Uwe Seeler captains West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final. Offside
The countless goals scored for both Hamburg and Germany by “Our Uwe”, who died in July, were matched by off-field charm as he became a national institution
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Stories
Portait of a Winner
by Gabriele Marcotti
Bantam, £18.99
Reviewed by Matthew Barker
From WSC 263 January 2009
Gabriele Marcotti’s profile of Fabio Capello is a brisk (though at 400-plus pages not short) summary of the England coach’s career, putting his appointment in charge of the national team in the context of his achievements at club level. After the briefest of glimpses at his childhood and family background we’re off and running, rounding-up a quietly distinguished playing career: beginnings with Spal; the big move to Roma under early influence Helenio Herrera; joining Juventus; that azzurri goal at Wembley; and on to Milan. One constant that features in the various anecdotes and reminiscences is of a player old before his time, a bit of a loner, a little too focused, a little too intense. Classic managerial material in, other words.
A History of Football Tactics
by Jonathan Wilson
Orion, £18.99
Reviewed by Harry Pearson
From WSC 259 September 2008
To those of us who grew up reading World Soccer in the 1970s, the word “tactics” will forever conjure up the severe glasses of journalist Eric Batty, portly sage of formations and positional play, whose annual selection of a World XI invariably involved at least one player of whom the writer would observe: “For club and country he is predominantly deployed on the right wing. I have elected to play him at left-back…” In 1970, Batty wrote a book in which he presented an analysis of the styles and tactics of the teams at the Mexico World Cup. In it the author conclusively proved – by data, argument and drawings – that Brazil were the most effective side at the tournament.
Dear WSC
As a student of Romanian language and literature (no, there aren’t many of us) I spend a lot of time in Romania and have become rather fond of Steaua as a result. Unfortunately, I was not in Bucharest for the visit of Aston Villa, and therefore had to watch the game on Channel 5. I spent it counting cliches. They started immediately after the opening titles ceased – cue shot of the Câsa Poprilor, which is not where Ceaucescu lived as Channel 5 told us; cue orphans; cue interview with a taxi driver (and I hoped he ripped Channel 5 off as Bucharest taxi drivers do most foreigners). Even worse was the predictably awful pronunciation of Romanian names. For the eight thousandth time, ‘Steaua’ is pronounced ‘Ste-au-wa”. As for the attempts by all involved to pronounce ‘Ciocoiu; (which should be ‘Chock-oi-oo’), I’m still laughing. Villa themselves must also be berated for their patronising ‘gifts’ of food and bobble hats to a Bucharest orphanage, thereby reinforcing all the stereotypes that Britons have vis a vis Romania, sure to be repeated during the World Cup . The Romanians’ economy is not as strong as our own, but the populace is not starving, and does not need charity. But perhaps Villa have now set a precedent, whereby teams from strong economic powers should bring donations for their poorer hosts. So, if Villa go on to play a German team later in the competition, maybe their opponents should bring food and clothes for the homeless of Birmingham?
Craig Turp, London SW20
Helenio Herrera passed away recently leaving a legacy of defensive football behind, but Cris Freddi argues that the iconic manager was schooled in Total Football too
According to Channel 4, some of the Italian press have been calling him ‘the first real football coach’, which is bollocks but shows the right respect. If you’re an Inter fan, and aren’t we all, HH was the only coach.