France v Switzerland 1905

February 11, 2017, 12:24 pm

Parc des Princes, Paris, 12.02.05. France v Switzerland.
France won 1-0 thanks to a Gaston Cyprès goal in the 60th minute.

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Goal by Scarone

February 13, 2017, 1:24 pm

≫ Next: 19th Century England Internationals by Region

≪ Previous: France v Switzerland 1905

The 1928 Olympic Final replay.
Roberto Figueroa gets past Segundo Medici and sends in a cross; René Borjas beats Paternoster and heads the ball into the path of the oncoming Hector Scarone. 'Yours, Hector!'
2-1 Uruguay, 73rd minute.
The illustration is not contemporary as the artist has drawn a D (penalty arc).
I have seen evidence of the D being used on the continent before 1937 (I will cover this in a later post- someday!)
At 3:54 in the film it does look like there is a D!

Looks like it was an action packed game.

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19th Century England Internationals by Region

February 15, 2017, 12:10 pm

≫ Next: 1934 World Cup-Team of the Tournament

≪ Previous: Goal by Scarone

Up until the end of the 1899-1900 season England played 70 internationals. To use a convenient term this means that they awarded 770 'caps'. These were shared among 256 players.
For the purpose of this post I have divided England into 5 broad areas:
The South
Midlands
Lancashire
Yorkshire
North East

The 'caps' were awarded as follows (based on the clubs that the players represented at the time they played for England).

		%
South	321	41.68
Midlands	245	31.81
Lancashire	139	18.05
Yorkshire	63	8.18
North East	2	0.25

GAME
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70

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1934 World Cup-Team of the Tournament

February 16, 2017, 9:57 am

≫ Next: Phenix

≪ Previous: 19th Century England Internationals by Region

Ricardo Zamora (Spain)
Often cited as the greatest goalkeeper of his generation, 33 year old Zamora was playing for Madrid at the time of the 1934 finals. Spain played 2 matches in the tournament, winning one.
An interesting choice considering that 2 other legendary goalkeepers,

Gianpiero Combi and František Plánička went on to the final, both as captains.

Jacinto Quincoces (Spain)
The 29 year old Madrid defender was usually deployed in the central 'stopper' position.

Eraldo Monzeglio (Italy)
27 year old Monzeglio of Bologna went on to be a double World Cup winner, representing Italy 35 times.

Luis Monti (Italy)
The 33 year old Juventus half back had featured in the 1930 Team of the Tournament when representing his native Argentina.

Attilio Ferraris (Italy)
The 30 year old played for Roma at the time of the World Cup win.

Leonardo Cilaurren (Spain)
21 year old Cilaurren played for Athletic Bilbao.

Giuseppe Meazza (Italy)
The 23 year old Ambrosiana player had already won 22 international caps by the time the 1934 World Cup came around. He went on to represent Italy 53 times and is one of the true all time greats.

Raimundo Orsi (Italy)
Born in Argentina, 32 year old Orsi of Juventus scored 3 goals at the finals, including Italy's opening goal in the final.

Enrique Guaita (Italy)
23 year old Guaita was another of the Orundi. A Roma player at the time of the World Cup victory, he scored 1 goal in the finals.

Matthias Sindelar (Austria)
31 year old Sindelar (Austria Vienna) scored 1 goal at the finals. Austria were semi-finalists, losing to Italy.

Oldřich Nejedlý (Czechoslovakia)
The 24 year old Sparta Prague inside left won the Golden Boot with 5 goals, including a hat trick in the semi final.

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Phenix

February 17, 2017, 1:56 pm

≫ Next: 19th Century England Internationals: Amatuers and Professionals

≪ Previous: 1934 World Cup-Team of the Tournament

Phenix was one of the earliest clubs in Turkey to feature Turkish born players. Although the earliest league in Istanbul was established in 1904, Turks were still prohibited from playing by the laws of the Ottoman Empire.
An illustration of how seriously this was taken can be seen in an incident from 1901.
A group of Turkish would be players founded a club, which they gave an English name- Black Stockings. Their first game was halted by the police and a number of players were arrested.

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19th Century England Internationals: Amatuers and Professionals

February 18, 2017, 12:48 pm

≫ Next: Top European Goalkeepers of the 1920s & 1930s

≪ Previous: Phenix

Professionalism was formally legalized in England in July 1885.
Prior to this professionals had undoubtedly represented England.
Billy Mosforth, Jack Hunter, and Jimmy Forest are names that spring to mind.
Of course, many men who earned their living from football continued to hold sinecure posts or to be set up as publicans or tobacconists long after professionalism had been accepted by the FA.
What we have done here is to look at the 45 England matches played in the 19th century after the legalization of professionalism.
The identification of amateurs is relatively straightforward, members of Corinthian FC, Old Boy's clubs, The Universities.
There were, however, also well known amateurs among the ranks of some midland and northern clubs. We have done our best to identify these players.
In identifying the professionals we have attempted to avoid presumption but have looked for corroborating evidence such as census records and reports of transfer fees.
Here, then, are how the 495 caps (games 26-70) were divided between amateurs and professionals:

Amateur		186	37.57
Professional		309	62.42

26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70

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Top European Goalkeepers of the 1920s & 1930s

February 20, 2017, 10:31 am

≫ Next: Jonkheer Constant Wilhelm Feith

≪ Previous: 19th Century England Internationals: Amatuers and Professionals

The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of some top class goalkeepers across Europe.
They were still vulnerable to physical assault through rushes and charges, and the emphasis, even with the advent of the 3 back game, was still very much on attack.
Here we will look at the international records of 6 notable goalkeepers.

1. Ricardo Zamora - Spain (1920-36)

2. Harry Hibbs - England (1929-36)

3. Josef/ Rudolf Hiden - Austria (1928-33)*

4.Gianpiero Combi - Italy (1924-34)

5. František Plánička - Czechoslovakia (1926-38)

6. Sigge Lindberg - Sweden (1921-30)

								Clean sheets
	P	W	D	L	%W	GA	GAPG	#	%
Zamora	46	31	6	9	67.39	42	0.91	20	43.47
Hibbs	25	16	4	5	64	26	1.04	10	40
Hiden*	20	12	4	4	60	25	1.25	5	20
Combi	47	28	10	9	59.57	65	1.38	12	25.53
Plánička	73	35	16	22	47.94	120	1.64	11	15.06
Lindberg	49	23	12	14	46.93	85	1.73	10	20.4

Zamora comes out on top. His win percentage, goals against per game and percentage of clean sheets are all superior.

*Hiden played one game for France in 1940 which is not included in these figures.

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Jonkheer Constant Wilhelm Feith

February 21, 2017, 11:38 am

≫ Next: Football: our winter game, Charles Alcock (1874)

≪ Previous: Top European Goalkeepers of the 1920s & 1930s

The impressive figure of Constant Feith, the doyen of HVV den Haag who represented the Netherlands 8 times (1906-12).

When his career was ended by a knee injury at the age of 36 he had represented HVV 350 times, scoring 234 goals in the process.
A member of the nobility, Feith bore the title Jonkheer.

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Football: our winter game, Charles Alcock (1874)

February 23, 2017, 11:42 am

≫ Next: ...the heaviest lady footballer weighs eleven stone

≪ Previous: Jonkheer Constant Wilhelm Feith

Charles Alcock's 1874 book Football: our winter game is available to read on Google Books.
As the following extracts show it provides some interesting insights into the development of the game at a time when its popularity was about to explode.
Other chapters cover the history of ball games, different school codes and an in depth guide to playing Rugby.

Playing up
Alcock (like Bill Shankly a century later) saw no place in the game for a man who simply didn't give 100% , 100% of the time:

It would seem superflous to state that in any description of football the principle of playing up is to be regarded as the fundamental rule on which depends much of the success of a player. Yet there are many who neglect the caution habitually and are apt to think that it is an exercise specially framed with the object of affording what is termed in slang parlance a gentle breather. Let me discountenance at the outset such ideas and register my opinion that as far as the dribbling game is concerned unless a player determine on playing up to the last he should be discountenanced as a pestilential person likely to contaminate and ruin a whole eleven.

I would recommend a young player first of all to learn the practice of keeping on the ball throughout the game and the other secrets will follow the easier when this is mastered.

The Combination Game
This is the first recorded use of the term, Alcock yet again proving to be at the forefront of important developments in the game. There have been a number of theories put forward regarding the development of Combination play, and various teams have been identified as pioneers. Maybe the system gained favour through something akin to natural selection- only teams adopting this style of play could hope to meet with any success?

Nothing succeeds better than what I may call a combination game and nothing is more pleasant to an on looker than a thorough concentration of the forwards. It is half the battle believe me when a spirit of co operation pervades the forwards of any Eleven when each player can calculate the position of his fellow with accuracy and when the slightest obstacle in the way of one merely produces the substitution of another to take his place. I have seen much of the game and though I am actually an admirer and advocate of individual skill give me in preference the command of an Eleven that works like a machine of an Eleven that knows not self of an Eleven with every member thinking only of the success of his side and not coveting a string of goals on his own account. Play up I say to all and learn to play together with the rest of your fellows and you will have learnt a very important lesson in the game of football.

I maintain advisedly that allowing anything like a strong opposition eleven players of average calibre will always overcome an organization dependent on individual prowess however skilled may be each member of that organization.

Success is sure to wait in some degree on the side which shows the most unity of action.

Let the first idea be that of a score for the side and the second the subservient gratification of a goal for one's self.

Backing Up

Let me commend above all things the policy of backing up as is technically called the process of following closely on a fellow player to assist him if required and to take on the ball if he be attacked or prevented from continuing his onward course. Of late this policy has been adopted more generally than it was some years ago, and with great success.

Charging
Time and again in Alcock's work we find him promoting skill and mental agility over brute force. Interesting to note here he describes the charge as being executed by the man in possession of the ball as a mean of getting through defenders like a Rugby player.

Charging is a point on which great misapprehension prevails with those who have not yet finished their term of apprenticeship at football. Injudicious charging is one of the greatest errors in which a player can indulge as nothing is more calculated to produce a heavy fall and consequent twist than this principle of wild heedless attack. To charge well is a point of advantage which recommends itself to the weakest intellect and to be an adept at charging requires something more than weight. Prudence demands that charging should be administered like many other disagreeable potions in moderation and that all recklessness in this line should be severely reprehended. Except in cases of absolute necessity I would avoid a charge if possible as you will find that the shaking that ensues often seriously interferes with your progress while a more important advantage may often be gained by eluding and circumventing the obstacle which faces you. When compelled to bear the brunt of a hostile meeting remember bis dat qui cito dat and if possible have the first shot keep your body well set your elbows tight your shoulders and hip acting well in concert and you will have taken the best precautions for the prevention of a downfall.

Backs
None of this cultured 'playing out from the back' in the 1870s!

He should consider delay a capital crime and should never hesitate eschewing any attempt at dribbling unless he be absolutely alone in possession of the ball and then only if his own lines be well guarded during his absence.

Goal keeper
Alcock's assertion that there should be a goalkeeper is very revealing. He does, however, advocate rotating the responsibility and using the goalie as an outfield player when you're on top.

One player should be stationed in the very centre of the goal in order to save it in case the outer lines of defence have been passed by the enemy the extreme width of the space rendering such a course in most instances absolutely necessary. The man selected to occupy this post should be an adept at catching cool and not prone to be flurried and should the task prove a thankless one and free from all chances of attack it would be advisable at times to relieve the sentinel by the substitution of another player.
When contending against weak opponents it is politic to bring the goal keeper, I mean the player stationed between the sticks, up to the front.

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...the heaviest lady footballer weighs eleven stone

February 25, 2017, 3:45 am

≫ Next: Lhasa United

≪ Previous: Football: our winter game, Charles Alcock (1874)

The Globe, 01.02.95

There's an article about the enigmatic Ms. Honeyball (Nettie, not Nellie) here.

*For those unfamiliar with the archaic UK system 11 stone = 69 kg, or if you're from the USA 154 lbs

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Lhasa United

February 26, 2017, 3:30 am

≫ Next: National Football Conference 1882

≪ Previous: ...the heaviest lady footballer weighs eleven stone

Unsurprisingly it was the British military that introduced football to Tibet.
The first matches were played in the 1910s, mainly featuring British and Indian soldiers.
The above picture was taken in 1936 and shows Lhasa United.

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National Football Conference 1882

February 27, 2017, 12:39 pm

≫ Next: Billy Meredith

≪ Previous: Lhasa United

Mr Pierce- Dix

In December 1882 a National Football Conference was held in Manchester in which representatives of the 4 Associations (The FA, The Scottish FA, The Football Association of Wales and the Irish FA) discussed unification of their rules. Interestingly there was also some representation of the Sheffield FA in the person of their Treasurer, Mr Pierce Dix, who represented the Football Association (along with Major Marindin).
The unification of the rules was resolved before the inception of the The British Home Championships in 1884.
The press were excluded from the meeting.
The following points were resolved:
1- No more tapes- crossbars only were to be used.
2- Touchlines were to be used (previously only boundary flags were compulsory).
3- Kick off had to be in the direction of the opponents goal line (only amended in 2016).
4-It was agreed to dispense of an experimental rule by which the committing of a deliberate handball when a goal would otherwise have been scored was punished by the award of a goal.
5- Throw in- a two handed throw in from above the head, in any direction was agreed upon. This was a hybrid, as previously the Football Association had allowed a one handed throw in any direction whereas the Scottish rule was a two handed above the head throw that had to be at a right angle to the boundary (as in Rugby).
6- A player with their back to the opponents goal could be charged from behind if, in the opinion of the officials, they were willfully impeding his opponent.
7-There was an addition to the rules regarding nails in boots etc which specified that players breaking the rule could take no further part in the game.

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Billy Meredith

February 28, 2017, 11:54 pm

≫ Next: FC Porto v Fortuna

≪ Previous: National Football Conference 1882

Can't go for too long without a Billy Meredith post!
Happy Saint David's Day to all our Welsh readers.

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FC Porto v Fortuna

March 3, 2017, 11:05 am

≫ Next: London University in Russia, 1914

≪ Previous: Billy Meredith

Porto (stripes) and Fortuna (white)

Porto (Portugal) and Vigo (Spain) are 160km apart.

On 15 December 1907 FC Porto played host to Fortuna FC of Vigo,

This was Porto's first match against foreign opposition. Porto won 4-1.

A return match was played in January 1908, Porto's first game abroad.

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London University in Russia, 1914

March 6, 2017, 2:09 pm

≫ Next: The International Football Association Board

≪ Previous: FC Porto v Fortuna

In April 1914 London University played 3 matches in the Moscow area of Russia.
The first match was played at Orekhovo, about 100km from Moscow, against a club side called Morozovtsy*. The tourists won 5-1. The ground was new, and before the match the pitch was blessed by a priest who spoke about the benefits of sport for the working classes. There was a crowd of about 7,000.
The next match was against a Moscow Universities XI. London again ran out winners by 7-0, watched by a crowd of 6,000.
On the 24th April (according to the western calendar, as you can from the poster it was 13th in Russia!) a match was played against Moscow Clubs Select (without distinction of nationality). The attendance was reported as being 10,000! The tourists won 2-1 (some sources give 1-0 but there are contemporary Russian reports of 2-1 with Denisov scoring for the hosts).

Russian reporters commented positively on the teamwork of the visitors, their accurate passing, strong shooting and impressive fitness. Russian spectators were less impressed by the physical aspect of the English game, particularly shoulder charges.

Contemporary reports refer to a J.H Lockton scoring 2 goals v Morozovtsy and 4 vs Universities. The only other references to individual London University players I have found are that the goalkeeper was named Williams and that Bateman played inside right and scored 2 vs Universities.

* The present FC Znamya Truda

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The International Football Association Board

March 7, 2017, 2:41 pm

≫ Next: London FA Senior Cup

≪ Previous: London University in Russia, 1914

FIFA states that The Laws of the Game are the preserve of the International Football Association Board.
The first meeting of the International Football Association Board, attended by representatives of the Football Associations of England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, took place on 2nd June 1886 in London.
When FIFA was founded they embraced the International Football Association Board Laws of the Game. The International Football Association Board in turn recognized the validity of FIFA, but FIFA did not have representation at the IFAB until the 1914 annual meeting, which was held in Paris. Minutes of the annual meetings of this body can be viewed here.

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London FA Senior Cup

March 11, 2017, 10:18 am

≫ Next: Foot Ball Club Bergamo

≪ Previous: The International Football Association Board

The London FA was established in 1882, effectively as a branch of the actual Football Association with the purpose of overseeing club football in the metropolitan area. This was to enable the FA to focus on administering the Laws of the Game, the FA Cup and international football. Any clubs within 12 miles of Charing Cross fall under the jurisdiction of the London Association.
The following clubs were members in the inaugural season:

Acton	Hermits	Olympic	Vulcans
Alexandra	Hotspur	Olympic Rangers	West End
Alpine Rovers	Kildare	Park	Westminster Club
Argus	Lennox	Pilgrims	Woodford Bridge
Clapham Rovers	Lyonstown	Prairie Rangers
Clapton	Melrose	Rangers
City Ramblers	Minerva	St Alban’s
Dreadnought	Morton Rangers	St Bartholomew’s Hospital
Excelsior	Mosquitoes	St Bride’s
Finchley	Oakshott	St Peter’s
Grove House	Old Brightonians	Somerset
Hanover	Old Etonians	Union
Hatton Rovers	Old Westminsters	Upton Park
Hendon	Olympian	Upton Rangers

The first President was A.F Kinnaird, Vice presidents were C.W Alcock and R.A Ogilvie. Hon. sec. was N. L Jackson (founder of Corinthian F.C, who eschewed 'competitive' football). London followed the example of provincial associations and instituted a cup competition for member clubs.
Southern Football was essentially amateur up until the 1890s (Royal Arsenal and Brentford are the only teams featured here to play League football until Wimbledon and Barnet graduated to the League in the 1970s and 1990s).
The early years of the competition were dominated by venerable amateur clubs that regularly saw players capped by England.
Old Carthusians had won the FA Cup in 1880-81 and were semi-finalists in the following 2 seasons. Their wins in 1894 and 1897 were 'doubles' in which they also won the FA Amateur Cup.

Clapton 1889

1882-83	Upton Park	4	0	Old Foresters
1883-84	Upton Park	4	1	Old Foresters
1884-85	Old Foresters	2	1	Upton Park
1885-86	Ashburnham Rovers	2	1	Hotspur
1886-87	Old Westminsters	1	1	Casuals
1886-87	Shared
1887-88	Old Westminsters	1	0	Casuals
1888-89	Clapton	4	2	Casuals
1889-90	Old Westminsters	1	0	Royal Arsenal
1890-91	Royal Arsenal	6	0	St Bartholomew’s Hospital
1891-92	Old Westminsters	2	1	Ilford
1892-93	Old Westminsters	3	0	Casuals
1893-94	Old Foresters	2	1	Old Carthusians
1894-95	Old Carthusians	6	0	Casuals
1895-96	Old Carthusians	3	1	Casuals
1896-97	Old Carthusians	5	2	3^rd Grenadier Guards
1897-98	Brentford	5	1	Ilford
1898-99	Old Carthusians	2	1	London Caledonians
99-00	London Caledonians	1	0	Old Westminsters
1900-01	Ilford	2	1	Clapton
1901-02	Civil Service	3	2	Shepherds Bush
1902-03	Old Malvernians	4	2	Clapton
1903-04	Leyton	1	0	Ilford
1904-05	Ilford	2	1	Ealing
1905-06	New Crusaders	2	2	Dulwich Hamlet
		3	1
1906-07	West Norwood	4	1	West Hampstead
1907-08	London Caledonians	1	0	Dulwich Hamlet
1908-09	Clapton	1	0	Nunhead
1909-10	Bromley	1	0	Clapton
1910-11	Clapton	2	0	Ilford
1911-12	Barking	3	0	London Caledonians
1912-13	Tufnell Park	2	0	Metrogas
1913-14	Ilford	1	1	Nunhead
		2	0
1914-15	London Caledonians	4	1	Clapton

1919-20	Leytonstone	5	2	Barking Town
1920-21	Barking Town	4	1	Dulwich Hamlet
1921-22	Ilford	3	1	Nunhead
1922-23	Nunhead	1	0	Bromley
1923-24	Tufnell Park	2	1	Kingstonian
1924-25	Dulwich Hamlet	2	0	Clapton
1925-26	London Caledonians	3	1	Kingstonian
1926-27	Barking Town	4	2	London Caledonians
1927-28	London Caledonians	2	0	Dulwich Hamlet
1928-29	Ilford	4	1	London Caledonians
1929-30	Ilford	4	1	Walthamstow Avenue
1930-31	Wimbledon	1	0	Kingstonian
1931-32	Hayes	3	1	Ilford
1932-33	Finchley	2	0	Barnet
1933-34	Wimbledon	1	1	Leyton
		2	1
1934-35	Enfield	2	0	Metropolitan Police
1935-36	Walthamstow Avenue	1	0	Golders Green
1936-37	Walthamstow Avenue	6	3	Hayes

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Foot Ball Club Bergamo

March 15, 2017, 2:16 pm

≫ Next: Sheffield Wednesday At The Seaside

≪ Previous: London FA Senior Cup

Foot Ball Club Bergamo was founded by Swiss residents of the city in 1903-04.
They participated in the Lombardy championships up until 1910, but were eclipsed by their neighbours Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio (founded 1907).

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Sheffield Wednesday At The Seaside

March 17, 2017, 3:32 pm

≫ Next: феникс

≪ Previous: Foot Ball Club Bergamo

The seaside preparation paid off as Wednesday beat Grimsby Town 5-1 at Owlerton on 16th January, David McLean scoring 4.
The clubs official name was The Wednesday Football Club up until 1929, but the press often referred to them as Sheffield Wednesday.

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феникс

March 19, 2017, 5:52 am

≫ Next: La Máquina Blanca

≪ Previous: Sheffield Wednesday At The Seaside

Phoenix were active in the Moscow area in the years leading up to the war with the Central Powers (1914).
Based at Zuyevo, Phoenix played in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo league.

↧