World Cup '74 Portrait #215 (Johan Cruyff: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

And so the year draws to a close with not just an appalling pun but also a re-mediation of an image of Johan Cruyff, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums, & is one of the few names remembered from my experience of the television coverage of the 1974 World Cup, enhancing his star status as he led Holland all the way to the final of the tournament (repetition obvious aids memory): the goal he scored, that airborne sidefoot volley, to conclude the Dutch team’s 2 – 0 victory over Brazil in their effective semi-final, has become one of those iconic ones, but I also recall his argument with the referee Jack Taylor, & consequent booking for doing so, as the teams left the pitch at half-time in the final.

World Cup '74 Portrait #214 (Alfonso Lara: Chile)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project with a re-mediation of an image of Alfonso Lara, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums (the latter providing our original source for this drawing), & then selected for inclusion in the Chile squad for the tournament, during which he made but one brief playing appearance, for all of 7 minutes as a late substitute in the Chileans’ opening match defeat to West Germany.

Alfonso Lara has passed away since the beginning of this project, having done so on August 13^th, the day I was processing the drawing of Attila Abonyi, who coincidentally played for Australia against Chile (though not Lara directly, of course) during the 1974 World Cup.

World Cup '74 Portrait #213 (Mayanga Maku: Zaire)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Another drawing in the project, the portrait subject of this one being Mayanga Maku, who was one of the elite selection to be featured representing Zaire in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums (the latter being of only 6 players), subsequently being chosen for his nation’s official squad for the Finals, where he appeared in all 3 of the Zairean’s matches, substituted against Scotland, as a half-time replacement in the 0 – 9 defeat to Yugoslavia, & finally for the whole game against Brazil.

World Cup '74 Portrait #212 (John Watkiss: Australia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Post-Christmas Day & back on the drawing horse with a re-mediation of an image of John Watkiss, who was featured in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album, amongst the number of the 16-strong Australia selection (which thus provides the original source material for the drawing), but not the reduced 6-player representation pictured in Panini’s ’München 74’ publication (as mentioned previously, the FKS album affords equal weight to each of the featured nations, whereas Panini adopted a more ‘hierarchical’ approach from major to minor in terms of World Cup football history).

Watkiss was subsequently included in the official Australian squad for the Finals but was not picked to appear in any of their matches, & further research reveals he was another of the majority of the Socceroos’ squad to be non-native to Australia, in his case English-born.

To accompany the drawing process it was decided to give an LP a spin, &, with the subject being an Australian player, it seem most appropriate to plump for an analogue listen to the Triffids' 'Born Sandy Devotional', still mighty & magnificent after all these years (the disc was invested-in early in 1987, after being intrigued by the album's featuring in the Albums of the Year for 1986 in the festive edition of the NME, always an essential acquisition for such features. And what a year '86 was for fine albums, just looking at that list alone: 'The Queen is Dead', 'Liberty Belle and the Black Diamond Express', the 2 Costellos', the 2 Bad Seeds', & more besides, both within & outside of the NME's selection).

World Cup '74 Portrait #211 (Roland Sandberg: Sweden)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project’s progress with this drawing featuring as its portrait subject Roland Sandberg, who was represented in sticker form in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 albums (the former, as is most often the case, providing the original source material for the subsequent process of re-mediation) & also chosen as a member of the official Sweden squad for the Finals, where he was selected to play in all 6 of the Swedes’ matches at the tournament, scoring twice, against Uruguay in a 3 – 0 victory in the concluding First Round group match (the first goals Sweden had scored following two goalless draws), & then West Germany in the thrilling, rain-drenched 2 – 4 second phase defeat to the host nation that I can recall witnessing live on television one Sunday evening.

World Cup '74 Portrait #210 (Ally Hunter: Scotland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This most recent drawing to be completed in the Project features a re-mediation of an image of Ally Hunter, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative sticker albums (the former providing our original source material in this instance) yet not subsequently selected for the official Scotland squad for the tournament.

Although not featuring at the World Cup, Ally Hunter’s is a name with which I became familiar soon after, as I recall him being a Scottish football columnist in ‘Shoot!’, which I began reading on a weekly basis soon into the following 1974-75 season (alternating with John Greig, who was his ‘Old Firm’ counterpart).

Research reveals that Hunter played only four matches for Scotland, all prior to 1974, & also that, in common with the Holland squad, as remarked upon previously, the Scottish World Cup selection’s 3 goalkeepers were quite astonishingly inexperienced at international level, having gained only 9 caps between them, & David Harvey, the number one, had earned 7 of those.

World Cup '74 Portrait #209 (Hector Santos: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Experiencing what might well be a bit of a seasonal slowdown on the old drawing front, but here the Project continues with the latest re-mediation, of an image of Hector Santos, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums & included in the official Uruguay squad for the Finals, where, as understudy to first-choice goalkeeper Ladislao Mazurkiewicz, he was at no stage required to take the field of play, as, doubly unfortunately for him, had also been the case at the 1970 World Cup.

Needless to say, & in common with even those Uruguayans who did feature in their 3 First Round group matches, he remained to me one of the ‘unheard-ofs’ until acquiring copies of the sticker albums the greater part of 40 years after the event.

World Cup '74 Portrait #208 (Roberto Telch: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the Project is a graphite re-mediation of an image of Roberto Telch, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative sticker albums (our original source material being provided by the former in this instance), & was chosen as a member of the Argentina squad for the Finals, where, after appearing as a 67^th-minute substitute for his country in their opening match, the 2 – 3 defeat to Poland, he played in all but one of the Argentinians’ five subsequent fixtures, missing only another loss, against Brazil.

Telch was previously featured as the subject of a drawing in an earlier incarnation of the 1974 World Cup project, which can be found here, &, sadly, passed away very recently, in October of this year.

World Cup '74 Portrait #207 (Col Curran: Australia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project’s proceedings with a re-mediation of an image, as-ever randomly-chosen, of Colin Curran, who was represented amongst the 16-man Australia selection in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & subsequently included in his country’s official squad for the Finals (Curran was very much in the minority to actually be Australian by birth), where he went on to play in each of Australia’s three matches.

Curran also holds the distinction of being the first Australian to score at a World Cup Finals, & indeed the only one at the 1974 event, although unfortunately it was an own-goal, to East Germany’s benefit in the teams’ opening fixture, which subsequently ended 2 – 0 to the East Germans.

World Cup '74 Portrait #206 (Julio Cesar Gimenez: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This, the Project’s most recent drawing features a re-mediation of one Julio César Jiménez, who was represented upon a sticker – erroneously as ‘Gimenez’ - in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ commemorative album & then was chosen as a member of the official Uruguay squad for the Finals where, alas, he was not selected to make an appearance on the field of play in any of the Uruguayans’ three First Round matches, after which, bottom of their group with but a single point, they departed the tournament, without making the slightest impression upon my consciousness at the time.

World Cup '74 Portrait #205 (Pierre Bayonne: Haiti)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest randomly-chosen subject/image to be re-mediated through the drawing process is (one of) Pierre Bayonne, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album, amongst the 16-strong Haiti selection, but not the reduced 6-man group that had to suffice for the ‘minnow’ nations (also including both Australia & Zaire) in the Panini ’München 74’ collection.

Subsequently, Bayonne was chosen as a member of the official Haitian squad for the Finals, where he went on to play in all 3 of his country’s matches in the tournament, then the first & still the only World Cup for which Haiti have qualified.

World Cup '74 Portrait #204 (Gerrie Muhren: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the Project is a representation of an image of Gerrie Muhren, who was selected for inclusion in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 collections, but not the official Holland squad for the Finals, thus being another of the particular ‘ghosts’ of the project, present, & hauntologically preserved to memory, via such items of memorabilia as the sticker albums.

World Cup '74 Portrait #203 (Georg Schwarzenbeck: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project & featuring as our re-mediated subject (Hans-)Georg Schwarzenbeck, who was represented on a sticker in  the Panini ’München 74’  album & subsequently selected as a member of the West Germany squad for the World Cup Finals, at which he was appeared in all 7 of the hosts’ matches as they went on to win the tournament, although, unlike some of his teammates, his name did not register with me at the time of my experience of the television coverage of the event.

World Cup '74 Portrait #202 (Wolfram Lowe: East Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The Project’s latest randomly-chosen re-mediation is of an image of Wolfram Löwe, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative sticker albums (the former providing the original source object from which the drawing came to be processed) & selected for inclusion in the official East Germany squad for the Finals, where he went on to play in four of the East Germans’ 6 matches, substituted in 3 of them & himself a replacement in the other. 

Proper Football

Hartlepool United v Blyth Spartans tonight, live on BBC TV, a match to savour between two proper football clubs, great names of  the glorious game, &, coincidentally, two of the top-level teams in our alternative footy universe, which enjoys a level playing field & where the good guys do win.
Enjoy, football people, enjoy, & may the best team emerge victorious after a classic Cup encounter in the grand old style.

World Cup '74 Portrait #201 (Walter Corbo: Uruguay)

graphite &putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The image subject of the latest drawing in the Project features Walter Corbo, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album but ultimately not selected in the official Uruguay squad for the Finals, despite, research reveals, having been a reserve goalkeeper at the World Cup in Mexico in 1970, although Walter’s brother Ruben was chosen in 1974 & went on to play twice during the tournament.

As with a number of other subjects, Walter Corbo is thus one of those particular ‘ghosts’ of the Project, absent from the events of the World Cup itself but hauntologicallly present via the medium of such an item of memorabilia as the FKS preview/commemorative album.

World Cup '74 Portrait #200 (Mwepu Ilunga: Zaire)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

200 up for the Project in the form of a remediated image of Mwepu Ilunga, who was selected for representation in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & also as a member of the Zaire squad for the Finals, where he went on to play in all three of his nation’s matches, becoming notorious during the closing minutes of the third, the 0 – 3 defeat to Brazil, for kicking away the ball as Rivelino prepared to take a free kick at the Zaire goal - not, as was at the time assumed, in an act of blatant ignorance of the basic rules & protocols of the game, but, rather, in protest at the Zaire players not being paid as promised for their efforts: rather than being merely cautioned, as he was by the referee, it had been Ilunga’s intention that he be sent off to emphasize his & his teammates’ point.

For all that the particular name didn’t register with me at the time, the incident certainly did, subsequently to become of those iconic World Cup moments.

World Cup '74 Portrait #199 (Julio Montero-Castillo: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest randomly-chosen subject is Julio Montero-Castillo, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album (from which original source, then photocopied with its image quality somewhat degraded, the drawing came to be processed) & subsequently selected for inclusion in the official Uruguay squad for the Finals, making one appearance at the tournament in the Uruguayans’ first match against Holland, during which he was sent off, although such facts did not impinge upon my novice’s consciousness during exposure to the television coverage of the event.

By something of a coincidence, research reveals that Julio Montero-Castillo’s son Paolo Montero also became a professional footballer, going on to play with distinction particularly for Juventus but also establishing a record number of career sendings-off in Serie A history.

World Cup '74 Portrait #198 (Tarcisio Burgnich: Italy)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project with a re-mediated drawing of an image of Tarcisio Burgnich, who, as a stalwart of the Italy team for some years, was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums & selected as a member of the official Italian squad for the Finals (his third such honour, having appeared in 2 matches at the 1966 tournament & all 6 in 1970, even scoring one of his total of 2 international goals in the semi-final against West Germany), where he went to play in all 3 of Italy’s matches before they made a First Round exit.

For all this pedigree, Burgnich’s was not a name that registered during my experience of the 1974 World Cup, however.

World Cup '74 Portrait #197 (Andrzej Szarmach: Poland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today we (re)present, randomly-chosen as usual, what constitutes the fourth of the Project’s subjects & drawings processed from a constructed ‘sticker’ image, of one of the vividly-remembered names from my experience of the televised coverage of the 1974 World Cup who previously had appeared in neither the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ or Panini ’München 74’ commemorative albums which have inspired & provide the original source material for the Project.

This, then, is a re-mediated image, of a 1974ish vintage, of Andrzej Szarmach, who came to be selected as a member of the Poland squad for the Finals, subsequently starting in six of the Poles’ matches (being substituted in five), scoring 5 goals, all in the First Round & including a hat-trick in the 7 – 0 thrashing of Haiti, missing the only game the Poles lost, crucially, to West Germany in the countries’ effective semi-final: given this transpiration of events, he might reasonably be regarded as being the tournament’s surprise packages’ surprise package, but instantly memorable for his exploits, & subsequently achieving some form of legendary status by playing at both the 1978 & 1982 World Cups & scoring a goal at each.

World Cup '74 Portrait #196 (Erwin Kremers: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the Project is a re-mediation of an image of Erwin Kremers, who was selected to appear in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker album collections but not the West Germany squad for the Finals (his twin brother Helmut, who only featured in the Panini ’München 74’ album, did make the West German cut for the tournament, but only in reserve, not making an appearance in any of the hosts’ matches), being thus another of their particular ‘ghosts’, hauntologically present via such items of memorabilia.

World Cup '74 Portrait #195 (Marco Antonio: Brazil)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The Project continues with this re-mediated image of Marco Antonio, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini sticker albums commemorating the 1974 World Cup (the former providing the original source material from which the drawing was processed in this instance) & chosen as a member of the official Brazil squad for the Finals, but was subsequently not selected to take the field of play during the tournament, thus remaining one of its many unknowns to my personal experience of events.

World Cup '74 Portrait #194 (Kalambay Otep'a: Zaire)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The most recent randomly-chosen subject to be re-mediated in the form of drawing is an image of Kalambay Otepa (correctly without the apostrophe, it seems), who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & chosen as a member of the official Zaire squad for the Finals, but subsequently was the only one of the 3 goalkeepers in the selection not to take the field of play during the tournament.

World Cup '74 Portrait #193 (Konrad Weise: East Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project with a drawing representing the somewhat bleached countenance of Konrad Weise, who was featured amongst the East Germany squad as proposed by the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album, which source image provided the starting-point for the drawing (an enlarged photocopy, of degraded image quality, being the immediate visual reference), & chosen as a member of his nation’s official selection for the Finals, where he went on to appear in & throughout all six of the East Germans’ matches at the tournament, although unbeknownst/unmemorably to me at the time.

World Cup '74 Portrait #192 (Barry Hulshoff: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest image in the Project features as its subject Barry Hulshoff, who was represented in both the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ & Panini ’München 74’ commemorative sticker albums (the original source for the drawing being provided, as is more often the case, by the former), but did not appear at the Finals, unfortunately being unavailable for selection for the Holland squad due to injury.

World Cup '74 Portrait #191 (Daniel Carnevali: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Featuring for the second time a re-mediated image of Daniel Carnevali, the original source of which was used to process another drawing of the subject as part of an earlier, abandoned incarnation of the 1974 World Cup portrait project, to be found here.

World Cup '74 Portrait #190 (Piet Schrijvers: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s randomly-chosen re-mediated subject is an image of Piet Schrijvers, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album (from which original source this drawing came to be processed) & subsequently selected as a goalkeeping member of the official Holland squad for the Finals, although he did not go on to make a playing appearance during the tournament, obviously under such circumstances remaining another of the ‘unheard-ofs’ to me (at the 1978 World Cup, however, & as a big bloke fashionably sporting what seemed a most inappropriate but, for footballers of the time, almost mandatory bubble perm, he was an unforgettable presence, despite research revealing that he only actually played in 3 matches, & was substituted, injured, after a mere 21 minutes of the third of those).

World Cup '74 Portrait #189 (Rene Houseman: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest re-mediated subject is René Houseman, the drawing being processed from reference to the third of four ‘cheat’ constructed stickers, featuring found images of players whose names are remembered from my experience of the televised coverage of the event but who were not selected for inclusion in either the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ or Panini ’München 74’ commemorative albums that otherwise provide the original source material upon which the project is founded &, indeed, was inspired by.

As previously mentioned, in connection with Houseman’s Argentina teammate Carlos Babington, by their absence from such (repositories of) memorabilia, their lack of a tangible physical presence, their leaving no trace, such players are perhaps the most ‘ghostly’ of all in such a context.

Back to our particular subject,  René Houseman appeared, either from the kick-off (occasionally being withdrawn) or otherwise introduced as a substitute, in each of the Argentinians’ 6 matches at the tournament, scoring 3 goals & obviously generally creating a memorable impression, possibly because of the ‘Englishness’ of his surname (like Babington’s, the only other of the Argentinian team/squad’s names to stick in the memory) but not least visually, as photographs suggest he habitually wore his socks rolled down to his ankles, as a few players did back in the day (‘before health & safety went mad’, etc), thus marking him out, probably for spectators, viewers & opponents alike.

World Cup '74 Portrait #188 (Mavula Mafuila: Zaire)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project, with this randomly-chosen subject being Mavula Mafuila, pictured most unusually for a footballer in bespectacled fashion, this drawing ‘de-photographized’ & re-mediated from a photocopy of the original sticker featuring  an image of the player as it appeared in  the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ collectors’ album, featured amongst the selection representing the debutant name of Zaire.

Chosen as a member of his nation’s official squad for the Finals, Mavula Mafuila, who died in 1997, did not subsequently go on to make a playing appearance during the tournament, thus inevitably being another of those personally unheard-of ‘ghosts’ whose presence is made manifest through such items & objects of memorabilia as the sticker albums which are serving as the original source material for the project.

World Cup '74 Portrait #187 (Ernie Campbell: Australia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject to be re-mediated in the drawing project is Ernie Campbell, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & subsequently selected for inclusion in the official Australia squad for the Finals, where he appeared for the first half of the Australians’ second match, the 0 – 3 defeat to hosts West Germany, being substituted at half-time (with the score at 0 – 2).

Needless to say, given such a fleeting involvement in proceedings, Ernie Campbell’s was another of the names that escaped attention at the time of my novice’s exposure to the television coverage of the tournament.

World Cup '74 Portrait #186 (Denis Milar: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today our randomly-chosen subject depicts Denis Milar, who was selected to appear in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums & as a member of the Uruguay squad for the tournament itself, appearing in all 3 of his country’s matches, as a 64^th-minute substitute against Holland & then throughout versus Bulgaria & Sweden, although remaining unknown to me at the time.

World Cup '74 Portrait #185 (Giacinto Facchetti: Italy)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The portrait subject here is Giacinto Facchetti, re-mediated from the sticker image as it appears in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ album (the player also being represented in the Panini ’München 74’ counterpart).

Although I would have been ignorant of such facts at the time of experiencing the televised coverage of the Finals (essentially my introduction to football), Facchetti captained the Italy squad & team, appearing in all 3 of the Italians’ matches in West Germany as they made another unsatisfactory First Round exit, having previously appeared at both the 1966 & 1970 World Cup Finals (a further 9 appearances, also captaining the team in 1970, to the final).

In other news, today's Guardian website carries a link to a lovely recollective story, of an experience of one of the great European nights in the history of Wrexham FC &, to be perfectly honest, any British club.
Personally, one recalls listening under the bed covers to the late-night radio commentary of events as they unfolded, unbelievably, to their incredible (then & now, 30 years on, still) denouement: a wonderful memory.

World Cup '74 Portrait #184 (Adrian Alston: Australia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s drawing in the Project has as its subject a re-mediation of an image of Adrian Alston, as featured on a sticker in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ album, in which he was included amongst the selection representing Australia (not making the reduced 6-player cut for the Panini ’München 74’ publication). Subsequently chosen as a member of the official Australian squad (Preston-born, was yet another émigré amongst), Alston went on to appear in each of his adopted country’s 3 matches at the Finals.

I doubt very much whether his name registered during my experience of the televised coverage of the tournament, but certainly it came to attention during the 1974-75 Football League season, by which time Alston was playing for Luton Town in the First Division.

An earlier drawing representing Adrian Alston from a previous incarnation of the World Cup ’74 project can be found here.

World Cup '74 Portrait #183 (Wilmes Piqueham: Haiti)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This most recent addition to the drawing project features a representation of the erroneously-named 'Wilmes Piqueham', as sourced from the original sticker of the player as it appeared amongst the Haiti selection in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ collectors’ album.

Wilner Piquant, as he actually was/is named (on more than one occasion the FKS album played pretty free & easy with players' names but none more than Piquant's), was in fact chosen as a member of the official Haiti squad but, as one of the reserve goalkeepers to first-choice Henri Francillon, did not make a playing appearance at the tournament.

World Cup '74 Portrait #182 (Herbert Wimmer: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject in the project is an image of Herbert Wimmer, who was represented in the Panini ’München 74’ sticker album, which provides the original source material for the drawing in this instance.

Selected as a member of the official West Germany squad for the 1974 World Cup Finals, Wimmer made two appearances at the tournament, as a substitute against Australia & then starting against Yugoslavia before being replaced himself late in that game.

It would be a little later, possibly during the 1976 European Championships (he played the first half of the Final), certainly during his club career with Borussia Monchengladbach, that Herbert Wimmer’s name would become memorable to me.

World Cup '74 Portrait #181 (Gunter Netzer: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s drawing is a ‘re-mediation’ of an enlarged photocopy of an original sticker image of Gunter Netzer as was/is featured in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ album, this original source chosen over the one that was included in the Panini ’München 74’ collection.

Although it would soon emerge from personal immersion in the game that Netzer was a big name in international football in the Seventies, & had starred for West Germany as they had stylishly won the 1972 European Championship, he played only the bittiest of parts at the ’74 World Cup, with but a single 69^th-minute substitute appearance, in the defeat to East Germany, to his name (a minute less, indeed, than Horst Hottges in the same match), which thus remained unknown to me at the time.

World Cup '74 Portrait #180 (Johan Neeskens: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the this week daily progress of the Project with a ‘re-mediated’ drawing of Johan Neeskens, as represented in sticker form in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’  album (the player was also featured in the Panini ’München 74’ collection).

Subsequently selected for inclusion in the official Holland squad for the Finals, given the central role Neeskens played in his country’s progress through the 1974 World Cup, playing in all of their matches & scoring 5 goals, including one in the effective ‘semi-final’ win over Brazil & the second-minute penalty that gave the Dutch the lead over West Germany in the Final, it seems inevitable that his name would have become one of the relative few to have registered during a novice’s exposure to the televised coverage of the tournament, as indeed it did, memorably so.

World Cup '74 Portrait #179 (Kazadi Mwamba: Zaire)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The subject of this drawing is Kazadi Mwamba, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums (honoured to be amongst the streamlined 6-player selection in the latter) & included in the Zaire squad for the Finals, appearing as first-choice goalkeeper in each of his country’s 3 matches, although he was substituted after 21 minutes of the second of these, with Zaire already 0 – 3 in arrears to Yugoslavia (his replacement fared no better, conceding a further 6 goals before a joint-record World Cup loss was concluded).

World Cup '74 Portrait #178 (Horst Hottges: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This latest drawing off the production line is a ‘re-mediation’ of Horst Hottges as he was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album, appearing very un-mid-Seventies from this source photograph in comparison with many of his contemporaries.

Subsequently selected for inclusion in the official West Germany squad for the Finals, Hottges made one, brief substitute appearance during their course, in the ‘political derby’ defeat to East Germany, entering the field of play shortly before Jurgen Sparwasser scored what proved to be the only goal of the game, which, research reveals, marked the conclusion of Hottges’ international career, having previously played at both the 1966 (5 of 6 matches, including the Final against England) & 1970 (the first 4 of 6 matches) World Cups.

World Cup '74 Portrait #177 (Fernando Morena: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s drawn ‘re-mediation’ of a sticker image features Fernando Morena, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 album collections (our original being sourced from the latter), & included as a member of the Uruguay squad for the tournament itself, playing in all 3 of the Uruguayans’ matches as they made an undistinguished & utterly unmemorable First Round exit.

World Cup '74 Portrait #176 (Jimmy Rooney: Australia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject in the Project is an image of Jimmy Rooney, who was featured in the 16-man selection representing Australia in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album (but not the reduced 6-strong choice in its Panini ’München 74’ counterpart, which unlike the egalitarian approach of the FKS publication, put the minnows in their place), from which original source this drawing was processed, & the ‘Australian’ squad for the Finals, at which he appeared in each of his adopted country’s 3 matches (like any number of his fellows, Rooney had been born elsewhere – in his case Scotland, where had had played for Montrose & also in England for Peterborough United, before emigrating). 

World Cup '74 Portrait #175 (Ramon Heredia: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s subject is an image of Ramon Heredia, ‘re-mediated’ from the original source sticker as featured in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ album, & who was selected as a member of the official Argentina squad for the Finals, where he played in each of his country’s six matches, scoring a goal in the first, a 2 – 3 defeat to Poland.

By another of those curious, random coincidences, shortly prior to the World Cup, Heredia had played in the European Cup Final of 1974, & its unique replay, for his club, Atlético Madrid, as had our immediately previous subject, Conny Torstensson, for their opponents.

A drawing processed from the same source image-object featured in an earlier incarnation of the 1974 World Cup project, here.

World Cup '74 Portrait #174 (Conny Torstensson: Sweden)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the Project features as its subject Conny Torstensson, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini ‘World Cup ‘74’ collectors’ sticker albums previewing & commemorating the tournament (the former publication providing the original source material from which the ‘re-mediation’ proceeds in this instance), & subsequently selected as a member of the official Sweden squad for the Finals, during which he went on to make 5 appearances, scoring once, the late winning goal in the Swedes’ last match, against Yugoslavia (2 – 1).

Although his name was one that would emerge into consciousness within the year, as a member of the Bayern Munich team that beat Leeds United in the 1975 European Cup Final, Torstensson’s is another of the great majority that would not have registered during my experience of the television coverage of the 1974 World Cup.

World Cup '74 Portrait #173 (Renato: Brazil)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Coincidental to the previous randomly-chosen portrait subject, this latest drawing in the Project also depicts a reserve goalkeeper in the form of Renato, who was represented as a member of the Brazil squad as featured in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & subsequently made the cut for his country’s official selection for the tournament, although he too failed to make an appearance in any of their seven matches.

World Cup '74 Portrait #172 (Sven-Gunnar Larsson: Sweden)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject to be randomly drawn is Sven-Gunnar Larsson, who was a member of the Sweden squad as represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album, & then the official one for the Finals themselves, where, as reserve goalkeeper to Ronnie Hellström, he alas didn’t get to make an appearance in any of the Swedes’ six matches, although the records show he played twice at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, displacing Hellström after Sweden’s first group match. Needless to say, he remained one of the many unknown names of the ’74 World Cup until the acquisition of the sticker album & the beginnings of this drawing project.