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
JOE FAGAN
1958/59 - 1983/84 (Coach) 1983/84 - 1984/85 (Manager)
Joe Fagan was faced with the seemingly impossible task of
following not one, but two legends as boss of the Reds. How did he react? Why,
by instantly outdoing them, how else? In his first campaign, Joe achieved what
neither Bill Shankly nor Bob Paisley had managed - he led Liverpool to three
major honours, the European Cup, the League Championship and the Milk Cup. It
was the perfect riposte to critics who had said that not even the
all-conquering Anfield outfit could promote from within for a second time and
maintain success.
To people who knew the club, though, his triumphs came as no
surprise. Joe, whose son Chris made one senior appearance for the Reds in 1971,
had been a Liverpool coach since 1958 and had moved up to become Bob's
assistant after Bill's retirement, As such, he was imbued with all things
Liverpool and was already a vital part of the set-up, albeit a publicly silent
one. He had the golden knack of getting the best out of the players in his
charge and, in many cases, he was a mixture of friend and adviser to them.
It was from this position of strength that his reign began,
inauspiciously as it turned out, with a Charity Shield defeat by Manchester
United. But when the real business got under way the status quo of Liverpool
dominance was soon restored, and a glorious 1983/84 came to a climax with that nerve-tingling
penalty shoot-out to decide the European Cup Final against AS Roma in Rome. And
when Alan Kennedy slotted home the winner, Joe's familiar cheeky grin dominated
the celebrations as the enormity of his triple triumph began to sink in.
But there were clouds on the horizon. With his imperious
skipper Graeme Souness leaving for Italy, Joe was always going to face a more
demanding term in 1984/85, and so it proved. His early years in the game - when
he had been an enthusiastic, if moderate performer for Manchester City and
Bradford - had taught Joe the virtues of pragmatism, and he declared: 'Souness
has gone; forget about him, we've got a job to do without him.' That, however,
was easier said than done.
John Wark and Paul Walsh were added to the squad but, partly
through injuries, neither player had the hoped-for impact. An appalling League
start saw the Reds drop into the bottom three by October, and although they
recovered to finish as runners-up, the title slipped across Stanley Park to
Everton. There was an early Milk Cup exit at the hands of Tottenham, and when
progress towards the FA Cup Final was halted by Manchester United in a
semi-final replay, all that was left was the European Cup. That Liverpool
eventually lost the final to Juventus counted for nothing; that lives were lost
when a wall collapsed during crowd trouble at the Heysel Stadium cast a blight
over the football world.
Joe, who had decided already to retire, shed tears of
despair on that grievous night as he confirmed his decision to step down. So
honest, knowledgeable and respected throughout the game, he did not deserve
such a dire departure. But despite the trauma of Heysel, Joe Fagan could look
back with pride on his two years in charge at Anfield. Joe died of cancer in
July 2001, aged 80. He was buried at Anfield Cemetery, near Liverpool's
stadium. One former Liverpool star once described him as the top coach in
Europe, perhaps the world; another called him a gentleman and a gentle man. Few
managers have left their desks with warmer tributes
BORN: Liverpool, 12.3.21.
DIED: Liverpool, 30.6.01 (aged 80).
CLUBS: 1938–1951 Manchester City (148, 2); 1951–1954 Nelson
(player-manager); 1954 Bradford Park Avenue (3, 0).
HONOURS: European Cup 83/4. League Championship 83/4. League
Cup 83/4.
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BOCA JUNIORS
FULL NAME: Club Atlético Boca Juniors
CITY: Buenos Aires
COUNTRY: Argentina
LEAGUE: Primera División
FOUNDED: 1905
STADIUM: Estadio Alberto Jacinto Armando - La Bombonera
(57,300)
COLOURS: Blue, Yellow
NICKNAMES: Los Xeneizes (The Genoans), Los Bosteros (The
Manure), Boquita (Little Boca), La Azul y Oro (The Blue and Gold)
RIVAL: River Plate
WEBSITE: bocajuniors.com.ar
DESCIPTION:
Boca Juniors is the most successful football team in
Argentina and one of the most successful in the world, having won 67 official
titles. (49 at the national level and 18 at the international level) Boca's
last official title obtained is the 2011 Apertura tournament. Internationally,
the team has won 18 international titles, a record shared with A.C. Milan.
The club was formed on April 3, 1905 by five boys from the
Boca neighborhood of Buenos Aires, with 'Juniors' being added to give it an
'English tone'.
The original jersey colour was pink, but this was quickly
abandoned for thin black-and-white vertical stripes. Legend has it that in
1906, Boca played another team that used this strip to decide who would get to
keep it. Boca lost, and decided to adopt the colors of the flag of the first
boat to sail into the port at La Boca. This proved to be the 4146 ton freighter
"Drottning Sophia", a Swedish vessel sailing from Copenhagen. As a
result, the yellow and blue of the Swedish flag were adopted as the new team
colours. The first version had a yellow diagonal band, which was later changed
to a horizontal stripe.
The nickname Xeneizes
is a corruption of Zeneizes, which is a word in the Genoese dialect meaning
Genoese. Many early inhabitants of La Boca were from Genoa, Italy. Boca Juniors
have never been relegated. The derby with River Plate, the Superclásico, is one
of the most intense and most famous in the world. Boca are traditionally
supported by the working class or Buenos Aires, in contrast to the middle and
upper class support of their arch-rivals. The Bosteros nickname is a reference
to the Manure used in a brick kiln previously located at the site of Boca's
stadium. Originally an insult by rival fans, Boca fans now use it with pride.
There is a star in the club's emblem for each championship won.
ESTADIO ALBERTO JACINTO ARMANDO:
The stadium's nickname La Bombonera means 'chocolate box',
presumably because of its appearance. It is officially named for a former club
president.
HONOURS:
Asociación Argentina de Football (1919, 1920, 1923, 1924,
1926)
Primera División (1930, 1931, 1934, 1935, 1940, 1943, 1944,
1954, 1962, 1964, 1965)
Nacional (1969, 1970, 1976)
Metropolitano (1976, 1981)
Apertura (1992, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2011)
Clausura (1999, 2006)
Copa de Honor (1925)
Copa de Argentina (1969)
INTERNATIONAL TITLES:
Copa Libertadores (1977, 1978, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2007)
Supercopa Libertadores (1989)
Copa Sudamericana (2004, 2005)
Recopa Sudamericana (1990, 2005, 2006, 2008)
Copa Master (1992)
Copa de Oro Nicolás Leoz (1993)
Intercontinental Cup (1977, 2000, 2003)
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