The Gentleman's Games: An alternate History of Rugby and Football

[kinnikuniverse]

PART 5: National Rugby league

1920-1921: Akron (1)
1921-1922: canton bulldogs (1)
1922-1923: canton bulldogs (2)
1923-1924: Green bay packers (1)
1924-1925:New York athletic club (1)
1925-1926: Canton bulldogs (3)
1926-1927: New York old blue (1)
1927-1928: Chicago lions (1)
1928-1929: Green bay packers (2)
1929-1930: green bay packers (3)
1930-1931: Green bay packers (4)
1931-1932: Chicago lions (2)
1932-1933: New York old blue (2)
1933-1934: New York old blue (3)
1934-1935: Detroit RFC (1)
1935-1936: Green bay packers (5)
1936-1937: Washington Mohawk RFC (1)
1937-1938: Boston Irish (1)
1938-1939: Green bay packers (6)
1939-1940: Chicago lions (3)
1940-1941: Canton Bulldogs (4)
1941-1942: Washington Mohawk RFC (2)
1942-1943: Chicago lions (4)

while, at first, the NRL Established itself as the premier rugby competition in North america, especially after the 1923 rugby world cup win, the 1930s would see serious competition to that claim when A rival league, The American rugby football championship, was born in 1934. born out of an association of west coast rugby unions, the ARFC quickly gained prominence by offering better salaries and working conditions to top college stars as well as attracting many stars of the NRL to their clubs established in luxurious places like California and rugby hotbeds in Texas, Colorado and oklahoma. this Marked the beginning of a tumultuous time in American rugby history: "The rugby wars", a time characterised by ferocious bidding wars and, later, clubs of both pyramids losing top players to the U.S army during the Pacific war against imperial Japan, who attacked pearl harbor after they were pushed out of china at the end of the second sino-japanese war. (1)


PART 6: AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP


NSW PREMIERS VS QUEENSLAND PREMIERS ERA
1930-1931: Fortitude valley
1931-1932: south sydney
1932-1933: Newtown
1933-1934: western suburb
1934-1935: past brothers
1935-1936: west Brisbane
1936-1937: west Brisbane
1937-1938: Balmain tigers
1938-1939: Balmain tigers
1939-1940: eastern suburbs
1940-1941: st. George
1941-1942: canterbury-bankstown
1942-1943: Past brothers

the RIVAL NSW and Queensland rugby leagues have decided to organise a championship game between the champions of their respective leagues in order to crown an Australian national champion, inspired by the yearly series of matches known as the "state of origins". the move proved very popular, and rugby began thriving across the Australian continent, with even Victoria, the heartland of Aussie rules football, beginning to pop more and more rugby clubs.

CANADIAN CHAMPIONSHIP

IPRFU VS WCRFU ERA

1930-1931: Montreal Irish over wild oats RFC
1931-1932: Hamilton tigers over Wild oats RFC
1932-1933: toronto Argonauts over James bay
1933-1934: Sarnia over wild oats RFC
1934-1935: Winnipeg wasps over Hamilton tigers
1935-1936: wild oats RFC over Ottawa rough riders
1936-1937: Winnipeg wasps over toronto Argonauts
1937-1938: toronto Argonauts over Winnipeg wasps
1938-1939: Ottawa rough riders over Winnipeg wasps
1939-1940: Ottawa rough riders over Regina RFC
1940-1941: Ottawa rough riders over Edmonton pirates
1941-1942: Winnipeg wasps over toronto nomads
1942-1943: Wildcats RFC over Winnipeg wasps

GREY CUP
1931: Regina RFC
1932: toronto nomads
1933: James bay
1934: toronto Argonauts
1935: toronto Argonauts
1936: toronto Argonauts
1937: Ottawa rough riders
1938: Edmonton pirates
1939: Ottawa rough riders
1940: Hamilton tigers
1941: RC Quebec
1942: Winnipeg wasps
1943: Calgary hornets

(1) with China being stronger ITTL following the end of WW1, they were able to stop the Japanese. the rape of nankin may or may not have happened.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1943 RUGBY WORLD CUP IN ARGENTINA
​

the greatest competition in all of rugby come s to the south American continent for the first time ever, and reigning champions new zealand are looking for the second consecutive world cup, while Argentina and Uruguay are hoping to make their home continent proud.

GROUP A at Estadio Arquitecto Ricardo Etcheverri
Argentina win- England
australia draw france
argentina -win australia
england draw france
argentina -win france
england draw australia
argentina draw england
Australia win- france
England win- France
argentina -win australia
argentina -win france
England draw australia

Australia 9 pts
France 6 pts
England 6 pts
argentina 3 pts

elimination match
England win- france

unfortunately for the host nation, they bombed hard, despite an upset win over the 1936 champions French. said French ended up tied with an underperforming England side, who promptly kicked up a gear and beat the French in the elimination game to go through.

GROUP B at Estadio GEBA
United states - win wales
samoa draw russia
United states draws russia
Wales win- samoa
United states win- samoa
Wales win- russia
United states win- wales
Samoa win- russia
United states win- russia
Wales win- samoa
United states draw samoa
Wales win- russia

despite losing many of their best players to the war effort against the Japanese, the United States looked like a potential dark horse, easily qualifying alongside Wales, who are led by many young players looking to carry the torch of the sullivan-pugh generation.

Wales 10 pts
united states 8 pts
Samoa 4 pts
Russia 2 pts

GROUP C at Estadio José Fierro
Canada draw ireland
south africa win- Spain
Canada -win spain
south Africa draw ireland
Canada win- south africa
ireland draw spain
Canada -win ireland
south Africa win- spain
Canada win- spain
south Africa - win ireland
Canada - win south africa
ireland draw spain

ireland 8 pts
south Africa 7 pts
Canada 5 pts
Spain 4 pts

in the most unpredictable group of the tournament, south Africa beats Canada to punch their ticket the hard way, while Spain,making their return to the world cup, saw many star performers of the formerly French Basque and Catalan clubs dominating their national league shine in competitive matches against all other nations in their group.

GROUP D at plaza Jewell
uruguay -win Scotland
Italy -win new zealand
Scotland draw new zealand
Italy win- uruguay
Scotland win- italy
New Zealand win- uruguay
Scotland win- uruguay
New Zealand win- italy
Scotland -win new zealand
Italy win- uruguay
Scotland win- italy
New Zealand -win Uruguay

New Zealand 9 pts
Scotland 9 pts
Italy 4 pts
Uruguay 2 pts
no surprises here, aside from Uruguay shockingly beating the all blacks by a field goal, perhaps the biggest upset of the whole tournament.


KNOCKOUT STAGES AT el monumental
Ireland - win new zealand
England - win Scotland
Wales - win south Africa
United states - win australia

New Zealand blitzed through the Irish, while Scotland won a bloody and heated affair against their arch nemesis. the young welsh's lack of experience cost them against the springboks, while the United States almost scored the tying try, but the Australian defense stood strong.

New Zealand win- Scotland
south Africa - win australia

the two Pacific powerhouses blitzed through their respective opponents to face each other for the first time in the finals of the biggest stage!

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Scotland win- south africa

FINALS

New Zealand win- australia

two field goals proved the difference as the kiwis beat their wallaby neighbors to clinch their second consecutive rugby world cup!

1943 RUGBY WORLD CUP WINNERS: NEW ZEALAND

 

[kinnikuniverse]

England's 1944 European cup in a nutshell​

the 1944 European cup, held in England, was seen as the redemption tournament for England, as the FA and Graham clark wanted to prove that the 1942 world cup fiasco was no fluke. of course, English football fans were not impressed, and the pressure was all on them. meanwhile, Germany, humbled by the disaster of their home world cup, arrived with a bright young team that was on an unbeaten streak heading into the tournament, while reigning world and European champions Italy also arrived with a rebuilt squad, vittorio pozzo replacing legendary players such as Giuseppe meazza with a new generation that mostly came from the rising power in serie A: torino FC. pozzo also announced that this tournament, as well as the 1946 world cup, will be his final competitions as Italy manager before retiring. finally, three Scandinavian nations will be represented, as Sweden and Denmark will be joined by Norway, who narrowly beat Portugal and the Netherlands for the final qualification spot.

GROUP A at Stamford bridge, london
england 2-0 bohemia
Switzerland 2-1 croatia
england 2-1 croatia
bohemia 3-0 switzerland
england 1-3 switzerland
bohemia 1-1 croatia
england 0-2 bohemia
Croatia 4-1 Switzerland
england 6-3 croatia
bohemia 5-1 switzerland
england 1-2 Switzerland
Croatia 3-3 bohemia

bohemia 8 pts
england 6 pts +1 goal
Switzerland 6 pts -6 goals
Croatia 4 pts

bohemia looked really strong, with a big win over the English, who nonetheless qualified on goal difference. this is how awful Switzerland was.

GROUP B AT Anfield, liverpool
Scotland 2-2 austria
France 2-2 hungary
Scotland 3-3 hungary
Austria 1-0 france
Scotland 5-0 france
Austria 4-2 hungary
Scotland 1-2 austria
Hungary 1-1 france
Scotland 0-3 hungary
Austria 3-1 france
Scotland 2-1 france
Austria 3-2 Hungary

Austria 11 pts
Scotland 6 pts
Hungary 5 pts
France 2 pts

the Austrian wunderteam hasn't lost a step, dominating the group, while a popular victory against the abysmal French and a Hungary defeat against their former countrymen allowed the Scots to qualify once again, much to the joy of the Scottish citizens of Liverpool.

GROUP C at Highbury, north london
Wales 0-0 denmark
spain 0-1 sweden
Wales 2-7 Spain
Denmark 1-1 sweden
Wales 2-2 sweden
Spain 2-0 denmark
Wales 0-1 denmark
Spain 2-1 sweden
Wales 1-0 spain
sweden 3-1 denmark
Wales 1-1 sweden
Spain 3-1 denmark

Spain 8 pts
sweden 7 pts
Wales 4 pts
Denmark 3 pts

the Spanish, carried by a diverse cast of Basque, Catalan, Andalusian and Castilian players, topped the group while Sweden caused the surprise and qualify for their first world cup in a decade thanks in part to the magic of a young trio of players known as gre-no-li.

GROUP D at old Trafford, manchester
ireland 0-3 Germany
Italy 4-0 norway
ireland 0-6 Italy
Germany 0-0 norway
ireland 0-1 norway
Germany 2-3 italy
ireland 2-1 germany
Italy 1-2 norway
ireland 1-3 Italy
Germany 6-0 norway
ireland 3-1 norway
Italy 4-2 germany

italy 10 pts
Germany 5 pts +5 goals
norway 5 pts -10 goals
ireland 4 pts

newcomer Norway shocked the world by beating the young Italians, and would've qualified if not for their atrocious defending, with the improved Germans qualifying on goal difference and showing some good stuff against the Italians.

KNOCKOUT STAGES AT WEMBLEY
bohemia 1-1 Scotland (bohemia wins penalties 4-2)
Italy 3-0 Austria
England 1-0 Spain
Germany 2-1 sweden

bohemia holds on to win on penalties against the Scots, while Clark's England parked the bus against the spaniards. vittorio pozzo showed that his metodo is still effective by shutting out the Austrians, with Valentino mazzola and Silvio piola coming together to score all 3 Italian goals. finally, a disciplined defense contained the gre-no-li trio as Germany defies the odds and heads to the final four!

SEMI FINALS
Italy 1-2 bohemia
england 4-0 germany

bohemia shocks the world and beat the Italians with only 2 shots on goal, while the English thrashed the Germans in an upset. everybody at Wembley had their hopes up. could the fiasco of 1942 have been a fluke? is Graham Clark the real deal? is the W-M, a proud English invention, the best tactic in the world, shutting up the naysayers who have been calling it outdated and an example of how far behind England is compared to the rest of the world????

FINALS

england 3-6 bohemia


...well, shite...


BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Italy 2-0 germany

at least, the Kaiser is happy that Germany is finally starting to become decent...

1944 EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS: BOHEMIA

(bohemia added their old crest on the flag to differentiate it from poland's...plus, it looks cool)

 

[kinnikuniverse]

this man was NOT very popular after the final...at least, it wasn't held at home and it wasn't a world cup final or anything...​

the 1944 americas cup was contested under the shadow of the Pacific war, which was ongoing at the time, with the US navy carrying many stars of American soccer, forcing the US National Team to search for adequate replacements for their stars, who were off to the Pacific ocean, hoping to help the navy, who were struggling against the all-powerful Japanese battleships yamato and mushashi.

GROUP A AT baker field, new York
United states 2-1 Guatemala
wayward islands 0-3 chile
United states 0-1 chile
wayward islands 4-0 guatemala
United states 7-2 wayward islands
Chile 0-1 guatemala
United States 3-1 guatemala
chile 1-2 wayward islands
United states 2-1 chile
wayward islands 0-1 guatemala
United states 1-2 wayward islands
Chile 1-1 guatemala

United States 8 pts
wayward islands 6 pts
Chile 5 pts
Guatemala 5 pts

despite topping the group, the makeshift American team had a rocky road, struggling against Chile and even Guatemala, a team they should've beaten more comfortably.

GROUP B At Todd shipyards athletic field, Brooklyn, New york
Canada 0-3 uruguay
Peru 2-1 el salvador
Canada 2-2 peru
uruguay 5-0 el salvador
Canada 2-0 el salvador
uruguay 1-1 peru
uruguay 1-2 canada
Peru 1-1 el salvador
Canada 1-1 peru
uruguay 0-0 el salvador
Canada 0-1 el salvador
uruguay 3-1 peru

uruguay 8 pts
Canada 6 pts -1 goal
peru 6 pts -1 goal
el salvador 4 pts

ELMINIATION MATCH
Canada 2-0 peru

for the first time in americas cup history, an elimination game was played, as herbert chapman's Canada and Peru finished tied at 2nd with the same goal differential. herb carnegie and Maurice Richard made short work of the Peruvians to head to the knockout stages, although Chapman is receiving criticism for sticking to his patented W-M formation, which was being considered outdated, especially after England's humiliating defeat at the hands of the bohemians in the euros final.

GROUP C at Franklin field, Philadelphia, pennsylvania
argentina 2-2 paraguay
Costa rica 1-1 curacao
Argentina 4-2 Costa rica
Paraguay 2-0 curacao
Argentina 1-1 curacao
Costa Rica 1-2 paraguay
Argentina 0-0 paraguay
Costa rica 0-1 curacao
Argentina 1-0 Costa rica
Paraguay 0-2 curacao
Argentina 0-2 curacao
Paraguay 4-1 Costa rica

Paraguay 8 pts
curacao 8 pts
argentina 7 pts
Costa rica 1 pts

the small Dutch colony of curacao shocks the world by beating a battered and demotivated Argentinan side, and paraguay's thrashing of Costa Rica meant that, for the first time ever, Argentina will not compete in the world cup!

GROUP D AT Harvard stadium, boston, Massachusetts
mexico 3-5 Brazil
Suriname 1-2 honduras
Mexico 2-0 suriname
Brazil 1-0 honduras
Mexico 1-2 honduras
Brazil 7-0 suriname
Brazil 2-0 mexico
suriname 0-2 honduras
Mexico 5-2 suriname
Brazil 4-1 honduras
Mexico 1-1 honduras
Brazil 0-1 suriname

Brazil 10 pts
Honduras 7 pts
Mexico 5 pts
suriname 2 pts

with veterans leonidas and domingos da guia in their prime and young starlets zizinho and ademir, Brazil looked like the favorites to repeat as champions, while the small nation of Honduras manages to beat the high-flying Mexicans for second place!


KNOCKOUT STAGES AT SOLDIER FIELD, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

wayward islands 2-5 Brazil
honduras 2-1 United States (extra time)
Uruguay 6-1 curacao
Canada 1-1 paraguay (Canada wins on penalties 4-2)

Brazil swallowed wayward islands whole, while Honduras shocks the nation in extra time, qualifying for world cup for the first time. Uruguay made quick work of curacao, while Canada would win a tense affair against Paraguay on penalties.


SEMI FINALS
Brazil 2-1 Honduras
Uruguay 3-2 canada

honduras's Cinderella run came to an end, while Herbert Chapman and his boys almost pulled off the upset against the Uruguayan.

BRONZE MEDAL GAME
Canada 1-0 honduras

toe Blake scored the only goal for Canada.

FINALS
Brazil 1-3 uruguay (extra time)

a shock for the Brazilians, who had looked so dominant the whole tournament. the uruguayans stopped their dynamic offense with strict discipline, and all Uruguayan goals were scored from set pieces.


FINAL QUALIFICATION SPOT MINI-TOURNAMENT

United states 2-1 wayward islands (extra time)
Paraguay 3-1 curacao

United states 4-2 paraguay (extra time)

the USA would finally put a smile on their home crowd's face as they secured qualification for the world cup the hard way.

1944 COPA AMERICA WINNER: URUGUAY!

a year later, Australia and Iran will represent the Asian continent after their successful semi finals matchup against India and Indonesia, with Australia winning their second consecutive Asian cup, while the African cup was full of surprises, with reigning champions south Africa not winning a single game! in the end, Egypt retakes the crown, beating Kenya in the finals.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

The image that shocked the world. even the Kaiser himself crapped his pants.
​

while the entire world shat itself at the sheer power of the US Military with the Pacific war-ending atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Brazil was in a festive mood, as they are hosts of the 40th anniversary of the FIFA World cup! special parades and celebrations took place in Rio De Janeiro, and the Brazilians were convinced that their national team would win it all and dominate. the pressure was on for the young Brazilians, especially goalkeeper barbosa, who is under scrutiny from everyone ever since his awful performance in extra time at the 1944 copa america. veterans leonidas and domingos da guia, however, are there to calm the nerves of the youngsters.

GROUP A at pacaembu stadium, Sao Paulo
Brazil 2-0 England
Egypt 2-1 austria
Brazil 2-2 austria
england 2-2 egypt
Brazil 2-1 egypt
england 2-1 austria
Brazil 3-1 England
austria 2-2 egypt
Brazil 5-0 austria
england 4-1 egypt
Brazil 0-1 egypt
england 2-1 austria

Brazil 9 pts
england 7 pts
Egypt 6 pts
austria 2 pts

the selecao used the energy of the sao paulo crowd to their advantage, topping their group and twice beating England, who almost got out of the tournament if it wasn't for their win against an Austrian team in shambles.

GROUP B At couto Pereira stadium, curitiba
United states 2-1 sweden
Italy 3-1 germany
United states 2-4 germany
Italy 2-2 sweden
United States 1-1 italy
Germany 2-3 sweden
United states 1-3 sweden
Italy 0-1 germany
United states 3-3 germany
Italy 2-1 sweden
United states 0-1 italy
Germany 1-0 sweden

Italy 8 pts
Germany 7 pts
sweden 5 pts
United states 4 pts

despite the Pacific war ending, the Americans had some of their stars being killed in action at battles such as iwo jima and midway. as such, they finish last of their group for the first time in a world cup. meanwhile, the influx of younger players from torino FC allowed outgoing coach vittprio pozzo's Italy squad to top the group, with the Germans finally becoming good, winning against the azzura and qualifying on the last day with a 1-0 win over Sweden. the latter nation made a big impression on Italy, with Milan player aldo boffi even giving a phone call to the Milan manager to convince him to sign the young Swedish trio Gre-No-Li.

GROUP C at ilha do reciro stadium, recife
Uruguay 3-1 scotland
spain 1-1 australia
Uruguay 1-0 australia
Scotland 0-0 spain
uruguay 0-3 spain
Scotland 1-0 Australia
uruguay 2-0 scotland
Spain 6-1 australia
uruguay 1-2 australia
Scotland 4-2 spain
uruguay 1-4 spain
Scotland 2-1 australia

Spain 8 pts
Scotland 7 pts
uruguay 6 pts
australia 3 pts

slips against Australia and group toppers Spain meant that Uruguay's great run of form has a disappointing end, the Scots winning a close one against the Socceroos to qualify.

GROUP D AT Estádio Raimundo Sampaio, Belo Horizonte
canada 2-0 bohemia
Honduras 1-3 iran
Canada 4-2 iran
bohemia 1-1 honduras
Canada 1-2 honduras
bohemia 5-2 iran
Canada 0-2 bohemia
Iran 4-1 honduras
Canada 1-0 iran
bohemia 5-2 honduras
Canada 0-1 honduras
bohemia 1-2 iran

bohemia 7 pts
Canada 6 pts +1 goal
iran 6 pts -1 goal
Honduras 5 pts

in the closest group of the whole tournament, Canada goes through by the skin of their teeth on goal difference.

KNOCKOUT STAGES AT MARACANA, RIO DR JANEIRO
Brazil 1-1 Spain (brazil wins on penalties 5-3)
Germany 2-1 England
Italy 3-1 Canada
bohemia 2-1 scotland

inside the biggest stadium in Brazil, the selecao urvied a scare and beats the Spaniards on penalties, while the Germans upset the English after a controversial penalty was awarded. Italy made short work of Canada, sending Herbert Chapman into retirement, while the euro champions stuns the Scots!

SEMI FINALS

Brazil 3-1 Germany (extra time)
Italy 3-0 bohemia

the Germans stood strong,but youngsters zizinho and ademir saves Brazil in extra time, while the Italians dominated possession against the bohemians.

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Germany 0-0 bohemia (Germany wins on penalties 5-3)

finally, Germany wins something!

FINALS
Brazil 2-0 italy (extra time)

barbosa would shut his critics up by being absolutely impenetrable, holding off chances from mazzola and amadei to force the game into extra time, with ademir and leonidas scoring atomic bombs of their own and making their countrymen cry in joy as Brazil wins their first ever world cup in front of their entire country!

despite the defeat, vittorio pozzo can retire with his head up high as his players and staff showered him with champagne to celebrate the legendary coach who gave Italy it's first international trophies. and with youngsters like mazzola and boniparti, Italy's future is very bright.

1946 FIFA WORLD CUP WINNERS: BRAZIL!

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Before ABBA, those guys were sweden's most famous exports.
​

With the brilliant grande torino side in their prime, italy, now under new coach and torino president/manager Ferrucio Novo, looks set to reclaim the 1948 european cup in Spain and get their second world cup, to be held once again in argentina in 1950. competition will be fierce, however, with the austrians and especially the Hungarians fielding young, dynamic teams ready to make their marks, and the germans are building a formidable generation that could challenge for honours in the upcoming decade.

their biggest challengers, however, are the swedish team that impressed them in the last world cup, now led by AC Milan's famed Gre-No-li trio in their primes. many pundits suggests that sweden are the team most likely to beat the italians in the finals!

finally, the tournament saw the return of croatia, slovakia and the netherlands, the latter narrowly beating portugal for qualification.

GROUP A at camp nou
Spain 1-3 England
France 2-3 Switzerland
Spain 2-1 france
england 1-0 switzerland
Spain 4-1 switzerland
england 4-3 france
Spain 2-3 england
France 0-3 switzerland
Spain 1-1 france
england 2-2 Switzerland
Spain 5-0 switzerland
england 3-1 france

england 11 pts
Spain 7 pts
switzerland 5 pts
France 1 pt

the english looked good in the group stages, but, as we all know, that doesn't necessarily translates into success in the knockout stages...meanwhile, spain didnt look really good despite their talent, and a thrashing of switzerland allowed them to barely qualify. despite having some really good young players, the french were abysmal.

GROUP B At San mames
Scotland 2-1 Germany
Hungary 0-1 bohemia
Hungary 2-2 germany
Scotland 1-0 bohemia
Hungary 4-1 scotland
Germany 4-2 bohemia
Scotland 1-3 germany
Hungary 3-0 bohemia
Hungary 1-2 germany
Scotland 5-0 bohemia
Hungary 3-1 Scotland
Germany 6-2 bohemia

Germany 9 pts
Hungary 7 pts
Scotland 6 pts
bohemia 2 pts

In the most competitive group of the tournament, hungary, led by the brilliance of youngsters like zoltan czibor, sandor kokcis and laszlo kubala, scores a crucial, decisive win agaisnt the scots to qualify, while the germans finally look like a title contender!

GROUP C at mestalla
Wales 1-2 Austria
Slovakia 1-2 Sweden
sweden 4-1 wales
austria 2-2 slovakia
sweden 4-2 austria
Wales 3-1 slovakia
sweden 5-2 slovakia
Wales 1-5 austria
Sweden 0-0 wales
Austria 2-0 slovakia
sweden 4-1 austria
Wales 3-1 slovakia

sweden 11 pts
Austria 7 pts
wales 5 pts
Slovakia 1 pt

gre-no-li ran rampant on opposing defenses, while wales would miss out on qualification due to a heavy loss against austria and a boring draw agaisnt the swedes.

GROUP D at Estadio Metropolitano de Madrid
netherlands 1-2 denmark
Italy 3-0 croatia
Italy 1-1 denmark
Croatia 1-1 Netherlands
Italy 4-1 netherlands
Denmark 4-0 croatia
Italy 1-2 croatia
Denmark 2-1 netherlands
Italy 2-1 denmark
Croatia 1-1 netherlands
Italy 3-1 netherlands
Denmark 4-1 croatia

Italy 9 pts
Denmark 9 pts
croatia 4 pts
netherlands 2 pts

led by a golden generation of players mostly playing in Serie A, America and their home country, john hansen's Denmark impressed everybody with their attacking play and their stunning showing against the italians, with hansen earning himself a move to juventus after the tournament.

KNOCKOUT STAGES AT SANTIAGO BERNABEU

denmark 1-3 sweden
Germany 2-0 austria
Italy 3-1 Spain
England 3-6 hungary

in what was dubbed the match of the century, hungary exposed england in a legendary win, while germany stopped their neighbors with their trademark discipline. italy and sweden, meanwhile, ate their opponents whole, with niels liedholm and valentino mazzola scoring hat tricks.

SEMI-FINALS

sweden 4-0 germany
Italy 3-2 hungary

it was the gre-no-li show as the magic trio destroyed the germans, while italy won a close one against the young hungarians, with amedeo amadei scoring the game-winning goal at the 88th minute to put italy in their 4th international final in 8 years!

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Germany 1-2 Hungary

kokcis and kubala made sure that the hungarians didn't come home empty-handed.

FINALS

Sweden 2-2 italy (sweden wins on penalties 10-8)

in one of the greatest games if all time, itlay and sweden went back and forth on each other, with mazzola and nordahl scoring in the last 10 minutes of regulation to end it 1-1. in extra time, amadei scores in only 5 minutes, but niels liedholm scores a wondergoal at the last minute of extra time to make it 2-2 and force double extra time! whem it ended in a deadlock, it went to a very long penalty shootout, where a crucial miss from defender aldo ballarin allowed sweden to score the winning penalty to win their first ever international trophy!

1948 EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS: SWEDEN!

 

[kinnikuniverse]

This guy's constantly on the bench...shame, cause he's pretty talented...
​

despite qualification for the 1950 world cup being assured due to being the host nation, argentina still elected to participate in the Americas cup, eager to avenge their poor showing at the last tournament. the team they are fielding is mainly composed of players forming the dreaded Maquina of river plate. on the bench for them was a young attacking midfielder by the name of di stefano, who was becoming concerned with his lack of playing time at both river plate and the national team...

GROUP A
uruguay 2-1 leeward islands
Suriname 1-3 mexico
uruguay 5-2 suriname
Mexico 3-0 leeward island
uruguay 2-1 mexico
leeward islands 1-0 suriname
uruguay 4-1 leeward islands
mexico 1-1 suriname
uruguay 2-1 suriname
mexico 5-0 leeward islands
mexico 1-3 uruguay
leeward islands 2-4 suriname

Uruguay 12 pts (perfect score!)
mexico 7 pts
suriname 3 pts
leeward islands 2 pts

uruguay make history by being the first team to finish the group stages with a perfect record, while the mexicans easily takes second place.

GROUP B
Argentina 5-2 Panama
Costa rica 2-7 peru
argentina 2-2 peru
costa rica 0-2 panama
argentina 3-1 Costa rica
peru 4-2 panama
argentina 3-1 panama
peru 2-1 costa rica
argentina 0-1 peru
costa rica 2-1 panama
argentina 1-2 costa rica
peru 6-2 panama

peru 11 pts
Argentina 7 pts
costa rica 2 pts
panama 2 pts

no surprises here, as the favorites move on.

GROUP C
Brazil 0-2 United States
curacao 1-2 chile
brazil 5-2 chile
united states 3-0 curacao
brazil 3-1 curacao
united states 1-0 chile
brazil 2-1 united states
chile 0-1 Curacao
brazil 3-1 chile
united states 0-2 curacao
braxil 6-2 curacao
united states 2-0 chile

brazil 10 pts
united states 8 pts
curacao 4 pts
chile 2 pts

brazil kept their good run of form going, while the united states featured many talented youngsters who are taking advantage of the second golden age of american soccer back home, where many internationals moved to the new continent as the U.S economy skyrocketed.

GROUP D
paraguay 0-0 Canada
wayward islands 1-1 cuba
paraguay 2-1 cuba
canada 1-1 wayward idlands
paraguay 1-0 wayward islands
canada 4-1 cuba
paraguay 3-1 canada
wayward islands 2-1 cuba
paraguay 3-1 cuba
canada 1-1 wayward islands
paraguay 1-2 wayward islands
canada 6-0 cuba

paraguay 9 pts
canada 7 pts +7 goals
wayward islands 7 pts +1 goal
cuba 1 pt

despite losing herbert chapman to retirement and winger toe blake to a career-ending injury, canada still had many of their stars, and they managed to go through on goal difference.

KNOCKOUT STAGES

Uruguay 0-1 canada (extra time)
peru 1-1 brazil (brazil wins on penalties 5-4)
argentina 0-2 paraguay
Mexico 0-1 United states

maurice richard converted a through ball by herb carnegie to win the game for canada in a huge upset, while brazil had a tough time agaisnt peru, only winning on penalties. meanwhile, argentina tried their best, but the paraguayans dominated them on the counter in an embarassing defeat. finally, the americans defeated their mexican ASL teammates and rivals in a hard-nosed affair.

SEMI-FINALS

Canada 1-3 brazil
paraguay 2-1 united states

ademir and zizinho made short work of the maple leaf, while paraguay would prevent an upset from the amerucans with an 88th minute game-winning goal.

BRONZE MEDAL GAME
United states 3-0 canada

the young americans beat their superior rivals through great discipline and deadly, efficient counter attacks

FINALS

Brazil 2-1 paraguay

in an absolute thriller, ademir equalises, then score the game-winning goal at the 86th minute to give brazil its second americas cup and their thirs consecutive international trophy!

1948 AMERICAS CUP WINNERS: BRAZIL!

a year later, australia would shock the asian continent by beating the rising superpower korea in the semi-finals in a huge upset, before winning its third consecutive asian cup by beating a surprising chinese side in the finals. meanwhile, south africa would come back with a vengeance, reclaiming the african cup against Congo in extra time.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1940S DECADE IN REVIEW BEFORE THE 1950 WORLD CUP
​

FOOTBALL LEAGUES IN REVEW

PART 1: Serie A

1942-1943: livorno (1)
1943-1944: napoli (1)
1944-1945: napoli (2)
1945-1946: torino (2)
1946-1947: torino (3)
1947-1948: torino (4)
1948-1949: torino (5)
1949-1950: torino (6)

COPPA ITALIA
1942-1943: napoli
1943-1944: torino
1944-1945: juventus
1945-1946: livorno
1946-1947: milan
1947-1948: torino
1948-1949: torino
1949-1950: milan

serie a has established itself throughout the 40s as the best league in europe, mainly due to much of the biggest stars of the game playing there. it also helped that italy was financially very powerful, with clubs spending big almost every window.

despite this, the decade saw smaller clubs like roma, livorno and napoli shine at first. the napolitan side, especially, became the first side south of rome to win the scudetto.

but the real stars of the decade was a team that was simply high above everybody else: the grande torino.

ferrucio novo, a former player and lifelong fan of the club, took over as president in 1939, and immediately restructured the club using the english club model. novo would build a really competent coaching staff and even take a coaching formation and become the manager of the team. there, he would implement the sistema, inspired by herbert chapman's W-M, of which novo was a big fan. with his wit and shrewd sense of business, novo built a squad full of quality players: goalkeepers Bodoira and Cavalli; defenders of expertise such as Ferrini, Ellena and quality like Piacentini and Cassano; in midfield the veterans Baldi and Gallea, with hungarian Ezio Loik and genius valentino Mazzola as attacking midfielders, forwards Menti and Ferrari, not to mention Gabetto and Ossola.

with this talented squad and novo's enthusiasm and generalship, torino conquered all before them, becoming the first side to not only three-peat, but win five consecutive scudettos, settimg all sorts of records, including most number of points two years in a row from 46-47 to 47-48.

as incredible as this run was, it almost didn't happen. in torino's last 2 championships in 48-49 and 49-50, the side saw some much needed competition in the Gre-no-li led AC Milan.

the swedish trio, who signed with the rossoneri after the 1946 world cup, transformed the milanese side into a formidable attacking side, and would eventually give the grande torino a run for their money, especially in the last twi seasons of the decade, where they very nearly stopped torino's run, each time finishing secodn by 2 points in 1949 and only 1 point in 1950.

another near miss also could've spelled disaster for the grande torino. during the 1949-1950 season, the side played a friendly against portuguese club benfica in honour of the latter team's captain, francisco ferreira. after the match, they were scheduled to fly back home to play against inter. on that day, however, valentino mazzola spent the night in jail after he drunkenly started a brawl in a pub near the lisbon airport. knowing that they cannot leave until their star player was free, the side decided to spend another day in lisbon, before having their flight be postponed a day later due to mechanical faults found in their airplane. as such, they were forced to forfeit their fixture agaisnt inter, and gave AC milan the advantage in the title race. while they would eventually return to italy and have an unbeaten run to take an incredibly close 5th consecutive scudetto, a potential disaster had been averted, as the weather at turin that day was extremely awful, and the plane was in no shape to fly. if it wasn't for the extra night spent at lisbon following mazzola's drunken antics, the entire team could have met a grim fate.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 2: THE REST OF EUROPE'S TOP LEAGUES.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1940S DECADE IN REVIEW BEFORE THE 1950 WORLD CUP​

English Football League

1940-1941: Preston North end
1941-1942: arsenal
1942-1943: arsenal
1943-1944: Brentford
1944-1945: Tottenham (1)
1945-1946: Aston villa
1946-1947: stoke city (1)
1947-1948: arsenal
1948-1949: portsmouth
1949-1950: sunderland

FA Cup:
1940-1941: Preston North end
1941-1942: Wolverhampton
1942-1943: blackpool
1943-1944: Aston villa
1944-1945: Bolton wanderers
1945-1946: derby county
1946-1947: Charlton athelitc
1947-1948: Manchester United
1948-1949: wolverhampton
1949-1950: arsenal

it was a wide open decade in england, with many smaller clubs winning their first major honours, such as tottenham hotspurs and stoke city. despite herbert chapman's departure, arsenal still managed to win three league titles and one FA Cup at the end of the decade, while manchester united finally ended their ttophy drought, winning the FA Cup in 1947-48.

La liga

1940-1941: atletico madrid (2)
1941-1942: Valencia (1)
1942-1943: sevilla (1)
1943-1944: Valencia (2)
1944-1945: Barcelona (3)
1945-1946: sevilla (2)
1946-1947: Valencia (3)
1947-1948: atletico madrid (3)
1948-1949: Valencia (4)
1949-1950: deportivo la coruna (1)

COPA DEL REY:

1940-1941: Valencia
1941-1942: athletic bilbao
1942-1943: athletic bilbao
1943-1944: athletic bilbao
1944-1945: Valencia
1945-1946: real Madrid
1946-1947: Espanyol
1947-1948: sevilla
1948-1949: athletic bilbao
1949-1950: athletic bilbao

the decade in spain would, in hindsight, be the beginning of a revolution that will not only change spanish football, but european foitball, as well. for starters, the beginning of the decade would see former spanish army general francisco franco become the president of atletico madrid, where he would orchestrate the modernising of the club, merging with the air force's football club to form a strong team, winning two liga titles.

but the best team of the decade was valencia CF. the bats would win 6 titles throughout the decade, with then and sevilla proving that clubs outside the traditional heartland of basque country, castilla and Catalonia can win.

despite that run of success, it was athletic bilbao who dominated the copa del rey, winning 5 titles,including a three-peat from 1942 to 1944, becoming thr most successful team in the competition so far.

another important event of note is the appointement by real madrid of former player santiago bernabeu as presdient of the club.
He restructured the club at all levels, in what would become the normal operating structure of professional clubs in the future, giving every section and level of the club independent technical teams and recruiting people who were ambitious and visionary in their own right, such as Raimundo Saporta.

He then endeavoured to build what would become the stadium that today bears his name, at the time the largest stadium in all of Europe, it was remarked as being "too much of a stadium for so little a club". The Ciudad Deportiva, built so that the players could train without destroying the stadium's pitch, was also constructed during these years. finally, bernabeu has promised real madrid fans and the entire world that madrid is gonna change football forever, and has even stated that he was ready to sign the best players in the world to come to Madrid, and even talked with former arsenal, england and canada manager Herbert Chapman as well as journalists from french magazine L'équipe about forming a radical idea: a european cup for football clubs...


FRENCH LIGUE 1:

1940-1941: sète (3)
1941-1942: sochaux (2)
1942-1943: sochaux (3)
1943-1944: RC Paris (1)
1944-1945: sochaux (4)
1945-1946: Lille (2)
1946-1947: stade reims (1)
1947-1948: Marseille (5)
1948-1949: lille (3)
1949-1950: Bordeaux (1)


COUPE DE FRANCE

1940-1941: Bordeaux
1941-1942: red star
1942-1943: Bordeaux
1943-1944: Nancy
1944-1945: RC Paris
1945-1946: lille
1946-1947: Lille
1947-1948: lens
1948-1949: RC Paris
1949-1950: reims

the french league would see sochaux and lille proving that they are the class of french football, with RC Paris also competing for honours, while marseille would sneak into an unexpected title in 1948 on the back of the retiring mario zatelli and a prime larbi ben barek, who would leave the following year for atletico madrid. the team many are watching with close attention, however, is stade de reims, playing a slick, attacking style of football and boasting soem really good youngsters like raymond kopa and juste fontaine.

TO BE CONTINUED IN PART 3: NORTH AMERICA AND THE RUGBY LEAGUES.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1940S DECADE IN REVIEW BEFORE THE 1950 WORLD CUP
​

PART3: north america

ASL

1940-1941: Chicago Sparta
1941-1942: Bethlehem steel FC
1942-1943: fall river Marksmen
1943-1944: Columbus FC
1944-1945: Brooklyn hakoah
1945-1946: Baltimore SC
1946-1947: Bethlehem steel FC
1947-1948: bethlehem steel FC
1948-1949: New York Athletic club
1949-1950: Washington United


NATIONAL CHALLENGE CUP
1940-1941: pawtucket rangers
1941-1942: gallatin FC
1942-1943: brooklyn hakoah
1943-1944: strasser FC pittsburgh
1944-1945: brooklyn hakoah
1945-1946: chicago sparta
1946-1947: san francisco olympic
1947-1948: st. leo's
1948-1949: Long beach FC
1949-1950: Minneapolis united

the 1940s was a dark time for american soccer, as many of the domestic stars were drafted by the army to aid in the pacific war against the japanese. ahile the war was raging, bethlehem steel contimued forging themselves as the top club in america.

in the national challenge cup, however, the decade would see the first clubs outside of the east coast win major honours for the first time, with san francisco olympic, long beach and minneapolis united with the cup.

with the end of the pacific war came the arrival of a second golden age of american soccer, as many internationals came to the new continent to make big bucks during the economic explosion of the 50s. Washington united, a club that was making headwaves by finishing in the top 4 for three consecutive seasons, would move up a gear woth the signing of argentine attacking midfielder alfredo di Stefano in 1949. the argentine number 10, who was stuck on the bench at river plate behind the famed maquina, would thrive as the focal point of the capital club's play, winning the ASL Title in his first season. and scoring 26 goals, a new record for a new arrival in the league. his performances was so good that argentina has made di stefano the new starting 10 ahead of the 1950 world cup...


CANADIAN NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

1940-1941: toronto FC
1941-1942: FC Edmonton
1942-1943: Olympique de Montreal
1943-1944: toronto FC
1944-1945: Olympique de Montreal
1945-1946: toronto FC
1946-1947:Toronto FC
1947-1948: toronto FC
1948-1949: toronto FC
1949-1950: regina royals

the canadian scene is enamored with the rivalry between international teammates maurice richard and herb carnegie, the two talismans of Olympique de montreal and toronto FC respecitvely. while richard would gain the advantage in the early parts of the decade, toronto FC were just a better overall team, and they would win 4 consecutive canadian championship before seeing their run stopped by the regina royals.

UP NEXT: The 1950 FIFA World cup!

P.S: rugby is gonna come soon. to be honest, its alot easier to write about soccer than rugby, since there is alot more stats, stories and records about soccer than rugby, especially in the past. probably because soccer has been pro since the beginning, unlike rugby.

anyways, yeah, i think i should rename the TL to being mainly a soccer TL, with rugby being pushed more on the sideline...until the 60s or 70s, that is.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Di stefano in action during a Washington United training camp.​

with the start of a new decade came the FIFA world cup, taking place once again in argentina. the albiceleste are looking to win their 4th world cup, and they have a formidable roster to choose from, with alfredo di stefano of washington United finally becoming a starter, being placed right behind juan carlos munoz and angel labruna. the home side, however will have fierce competition, including their group A opponents hungary and european champions sweden, as well as the gdande torino-led italy, their fierce rivals brazil and potential darkhorse denmark and germany.

Group A at La Bombonera
argentina 3-1 austria
hungary 2-2 sweden
argentina 1-1 hungary
sweden 2-1 austria
argentina 2-0 sweden
hungary 3-1 austria
argentina 2-2 austria
sweden 2-1 hungary
argentina 5-3 hungary
sweden 5-2 austria
argentina 4-2 sweden
hungary 3-1 austria

argentina 10 pts
sweden 7 pts
hungary 6 pts
austria 1 pt

an argentina loss followed by sweden thrashing austria meant that the young magyars are out of the tournament. its only a metter of time before those magyars become mighty, though.

GROUP B at Estadio Libertadores de América
Brazil 2-2 spain
italy 6-0 china
brazil 3-1 italy
spain 0-1 china
brazil 4-1 china
italy 4-0 spain
brazil 1-2 spain
italy 1-2 china
brazil 2-5 italy
spain 3-1 china
brazil 2-1 china
italy 4-1 spain

italy 8 pts
brazil 7 pts
spain 5 pts
china 4 pts

in the most competitive group, china pulls off huge upsets against spain and italy. that loss only motivated the italians even more however, and they would win their last two games to qualify.

GROUP C at estadio juan domingo peron
Paraguay 2-2 australia
south africa 1-4 england
england 3-0 paraguay
south africa 2-1 australia
england 5-0 australia
paraguay 0-2 south africa
Paraguay 3-1 australia
england 2-1 south Africa
england 2-3 paraguay
south africa 3-0 australia
england 1-2 australia
paraguay 1-2 south africa

england 8 pts
south Africa 8 pts
paraguay 5 pts
australia 3 pts

south africa causes the upset, becoming the first African nation to qualify for the knockout stages.


GROUP D at Estadio Tomás A. Ducó
United states 3-1 canada
germany 0-2 denmark
united states 0-2 denmark
germany 5-2 canada
united states 2-3 germany
Denmark 3-0 canada
united states 2-1 canada
germany 1-2 denmark
United states 1-3 denmark
germany 1-1 canada
united states 2-4 germany
denmark 3-1 canada

Denmark 12 pts (perfect score!)
germany 7 pts
united states 4 pts
canada 1 pt

no surprises there, as denmark and germany easily qualifies, while canada records their worst ever performance at the world cup.

KNOCKOUT STAGES at El Monumental
Argentina 2-1 denmark (extra time)
Sweden 2-1 germany (Extra time)
italy 3-1 england
Brazil 0-1 south africa (extra time)

three games went to extra time, a first in any international tournament. while argentian would eventually hold off a courageous danish team thanks to a di stefano screamer, gre-no-li didnt have to do anything for sweden, as an own goal from germany proved their own undoing, while south africa would cause a huge upset, slipping a goal past barbosa to go to the semi finals!

SEMI FINALS
Argentina 4-3 sweden
Italy 1-2 South africa

in an awesome game, argentina pulls through agaisnt gre-no-li with juan carlos munoz coming from the bench to score the winner, while the improbable run from south africa continues, as a controversial penalty allowed the african champions to face the albiceleste in the finals!

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Italy 2-3 Sweden

in perhpas the best bronze medal game of all time, gre-no-li and the grande torino wowed the el monumental with their skills and teamwork, almost played with the same intensity as a torino-milan match. sweden eventually won, but football fans everywhere were the real winners here.

FINALS

argentina 5-2 south africa

the final, meanwhile, was anything but entertaining. it was the di stefano show, the number 10 scoring a hat trick and providing two assists to munoz and labruna respectively. sputh africa's only two goals came at the end of the game, two soft goals. it didnt matter,though,as argentina wins their 4th world cup in front of their home crowd, partying hard the whole week after the tournament.

1950 FIFA WORLD CUP WINNERS: ARGENTINA!

 

[kinnikuniverse]

germany is the host of the 1952 european cup, woth the kaiser and his people expecting their talented national team to go far in the competition. competition will be fierce, though, starring the effective but aging gre-no-li sweden, an italian team on the verge of a rebuild and the best team in the world and heavy favorites: the mighty magyars of Hungary, led by its offense featuring sandor kokcis, zoltab czibor and FC Barcelona's recent signing, laszlo kubala.

GROUP A at Volksparkstadion , hamburg
germany 2-1 italy
spain 3-1 wales
germany 2-2 spain
italy 4-1 wales
germany 0-1 wales
italy 3-2 spain
germany 2-1 italy
spain 4-2 wales
germany 1-1 spain
italy 5-0 wales
germany 2-1 wales
italy 2-3 spain


germany 8 pts
spain 8 pts
italy 6 pts
wales 2 pts

in the group of death, italy gets shockingly eliminated, meaning they wont qualify for the world cup for the first time. a rebuild is definitely needed.

GROUP B at Waldstadion, frankfurt
Austria 4-1 belgium
denmark 2-0 england
england 1-2 austria
belgium 1-1 denmark
england 3-1 belgium
austria 3-1 denmark
england 1-2 denmark
austria 4-2 belgium
england 4-3 austria
denmark 4-2 belgium
england 5-0 belgium
denmark 2-6 austria

austria 10 pts
denmark 7 pts
england 6 pts
belgium 1 pt

denmark's win over england proved crucial for the danes to qualify once again, while austria looked like world beaters.

GROUP C neckarstadion, stuttgart
Hungary 1-0 slovakia
serbia 1-3 sweden
Hungary 2-2 serbia
sweden 2-1 slovakia
hungary 2-3 Sweden
Serbia 1-1 slovakia
hungary 2-2 slovakia
serbia 4-2 sweden
hungary 3-0 Serbia
sweden 1-1 slovakia
hungary 1-1 sweden
serbia 0-1 slovakia

sweden 8 pts
Hungary 7 pts
slovakia 5 pts
serbia 4 pts

in a surprisingly competitive group, the no.1 ranked team in the world almost lost out on qualification, while gre-no-li still got it.

GROUP D at Müngersdorfer Stadion, Koln
Bohemia 1-3 france
scotland 0-1 croatia
france 1-2 croatia
scotland 2-0 bohemia
france 2-0 Scotland
croatia 1-2 bohemia
france 2-1 bohemia
croatia 1-1 scotland
france 1-4 croatia
bohemia 0-5 scotland
france 1-2 scotland
croatia 6-0 bohemia

croatia 9 pts
scotland 7 pts
france 6 pts
bohemia 2 pts

despite their plethora of young talents, which includes one raymond kopa, the french lost against the scots while they needed only a draw to qualify for the knockout stages. it didn't matter to either sides,though, as a dominant croatia gets the last qualification spot for the world cup, to be held in switzerland.

KNOCKOUT STAGES at olympiastadion, berlin

Germany 1-3 croatia (extra time)
sweden 3-1 spain
denmark 0-4 scotland
hungary 6-2 austria (extra time)

the german crowd was stunned as croatia beats their mannschaft in extra time, whike sweden made short work of the spaniards. scotland thrashed the danes, while hungary got stunned by the austrians when they tied the game to force extra time. the magyars, however, got back to their senses and destroyed the wunderboys with 4 unanswered goals.

SEMI-FINALS
Croatia 3-1 sweden
scotland 1-4 hungary (extra time)

croatia's superiror stanina got the better of gre-no-li, while hungary

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

Scotland 0-2 sweden

sweden still managed something out of their run at the end, though it seems that their time is about to end.

FINALS

Hungary 5-2 croatia

no suprises here,as the croatians were totally outclassedd by the mighty magyars, who win their first international trophy in a long time, and are looking like the favorites to win the world cup in switzerland.

1952 EUROPEAN CUP WINNERS: HUNGARY!

 

[kinnikuniverse]

1952 COPA AMERICA IN MEXICO.
Plus, the 1953 asian and african cups.​

it was party time in mexico, as el tricolor hosts its first international football tournament: the 1952 copa america!

GROUP A at estadio azul, benito juarez, mexico city
Mexico 1-2 chile
uruguay 2-2 argentina
mexico 2-4 argentina
uruguay 0-2 chile
mexico 0-5 uruguay
argentina 5-2 chile
mexico 1-3 chile
argentina 4-1 uruguay
mexico 1-2 argentina
uruguay 3-1 chile
mexico 0-2 uruguay
argentina 2-1 chile

Argentina 11 pts
uruguay 7 pts
chile 6 pts
mexico 0 pts

unfortunately for the hosts, their national team was a complete embarrassment, not winning a single game. granted, they were in the group of death, but still...

argentina, led by washington united and ASL star alfredo di stefano in his prime, looks set to accomplish what their dreaded rivals brazil did: an international double.

GROUP B at estadio ignacio zaragoza, puebla city, puebla
United states 3-1 leeward islands
bolivia 2-4 suriname
united states 1-1 bolivia
leeward islands 2-2 suriname
united states 1-0 suriname
leeward islands 2-1 bolivia
united states 1-1 leeward islands
suriname 4-0 bolivia
united states 1-1 bolivia
leeward islands 1-0 suriname
united states 2-2 suriname
leeward island 1-2 bolivia

united states 8 pts
suriname 6 pts +4 goals
leeward islands 6 pts -1 goal
bolivia 4 pts

in a tough group, the US, carried by its new golden generation, managed to sneak their way to the top, while suriname surprised everyone by qualifying over the leeward islands.

GROUP C at estadio marte R. gomez, ciudad victoria, tamaulipas
Canada 0-3 paraguay
costa rica 2-0 brazil
canada 2-2 costa rica
brazil 2-2 paraguay
canada 1-2 brazil
paraguay 2-1 costa rica
canada 2-4 paraguay
brazil 6-0 costa rica
canada 1-0 costa rica
brazil 3-1 paraguay
canada 1-1 brazil
paraguay 3-1 costa rica

paraguay 9 pts
brazil 8 pts
canada 4 pts
costa rica 3 pts

an aging herb carnegie and maurice richard couldn't help the canadians go through, as they will miss the world cup for the first time in years. rebuilding time is upon them.

GROUP D at Secion XXIV, salamanca, guanajuato
peru 1-1 wayward islands
Honduras 2-0 Cuba
peru 0-2 cuba
wayward islands 1-2 Honduras
peru 1-0 honduras
wayward islands 1-2 cuba
peru 1-2 wayward islands
honduras 1-1 cuba
peru 5-0 cuba
wayward islands 4-2 honduras
peru 5-2 honduras
wayward islands 1-2 cuba

peru 7 pts
cuba 7 pts
wayward islands 5 pts
honduras 5 pts

in perhaps the most unpredictable group of the tournament, cuba qualifies for the knockout stages for the first time.

KNOCK OUT STAGES at estadio olimpico universitario, coyoacan, mexico city

QUARTER FINALS
suriname 1-2 peru
uruguay 4-1 cuba
brazil 0-3 united states
argentina 1-1 paraguay (argentina wins on penalties 5-3)

what kind of madness is this?? that was the question that brazilian fans are probably asking themselves, as a brilliant display of defense and counter attacking football allowed the US to qualify for the world cup, with vic janowicz scoring a hat trick! uruguay thrashed cuba, peru goes through in a tough game agaisnt the surinamese, while argentina were stunned by paraguay when t latter equalised at the last minute to force extra time. when the score stood still, the albiceleste kept their nerbes in check and went through on penalties.

SEMI-FINALS
Peru 1-1 Uruguay (peru wins on penalties 8-6)
United states 2-4 argentina

in a huge upset, peru stuns uruguay in both extra time and on penalties to advance to the finals! meanwhile, di stefano showed his class, scoring a goal and providing two assists as arhentina's chances of winning the double is at an all-time high.

BRONZE MEDAL GAME
uruguay 2-1 united states
unfortunately, the americans couldn't handle the uruguayans. nonetheless, they looked like a team that could go far in switzerland.


FINALS

Argentina 3-1 peru

di stefano saved his best performance for last, as he conducted a symphony of destruction on the peruvians, socring a brace and assisting hector rial on the third goal. the argentine number 10 got a standing ovation from the mexico city crowd as he was named tournament MVP, and argentina wins the international double! a year later, Di stefano would become the most expensive footballer in the world, leaving washington united and America for FC Barcelona in spain.

FINAL QUALIFICATION SPOT MINI-TOURNAMENT

Suriname 2-1 paraguay (extra time)
Brazil 2-0 cuba (extra time)

brazil 2-1 suriname

brazil manages to qualify for the world cup the hard way. hopefully, they will turn it up in switzerland.

1952 COPA AMERICA WINNERS: ARGENTINA

a year later, Turkey would cement their status as a new power in asian football,winning the asian cup on home soil and preventing Australia from winning their 4th consecutive asian cup. the african cup, meanwhile, was full of upsets, with nigeria beating south africa in a hugely symbolic victory. unfortunately, they would fall to tournament winners Rhodesia in the finals.

the stage is set for what looks to be a very interesting 1954 world cup, especially since its the first time no home nation will compete since their infamous boycott of the event in the pre-war years. stay tuned, fans!

TO BE CONTINUED...​

 

[Neoteros]

I'm sure Rhodesia will celebrate the victory in all the wrong ways. T_T

 

[PulkitNahata]

Nice TL. On first reading i thought that rugby would be an Anglo sphere sport while football would be the sport of Continental Europe and Latin America.

 

[kinnikuniverse]

The results were not rigged, i swear to god!​

few football experts have predicted that the 1954 world cup in switzerland would be won by anybody but the moghty magyars of hungary. the reigning european champions, who are also considered the best team in the world, added yet another piece to their already amazing offense in ferenc puskas, and they looked simply unbeatable. not even argentina, led by barcelona star alfredo di stefano, seems like a credible challenger to the magyars...

GROUP A at letzigrund, Zurich
Switzerland 0-5 austria
rhodesia 0-8 Hungary
switzerland 2-3 hungary
austria 2-2 rhodesia
switzerland 3-1 rhodesia
hungary 5-1 austria
switzerland 1-6 austria
hungary 5-1 rhodesia
switzerland 2-1 hungary
austria 1-1 Rhodesia
Switzerland 4-2 rhodesia
hungary 1-3 austria

austria 9 pts
hungary 8 pts
switzerland 6 pts
rhodesia 2 pts

the favorites had a rockier start than expected, with austria handily beating them at the final matchday and the outgoing hosts also stealing a win against them following a controversial penalty call. the reigning african champions, rhodesia, were swiftly dealt with, much to the joy of all the few black players competing in the tournament.

GROUP B at st. jakob stadium, basel
sweden 2-4 Argentina
denmark 3-4 united states
argentina 0-2 united states
sweden 3-2 denmark
argentina 2-2 denmark
sweden 1-3 united states
argentina 2-0 sweden
united states 1-1 denmark
argentina 1-2 united states
sweden 5-2 denmark
argentina 3-3 denmark
united states 2-4 sweden


united states 9 pts
argentina 6 pts +1 goal
sweden 6 pts 0 goals
denmark 3 pts

the americans defied the odds and topped the group, with di stefano and argentina barely going through on goal difference as rebuilding time is coming near for the swedes.

GROUP C at Stade des Charmilles, geneve
turkey 2-1 peru
Brazil 1-3 Spain
turkey 2-6 spain
brazil 4-0 peru
turkey 3-2 brazil
spain 2-2 peru
turkey 2-0 peru
brazil 5-0 spain
turkey 2-1 spain
brazil 1-1 peru
Turkey 2-2 brazil
spain 6-0 peru

turkey 9 pts
spain 7 pts
brazil 6 pts
peru 2 pts

the asian champions turkey became the biggest surprise of the tournament, beating favorites spain and brazil and managing to top the group, with their draw against brazil eliminating the latter after spain thrashed the disappointing copa america runner-ups.

GROUP D at stade olympique de la pontaise, lausanne
Germany 2-1 croatia
australia 2-4 uruguay
germany 2-2 uruguay
croatia 5-0 australia
germany 0-1 australia
croatia 1-1 uruguay
germany 4-2 croatia
australia 1-2 uruguay
germany 0-3 Uruguay
croatia 6-0 australia
germany 7-2 australia
croatia 1-3 uruguay

uruguay 10 pts
germany 7 pts
croatia 5 pts
australia 2 pts

in a very competitive group, uruguay goes through, while the germans managed to sneak into second place to the detriment of a very talented croatian side.

KNOCLOUT STAGES at wankdorf stadium, Bern

united states 3-4 hungary
austria 3-1 turkey
uruguay 4-0 spain
germany 2-1 argentina

The magyars survied a hige scare as ferenc puskas played the hero at the 88th minute, scoring on a lucky rebound to pull hungary through in a thriller. meanwhile, austria dominated turkey, uruguay ate spain whole and germany's efficiency and discipline got the better of argentina, with goalkeeper toni turek playing like a man possesed, stopping shots from di stefano, angel labruna and hector rial.

SEMI FINALS

hungary 2-1 austria (Extra time)
Germany 5-2 uruguay

in a battle of the former habsburg empire, austria gave everything they had agaisnt the magyars, but sandor kokcis scors the winner in the second period of extra time to go to the finals! the magyars, however,got dealt a heavy blow, as laszlo kubala got red carded after kicking a downed austrian defender in frustration.

meanwhile, Germany shut down uruguay completely, only letting two soft goals pass in the dying minutes of the game. few, however, fancied their chances against the seemingly inevitable world champions...

BRONZE MEDAL GAME

austria 1-3 uruguay

josé santamaria scores two headers from corners as uruguay comes back home with a bronze medal.

FINALS

Puskás put his team ahead after only six minutes, when Bozsik intercepted a pass from Liebrich and found Kocsis with a through ball. Kocsis' blocked shot fell to Puskás, and Puskás scored from close range. Czibor added a second goal for Hungary a mere two minutes later, exploiting a misunderstanding in the German defense: Kohlmeyer secured a through ball from Bozsik but wrong-footed goalkeeper Toni Turek with a back pass, who failed to control the ball. Czibor sprinted in between and put the ball into the empty net.

Germany came back quickly. In the 10th minute, Fritz Walter played Rahn free on the left wing, who crossed low and hard into the center. The ball went through the legs of right fullback Jenő Buzánszky, Zakariás lunged for the ball but could only deflect it, and forward Max Morlock converted from close range. Eight minutes later Morlock dribbled through the Hungarian defense, but center back Gyula Lóránt cleared for a corner. Fritz Walter played the corner short, Buzánszky cleared for another corner. The second corner kick came long and high, finding Rahn, who leveled the score.

Hungary took control after the equalizer and came to several good chances. In the 23rd minute, left fullback Mihály Lantos chipped the ball into the box, Kocsis headed on to Hidegkuti, but Hidegkuti's volley was saved spectacularly by Turek. Four minutes later, Hidegkuti fired another shot from the edge of the penalty box that hit the goal post. Only towards the end of the first half did Germany come to more chances. In the 42nd minute, Fritz Walter found Schäfer in the penalty box, who dribbled past Lóránt and forced a save at full stretch from Grosics. The loose ball fell to Rahn, but Buzánszky cleared on the goal line.

Hungary came out attacking in the second half and created plentiful chances. Two minutes after the restart, Bozsik played Puskás free in the penalty box, but Puskás fired the ball straight at Turek. In the 54th minute, Kohlmeyer cleared twice on the goal line from Tóth, and three minutes later Kocsis headed a cross by Tóth against the cross bar. In the 67th minute, Turek saved a shot by Puskás with his foot, and in the 78th minute he left the goal line to block a through ball from Bozsik ahead of the onrushing Czibor. Hidegkuti picked up the loose ball but shot into the side netting. Germany's first good chance of the second half came in the 72nd minute when Fritz Walter played Rahn free after a corner kick, and Rahn's powerful shot from the edge of the penalty box was saved by Grosics.

With six minutes left, Schäfer dispossessed Bozsik and played a high cross into the penalty box. Rahn picked up Lantos' short clearance, feinted a pass to center forward Ottmar Walter that wrong-footed the Hungarian defenders, moved into the penalty box, SHOOTS...TOR!! TOR!! TOR!! TOR!! GERMANY SCORES!!

the entire football world is stunned, none more so than the entire hungarian side, as helmut rahn scores the golden goal that finally ends germany's legacy of failure in sports! the party after was marvelous,the entire german-speaking part of switzerland celebrated with die mannschaft.

the miracle of bern remains, to this day, like tony schiavone would say, one of the greatest nights in the history of the sport.

hungary 2-3 Germany

 

[kinnikuniverse]

Nice TL. On first reading i thought that rugby would be an Anglo sphere sport while football would be the sport of Continental Europe and Latin America.

it kinda is like that. the majority of nations that won the rugby world cup are anglosphere teams, while soccer is, obviously, a lot more universal than rugby, even with professionalism in the latter sport starting way earlier amd the american football ban helping matters in north america.

 

[Neoteros]

TFW your bad luck extends to alternate TLs lol

 

[kinnikuniverse]

we all should thank these men for making our wednesday nights a lot better.​

the idea of a european cup for clubs started being discussed at the end of the 1940s, when real madrid president santiago bernabeu greeted herbert chapman and Writers of french sports magazine l'equipe during a friendly between real madrid and chapman's former club, arsenal. while they discussed what the idea could bring to football both sporting-wise and finance-wise, the conversation didn't really start getting any traction until the mid-50s, when real madrid's fierce rivals FC barcelona began touring europe to play friendly matches in order to showcase their newest signing, alfredo di stefano, whom barca got after the spanish liga fined real madrid for tampering with the argentine superstar during the famous transfer saga. seeing the huge crowds and profits that friendlies between europe's top clubs generated, bernabeu quickly called l'equipe writer Jacques Ferran after the magazine's famed article debating 1954 english champions wolverhampton being called "champions of the world" by the BBC after their friendly win against Budapest Hondved. Ferran and editor gabriel hanot talked to bernabeu about a similar tournament that ferran saw in the americas, where the champions of all the leagues on the american continents faced each other in an FA Cup style tournament, except it would be in a two-legged format, so as to bring in more money and give the tournament an adequate length.

Enamored by the idea, bernabeu joined the two french journalists in their proposal to CEFA, which was accepted in april 1955. Preparations for the first ever European Champions cup began during the 1955 off-season, with l'equipe sending invitations to all champions of the top european leagues.

while many Champions accepted, such as Barcelona, rot-weiss Essen, sporting CP, Partizan Belgrade, budapest honved and Raymond kopa and Just Fontaine's stade de reims, a few teams refused, such as holland sport, replaced by PSV eindhoven, and aberdeen, who saw the tournament as a distraction from domestic football, replaced by hibernian. Football League Champions Chelsea was initially blocked by the Football league from competing but, after much debate and convincing (as well as hidden monetary compensation), got the green light to accept the invitation, sensing this as a perfect opportunity for english football to show they can beat the continent's top sides. finally, 1955 Serie A champions Udinese refused, as they were too busy appealing their match fixing accusations by the FIGC (an appeal they would successfully win in november 1955, proving their innocence and keeping their scudetto.). AC Milan, eaturing the world-class-but-aging gre-no-li trio, and a handful of young talents like dal monte, bagnoli and cesare maldini, were chosen in their stead.

here is the full bracket for the inaugural champions cup:

servette - FC barcelona
Sporting CP - Partizan
Rapid Wien - PSV
AC Milan - Gwardia Warzawa
BK Copenhagen - Reims
Honved - Anderlecht
Chelsea - Djugarden
Hibernian - Rot-weiss Essen

Barcelona, led by its star duo di stefano-Kubala, would easily dispose of the swiss club servette, while partizan would eliminate sporting lisbon in a wild and unpredictable fixture. rapid wien ate Eindhoven whole, while the gre-no-li's experience allowed AC milan to pass through the polish champions gwardia without much difficulty. on the other side of the brackets, kopa and fontaine would each score braces for stade de reims in a tense second leg to eliminate copenhagen, while the magic trio of honved obliterated anderlecht in the second leg, despite a valiant effort by the belgian champions in the first leg. finally, chelsea and hibernian would go through without much trouble.

Barcelona - Partizan
Rapid Wien - AC milan
Reims - Honved
Chelsea - Hiberbian

barcelona looked on the verge of being shockingly eliminated by partizan in the second leg when 20 year-old luis suarez, who joined the club from deportivo la coruna, scored an absolute screamer to save barca's campaign. rapid wien drew against the rossoneri in the first leg, but the away game at san siro proved to be a massacre, as milan slaughters the austrian champions 7-1 to face the blaugrana in the semis. meanwhile, in two entertaining shootouts, while honved may have more tools than stade de reims , it was the french club who prevailed thanks to a volley by jean templin, allowing the french champions to pull off a huge upset and go through to the semis, where they will face hibernian, who stunned chelsea thanks to a late penalty (even in an alternate TL, chelsea gets screwed by the refs in the CL...).

Barcelona - AC Milan
stade de reims- Hibernian

laszlo kubala saves barcelona from a remontada by scoring a crucial away goal at san siro. this legendary fixture is now known as the starting point of the barca-milan european rivalry. meanwhile, stade de reims shut down hibernian to face barca in the finals, at the parc des princes, in paris.

Barcelona 4-3 stade de reims

despite having the two best players of the french national team and homefield advantage, reims couldn't bring barcelona down, as jose seguer buries it with a thunderous header from a corner to win it for the spanish champions! the victory was celebrated all over Catalonia, with di stefano and kubala attaining legendary status.

while the tournament was a success for barcelona, it was an even bigger one for the organisers, as the high quality of play and the plethora of star players attracted record crowds and massive profit from ticket sales and gate receipts. no doubt about it, the champions cup was here to stay. people especially loved the grandiose ceremony and atmosphere at the parc des princes during the final, with the ONF performing a beautiful rendition of "Zadok the priest" before the game being the highlight of the ceremonies. "zadok the priest" would aoon become the official anthem of the champions cup, and a live performance of the song in the final has become a long-standing tradition of the tournament.

​

1955-1956 CHAMPIONS CUP WINNERS: FC BARCELONA (SPAIN)

after the inaugural champions cup, a few star players from the smaller clubs that competed went on to move to bigger clubs across europe and in the united states, with the biggest transfers being raymond kopa and ferenc puskas both joining real madrid for consecutive world-record transfer fees. despite enjoying the overnight success that the champions cup has had, santiago bernabeu couldn't stand the sight of these filthy catalans lifting the trophy, and he is now setting his plans of making real madrid the best team in the world in motion...

TO BE CONTINUED...

Admit, you sang along, didn't you?​

 

[Neoteros]

I see the Castillian hatred for everything Catalan is alive and well.