But did you know that many past holders of that title are not there – indeed that some of them don’t even exist anymore. What’s more there may be a new holder of the title even before the whole business kicks off in Johannesburg and Cape Town on 11th June. Finally believe it or not, Scotland are the greatest team in the world.
Italy - NOT the World Champions
How can this be? The older among you (and not so old given their continued carping) may remember the Scots claim to be the World Champions because they beat the then World Cup holders England 3-2 at Wembley in 1967. After all you knock out the champ – you take his title!
This provided the spark that was to become the phenomenon that is the world of the Unofficial World Football Championships.
That was the premise of a 2002 caller to a radio talk show. The Guardian then picked up the baton, leading to various pieces of research that often contradicted each other. Paul Brown a freelance journalist and published football writer along with some like minded enthusiasts took on the task of proving the identity of the definitive Unofficial Football World Champions.
The agreed starting point was the first ever official international match, between Scotland and England that left no title holder, but England’s 4-2 victory in London 4 months later, gave us the first World Football Champions! Indeed the title was passed between the two teams until Scotland were defeated in Glasgow 2-0, by Ireland in March 1893. Wales first got their hands on the title 4 years later, again dethroning the Scots.
Of course there were very few “foreign” challengers for the first 55 years, until 1927, when Belgium were seen off by England with a 9-1 drubbing in Brussels. Luxembourg, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, and Austria all tried, but the Home Nations stubbornly retained their hold on the title, Northern Ireland getting their first taste of glory after a 2-0 victory over England in Belfast, later that same year.
The crown first left these shores in 1931, when Scotland (again) lost to the great Austrian side of the day, and for the next 18 months the title roamed Europe until restored to its rightful place when the Austrians were beaten 4-3 at Wembley. Just before the outbreak of World War II the title was snatched away from England by the now dismantled Yugoslavia. Indeed past holders also include, Czechoslovakia (now the Czech Republic and Slovakia), West Germany (now unified once more – E Germany never got their hands on the title), and the former Soviet Union, who’s splintered remains now seem to supply about a third of EUFA’s membership.
Strangely during the 2nd World War the title remained for the most part out of Germany’s hands. A propaganda victory over a weakened Hungary in 1941 was followed only days later by defeat to the Swiss, the UWFC returned briefly to Berlin in 1942, until they were relieved of the Crown by Sweden.
Unsurprisingly Germany never got close during the latter years of the war and indeed did not regain the title again until their group stage victory over Argentina during the1958 World Cup, ironically in Sweden, where they then lost it again to the hosts in the semi final.
The immediate post war years saw the home nations once more dominate the Unofficial Football World Championship. Until one day in the Brasilian mining city of Belo Horizonte the world was stunned by the “shot that was heard around the world” as Joe Gaetjens scored the goal that handed the USA not only a shock 1-0 win over England, but also the UWFC title.
Sadly they relinquished it just 3 days later when they were beaten 5-2 by Chile in Recife. Sadder still, having spent 4 years playing at FC Troyes in France Gaetjens returned to open a dry cleaning business in his native Haiti. Though himself an apolitical man, his family worked for the Haitian dictators rival. Despite warnings that he should leave the country, Gaetjens himself was taken in his own car at gun-point in 1964, and is assumed to have been executed by the Ton Tons Macoute of Papa Doc Duvalier.
Joe takes the title for the USA
Apart from Italy for a single game in 1956 and Germany’s week-long interruption during the 58 World Cup, the title belonged squarely to South America between 1952 and 1961, and not just with the big boys of Argentina and Brasil. While the title was in South America, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Uruguay, also spent time as “World Champions.”
The end of this period of domination saw perhaps the most unlikely event in the UWFC’s history. During the 1962 World Cup in Chile, Mexico failed to reach the quarter finals even with a 3-1 victory over the Czechs in their final group game, though perhaps as a consolation it did gain them the UWFC crown. BUT they lost it in their next match some 9 months later – a qualifier for the CONCACAF Trophy, when they were defeated by the footballing powerhouse that is…….... ..........Netherland Antilles…..currently down 4 places at 168 (out of 204) in FIFA’s rankings.
On several occasions both the Official and Unofficial World Championships have been decided in the same game. First when when Brasil and Pele ended Sweden’s brief reign in the 1958 Final and then in 1966 when England replaced the holders of just five days, West Germany, with a 4-2 win at Wembley in a game some people might remember.
Some.... people are on the Pitch…………they think England are the UWF Champions ………they are now!
The title also changed hands in the Final when the Dutch let slip the early lead they gained from the penalty. Jack Taylor had famously awarded the spot kick in just the 2nd minute at Munich’s Olympic Stadium in 1974. Argentina unseated the Dutch in a final once more in Buenos Aries four years later to get their hands on the title – something which the Pumas and Diego Maradona did slightly more literally against England in the Azteca Stadium which allowed them to then take the title from Belgium in the semi final at Mexico86.
Some of the other minnows of world football have come close;
Some of the other minnows of world football have come close;
In a 1974 Euro qualifier Greece came within 7 minutes of dethroning West Germany but were denied by Wimmer’s late equaliser. Were it not for that 83rd minute goal, the 2-0 victory for the home side in February 1975 on Malta’s “sand” pitch at Gzira would have seen the tiny Mediterranean island reign as Unofficial World Champions until they lost the reverse fixture 4-0 in Salonika in June of the same year.
Almost unbelievably if J Ruiz Gonzalez’s penalty equaliser had spurred them on to victory rather than the eventual 2-1 defeat to Russia, the World Champions in September 1999 would have been …………….ANDORRA!
Andorra 1 Russia 2
- unlucky lads!
The only time the Unofficial World Football Champions have hailed from Africa was during 2004/5, but not with Cameroon, Senegal, or Ivory Coast, but briefly Nigeria who took the No.1 spot from the Republic of Ireland, followed by Angola and then improbably, Zimbabwe held onto the crown with 7 victories and 2 draws until deposed by Nigeria once more.
Asia have had little success apart from a four day reign by Australia following a friendly victory over the USA in June of 92, and a similarly short period when the title went to South Korea in 1995 during a friendly tournament in Hong Kong
Current holders are The Netherlands who have sat at the top of the pile since beating Sweden in a friendly in November 2008. They may well go to South Africa as World Champions following a 0-0 draws with Italy and Paraguay, they have a friendly with the USA in March and presumably some fairly winnable warm-up games before South Africa 2010 kicks off.
And Scotland – the greatest ever team?
Well according to the UFWC rankings, Scotland are unofficially the No1. team in the world, ahead of second-placed England. Obviously both countries owe their place to the fact that they were initially the only teams involved and dominated international football during the period from its inception to the first World Cup.
Maybe other nations weren’t around to challenge for the title in the early days of international football but the UFWC’s own web-site www.ufwc.co.uk says “…..a key attribute of the UFWC is that its lineage goes right back to the very beginning of international football. Other nations came late to the table, after Scotland and England had already gorged themselves on the beautiful game.”
So Scotland tops the rankings on merit, despite the protestations of rival fans.
Plans to confirm the Unofficial Football World Club Champions were well in hand, but having passed through the hands of Liverpool, Ipswich, Bruges, Anderlecht and then Bayern Munich in the mid 70’s, the trail suddenly went cold when the last verified Unofficial Football World Club Champions, Bonner SC, were relegated from the 2nd Division North of West German football to the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein, a regional league, but who knows, if it is completed you may even find your favourite team in there somewhere …….watch this space!
