by Nick Holt
The favourites were still in. England had a good side and played reasonably well in this World Cup, but against Brazil their shortcomings were plain to see. England’s full-backs were excellent. Ray Wilson, then with Huddersfield Town, had settled in to the left-back position, while Jimmy Armfield was probably the world’s best right-back. Up front Charlton and Greaves were high quality, but they didn’t get enough bullets to fire. The midfield pairing of Bobby Moore and Johnny Haynes wasn’t as good as it looked on paper. Moore was soon to find his best position at the back, and Haynes, for all his consistency and talent, struggled to make an impact at this highest level – a footballing Graeme Hick, if you will. Like Tom Finney, he was an England legend who never put his best foot forward in the World Cup.
The game was reasonably well balanced in the first half, but worryingly for England the maverick winger Garrincha appeared to be “in the mood” and was giving Ray Wilson a torrid time, and the full-back was getting little or no help from Bobby Charlton, never the greatest defender. England should have switched Charlton with the more defensively adept Bryan Douglas, but that sort of flexibility wasn’t in their armoury. Garrincha looked the most likely player on the field to score, but no one thought it would be with his head; Maurice Norman was slow to react to Garrincha’s run and he powered Zagallo’s corner home. To their credit England didn’t buckle and equalised from another set play when a header by Greaves looped tantalisingly over Gylmar and came back off the bar into Hitchens’ path. Either side of half-time England enjoyed their best spell. If Garrincha was tormenting Wilson, then Brazil’s own left-back, the veteran Nílton Santos, was having trouble against Douglas and the aggressive overlapping of Armfield. The pair created chances for Haynes and Greaves, but neither was clear cut and both went begging.
Free-kicks were causing problems for goalkeepers in this tournament. The balls were lighter than those used in Europe and were swerving late in the thin air – not so markedly as eight years later in Mexico but enough to make the ’keepers uneasy. I’m telegraphing the next bit, aren’t I? Yup, the England goalkeeper made a hash of a Brazilian free-kick, forty years before David Seaman had his fateful encounter with Ronaldinho. Garrincha’s shot was low and hard and may have moved a fraction but it was straight at Ron Springett. The ball didn’t merely bounce off the England goalkeeper, he actually clawed it up into the path of Vavá; the big centre-forward barely had to move a muscle to score. Vavá had a nothing game; Norman and Flowers were unfussed by his aggression and elbows, but he made his one contribution here and it was vital. Garrincha added a third a few minutes later with a cute curling shot, and Brazil had enough of a cushion to be able to sit back and play keep-ball.
Jimmy Greaves didn’t have a great time in either of the World Cup tournaments he played in; his misery was compounded here when he took it on himself to snare a rogue pooch that wandered onto the pitch. The little four-legged midfielder had shown a clean pair of heels to Bobby Moore and even side-stepped Garrincha, but Greavesie got down on all fours, won the ensuing wrestle and coaxed the intruder into the arms of a security guard. No prizes for guessing what the Tottenham star was wiping on his shirt shortly afterwards . . .
England came home, not in disgrace, but with a feeling they had missed out. They were missing a couple of good players; Greaves’ strike partner at Spurs, Bobby Smith, future manager Bobby Robson and the commanding Sheffield Wednesday centre-half Peter Swan, who travelled but went down with dysentery. All were good players but not world-beaters; Swan was highly rated by his peers but fell from grace (and went to jail) when he was mixed up in a match-fixing scandal later that year.
The game against Brazil was Johnny Haynes’ last appearance for England. The Fulham playmaker at his best was one of the finest England have had, assured with his passing, able to read the game well and give himself time to pick a colleague or attempt a shot. He delivered a superlative performance only the year before this World Cup as England destroyed Scotland 9–3, and the same season saw him become English football’s first £100-a-week player when the archaic maximum wage was abolished after an intense campaign whipped up by Jimmy Hill, a colleague of Haynes at Fulham. Haynes crashed his sports car not long after the end of this tournament, and the new England manager harboured a suspicion that he never properly recovered – not that Ramsey ever needed much excuse to ignore a creative player.
The hosts also made the semi-final. Davidson, the referee who brooked little of their nonsense in their previous game, was ignored (obviously, this was a FIFA competition and we can’t have the hosts going out too early, can we?). The USSR matched the Chileans physically, but they couldn’t break down a massed defence once Chile got their noses in front for a second time. They took the lead in the tenth minute when a free-kick from the left-hand edge of the penalty area was thrashed in at Yashin’s near post – it was an extraordinary decision from such an experienced goalkeeper not to build a wall. The USSR responded well and when Ponedelnik’s shot was palmed out to Meskhi, the Georgian’s mishit shot was turned in by the other winger, Chislenko.
Chile scored again within a minute, Rojas hitting a fine, low shot into the corner when he was left far too much space in midfield. The USSR pressed hard but lacked the spark needed to penetrate a well-drilled, massed defence – surely the absent Streltsov would have made the difference. Chile and their raucous supporters had a semi-final against Brazil to look forward to, but they were one of the weakest sides to go that deep into a World Cup tournament.
Another of the fancied sides went out when Czechoslovakia beat Hungary. The Czechs were doing the World Cup the Italian way, improving slowly and making unspectacular progress while other sides grabbed the headlines. Like Chile they defended in numbers and thwarted the Hungarians, but they needed an element of luck when Tichy nearly broke the bar with a rocket of a free-kick (after a run-up to rival that of Michael Holding) that left Schrojf a spectator. The ball bounced down on the line, but not over it, despite Hungarian protests to the contrary. The Czech goalkeeper was the man-of-the-match, making a series of saves, none better than a flying stop to keep out a Rákosi piledriver aimed at the top corner. The Czechs could barely make it out of their own half, but when they did Josef Masopust was invariably their outlet, and it was his urgent burst forward and clever through ball that set up Adolf Scherer to drive past Grosics for the only goal of the game. Not for the first or last time, the romantics weren’t the victors.
England Squad 1962:
GK: Ron Springett (Sheffield Wednesday, 26 years old, 21 caps), Alan Hodgkinson (Sheffield United, 25, 5)
DEF: Jimmy Armfield (Blackpool, 26, 25), Don Howe (West Bromwich Albion, 26, 23), Bobby Moore (West Ham United, 21, 1), Maurice Norman (Tottenham Hotspur, 28, 1), Peter Swan (Sheffield Wed, 25, 19), Ray Wilson (Huddersfield Town, 27, 11)
MID & WIDE: Jimmy Adamson (Burnley, 33, 0), Stan Anderson* (Sunderland, 29, 2), George Eastham (Arsenal, 26, 0), Ron Flowers (Wolverhampton Wanderers, 27, 32), Johnny Haynes (Fulham, 27, 52), Bobby Robson (West Brom, 29, 20), Bobby Charlton (Manchester United, 24, 35), John Connelly (Burnley, 23, 8), Bryan Douglas (Blackburn Rovers, 28, 29)
FWD: Jimmy Greaves (Tottenham, 22, 18), Gerry Hitchens (Inter Milan, 27, 5), Roger Hunt (Liverpool, 23, 1), Derek Kevan (West Brom, 27, 14), Alan Peacock (Middlesbrough, 24, 0)
In 1960 one of the England squad, George Eastham, became involved in a dispute with his club, Newcastle United. Eastham asked for a transfer but Newcastle denied the request whilst retaining his registration, even though the terms of his contract had been fulfilled. This retain-and-transfer system was the norm at the time, putting all the power in the hands of the clubs. Eastham responded by refusing to play, and, although the matter was resolved when Arsenal paid a fee for the talented midfielder later that year, Eastham, with the help of the PFA, pursued Newcastle legally for wages owed. He lost the claim for compensation, but, crucially, the court decreed, in 1963, that the retain-and-transfer system was unfair. Players now had more bargainin
g power with their employers and a transfer tribunal was set up to settle disputes over the price of out-of-contract players wishing to move to a new club.
In 1995 the courts went a step further when Jean-Marc Bosman, a journeyman Belgian pro, took his club to court for refusing to agree a fee for him when he requested a move at the end of his contract. The European Court of Justice (I can hear the baying of the Daily Mail editorial writers from here . . .) determined that this was restraint of trade and that once a player had fulfilled the terms of a contract he was free to move without the club being able to demand any sort of fee. Exceptions were made for young players to prevent larger clubs poaching talent from smaller teams (and that’s worked, hasn’t it . . .?)
The Eastham case was a necessary landmark – just read Gary Imlach’s book for the detail of the iniquity of football contracts in the 1950s. The Bosman ruling makes sense, although it has undoubtedly affected the ability of lesser clubs to earn revenue through transfers. Unfortunately the whole opening up of the transfer system has led to the proliferation of football agents. An agent acts for a footballer and undertakes all negotiations on his part, whether contractual, with the player’s club, or secondary deals involving sponsorship or media work. They are a poison – and this with a mumbled apology to the tiny majority of sensible, ethical agents. They whisper in players’ ears and unsettle them even when they are doing well at a club. They take a hardworking, talented player from a difficult background like Carlos Tévez and turn him into a posturing, arrogant, distracted young man with no appreciation of where he has come from. They tell Scott Sinclair that Swansea are too small for him, even though he made it into the England side while he was there, and that he would be much better off sitting on the bench at Manchester City and watching his career go down the toilet. Why? Because they get a cut. Every time a player moves, or does a hilarious pizza advert, or signs a deal to wear luminous boots, they get money. And that’s what the game is all about, is it not?
I feel better now. Shall we move on to the semis?
SEMI-FINAL
THIRD-PLACE MATCH
The semi-finals were weak. A great team enjoying an Indian summer, a weak host nation there by the grace of God and some weak officials, a defensive but prosaic European side and a talented but sloppy Yugoslavia. If Brazil could have hand-picked the winners of the other three quarter-finals they would have opted for these three to ease their passage to victory.
In Viña del Mar the Czechs set out to do to Yugoslavia what they had done to Hungary; slow the game down, take the sting out of more talented opposition and catch them on the counterattack. They nearly paid the price for sitting back in a bright start by Yugoslavia. Schrojf got down well to save Popovic’s thumper, and then Galic should have done better from Jerkovic’s knock-down, shooting wide across the goal with only the ’keeper to beat from six yards. Another chance for the same player went begging when he stretched for another Jerkovic header and put the ball over the bar. Czechoslovakia started to string a few passes together, with most of the play going through Masopust as usual.
The first goal came at the start of the second half, when Yugoslav defender Popovic lost the ball to the left of the goal-line as he tried to usher it out. When the cross came over, Kadraba’s hard hit shot rebounded back in his direction and the Czech scored with a clever diving header. Yugoslavia kept coming, and Skoblar hit the bar with a fine header. The equaliser was in stark contrast with most of Yugoslavia’s intricate football. A hopeful punt forward caught the otherwise excellent Schrojf in no man’s land and Jerkovic just had to get his head to it to score – no challenge there for a man who looks a head taller than any other player in the tournament in the videos – his stats list him as six foot one, but that is surely an underestimation.
It was overconfidence that cost Yugoslavia; having equalised, they knew they could win the game and continued to press. Jerkovic just failed to put away a chance after a powerful run from Galic and the disappointing Sekularac forced a save from Schrojf. When another attack broke down, a through ball from the Czech captain Ladislav Novák found Kadraba in acres of space. As the only defender in the same post code came across to challenge, Kadraba slid the ball sideways to Scherer, who poked it past the ’keeper and watched it dribble slowly over the line. Three minutes later a brainless handball by Markovic, under no pressure, handed the Czechs a penalty that Scherer put away to seal the tie and a second final appearance for Czechoslovakia. Soskic watched the spot-kick go past him rather like the last boy to be picked in the playground who is forced to play in goal against his will.
WORLD CUP CLASSIC No.4
13 June 1962, Nacional, Santiago; 76,594
Referee: Arturo Yamasaki (Peru)
Coaches: Aymoré Moreira (Brazil) & Fernando Riera (Chile)
Brazil (4–3–3): Gylmar (Santos); Djalma Santos (Palmeiras), Mauro Ramos (Cpt, Santos), Zózimo Calazäes (Bangu), Nílton Santos (Botafogo); José Ely de Miranda, known as Zito (Santos), Waldir Pereira, known as Didi (Botafogo), Mário Zagallo (Botafogo); Manuel dos Santos, known as Garrincha (Botafogo), Edvaldo Neto, known as Vavá (Palmeiras), Amarildo da Silveira (Botafogo)
Chile (4–2–4): Misael Escuti (Colo-Colo); Luis Eyzaguirre (Universidad de Chile*), Carlos Contreras (Univ de Chile), Raúl Sánchez (Santiago Wanderers), Manuel Rodriguez (Unión Española); Eladio Rojas (Everton†), Jorge Toro (Colo-Colo); Jaime Ramírez (Univ de Chile), Honorino Landa (Unión Española), Armando Tobar (Univ Católica), Leonel Sánchez‡ (Univ de Chile)
The atmosphere for the semi-final in Viña del Mar was muted; the Nacional stadium on the same day was rocking. Packed to capacity with fans as demented and passionate for their own team as they were disinterested and apathetic towards others, the stadium was a cauldron. Many opponents would have quailed but this was a been-there-done-that Brazil team – eight of them had already experienced a World Cup Final.
Chile had nowhere near the talent at the disposal of the Brazilians, but they had home advantage, a handful of decent players and some considerate officiating in their favour. Their main threat was down the left, where the powerful left-half Rojas and the busy winger Leonel Sánchez could cause problems. In different times Sánchez would have sat out the rest of the tournament after his less than angelic performance against Italy. The captain, Toro, could play, and he packed a fearsome shot if given too much room – he was captain because Sergio Navarro, who led the team for the first four matches, was left out of the starting line-up.
Brazil soon settled and began to dictate the flow of the game – which was heading mainly in the direction of the Chilean goal. Zagallo hit a long driven cross into the penalty area and Amarildo attempted an outrageous overhead kick; he miscued and the ball rebounded off a defender to Garrincha on the edge of the penalty area – who was most definitely in the mood after the England match. One step to the left and a searing hit into the top corner – 1–0 to Brazil. Garrincha’s next touch of the ball saw him go the other way past his full-back, whose despairing grasp at his shirt would have brought a penalty had Brazil’s opponents not been Chile. Rojas showed his drive and spirit with a powerful shot that rebounded off the inside of a post, but Chile forays into the Brazilian penalty box were rare.
Chile got another break when what looked a perfectly legitimate goal from Vavá after an interchange with Amarildo was disallowed by the referee with no recourse to his linesman. Even the referee couldn’t help with Brazil’s second goal, when Garrincha scored from a corner with a header as uncompromising as the one he scored against England; he was short but he could leap and the timing of his run for both goals was perfect – quick enough to reach the ball but late enough to give the marker no time to react.
Toro sent a free-kick fizzing past the post – Brazil knew about his shooting but didn’t heed the warning and gave away another free-kick in the same area a few minutes later. This time Toro put the kick inside the post rather than past it – Gylmar got nowhere near it, the kick had pace and movement. Chile went
in to halftime with a glimmer of hope.
It lasted less than four minutes; Garrincha tossed a corner into the middle of the area, Vavá flung himself at the ball and Escuti could only palm it past the defender on the line. Chile didn’t give up. They kept working and getting stuck in – not always legally – and when Leonel Sánchez made a clever run across the line, his opposite wing Ramírez slipped a little pass down the side of the full-back. Sánchez hit it first time and the ball caught Zózimo’s outstretched arm. Sánchez converted the penalty. The referee was badly positioned but gave it anyway – he probably feared for his life, the Chilean crowd was kicking up a crescendo.
By now Chile were doubling up on Garrincha, Rojas going in hard two or three times and the notoriously unpredictable Brazilian was clearly getting riled. Brazil’s defence was looking a little rattled as well, and their fourth goal came at a good time for them. A patient build-up left Zagallo in space and he put in another of his wicked, dipping crosses. Vavá read it best and squeezed himself between two defenders to head past Escuti from close range.
There was still time for some uglies. Chile knew they were on their way out but declined to go quietly. Landa was dismissed for a crude tackle on Zito, and Garrincha followed when he reacted angrily to yet another challenge from behind by Rojas. Rojas crumpled on the floor in agony but seemed in remarkably good shape moments later after Garrincha left the arena. Garrincha, the tournament’s brightest star, left to a volley of abuse and spittle from Sánchez – vile and spiteful to the end – and a volley of missiles from the crowd. Brazil would have to play Czechoslovakia without their two best players, Pelé and Garrincha.