Western Europe: Foreign Players in the Football League
As covered extensively, the bulk of players moving to the Football League post-1978 from Western Europe came from the Netherlands or Scandinavia and the Nordic nations. Other countries including the major footballing nations of France, (West) Germany, Italy and Spain were sparsely represented, with only rare exceptions. Most of the movement from the late 1970s…
The 1982 World Cup finals
The 1982 World Cup tournament kicked off on 13 June at the Nou Camp, Barcelona. After all the months of anticipation and extensive build-up, Argentina met Belgium following the opening ceremony. First Group Stage [Group 3] Erwin Vandenbergh’s surprise winner for the Belgians was the first goal in an opening match for 20 years as…
Memories of Italia 90: Thirty Years Ago
The 1990 World Cup, which took place between the 8th June and the 8th July in Italy, brings back a lot of memories. I was 16 and able to give my full attention to four weeks of football, a luxury I appreciate even more at this distance. I was an England fan but keen to…
Italia 90: Background & Qualification
Italy won the bid to host the 1990 World Cup at a FIFA vote in 1984, comfortably ahead of the Soviet Union. This meant they hosted the tournament for the second time after their victory in 1934, and only a decade after the European Championship finals were held in Italy. Twelve cities were chosen to…
1980 European Championship finals
The 1980 European Championship finals took place in Italy between 11-22 June. It was the first edition of the tournament with eight teams, divided into two groups with the winners progressing straight to the final – semi-finals were introduced four years later. Panini celebrated the occasion with their first dedicated ‘Europa’ sticker album. Five nations…
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