The Football Tragic

When asked about agonizing, so-near-yet-so-far World Cup qualifying failures, Australians would no doubt point to November 29, 1997 and Khodadad Azizi slipping the offside trap to score for Iran. An Irish fan might remember a certain “handy” intervention by Thierry Henry. Costa Ricans could talk about the time the USA scored an equalizer in the fifth minute of injury time, to deprive them of a place at South Africa 2010.

But for the French, the ultimate qualifying tragedy occurred on the 12th of November, 1961, in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.

France was enjoying its most successful period yet in international football. Bronze medallists at the 1958 World Cup, in which they scored an avalanche of goals and delighted the fans with their graceful, short-passing style, they had reached the last four of the inaugural European Nations Cup in 1960 as well. Qualification for the 1962 World Cup in Chile seemed almost a formality after they cruised through their opening qualifying games, scoring ten goals in three matches.

The final qualifier took place in Sofia, with relatively unfancied Bulgaria two points behind the French in their group. The French played a game of containment, blunting the attacks of the young forward Dimitar Yakimov and the experienced winger Ivan Kolev, and a minute from the close, the score was still 0-0. France were virtually on the plane.

Then came a deeply dubious Bulgarian goal. First, the French inside-forward Lucien Muller, on the edge of his own area, was barged into by Hristo Iliev. Remarkably, the referee awarded a free kick to Bulgaria. From the resulting kick, Iliev himself scored, despite a clear offside in the box.

1-0, and France and Bulgaria level on points. Although the French were far ahead on goal difference, this did not count in those far-off days, and a playoff was arranged on neutral territory. Sure enough, in Milan a month later, the Bulgarians won by the same scoreline against a demoralized French side, and qualified for the World Cup for the first time.

The two countries’ trajectories then reversed direction. Bulgaria became a World Cup regular, qualifying for four successive tournaments, and gained a silver medal at the 1968 Olympics. France, on the other hand, entered a period of mediocrity. They did at least gain a measure of revenge by eliminating Bulgaria from the 1964 Nations Cup, and qualified for the 1966 World Cup in England. But there was not to be a repeat of 1958: they went out meekly, their delicate short passing coming up short against the greater physical power of Uruguay and England.

The early seventies were a lean period indeed for France. Failing to qualify for two World Cups, and foundering in the 1972 and 1976 Nations Cups as well, they searched in vain above all for great attacking players to replace the legendary Fontaine and Kopa. It says something about the dearth of talent up front that they went to great lengths in an attempt to naturalise the prolific Salif Keita, the St. Etienne striker who had taken French football by storm in the late 1960s. But Keita stayed loyal to his native Mali.

Come the qualification series for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina, Bulgaria had to be faced again. And the opening match would take place in Sofia.

It was to be a pivotal match in the footballing history of both countries. More in Part 2.

# posted by Mike Salter @ 5:01 PM