Welcome to my weekly blog “The Igor Bišćan Hall of Fame”
every week I’ll be adding two new additions, one will be a Liverpool Legend or
fans favourite, the other a Player, Manager or Club who have contributed to the
world game we all love (Gary Neville need not worry). Please comment below who
you’d like to see make the IBHoF, here are this weeks entries. YNWA
IAN CALLAGHAN
1959/60 - 1977/78
If ever one player embodied the multitude of qualities which
built Liverpool into one of the world's greatest clubs then, undeniably, Ian
Callaghan was that man. From the day he made his debut as a teenager against
Bristol Rovers at Anfield in April 1960 - receiving an ovation from team-mates,
opponents, the crowd, even the referee! - until his departure for Swansea
nearly two decades later, he was, without ever being a star in the accepted
sense, a shining example of everything a top footballer should be.
Ian's career divides neatly into two halves. He spent the
sixties as an orthodox right-winger, one of the best in the country, before
converting into a chugging dynamo in central midfield, a role which was to win
him a belated international recall at the age of 35.
He made his bow as a diminutive professional of six weeks'
standing with only four Central League games behind him. A man-size shirt hung
loosely on his wiry frame but there was no suggestion of a little boy lost when
he started to play. In that first match he revealed confidence, bags of natural
ability and a precious instinct which told him when to hold the ball and when
to release it. A golden future awaited but Bill Shankly was wary of prematurely
pitching his gifted rookie into the maelstrom of League football. A season and
a half passed before he was awarded a regular berth and then he helped to win
long-coveted promotion.
Ian's game blossomed in the First Division. He formed a
potent partnership with left-flank trickster Peter Thompson and the honours
flowed. While Peter was more devious, Ian was fast and direct, making it his
business to reach the by-line and feed Roger Hunt and Ian St John with a diet
of crosses which did much to nourish the Reds' goal tally.
Never a heavy scorer himself, Ian did contribute several
memorable strikes. Particularly satisfying was an acute-angled sidefoot from a
well-rehearsed free-kick routine involving Hunt and Willie Stevenson that
stunned Inter Milan in the 1965 European Cup semi-final at Anfield, though more
spectacular was a 30-yarder which sunk Everton in autumn 1963 as Shankly's men
headed for their first Championship.
The watershed in the Callaghan career came in 1970/71.
Liverpool were experiencing an indifferent patch but their reliable
right-winger was playing as well as ever until a cartilage operation sidelined
him for four months. In his absence newcomer Brian Hall prospered and there
were fears that Ian’s days in a red shirt were numbered. Such qualms were not
shared by the manager, who doubted neither his man's resilience, nor his
capacity to adapt, and simply handed him a new job in midfield.
Ian responded by missing only four games in the subsequent
five seasons, during which he was awarded the MBE, was voted Footballer of the
Year and played a major part in placing untold strain on the Anfield trophy
cabinet. His intelligence and enthusiasm, precise passing and limitless stamina
were never seen to better effect and that return to the England side - he had
been axed when Alf Ramsey abandoned wingers in 1966 - was a fitting reward. The
cascade of tributes which followed genuinely puzzled the modest Cally, who felt
his game had remained at the same consistent level throughout his years with
the Reds.
When it was time to move on he could look back on an
exemplary record. He had been the one common denominator in three fine teams,
played more games than anyone in the club's history, never been cautioned by a
referee and set a towering example of loyalty; dedication and skill. Ian
Callaghan created a formidable standard; if others can meet it they will be
great men indeed.
BORN: Liverpool, 10.4.42. GAMES: 843 (5). GOALS: 69.
HONOURS: European Cup 76/7. UEFA Cup 72/3, 75/6. League
Championship 63/4, 65/6, 72/3, 75/6, 76/7. Second Division Championship 61/2.
FA Cup 64/5, 73/4.
OTHER CLUBS: Swansea City 78/9-79/80 (76, 1); Cork
Hibernian; Soudifjord, Norway; Crewe Alexandra 81/2 (15, 0).
INERNATIONAL CAREER: 4 England caps (66-77).
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GARRINCHA
As a child Garrincha had both legs crippled
by polio, the disease leaving him with a left leg that bent inwards and a right
one that was two and a half inches shorter and curved outwards. But it didn't
stop him from playing football and he went on to be acclaimed the world over
for his electric pace and brilliant dribbling. Bizarrely his deformed knee
joints were almost designed for curling shots struck with the outside of the
foot and it was the swerving banana shot which would become his trademark.
Manuel Francisco dos Santos was born into poverty in Pau
Grande, a small city near Rio de Janeiro. He joined his local club in 1947,
remaining with them for six years before turning professional with Botafogo.
There he was given the nickname 'Garrincha' (meaning 'Little Bird'), songbirds
being one of his favourite hobbies ... along with women and alcohol. On the
pitch, the frail winger wasted no time in showing off his dazzling skills. He
marked his first appearance by scoring a breathtaking hat-trick in the 6-3
victory over Bonsucesso and went on to score 232 goals in 581 games in his
thirteen-year stay with Botafogo. During that period the most eagerly awaited
games in Brazilian domestic football were invariably the encounters between
Garrincha's Botafogo and Pele's Santos - meetings of two of the world's most
exciting talents. In these epic contests the little man in the number seven
shirt proved every bit the equal of his more illustrious compatriot.
Garrincha first played for his country in 1955 - against
Chile - and was a member of the 1958 World Cup squad that travelled to Sweden.
He had to wait until the third group game for his big chance in the tournament,
the team doctor having told Vicente Feola, the Brazilian coach, that including
Garrincha in the team would be a disaster. However, the players pleaded with
Feola to include the 'Little Bird' and Garrincha confounded his critics by
hitting the bar in the first minute against the USSR. He and the other newcomer
in that game, Pele, made all the difference to Brazil's attack and eventually
inspired their country to a 5-2 victory over the host nation in the final.
The next World Cup proved even more successful for Garrincha
as it allowed him to emerge from Pele's shadow. With Pele injured in only the
second game in Chile, Garrincha was thrust into the limelight. He responded by
switching from his usual wing position to centre forward and scoring two
brilliant goals in the 3-1 quarter-final victory over England, both the result
of outrageous individualism. He then scored two more in the semi-final with
Chile, only to blot his copybook by getting sent off for retaliation in the 84*
minute. As he left the pitch he was hit by a bottle thrown from the crowd.
Following a personal plea to FIFA from the Brazilian President, Garrincha was
given clearance to play in the final where he picked up a second World Cup
winners' medal as Czechoslovakia were beaten 3-1.
At the 1966 World Cup in England, Garrincha made an early
impact by scoring with a curling free-kick in the 2-0 win against Bulgaria, But
with Pele rested for the second game against Hungary, Brazil crashed 3-1,
Garrincha limping off after being the victim of a hard tackle. It would be his
last international and was the only time he played on the losing side for
Brazil.
He played for a handful of Brazilian clubs over the next few
years but, besieged by marital and financial problems, slipped into a rapid
decline and died in 1983 of alcohol poisoning at the age of 49.
There is a saying in Brazil - 'Pele was the best, but
Garrincha was better.' And even Pele acknowledged: 'Without Garrincha, I would
never have been a three times world champion.'
BORN: Pau Grande, Brazil. 28.10.33.
DIED: 19.01.83. Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (aged 49)
CLUBS: 1953–1965 Botafogo, 1966 Corinthians, 1967 Portuguesa
Carioca, 1968 Atlético Junior, 1968–1969 Flamengo, 1972 Olaria
INERNATIONAL CAREER: Brazil 1955-1966 Caps 50 Goals 12.
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