My First Charity Shield

The Charity Shield is one of those events that we have fallen out of love with. Once the official curtain raiser to announce joyfully that the football season is back, now the season is well under way by the time we get to the Shield game. True, the Premiership hasn’t started but the Championship and the League is under way as well as the early rounds of the Champions League and the Europa League.

My first memory of the Charity Shield is 1977. The previous season had finished with a bang. Manchester United had spoiled Liverpool’s treble hopes by winning the cup final 2-1. Liverpool, however went on to Rome where they won the European Cup by beating Borussia Munchengladbach 3-1. Then a low point when, in the British Championships, England lost to Wales at Wembley for the first (and so far, only) time before losing also to Scotland at Wembley, the famous occasion where the Scots invaded the pitch and collapsed the crossbar. (See my post of 3 January)

In those days, there were no pre-season friendlies on TV and so we just had the long wait before the season could start again. There were other events to entertain us of course. The Silver Jubilee was a national celebration. Virginia Wade won Wimbledon. And England won the Ashes 3-0 with a young chap called Ian Botham making his debut. Even Roy Race went off to the USA and ended up playing American football.

So it was with a long yearning that us kids waited for the football season to start again. And when, on Saturday 13 August 1977, up popped Jimmy Hill’s smiling face to introduce us to the Charity Shield – yes, football was back!

The game saw champions Liverpool and cup winners Manchester United playing out a 0-0 draw, the main point of interest being Kenny Dalglish’s first game for Liverpool, and the fact that both captains (Emlyn Hughes and Martin Buchan) went to collect the Shield together – which at the time I thought rather odd.

Here’s a link to a newspaper report.

http://www.lfchistory.net/Images//newspapers/ian.beardsley/1977-08-13-charityshield.jpg

But that night us nine year old kids could go to bed and sleep a contented sleep. Football was back!

World Cup 1978 - Day Twenty-Five (& Last)

Sunday 25 June

As the coach arrived back into Hazlemere that Sunday afternoon, I grabbed my bag, sprinted down through Firs Close, across the busy Rose Avenue (minding the traffic, of course) and to my home in Firs View Road – it was world cup final day and I was not going to miss any of the atmosphere.

Much has been written about this game but from first to last I was enthralled by it all. The colourful spectacle in the stadium, the ticker tape parade that greeted the players, the delayed start over a Dutch player’s plaster cast, and at last the kick off at 7pm with the game shown live on both channels (we opted for ITV).

My sketchy memory is of a great game, end to end stuff, arguably the two most entertaining teams in the contest exchanging blows. Argentina leading through Kempes at half-time, but Holland coming right back in the second. A cracking headed goal by Nanninga late in the game equalising. Then suddenly, in the very last moments, Resenbrink shoots .. and hits the post!

Since that day I have read a number of times that, had the shot gone in, the ref would not have allowed it – he would have blown for a foul or offside or some reason. Well, we’ll never know.

Into extra-time, Argentina found a second wind, Kempes prodded the hosts in front to become the tournament’s top scorer, and then Bertoni made it 3-1 and sent the stadium into pure joy. That was it now – Argentina had won the world cup!

I had never seen such an exhibition of colour at a football ground – remember the drab English football stadiums of the 1970s – and had enjoyed the whole event. Commentators spoke ruefully about the lack of great games, the way the schedules were placed in the hosts’ advantage, the poor showing from Scotland – but we had also seen Argentina’s coming of age as a great team – Ardiles and Villa were soon to arrive at Spurs in a day when foreign players were very rare in England – and some cracking goals from Holland, retaining their title from 1974 as the world’s most entertaining team.

Now the contest was over and time for bed as it was back to school in the morning, although the summer holidays were not far away. Seven weeks before the start of the domestic season, two years to the next summer tournament, and four years to the next World Cup in Spain, in which I hoped to see England take part.

Day-by-day, the World Cup of 1978 was one to remember.

World Cup Final

Argentina 3-1 Holland

Kempes 37, 105, Bertoni 115 – Nanninga 82

Top scorers

Kempes (Argentina) 6 goals

Resenbrink (Holland) 5 goals

Cubillas (Peru)

Luque (Argentina) 4 goals

Krankl (Austria)

Thanks and acknowledgements to 'upthemaggies' and the following page.

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/carousel/ITV/Argentina78.html

World Cup 1978 - Day Twenty-Four

Saturday 24 June

The cub scout camp fire was a big event. It was in some sort of outdoor theatre as I can recall sitting towards the back looking down at the scout leaders telling jokes and leading songs. There was a fire going and it was dark – so at this time of year, it must have been late.

Meanwhile, back at home, both channels were showing the game. Third place play offs are strange beasts – no other football tournament has them, yet the world cup persists. In a good game, Brazil defeated Italy 2-1 including a belter of a goal from Nelinho, a Brazilian banana, as they were then called, where the ball swung in from the touchline.

Brazil finished the tournament as the only team not to be defeated.

Third place play-off

Brazil 2-1 Italy

Nelinho 64, Dirceu 71 – Causio 38

World Cup 1978 - Day Twenty-Three

Friday 23 June

During my years at Manor Farm Primary in Hazlemere, I was also a cub scout (bob-a-job, Akela, first aid badge and all that, but scouts did not say dib-dib-dib!) and this weekend was scout camp when our troop along with all the others in the area were to meet in a large get-together.

I can only remember two things about this camp – one, a large group of us sitting around a fire singing various songs, and, two, the fact that I would miss the World Cup third place play-off and have to race back for the final.

Presumably there were events at the camp but these have totally slipped my memory. But today, Friday, after school it would have been get changed, onto the coach, and away we went.

World Cup 1978 - Day Twenty-Two

Thursday 22 June

With perfect timing, the musical Evita, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, opened last night in London with Elaine Paige, David Essex and Joss Ackland.

Meanwhile, the stage was set for the final – Argentina v Holland – neither of whom had won the cup before, while Brazil and Italy would be in the third place play-off. And four more teams packed their bags for the journey home – West Germany the most disappointed.

Group A

Argentina 5pts (8-0)

Brazil 5pts (6-1)

Poland 2pts (2-5)

Peru 0pts (0-10)

Group B

Holland 5pts (9-4)

Italy 3pts (2-2)

West Germany 2pts (4-5)

Austria 2pts (4-8)

Top scorers

Rensenbrink (Holland) 5 goals

Cubillas (Peru)

Kempes (Argentina) 4 goals

Luque (Argentina)

Krankl (Austria)

World Cup 1978 - Day Twenty-One

Wednesday 21 June

A big day. Today we would know the finalists.

A choice of games at 5.45pm and we switched on to Holland v Italy on ITV. The Dutch had thrilled us with their football so far and by now much of the country were cheering them on. An entertaining game saw the Dutch come out on top 2-1 with Ernie Brandst scoring at each end and a cracker of a winner from Arie Haan. We rejoiced as Holland booked their place in the final.

It was a mighty surprise afterwards to hear that Austria had defeated West Germany 3-2 over on the BBC which meant the holders were going home and Italy had come second in the group to make the third place play off.

Overall Austria could be very satisfied with their 1978 campaign. In 1982, Austria was scandalously involved with West Germany in rigging a result to get both teams through the first group stage. Austria have qualified twice more for world cups without distinction, and have never qualified for the Euros, except in 2008 when the country co-hosted the event.

Whereas Group A’s final games were played at the same time, the Group B games were staggered (because of Argentina and their late kick offs). Although good for the viewer, this was hugely unfair to Brazil. Brazil v Poland at 8.45pm on ITV turned out to be a great game, Poland giving their all despite little chance of qualification. Brazil won 3-1.

So it was over to BBC for the question we all wanted to know. Could Argentina win by four goals to get to the final?

The answer was yes – a great atmosphere and one way traffic as Argentina demolished Peru 6-0. Of course there were suspicions – the Peru team that overwhelmed Scotland was just a memory, and the Peru goalkeeper, Quiroga, who we had last seen on the halfway line against Poland, was born in Argentina! After the tournament Argentina were very generous in foreign aid to Peru. All dodgy stuff, but when you are ten years old, you don’t care about that sort of thing.

Brazil went into the third place play-off, despite being the only team not to have lost a game. The host nation marched on. The final would be between two teams who had never won the cup before.

Group A: Holland 2-1 Italy

Brandts 49, Haan 76 - Brandts (og) 19

Group A: Austria 3-2 West Germany

Vogts (og) 59, Krankl 66, 87 - Rummenigge 18, Holzenbein 72

Group B: Brazil 3-1 Poland

Nelinho 13, Dinamite 58,72 – Lato 45

Group B: Argentina 6-0 Peru

Kempes 21, 49, Tarantini 43, Luque 50, 72, Houseman 67

World Cup 1978 - Day Twenty

Tuesday 20 June

Another footy free day as we all looked forward to the final round-up.

Holland were still the favourites to defeat Italy and get to the final, while the other group was quite even.

Group A

Brazil 3pts (3-0)

Argentina 3pts (2-0)

Poland 2pts (1-2)

Peru 0pts (0-4)

Group B

Holland 3pts (7-3)

Italy 3pts (1-0)

West Germany 2pts (2-2)

Austria 0pts (1-6)

Top scorers

Rensenbrink (Holland) 5 goals

Cubillas (Peru)

Rep (Holland) 3 goals

Rossi (Italy)