World Cup '74 Portrait #78 (Adam Musial: Poland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject to be randomly-chosen features Adam Musial, who was included in both the FKS & Panini ’World Cup ‘74’ sticker albums (although only the former actually depicts him as such, for in the latter his name is applied to another image of Antoni Szymanowski, who already appears as himself, upon an adjacent sticker) & the Poland squad for the tournament, where he went on to play in six of the Poles’ matches, only missing the opening second phase group victory over Sweden, as they claimed 3^rd place.

Recently-acquired Vinyl LP of the Day #3 (The Pastels 'Up For a Bit With The Pastels')

Today presenting, in our occasional series, the very wonderful ‘Up For a Bit With The Pastels', one of the holy trinity of Scottish bands’ debut albums – the others being the Jesus and Mary Chain’s ‘Psychocandy’ & Belle and Sebastian’s ‘Tigermilk’ – that remain so dear to TOoT’s heart & sonic aesthetic ideals (& now all present & correct in vinyl form, it gives us great pleasure to announce, contemplate & enjoy).

This proved to be one of those LPs once & originally owned on vinyl that just had to be reclaimed for the collection as an essential component, the vitality of vinyl being the only way to properly experience the music contained within, from the opening thrill of “Ride” (hold on tight, there), the various guitar-twanging tunes on side one, the chiming bells of the glorious pop of “Automatically Yours”, the fuggy fuzz of “Baby Honey”, to the closing strings of the gorgeous “If I Could Tell You”, classic stuff indeed.

World Cup '74 Portrait #77 (Stefan Staikov: Bulgaria)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Introducing a new set of pencils, with slightly different aesthetic results, today’s randomly-chosen subject represents Stefan Staikov, who appeared in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ sticker album & was subsequently selected for the official Bulgaria squad for the tournament, where he eventually played one match, replacing Rumen Goranov, the Bulgarian’s concluding fixture in the first round group phase, the 1 – 4 defeat to Holland that resulted in their elimination following two preceding draws.

World Cup '74 Portrait #76 (Joe Jordan: Scotland)

graphite & putty eraser/30x21cm

Today’s rogue in the portrait gallery is, regrettably, the ever-unforgivable (for his cheating hand, literally, in Wales’ elimination from the 1978 World Cup qualifiers)  ‘Volleyball’ Joe Jordan, who was selected for inclusion in both the FKS & Panini ‘World Cup ‘74’ sticker albums, the Scotland squad for the Finals &, subsequently, each of the Scots’ three matches in the tournament, when he scored two of their three goals that ultimately proved insufficient for further progress despite remaining undefeated.

World Cup '74 Portrait #75 (Luis Ubinas: Uruguay)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject features Luis Ubinas, a sticker of whom was included in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ collectors’ album but who subsequently failed to gain selection for the Uruguay squad for the Finals, thus rendering him one of those particular ‘ghosts’ of the tournament, present yet absent (or vice versa), although he had a considerable World Cup pedigree, having represented Uruguay in all of their matches (4 & 6 respectively) at both the preceding 1966 & 1970 series.  Luis Ubinas passed away in July of 2013.

Season's Review

With the kick-off of the 2014 World Cup now but a week away, bringing with it a focus on international footballing matters, it seems high time to make a brief review of how some of TOoT’s club favourites fared over the course of the domestic season across Europe.

Atlético Madrid, of course, achieved the magnificent feat of winning La Liga in Spain, a quite phenomenal team achievement in the face of the ‘financially-doped’ competition from their putrid ‘Royal’ city rivals & the resources Barcelona – who finished as runners-up in both league & cup - are able to call upon. As has been mentioned in the immediate aftermath, Atlético were also the most unfortunate beaten finalists in the Champions' League, their presence at the event further testament to the team’s talent, class & resilience in the context of distorted competition.

Other champions were Ajax in Holland, for the fourth consecutive season, who then surprisingly missed out on a Double by losing the Cup Final 1 – 5 to PEC Zwolle, &, delightfully, for the first time since 2007, breaking the stranglehold of Partizan, the mighty Red Star Belgrade in Serbia, concluding with a 3 – 3 draw at Vojvodina Novi Sad (having clinched the title in their previous match), who themselves finished fourth in the league.

Further news from the lower Serbian divisions was, frankly, disastrous, with both Smederevo, in last place of 16 teams, & Timok Zaječar, in 13^th, suffering relegation from the second-level Prva Liga, the latter losing a final fixture 6-pointer to Inđija who thus leapfrogged to safety (from bottom of the table themselves with 5 games to go, which yielded an impressive total of 11 points, so fair play to them, at least), & the lovely Dubočica Leskovac being demoted from the third-tier Srpska Liga (East) after finishing 16^th & last – for a team whose delightfully romantic name should be involved in the business end of the Champions’ or Europa Leagues, such further distancing from is a saddening blow indeed.

Elsewhere in the former Yugoslavia (during the time of which our favourites became established, of course) Hajduk Split trailed in a distant third behind perennial champions Dinamo Zagreb in Croatia, whilst Velez Mostar & Borac Banja Luka finished 5^th & 6^th respectively in Bosnia-Hercegovina.

Fifth was also the thoroughly undistinguished fate of Internazionale in Italy, a desperately disappointing & forgettable season for the mighty Nerazzurri, apart from perhaps the 7 – 0 away win at Sassuolo, albeit before the hosts had properly settled into Serie A, whilst, in similar fashion, KRC Genk ended 6^th in Belgium, declining badly after early season promise had seen them keep pretty good pace with leaders Standard Liege, who themselves faltered to allow Anderlecht to claim the championship.

Things were brighter & more successful elsewhere in Belgium in the form of Westerlo, who were champions of the second division & will be joined in the top flight again next season by (Royal) Mouscron(-Peruwelz), who won promotion via the play-offs, both clubs having failed at that stage in 2012-13. Lommel (United) finished 5^th in the second tier, just outside of play-off qualification, but that was a place & 9 points improvement on last season.

Of the RWDMs, the news was less good – the ‘FC Brussels’ version being relegated from the second division, failing to gain a license to continue at that level next season, despite finishing a comfortably mid-table 8^th, & the phoenix RWDM 2003 club, born from the demise of the original, failing to complete the season at their lower regional level, & being firmly at the bottom of the table when they withdrew: a sad outcome indeed for one of TOoT’s very favourite European names from the 1970s & that time of getting into football on a continental scale.

Of other names, a new one to the instant-favourites this season, the truly wonderful Kischpelt Welwerwolz (Wilwerwiltz), achieved a most impressive 3^rd in their section of the fifth level, given their recent seasons’ history tending  towards the bottom end of the table, & further up the league structure, more delightful news as US Hostert finished second in the ‘Division of Honour’ & thus earned promotion to the top flight again.

Ferencváros’ progress continued with a third-place finish in Hungary, with reigning champions Győri ETO coming up short only on goal difference to their successors Debrecen, whilst MTK Budapest revived to end-up comfortably mid-table.

Vasas, alas, will continue at the second level next season after even good a late-season run of results achieved nothing better than a final fourth place, whilst Szolnoki MAV finished a lowly 12^th in NB II.

Saint-Etienne achieved a good 4^th in Ligue 1 in France, excellent to see their name up around the higher echelons of the table once again, & only 2 points from Champions' League qualification, so they will have the opportunity to grace the Europa League, whilst another of our green & white favourites, Sporting Lisbon, were second in the Portuguese championship, thus earning themselves a tilt at the Champions' League – how about the 2015 final being between them & Atlético Madrid? In an ideal & gloriously aesthetic world, it might be.

Sparta Praha were crowned champions of the Czech Republic once again, & completed a domestic double with an 8 – 7 penalties win over League runners-up Viktoria Plzen, following a 1 – 1 draw courtesy of a dramatic 95^th-minute penalty equaliser.

Also of our Prague favourites, Slavia & Bohemians managed to finish a point clear of the relegation places, not least as a consequence of Sigma Olomouc’s failure to win their final fixture, although Bohemians did themselves a massive favour with a last-gasp winner at Jablonec in the previous round of matches, which followed a 3 – 2 Prague derby victory over Dukla.  Bottom club Znojmo lost each of their last 3 fixtures, including a crucial 6-pointer at Sigma, which also assisted Slavia’s & Bohemians’ respective escapes, cue much relieved ‘phew-ing’.

In Germany, Werder Bremen finished a most undistinguished 12^th in the Bundesliga, the nadir of a forgettable season being the shameful 0 – 7 home defeat to the always-appalling Bayern Munich, the high point the two derby wins over Hamburg, which somehow felt like less of an achievement given the latter’s struggle in the relegation positions.

The fate of relegation alas befell both Dynamo Dresden, from the Bundesliga 2, & Lokomotive Leipzig, from the Regionalliga Nordost to the 5^th level of German domestic football, a tragic descent indeed.

Carl Zeiss Jena & FSV Zwickau, formerly the mighty Sachsenring, fared better in the Regionalliga Nordost, but not well enough to gain promotion, thus both will remain in the 4^th tier for next season, as will Rot-Weiss Essen, 9^th in the Regionalliga West, whilst at the next stage up, MSV Duisburg finished 7^th & Hansa Rostock 13^th in the 3 Liga.

Dynamo Berlin represent the success story of the season of the former East German cohort, winning the 5^th-level NOFV-Oberliga Nord & consequently gaining promotion to the Regionallia Nordost.

Panathinaikos won the Greek Super League play-off to effectively finish 2^nd & qualify for next season’s  Champions’ League, & also won their domestic Cup for a double of sorts.

Of our Ukranian favourites, Dnipro (the formerly magnificent Dnepr Dnepropetrovsk, in the Soviet Russian style we remain ‘Ostalgically’ attached to) finished second, Karpaty Lviv (though we go with the old ‘Lvov’ as preference) a disappointing 10^th & Tavriya Simferopol bottom, although events in the Crimea & the uncertainty thus engendered tended to overshadow the latter situation.

Ararat Yerevan ended fourth in Armenia, a shame after they’d led the league, hopefully, in fine style at the mid-season recess, whilst Wisla Krakow also finished fourth in Poland.
Grasshoppers achieved a creditable second, & Champions' League qualification, in the Swiss league, as did Galatasaray in Turkey, also winning their domestic Cup, followed by a fourth-place finish for Trabzonspor.

Of our favourites in English domestic football, Wrexham ‘achieved’ a frankly disgusting 17^th place in the Conference, their lowest ever finish in the league structure, & a steep decline (although perhaps not totally unpredictable) after 2013’s promotion near-miss & FA Trophy triumph.
The mighty Mossley finished 15^th in the First Division North of Northern Premier League,  Blyth Spartans 8^th & Marine a lowly 20^th in the Premier Division of the NPL, Stalybridge Celtic 19^th in the Conference North, just about saving themselves from relegation, & Gainsborough Trinity little better in 16th, a disappointing decline from last season's 'almost' of promotion play-off defeat.

In the south, Marlow came 17^th in Division One Central of the Southern League, consolidation at the higher level after last season’s promotion, & Hendon finished 8^th in the Premier Division of the Ryman Isthmian League.

World Cup '74 Portrait #74 (Dimitar Dimitrov: Bulgaria)

graphite & putty eraser/30x21cm

Today’s randomly chosen subject represents Dimitar Dimitrov, who was selected for inclusion in sticker form in both the FKS & Panini ‘World Cup ‘74’ collectors’ albums but who failed to make the official Bulgaria squad for the tournament, thus casting him as one of the particular ‘ghosts’ of the event, absent at the time yet maintaining an historical presence down the years since via the memorabilia trade.

Research reveals that Dimitar Dimitrov played on 18 occasions for the Bulgarian national team, including a couple of matches in the qualifying competition for the 1974 World Cup & a sequence of friendlies preceding the Finals before missing out on them for whatever reason, then briefly resuming his international career in 1976.

Being the 74^th drawing in the ’74 project, we are now at exactly the one-quarter point of proceedings, unless the decision is made to exclude the ‘excluded nations’ as featured in the Panini ’München 74’ album & instead rigorously concentrate upon only the qualifying nations/squads, in which case we’re a bit further along the road to completing what would be a total of 256 drawings.

World Cup '74 Portrait #73 (Fritz André: Haiti)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

The latest subject to be drawn from the random generator revealed himself to be Fritz André, a sticker representing whom was included in the FKS ‘Wonderful World of Soccer Stars World Cup 1974’ album (from which original source was made the enlarged photocopy, of consequently compromised image quality, that provided the immediate visual reference for the drawing process), & who was selected  for the official Haiti squad for the Finals, subsequently making but one brief appearance at the tournament, against Poland (André was replaced in the 37^th minute of the match, by which time Haiti already trailed 0 – 5, hurtling towards inevitable defeat).

World Cup '74 Portrait #72 (Ilija Petkovic: Yugoslavia)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

This most recent addition to the gallery features the palely loitering Ilija Petkovic, who appeared in both the FKS & Panini ‘World Cup 1974’ collectors’ albums, & was selected for inclusion in the Yugoslavia squad for the tournament, where he played in the first five of his country’s matches (although merely as an 84^th minute substitute against West Germany in the opening second phase fixture), scoring once in the 9 – 0 rout of Zaire, only missing the final inconsequential defeat to Sweden (interestingly, the only one of those four named states to still exist as such).

Choosing the sticker from the FKS album from which to make an enlarged photocopy to serve as the immediate visual reference for the drawing process resulted in a most ghostly image, highly suitable for another of the many players who made no inroads into my consciousness at the time of my experience of the television coverage of the ’74 World Cup &, indeed, remained unheard-of until coming into relatively recent possession of the sticker albums that both preview & commemorate the event: given such a source, the drawing  consequently condemns the portrait subject to remain in a state of some obscurity.

World Cup '74 Portrait #71 (Rob Rensenbrink: Holland)

graphite & putty eraser, with watercolour pencil/30x21cm

Today’s randomly-chosen subject depicts Rob Rensenbrink, who appeared in sticker form in both the FKS & Panini albums published to accompany the 1974 World Cup & was selected for the Holland squad for the tournament, where he went on to play in six of seven matches the Dutch contested (missing only the goalless draw with Sweden), scoring once, against East Germany, although history records he was withdrawn at half-time in the Final.

Given the profile Rensenbrink enjoyed during the 1970s – he appeared in the 1978 World Cup in addition to starring for his Belgian club Anderlecht as they reached three successive European Cup-Winners’ Cup finals from 1976, winning the first & last (scoring the decisive equalising goal at Wrexham as Anderlecht overcame their hosts during their progress that first year, & then twice against West Ham in the Final itself as they triumphed 4 - 2) – his seems like a name I should remember from 1974, but is perhaps not, the memory of these other events more likely fixing it in mind, although nothing can be certain.