Tuesday, January 03, 2023
Victims of the Anschluss, Part 2
In 1978, Tunisia had given notice that African teams were no longer to be taken lightly at the World Cup; the memories of Zaire's calamitous showing in 1974 had largely been laid to rest. And Algeria's victims in the playoff for one of the two African spots at the 1982 tournament were Nigeria - who had beaten Tunisia earlier in the qualifying competition.
Evgeny Rogov's seasoned domestic eleven had been buttressed, at the time of the World Cup, by several players plying their trade overseas, mostly in France. With Tunisia in 1978, by contrast, possessing only one player with foreign experience, there should have been every reason to take the Algerians seriously.
Nevertheless, Algeria's mediocre showing at the recent African Nations Cup, and some disciplinary issues, meant that their chances were not rated highly in many quarters. "Hard-pressed not to finish bottom of their group," was the verdict of the Sunday Telegraph prior to the tournament. David Lacey in the Guardian, however, was more generous in his assessment: "A reasonably well-organised side, not easily upset by the speed and stamina of their European opponents."
Many of the previewers, perhaps stuck for something interesting to write, noted that Algeria boasted one of the tallest central defensive pairings at the event in Mahmoud Guendouz and Noureddine Kourichi, the latter based in France. These two would indeed prove a handful for opposing attackers in the air, although, as we shall see, they were not quite so effective on the ground. Behind them, ironically, was one of the shortest goalkeepers at the event in Mehdi Cerbah, but on many occasions his agility - "Little Cat" was his nickname - made up for his lack of height.
Perhaps the player who most personified the Algerian performance in Spain was the attacking right-back Chaabane Merzekane, who was to have a superb game against the Germans. Virtually unknown outside his own country prior to the tournament, his powerful attacking forays and flair for the spectacular made him one of the stars of the opening round. Less spectacular but just as effective was his counterpart on the left, Faouzi Mansouri, another of the France-based contingent.
The Algerian midfield in 1982 consisted of the captain, Ali Fergani, a thoughtful defensive midfielder, the hard-working Moustapha Dahleb, a Paris Saint-Germain player, and African Footballer of the Year Lakhdar Belloumi, who would often provide the link between midfield and attack. A regular target of European scouts, the elegant Belloumi had already come close to joining Barcelona prior to the 1982 tournament, and in later years a transfer to Juventus was only scuppered due to an unfortunate injury.
In attack, there was a familiar name: Zidane. But this was Djamel Zidane, an accomplished and technically outstanding forward based at Kortrijk in Belgium. No relation to the future superstar, but an inspiration: in 1982, the boy who was to lift the World Cup sixteen years later was apparently thrilled to watch a namesake in action for the nation of his ancestry, performing so well.
In Algeria's 4-3-3 system, Zidane frequently played the role of the withdrawn No.9, making space for - and often picking out - the faster players beside him: Salah Assad, the left-sided greyhound who was to score a brace against Chile, and Rabah Madjer, later to become a star in Europe with Porto.
Algeria faced a formidable first-up opponent in West Germany, the reigning European champions. Powering through their qualifying group with a 100% record, Jupp Derwall's side went into the event as one of the favourites.
Yet, given their difficulty against Tunisia in 1978, the Germans' implicit pre-game dismissal of their African opponents seemed a clear case of hubris. Derwall stated that if the Germans didn't win, he might as well take the next train home. Even more insultingly, the always good-for-a-quote captain Paul Breitner quipped that "we will dedicate our seventh goal to our wives, and the eighth to our dogs". Quite a prediction, given that the Germans hadn't even been able to find the net once against Algeria's North African neighbours in 1978.
And sure enough, hubris met nemesis in Gijón. More in Part 3.
