Poland – GAME OF THE PEOPLE

THE 1974 WORLD CUP was the penultimate 16-team tournament. In some respects, it was the end of an era, because it really marked the culmination of the Total Football revolution. It was certainly the peak point and it was the only time we saw the great Johan Cruyff on the World Cup stage. Every minute of number 14’s involvement should be cherished in my opinion.

There were three excellent teams in 1974: West Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Three out of 16 isn’t bad, actually. Since 1974, in some World Cups it has sometimes been difficult to identify a really outstanding side. The World Cup has become the type of competition that is won by the most durable and focused team rather than a star-packed line-up. We have seen the emergence of “tournament teams” that come good at the right time.

I would argue that the World Cup winners in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1974 and 1978 were all outstanding. In 1954, West Germany had enough savvy to overcome the Hungarian favourites, in 1966, Sir Alf Ramsey’s England were very much a tournament team. If you asked many neutrals, they would have considered Portugal to be the most watchable side.

Some World Cups are won by the presence of a great individual. In 1982, Paolo Rossi took an unexceptional Italy to glory. Two teams had captured the imagination of the crowds in Espana 82, France and Brazil, but it was Italy that came through. Four years later, Diego Maradona carried Argentina to their second title but in 1990 and 1994, more industrious teams were crowned champions.

France were very good in 1998, Brazil were Ronaldo-led in 2002 and in 2006, Italy did it again, this time on penalties. The abiding memory of 2006 is undoubtedly Zidane’s headbutt. Spain, for all their undoubted talent, won a rather tedious World Cup in 2010 and it did seem as though the competition had become second best to the UEFA Champions League. There has been a comeback, with Germany winning in 2014, France in 2018 and, thanks to Lionel Messi and the willing of FIFA and social media, Argentina won Qatar 2022.

As the competition continues to expand, the quality is eroded all the time. More teams does not necessarily translate into a better World Cup, it merely means there are more poor teams. The World Cup is too long, there are too many games and so many are simply dull. Of course, it is all about TV and money, which is why FIFA has to award the competition now to countries that can host a huge party and attract the right corporate backers and TV exposure. By making a World Cup a 48-team event, you limit the number of possible hosts. Just consider, in 50 years, the competition has expanded by 32 nations, so economics could mean we can look forward to more US and Middle Eastern-based World Cups in the future. The spiritual home of football is Europe, regardless of what South Americans believe, but how many of UEFA’s members can comfortably host a 48-team format?

The World Cup should be all about excellence, so the chipping away of makeweight teams should be handled well before the finals. Rightly, the minnows should be given a chance, so why not make the qualifying process global rather than geographic? There are far too many qualifying matches on the international stage, so coordinating the confederation events alongside World Cup qualifying would be a way to rationalise the multitude of games involving the same teams.

A 16-team structure may be too small, but that could be the end product of a more imaginative qualifying concept. Forty-eight is certainly too many. Somewhere in between may be more appropriate. Just imagine, if the real best 16 were involved, rather than token representation of nations ill-equipped to compete, how real would the quality be?

As for 1974, it has been overshadowed by 1970 and Pelé for some people, but West Germany and the Netherlands were the best teams in the world at that time. This is not something that has happened too often in the World Cup.

The Summer of Total Football: World Cup 1974, is published by Pitch Publishing. You can order it here

PAOK from Thessalonika have won the Greek Super League for the second time in six years. In a closely fought finale to a troubled season, PAOK won 2-1 at Aris to lift the title, despite losing a man to a red card in the 73^rd minute. The club, which is owned by Russian-Greek businessman Ivan Savvidis, also reached the last eight of the Conference League and semi-finals of the Greek Cup. In second place were AEK Athens, who won 3-0 against Lamia on the final day and Conference League finalists Olympiacos finished third. The Greek season has had its problems, notably in the form of crowd trouble and attacks on referees and officials which led to grounds being closed.

THIS coming weekend sees a number of domestic cup finals, not least the FA Cup final at Wembley which just so happens to be a repeat of 2022-23’s Manchester derby. City could be on for a second-successive “double”. It is also the DFB Pokal final in Berlin between Bayer Leverkusen, the newly-crowned Bundesliga champions, and 2. Bundesliga side Kaiserslautern. Leverkusen could complete a unique treble if they are successful in the Europa League final in midweek. The Coupe de France final also takes place in Lille between Paris Saint-Germain and Lyon. PSG have beaten Lyon 4-1 twice in Ligue 1 this season, so will be tipped to win the cup. Celtic and Rangers meet headlong in the Scottish Cup final and in Portugal, champions Sporting could also be double-winners if they dispose of Porto in the Taça de Portugal final in the Estádio Nacional. The Greek Cup final sees Panathinaikos meet Aris in Volos.

BELGIUM’s KV Oostende, who became part of Pacific Media Group’s (PMG) multi-club model, could be heading for bankruptcy after the club struggled to find a new owner. The club’s financial problems meant they had an incomplete license application and without that they would have to drop to amateur status. That outcome would prevent Oostende from servicing its sizeable debts. The temporary administrator believes there will be no choice but to file for bankruptcy. PMG took over the club in 2020 and also has clubs in the Netherlands, Poland, Denmark, France, Switzerland and England. PMG have been coming under fire from the club and its fans, but fingers also have to be pointed at governing bodies, who have failed to provide a proper framework for multi-club structures.

POLAND could have a new league champion if current leaders Jagiellonia Białystok beat struggling Warta Poznań on the final day of the Ekstraklasa season. The club from Poland’s 10^th biggest city has never won the title, but they have a better goal difference than second-placed Ślask Wrocław, who also have 60 points with one game remaining. They are away to Rakow Częstochowa, the reigning champions. The Polish top flight has witnessed an upswing in popularity in 2023-24, with crowds up by 29% to an average of 12,256.