90: The lost brilliance of Yugoslavia

Jonathan Wilson — Mon, 24 May 2010 14:35:00 GMT

Ivica Osim seems like an old man now, weakened by the stroke that put an end to his reign as coach of Japan in 2007, and reflective on his life and what his legacy may be. “When I lie in bed not sleeping,” he says, “I think of two things. I turned down Real Madrid twice, and that might have meant more people knew me, and I wonder about 1990.”

He was the coach of a supremely gifted Yugoslavia team that, after being blown away by a magnificent West Germany in their opening game, came back to light up the tournament with their technical football. They beat Spain 2-1 in an epic in Verona, before unluckily going out on penalties to Argentina in the quarter-final – having played 90 minutes with 10 men following the dismissal of Refik Sabanadzovic.

“The team was far, far better than the country,” said Osim. “I’m not sure it’s good to talk about it because football is football and life is life. Football is a pretty game, but it’s not larger than life. It would be an illusion to make a lamentation about that generation of players, and not to talk about what happened afterwards.

"Lots of people have been killed. The country was destroyed. It’s not fair for me to talk about the players and not to talk about what happened next. Sometimes there are things that are more important than football. One thing is sure: if the players were in charge instead of the politicians, nothing could ever be like this.”

The classic line-up

He ranks the game against Spain, when Dragan Stojkovic scored twice and played well enough to earn a move to Marseille, as the best in his time as national manager. “You see the result and you see a positive result, so automatically you think it’s the best game of the tournament,” he said.

“But also I think that game was special because Spain was always a football force. It was important in showing that we had the same number of good individuals as Spain. And it was the sort of game in which players could make sure they stood out from the crowd. Stojkovic did that, but even without that game he would have been a great player.”

That set up the quarter-final against Diego Maradona’s Argentina, and it was then that the political situation began to intrude. “That should have been the biggest game, but it was played at the wrong time, because we had a lot of other problems and the team could not concentrate.

"Srecko Katanec, who was a really, really important player for us, said 'Please, don’t pick me' a few hours before the game because he had received a threat in his city. He was afraid to walk around in Ljubljana because of threats. I can understand that’s not a nice position. How can he play? If he goes to play in Italy and his family stays in Ljubljana then they are under threat. I can’t persuade anybody not to think about that.”

And so Yugoslavia slipped out on penalties, and a squad that also included Robert Prosinecki, Davor Suker, Darko Pancev, Dejan Savicevic and Alen Boksic would never come together on the big stage again. They were expelled from Euro 92 as the war began, and by 1994 the federation had ceased to exist. The young team of 1990 remains frozen forever in time, an unsullied force of amazing but unrealised potential.

OTHERS NOT SEEN AGAIN
West Germany: They won the last tournament before reunification, but the expected domination of the European game never materialised.

USSR: As Mihail Gorbachev’s reforms led to fragmentation, the USSR endured a limp final tournament, losing 2-0 to Romania and Argentina before beating Cameroon when they were already out.

Czechoslovakia: The goals of Tomas Skhuravy carried them to the quarter-final, since when the Czech Republic have carried their flame – until this summer, when Slovakia make their tournament bow.

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90: The age of the great goalkeeper

Nick Moore — Sun, 23 May 2010 09:00:00 GMT

The general consensus is that World Cup 1990 was a stinker. Beyond memorable moments from Milla, Gazza and Schillaci, the tournament was plagued by dishwater-dull, defensive games and a chronic lack of goals: Argentina made it to the final after scoring only five times, and five knockout matches – including both semis – were settled on penalties.

But if the strikers were thwarted and neutrals trudged home with numbed minds, one group of men could consider the Italian summer a triumph: goalkeepers. The globe’s custodians boarded their return planes with a record-breaking 31 clean sheets, and only nine games out of 52 saw a team concede three or more times. Strong defences must take huge credit – Italy’s ruthless backline boasted Maldini, Baresi, Ferri and Bergomi – but this was also a golden time for goalkeeping: across the competition, proud behemoths stood between the sticks.

Men like Spain’s Andoni Zubizarreta, who would play over 700 professional games, 126 for his country and four consecutive World Cups. Hans van Breukelen, who minded Holland’s nets for over a decade. Brazil’s Taffarel, who found himself eliminated from Italia 90 despite letting in just two goals. Packie Bonner, who patrolled the Irish goalmouth for 15 years. And USSR’s Rinat Dasayev, nicknamed ‘the Iron Curtain’ and rated by many as the best keeper of the 1980s.

Five other men, however, have got genuine claims as the summer’s premier glovesman. Germany won the tournament in no small part down to Bodo Ilgner, who was in exceptional form throughout. He marshalled his backline with authority and was near unbeatable one-on-one. His semi-final penalty save against Stuart Pearce saw Germany through, where Ilgner would become the first man to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup final.

Illgner holds off England one-handed

The other finalists, Argentina, also owed much to their No.1, Sergio Goycochea. After keeping a clean sheet in the defeat of Brazil, he was the star of two crucial shoot-outs: against Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals, and again in the semis against Italy, where he blocked efforts from Roberto Donadoni and Aldo Serena. El Goyco also got close to saving Brehme’s penalty in the final. He was selected for the All-Star Team by FIFA jointly as the best keeper of the tournament.

The man who shared this honour was Costa Rica’s Luis Gabelo Coneja. Although he played just three group games and let in two strikes, Conejo made a string of brilliant, athletic saves against Scotland, Sweden and Brazil. Unfortunately, he was injured for the second round game against Czechoslovakia, who scored four past his depleted side.

Peter Shilton surely also had a claim: the Englishman who clocked up 1005 career games and 125 international caps over a 33-year career was at his commanding best in 1990, where he managed three shutouts, helping set a still-unbeaten record of ten World Cup clean sheets.

Italy’s Walter Zenga, however, can probably consider himself the unluckiest stopper in the tournament – and perhaps the history of the World Cup. The Italian legend broke the record for the length of time between letting in World Cup goals, not conceding once in the group stages, second round, or quarters. Unfortunately, when he finally did, it was a clanger.

After 517 minutes of goallessness spanning two tournaments, Zenga failed to grab a high ball against Argentina, allowing Caniggia to nod home. Italy drew 1-1, lost the shootout and Zenga was crucified by the press for his mistake. Even during a record-breaking summer, the world’s No.1s were getting it in the neck, begging the age-old question: who’d be a goalkeeper?

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World Cup Wonderland : USSR, Spain

90: The lost brilliance of Yugoslavia

90: The age of the great goalkeeper