then like you I can remember so much about 78, 82 and 86. I think it is because the only live football we got was the FA Cup Final, England v Scotland, the odd England international, the European Cup Final and that some European Championship games. The League Cup Final was not live until 1981. I think it was the thrill of so much live football on the television that made it so special. The World Cup was a huge event and I had Panini sticker albums, Shoot ! World Cup wall charts and other bits and pieces.

I was 17 before I saw England in the final stages back in 82. I splashed out a princely sum of £45 for a Philips black and white portable tele so I could watch the games in my bedroom. My parents did not dislike football but were not major fans and it was unfair to make them sit through every live game possible so I splashed the cash ! ( I still have the TV and it works )

By the time 1990 came around there was more live football on TV and of course after 1992 when Sky arrived saturation coverage started so the magic of live football on the " idiot's lantern " no longer held us transfixed.

 

[Macman]

Here I go again sounding like Grandpa Abe Simpson about " times past " but I was 9 in 1974 when I was transfixed by Germany 1974. Then like you I can remember so much about 78, 82 and 86. I think it is because the only live football we got was the FA Cup Final, England v Scotland, the odd England international, the European Cup Final and that some European Championship games. The League Cup Final was not live until 1981. I think it was the thrill of so much live football on the television that made it so special. The World Cup was a huge event and I had Panini sticker albums, Shoot ! World Cup wall charts and other bits and pieces.

I was 17 before I saw England in the final stages back in 82. I splashed out a princely sum of £45 for a Philips black and white portable tele so I could watch the games in my bedroom. My parents did not dislike football but were not major fans and it was unfair to make them sit through every live game possible so I splashed the cash ! ( I still have the TV and it works )

By the time 1990 came around there was more live football on TV and of course after 1992 when Sky arrived saturation coverage started so the magic of live football on the " idiot's lantern " no longer held us transfixed.

Every Friday, me and my two older brothers couldnt wait to get home after school as this was the day mum did the shopping. Each week we had Roy of the Rovers, Shoot, and Match Weekly bought for us and we read them cover to cover, several times over. We collected the Panini sticker albums (and i still did until 2014!). The World Cups back then were amazing. And yes, as we didnt have the saturation of live football like we do now, it made all those tournaments so special and memorable.

 

[WickedWolfie]

This was also the Tournament where a team won it's opening game by 10 - 1 and still did not make it into the next round
Hungary beat El Salvador by that incredible margin and then lost their next two games. Argentina managed 4 points and Belgium 5 to make it into the next phase.

When the draw came out for the opening group stages it was felt that Argentina and Italy would win their groups and Brazil would play Poland and Belgium in the second phase not Italy and bitter rivals Argentina. The original draw had to redone after a massive balls up live on television, FIFA and blithering incompetance, well who would have thought that !

Re your last sentence so what has changed?

 

[Lupo Italiano]

I think also back in those days, World Cups and the players in them were full of charm and mystique. We were used to the domestic game with all the players being blokes called Brian, Graham, Derek, etc and looked like blokes who lived in your street but the World Cup gave us the rare chance to watch exotic foreign players called Diego, Paolo, Michel, Karl-Heinz or in Brazil's case, players known by just one name. These days football is much more of a global game and every game at Molineux we get to see these foreign players for our own team and the opposition.

 

[Asthmatic Wolf]

It was a Monday afternoon in Barcelona ( July 5th 1982 ) at about 5.00 pm GMT that as Graeme Souness so aptly described it " The beautiful game died ".

I was 5 in 1970 so did not really have many memories of the magnificent Brazil side of Pele, Jairzinho, Rivelino and Tostao to name but 4. My formative years where international football teams were concerned was the Germans who played with a crushing efficiency or the Holland side of 74 and 78 with the Dutch Masters of Johann Cruyff and Neeskens. So to see the 1982 Brazil was a revelation as they played with incredible tempo and skill. In the group stages there was a 2-1 win over what was then called The USSR, with the modern day irony that the bulk of that side were not from Russia but Ukraine. There was a defensive alarm bell in that game though as the Brazilian keeper Waldir Peres ( who looked like some kids Dad that was asked to help out in goal for the five-a-side because the regular keeper was not available ) made an utter mess of the USSR goal. As I say, I was not old enough to recall 1970 but people who were, tell me that Felix who played between the posts in 1970 was the definition of the term " Dodgy keeper ". The goals in the victory over the USSR were special with the " chain smoking " skipper Socrates and the mercurial winger Eder scoring. There was also a group win over New Zealand by 4-0 and on a sweltering Friday night in Seville, Brazil punished Scotland for having the temerity to score first with a screamer from David Narey ( Jimmy Hill managed to get even further up the nose of the average Scotsman by described the shot as a " Toe poke " ! ) The game ended up in a 4-1 win for Brazil with Zico, Falcao, Eder and Oscar scoring.

As winners of the group Brazil found themselves in the second group phase with Italy and their South American " neighbours from hell " Argentina. In the first group game Argentina lost 2-1 to Italy, which meant in the next game it would be Argentina versus Brazil. I agreed to give my Dad who was a carpenter a hand on the proviso we would be back for the second half at the very least. The game was on Friday July 2nd 1982 and the reason I remember the date so vividly is it was the day that the announcement that Wolves were now in receivership was made. We got back at half time and it was 1-0 to Brazil. The first goal remains for me one of the most remarkable one I have ever seen, Eder hit a free kick from 35 yards that moved all over the place and on first viewing it is not apparent that the Argentina keeper Ubaldo Fillol has actually made a fantastic save as he tipped it onto the bar only for Zico to beat Serginho to rebound and score. Chances are if Serginho had of got there he would have missed as that man was every bad forward Wolves have ever had rolled into one. Having just slagged him off the Cart Horse actually made it 2-0 before Junior clinched the game, despite a superb late strike from Ramon Diaz. This was the game when a certain young fellow called Diego Maradona tried circumcising Brazil's Batista with a " tackle in the tackle " shall I say ! A straight red was fully justified and so we were all left to wonder was this tubby curly haired kid was really all that, four years later he proved that he was.


So the final match of Group C was on Monday July 5th in Barcelona in the afternoon, not at The Nou Camp ( or Camp Nou if you prefer ! ) but at the 44,000 capacity Sarria Stadium. There was a goal after 5 minutes, so which Brazil player scored it, was it Zico, Eder, Socrates or Falcao, actually no it was Paulo Rossi for The Azzurri Rossi had been a stand out in the 1978 Tournament but had been banned for a bribery scandal and had looked nothing like the ace predator he was in 78 so far in this World Cup. The lead was soon cancelled out when Socrates, if you can pardon the pun " smoked " a screamer past Dino Zoff ( Socrates was known to smoke 20 a day and what made that all the more stunning was he was a medical Doctor as well as a professional footballer ! ) Unfortunately for Brazil some utterly shambolic cartoon defending allowed Rossi to put Italy back in front in the 25th minute. So at half time it is 2-1 to Italy, yet those like me who had become utterly sold on Brazil still could only see one winner ( a draw would do as goal difference would see them quailfy ) So when Falcao ( Who like his team mate Cerezo played in Italy for Roma ) made it 2-2 with a screamer from the edge of the box in the 68th minute it seemed game over. The 1982 has two iconic goal celebrations one was this one from Falcao and the other was Marco Tardelli. It was not " Game over " because of two things, one was this side just could not happily play out time and grind out a draw they kept on attacking, the other reason was Brazil while wonderful going forward, were not a " shutdown defence " at the back, as the utterly abysmal marking from an Italian corner in the 74th minute proved. Paulo Rossi who clearly was awakening from his post ban malaise was left alone to complete his hat-trick. Junior was a wonderful attacking full back yet not to bright at defending which was his main job and he was culpable on the goal. Brazil yet again in this game in this game had to pour forward and with two minutes left it seemed they had levelled for a third time. Eder sent over a wonderful delivery from a free kick and it was met by Oscar who rose majestically and powered a header downwards that seemed certain to go in, when out of no where a 40 year old Dino Zoff defied the pending on set of middle age and produced one of the greatest saves ever in my book. With that chance went Brazil's last hope and I sat there stunned that this once in a lifetime special side were not going to win the 1982 World Cup.

40 years have now passed since that team that me and millions of other non-Brazil born fans were fascinated by, yet even now despite the France side of 98 and 2000 they remain for me the best international side I have ever seen and while not quite as crushing as far too many bad play off and FA Cup Semi Final defeats I have endured as Wolves fan of nearly half a century that final whistle on that baking hot July 5th 1982 afternoon remains one of my most disappointing moments watching football.

Great post great team great game. Socrates and Zico 2 of the best to ever play the game but some serious talent in that Italian team too.

Better than Brazil 70 was Brazil of the early to mid 60s, they had a better defence in the Santos brothers, and most importantly had Garrincha, who for me is the greatest Brazilian to have player the game. Played 27 games with Pele, won 26 and drew 1!!!

Legendary times and teams and learning of these players helped me fall in love with football the way players like Messi KDB and Rui Costa have in my lifetime. Oh, and Leander Dendoncker of course

 

[CelebrityWolf]

Wasn't this the world cup where the sheikh came down from the stands and got a goal disallowed? Against France. Think it was Kuwait.

 

[Flea]

I remember it well.All of a sudden Paolo Rossi started scoring from nowhere and Brazil went out.
The way I saw it..Brazil was basically a midfield team with bad intentions.
What a midfield they had though..combined with the most attacking defenders.
Zico,Socrates,Leandro,Junior and my special favourite player of that time..Falcao.
Eder with his monster shot,Muller and Serginho who didn´t know how to score and the usual(for the time)joke of a goalkeeper.

Just take a player like Junior..they don´t make em like that nowadays.

 

[Flea]

Wasn't this the world cup where the sheikh came down from the stands and got a goal disallowed? Against France. Think it was Kuwait.

You remember correct.
I also remember the Northern Ireland side that progressed through the group stage...on the expense of a decent Honduras side.
Gerry Armstrong..Norman Whiteside,Billy Hamilton.

 

[Zico]

I think also back in those days, World Cups and the players in them were full of charm and mystique. We were used to the domestic game with all the players being blokes called Brian, Graham, Derek, etc and looked like blokes who lived in your street but the World Cup gave us the rare chance to watch exotic foreign players called Diego, Paolo, Michel, Karl-Heinz or in Brazil's case, players known by just one name. These days football is much more of a global game and every game at Molineux we get to see these foreign players for our own team and the opposition.

Same with European games. Think it helped that the quality of the picture and particularly sounds made it seem as if the broadcasts were coming from the far side of the Moon.

 

[Guzeppi]

Seriously?

No, I really mean it. Seriously?

It was a glorious victory by the Azzurri. They swept all who stood between them.

The day football died indeed.

Just get the hell outta ma face.

 

[Guzeppi]

PS I wanted to include a winky smile in the last post.

 

[Norman Bell]

Wasn't this the world cup where the sheikh came down from the stands and got a goal disallowed? Against France. Think it was Kuwait.

Just looked that incident up, the Kuwait defenders " heard " a whistle that was blown in the crowd, they stopped playing for a few seconds and that superb midfield player Alain Giresse took the ball on and scored. The General Manager was a " full on " Sheikh and he took the players off the pitch. The referee was Miroslav Stupar of the USSR and he disallowed the goal which was incorrect, Stupar never took charge of another World Cup match.

Imagine Arabian Officials trying to influence FIFA decisions these days, it would never happen .............................


That French team was superb. Before he ruined his reputation Michel Platini was truly a great player and that midfield of Platini, Alain Giresse and Jean Tigana was something to see. Marius Tresor was like an early Willy Boly a man mountain but with skills that 40 years ago you did not associate with a centre half. I remember they had a winger, Didier Six who went on to play for the Villa.

 

[Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)]

I remember those European Cup games muffled commentary from Brian Moore, grainy pictures, weird digital graphics and particularly the car horns of the 1974 World Cup, all seemed so "exotic". Then there was the ticker tape of the 1978 World Cup which spilled over into 1982, look at the pitches littered with paper.

Also looking back, seemed like you could walk up and pay on the door at a lot of games with half full grounds, but that was the same all over back then I guess.

And those hemmed in grounds in Spain where the locals could watch from the comfort of their balcony in their "apartments"

 

[Macman]

You remember correct.
I also remember the Northern Ireland side that progressed through the group stage...on the expense of a decent Honduras side.
Gerry Armstrong..Norman Whiteside,Billy Hamilton.

I remember starting to watch the Spain v N Ireland game on telly, but then we had a really bad thunderstorm and the power went off. We missed the goal Gerry Armstrong scored.

 

[Zico]

What about 1978, and Clive Thomas blowing for full time just as Brazil's "winner" was on its way in!

 

[Wagstaffe Was Magic]

Nice OP Norman !!

However, if you had seen Brazil 70 you wouldn’t have written it !

 

[Norman Bell]

What about 1978, and Clive Thomas blowing for full time just as Brazil's "winner" was on its way in!

That attention seeking Welsh pillock was the inventor of the " look at me I am more important than any player " era ! I believe Brazil made sure that Thomas NEVER refereed another game in World Cup.

 

[Norman Bell]

I remember starting to watch the Spain v N Ireland game on telly, but then we had a really bad thunderstorm and the power went off. We missed the goal Gerry Armstrong scored.

That game brings back memories ! It was on a Friday night and my mate and I were trying to watch the match but were drawn to the loud reving of a car engine. The bloke over the road had bought his wife a Mini and was trying to teach her to drive. He was sat in the passenger seat ( obviously ! ) trying to look calm, after more reving she dropped the clutch and the car shot off down the road faster than James Hunt ! Five minutes later the car returned with the bloke driving, the following day a " For Sale " sign appeared on the windscreen !

Pretty sure that goal secured Gerry Armstrong several lucrative years in Spain with a couple of clubs.

 

[WickedWolfie]

That attention seeking Welsh pillock was the inventor of the " look at me I am more important than any player " era ! I believe Brazil made sure that Thomas NEVER refereed another game in World Cup.

Put it this way, Norm, would Brazil have reacted similarly had it been them conceding? I loved their football but talk about bloody entitled! Summed up by your last sentence.

For the record though Brazil didn't, the then head of FIFA (yet another in the long line of corrupt Brazilian sports officials) did. Had the decision been against any team other than Brazil do you believe that the same thing would have happened?

 

[Macman]

Also, back then, the World Cup only had 16 teams, expanded to 24. Meaning the games shown all had significance. I think its going to be expanded to 48 soon? It just makes a mockery of it. I mean, no offence to Wales, but under old rules, they still wouldn’t have qualified for a World Cup since 1958.

 

[crocos]

That's a beautiful read, Norman, and I too can remember that day so clearly. I was 13, and it seemed impossible to believe that Brazil were out of the tournament. It just wasn't supposed to happen. As night follows day, Brazil were going to win that one. I was waiting to see the astonishing Socrates spark up a ciggie as he collected his inevitable winner's medal. Who the hell was this Paolo Rossi anyway??

That match, the ticker-tape or whatever it was all over the place in the 78 final, and the Lineker equaliser in the 90 semi are my big WC memories by a long stretch.

 

[Norman Bell]

Put it this way, Norm, would Brazil have reacted similarly had it been them conceding? I loved their football but talk about bloody entitled! Summed up by your last sentence.

For the record though Brazil didn't, the then head of FIFA (yet another in the long line of corrupt Brazilian sports officials) did. Had the decision been against any team other than Brazil do you believe that the same thing would have happened?

While I am not disagreeing with your points, Thomas could and should have told the Brazil players to get a move on or he would blow for time. instead being the only man ever to make Mike Dean / Mike Reilly look modest, he saw it as a chance to be centre of attention and as you were around at that time you know he never needed to be asked twice !

 

[WickedWolfie]

While I am not disagreeing with your points, Thomas could and should have told the Brazil players to get a move on or he would blow for time. instead being the only man ever to make Mike Dean / Mike Reilly look modest, he saw it as a chance to be centre of attention and as you were around at that time you know he never needed to be asked twice !

You are correct re the making Mike Dean look like a blushing violet lol.....

 

[wolvesaywe]

What a lovely diversion from the daily dose of doom and gloom on here

 

[Wolves Glassboy]

While I think it is universally acknowledged that the best 2 teams to not win the world cup were Hungary in 1954 and Netherlands in 1974 I also think that 1982 saw the 3rd and 4th best in Brazil and France. Not counting Austria in 1938

 

[CelebrityWolf]

While I think it is universally acknowledged that the best 2 teams to not win the world cup were Hungary in 1954 and Netherlands in 1974 I also think that 1982 saw the 3rd and 4th best in Brazil and France. Not counting Austria in 1938

Woahhh slow down there. The small matter of Scotland in 1978

 

[Flea]

That game brings back memories ! It was on a Friday night and my mate and I were trying to watch the match but were drawn to the loud reving of a car engine. The bloke over the road had bought his wife a Mini and was trying to teach her to drive. He was sat in the passenger seat ( obviously ! ) trying to look calm, after more reving she dropped the clutch and the car shot off down the road faster than James Hunt ! Five minutes later the car returned with the bloke driving, the following day a " For Sale " sign appeared on the windscreen !

Pretty sure that goal secured Gerry Armstrong several lucrative years in Spain with a couple of clubs.

Haha..Nice one Norman!
How do you say in English..life was easier back then.
At least it seems so when remebering some forthy years later.
Forthy years..time flies.

 

[Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)]

Woahhh slow down there. The small matter of Scotland in 1978

Oh this documentary is priceless, particularly the section on their hotel and training ground, makes Mike Basset look real

 

[Very Proud (AKA Still Proud)]

And whilst we're at it what about those World cup themes:

1974

1978

1982

1982

and of course where it peaked.......
1990

after 90 they're not worth listing

NB could only post upto 5 so will leave the rest of you to fill in your gaps

 

[Lupo Italiano]

Got to be...