Monday, April 07, 2014

World Cup '74 Portrait #18 (Giorgio Chinaglia: Italy)

 
 

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This most recent portrait subject in the ‘hauntological’ drawing project features Giorgio Chinaglia of Italy, as chosen to be represented in the form of a sticker in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974 collectors’ album, from which source image-object the drawing, via the ‘transitional’ image of an enlarged photocopy (somewhat degraded in quality), was subsequently processed.
Chinaglia also appeared in the Panini-published ’München 74’ commemorative album & was selected for inclusion in the official 22-man Italian squad for the Finals, where he appeared in Italy’s first First Round group match against Haiti, being substituted after 70 minutes by Pietro Anastasi who scored final goal of 3 – 1 win (Haiti’s 1, scored by Emmanuel Sanon, being by far the most memorable event of the game, given that it was the first goal conceded by the Italians & their goalkeeper Dino Zoff in over 1,000 minutes’ playing time), & then their third (a 1 – 2 defeat to Poland which resulted in Italy’s early elimination from the tournament), during which he was replaced at half-time. In common with the great majority of the players involved in the 1974 World Cup – the televised coverage of which provided my first real exposure to football – Chinaglia’s was not a name that registered at the time, but subsequently it/he came to notice as one of the stars of the mid-70’s NASL, with New York Cosmos, regularly featuring in the pages of Shoot! magazine, one recalls.
Passing away in 2012, Giorgio Chinaglia is another of those from the ’74 World Cup no longer with us, although the ‘ghostly’ images remain.



No comments: