World Cup '74 Portrait #89 (Wolfgang Kleff: West Germany)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

By a curious coincidence indeed, following on from the previous portrait, the next & this latest subject to be randomly chosen depicts another of what proved to be the 1974 World Cup’s reserve goalkeepers in the form of Wolfgang Kleff, of West Germany, who, like Poland’s Zygmunt Kalinowski, failed to get any minutes of tournament action, although was included for selection in both the FKS & Panini sticker albums, the latter of these providing the source image from which the drawing has come to be processed: just admire that hairstyle, & the iconic sky blue button-up adidas tracksuit top sported by the West Germans at the World Cup, having been premiered (or so photographic history seems to suggest) at the 1972 European Nations’ Cup finals.

World Cup '74 Portrait #88 (Zygmunt Kalinowski: Poland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s subject proved to be Zygmunt Kalinowski, who was included in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & the Poland squad for the Finals, although subsequently, as one of the reserves to the goalkeeper who had played such a large & already-legendary part in the Poles’ qualification, Jan Tomaszewski, he played no part in the tournament, although his presence was, to my novice’s experience of the 1974 World Cup, no more ‘ghostly’ than many who did & who, subsequently, have similarly only emerged into the light of consciousness through such examples of memorabilia as the commemorative albums & official records.