World Cup '74 Portrait #238 (Gerd Muller: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #237 (Jan Domarski: Poland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #236 (Dobromir Jetchev: Bulgaria)

graphite & putty eraser/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #235 (Klaus Sammer: East Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #234 (George Connelly: Scotland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #233 (Enver Maric: Yugoslavia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #232 (Tommy Hutchison: Scotland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #231 (Philippe Vorbe: Haiti)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

World Cup '74 Portrait #230 (Sandro Mazzola: Italy)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The Project continues with this drawing representing Sandro Mazzola, who was featured in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums (the former providing our original source image in this instance), & subsequently selected for inclusion in the official Italy squad for the Finals, where he went on to play in each of his country’s 3 First Round group matches, after which they exited proceedings in disappointing fashion.

Another of those players with a fine World Cup pedigree, prior to 1974 the legendary Mazzola (a star also for his only club Internazionale) had played in all of the Italians’ matches at both the 1966 & 1970 Finals, nine in total, scoring in the very first of these, against Chile, in England.

This drawing of a randomly-chosen 16^th Italian player brings to a close the second of our completed squads, following Saturday’s finalizing of the Uruguay selection. 

World Cup '74 Portrait #229 (Rinus Israel: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The most recently-processed drawing in the Project is a re-mediation of an image of the magnificently bespectacled Rinus Israël, who was represented in such guise in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album, & selected for inclusion in the official Holland squad for the Finals. He appeared 3 times during the tournament, as a half-time substitute in the First Round victory over Bulgaria & subsequently as a late replacement, with the matches effectively won (at 3 – 0 & 2 – 0 respectively), in the Second Round triumphs against Argentina & then Brazil.

As might be expected in these parts, it proved impossible during the course of drawing not to have Siouxsie and the Banshees’ song ‘Israel’ running through one’s head, the second very specific correspondence of music & art over the duration of the project (the first being mentioned here, in connection not with the recent but the original drawing of Hector Yazalde, as fancifully referenced by Morrissey, who, of course, duetted with Siouxsie Sioux – very interesting, even though it’s near-impossible to countenance both of those artists being influenced in some way by the 1974 World Cup. However, in the world of TOoT, anything is possible!).

Also, at another tangent, that name has had us thinking of other footballers who share their surnames with that of a nation, so far coming up with but a few in the form of Mike England, Alan Brazil, Stephen Ireland &, perhaps most appropriately in relation to Rinus Israël, Pat & Matt Holland, whilst, pushing the boundaries admittedly, the mighty Graham French, once a featured visitor to this parish, has also been recollected. Any others?

World Cup '74 Portrait #228 (Kidumu Mantentu: Zaire)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This most recent addition to the drawing project represents Kidumu Mantantu, who was featured in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums (in the former, from which we took our original source material in this particular instance & which on a number of occasions adopts idiosyncratic naming protocols, erroneously as ‘Mantentu’, & the latter as one of the very select six representing minnows & debutants Zaire in the latter publication), & selected as captain of his nation’s official squad for the Finals, where he went on to appear & lead the team in each of their three matches, being substituted in two.

World Cup '74 Portrait #227 (Luis Cubilla: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project with this re-mediation of an image of Luis Cubilla, who was pictured in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative albums (the latter providing our original source material from which the drawing comes to be processed in this instance), & selected as a member of the Uruguay squad for the tournament, at which he appeared in two of the Uruguayans’ three matches, the defeats to Holland (during which he was replaced after 62 minutes) & then Sweden (where Cubilla himself came on as a 43^rd-minute substitute in what proved to be his last international).

Luis Cubilla passed away in March 2013, during which time we were working on the original ‘pixellated’ format of the 1974 World Cup drawing project.

By a quirk of the random nature by which each of the subjects have been selected for a particular drawing (essentially to be analogous to the manner in which the original stickers were intended to be collected & in practice would be), the drawing of Luis Cubilla completes the World Cup ’74 portrait project’s 16-man Uruguay squad, the first to be so even though it was the last to begin, the first Uruguayan out of the hat not occurring until the 55th selection – by way of comparison, seven Italy players had already been drawn by that stage.

World Cup '74 Portrait #226 (Giuseppe Sabadini: Italy)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This latest drawing to be processed in the Project depicts Giuseppe Sabadini, who was represented in the Panini ’München 74’ sticker album & included in the official Italy squad for the Finals, but not then selected to appear in any of the Italians’ 3 matches as they made a First Round exit.

World Cup '74 Portrait #225 (Jairzinho: Brazil)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The Project continues with this re-mediation of an image of the iconic Jairzinho, who, already a bona fide World Cup star (having scored in every match for the eventual winners, & thus reigning champions, Brazil at the preceding 1970 tournament), was featured in both the FKS & Panini ’74 sticker albums, & selected for inclusion in the Brazilians’ squad for the Finals, where he went on to be an ever-present, appearing throughout all 7 of Brazil’s matches, although this time scoring only twice, against Zaire & the winner over Argentina.

Such a profile ensured that Jairzinho’s became one of the few names that registered during & stuck in the memory following my exposure to the televised coverage of the event, experienced as a football novice, &, indeed, became a fixture in our school playground kickabouts.

World Cup '74 Portrait #224 (Ivan Zafirov: Bulgaria)

graphite & putty eraser/30x21cm

The latest drawing to be processed in the Project is a re-mediation of an image of Ivan Zafirov, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative albums, & selected as a member of the official Bulgaria squad for the Finals, but not subsequently chosen to play in any of his country’s 3 matches at the tournament, which they departed at the conclusion of the First Round group stage.

World Cup '74 Portrait #223 (Jurica Jerkovic: Yugoslavia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the project features a particularly ghostly representation of Jurica Jerkovic, who was pictured in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & subsequently included in the Yugoslavia squad for the tournament, at which he appeared in each of the Yugoslav’s 3 Second Phase matches, as a late substitute against West Germany (too late to effect the course of events after his team had just gone 0 – 2 down), as an early replacement for Brane 'Branko' Oblak against Poland, & then retaining his place from the start in the final defeat to Sweden, none of which registered upon my consciousness at the time.

World Cup '74 Portrait #222 (Jan Olsson (2): Sweden)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s addition to the drawing Project is a re-mediation of an image of another Jan Olsson, who was represented in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album but, unlike his namesake, was not selected for inclusion in the official Sweden squad for the Finals, thus being one of those ghosts whose only presence in relation to the tournament was, & remains, via such items of memorabilia as the sticker albums upon which this project is founded.

World Cup '74 Portrait #221 (Roberto Perfumo: Argentina)

Today the opposite of tomato is 'the texture of gas'

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the Project with a representation of Roberto Perfumo, who was featured in the Panini ’München 74’ sticker album, which image provides our original source material for this drawing (& also a previous version), & selected for inclusion in Argentina squad for the Finals, not merely as a member but as its captain, subsequently playing in the Argentinians’ first four fixtures before being omitted following the opening Second Round drubbing (0 – 4) by Holland.

World Cup '74 Portrait #220 (Vladislaw Bogicevic: Yugoslavia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The Project snowballs on with this latest accretion to the mass, a re-mediation of an image of Vladislav Bogićević, who was represented in both the FKS & Panini sticker albums, & chosen as a member of the official Yugoslavia squad for the Finals, at which he appeared in/throughout five of the Yugoslav’s matches, scoring once, in the 9 – 0 rout of Zaire, missing only the opening Second Phase defeat to the hosts West Germany (none of those 3 named states existing any longer, of course, a further hauntological aspect of the memorabilia), although his name, like the great majority of those involved in the event,  remained unknown to me until the inception of this project.

World Cup '74 Portrait #219 (Ladislao Mazurkiewicz: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest drawing in the Project is a re-mediation of an image of the magnificently-named Ladislao Mazurkiewicz, who was represented in the Panini ’München 74’ sticker album but not its FKS counterpart, & also chosen for selection in the Uruguay squad for the Finals (having also kept goal at both the 1966 & 1970 tournaments, but only once for his national team between the latter & the ’74 World Cup), where he appeared in all 3 of the Uruguayans’ matches, although his or indeed their presence made no impression upon my consciousness at the time (for whatever reason, though the name & his playing for Uruguay are significant factors it must be admitted, Mazurkiewicz, now sadly deceased, has subsequently become one of my favourite historical goalkeepers).

World Cup '74 Portrait #218 (Sepp Maier: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Continuing the progress of the Project with this re-mediated representation of Sepp Maier, who was featured in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 sticker albums & selected for inclusion in the official West Germany squad for the Finals.

One of the few memorable names from my experience of the television coverage of the tournament, Maier’s penchant for what appeared comically oversized gloves & shorts (a style that later would become familiar amongst goalkeepers) made him an easily-recognizable figure, & his ever-presence in the West German team as it won the tournament was obviously another significant factor in his name sticking in the mind.

World Cup '74 Portrait #217 (Hector Yazalde: Argentina)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The second of this new year’s drawings features as its portrait subject Hector Yazalde, who was represented in the Panini ’München 74’ sticker album – which image thus serves as our original source material - & chosen as a member of the official Argentina squad for the Finals, at which he subsequently played in 3 matches, scoring twice in the 4 -1 victory over Haiti.

A re-mediation of the same original image of Hector Yazalde was the subject of a drawing in an earlier version of the World Cup ’74 project, & can be found here.

World Cup '74 Portrait #216 (Fabio Capello: Italy)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Kicking-off the new year (& wishing a happy one to all) with a continuation of the current drawing project & in this particular instance a re-mediation of an image of Fabio Capello, who was featured in both the FKS & Panini World Cup ’74 commemorative sticker albums, & included in the Italy squad for the Finals themselves, where he went on to play in each of the Italians’ 3 ultimately unsuccessful First Round group matches, scoring the late merely consolatory goal in the 1 – 2 defeat to Poland that sealed the Azzurri’s early elimination from the tournament.