1954: Battle of Berne, luckless Spaniards and a blindfolded kid

From revolutionary boots to blindfolded children, it was all going off as the ’50s approached the halfway point

UP AND ATOM

In May, Hannover fight back to beat Kaiserslautern 5-1 in the West German Championship final at Hamburg’s Volksparkstadion. The real star, however, is what’s on Die Roten’s feet. Hannover’s first team sport Puma’s brand-new Super Atoms, which feature revolutionary screw-in studs pioneered by Rudolf Dassler. “That’s what it was like in Hamburg!” proclaims promotional material for the boots. Two months on, West Germany win the World Cup, their entire team wearing Adidas – owned by Rudolf’s brother Adi, the pair having fallen out a decade earlier – with some similar technology.

LOTS OF LUCK

When three games can’t separate Spain and Turkey in qualification for the World Cup – including a March draw in neutral Rome – FIFA come up with an ingenious plan to settle the tie after extra time: blindfold a child. Fourteen-year-old Italian Luigi Franco Gemma – rumoured to be the nephew of Artemio Franchi, a future UEFA president – picks the envelope containing ‘Turkey’, who progress to the finals. They thrash South Korea 7-0 in the group stage with Burhan Sargun (above) hitting a hat-trick in Geneva, while Spanish ruler General Franco blames it all on a “Jewish-masonic conspiracy”.

THE BATTLE OF BERNE

June’s World Cup quarter-final between favourites Hungary and 1950 runners-up Brazil – who had recently adopted a yellow shirt – descends into anarchy after the former win 4-2. There are four sendings off (three for Brazil, one for Hungary) for some notable hacks, but it’s after the final whistle where things go nuclear. A soda siphon is chucked into the Hungarians’ dressing room, breaking the light and sparking a 10-minute brawl in which Ferenc Puskas slashes defender Pinheiro’s forehead with a broken bottle. “It was impossible to decide who came out best of the dressing room extra time,” winked Puskas. “There had been no referee.”

MUDDYING THE WATERS (AND PITCH)

“Champions of the World!” cheer the Daily Mail after Wolves defeat Honved – whose XI includes six of the Hungary side that stunned England 6-3 a year earlier – 3-2 in a December friendly. Before kick-off, Wolves boss Stan Cullis had told his apprentices to saturate an already soggy Molineux pitch, with the quagmire negating Puskas, Kocsis & Co.’s passing game. “Before we declare that Wolverhampton are invincible, let them go to Moscow and Budapest,” sulks L’equipe’s editor, Gabriel Hanot. “A club world championship, or a European one, should be launched.” Within six months, the European Cup is born.

SPURS FLOWER

Disillusioned with Aston Villa training which comprises lap after lap and seldom being in the same postcode as a football, Danny Blanchflower swaps Birmingham for north London in December. Spurs – whose stalwart Alf Ramsey greets the newbie – gazump Arsenal and splash a not insignificant £30,000 on the 28-year-old, boss Arthur Rowe desperate to get his man and stave off relegation. “The game is about glory, doing things in style, with a flourish, and going out to beat the other lot,” said Blanchflower, who won the Double with Spurs in 1960-61. “Not waiting for them to die of boredom.”

“MANGRINAN WON’T LET ME OUT, LADS...”

Valencia win 2-1 away at Real Madrid in September thanks to a staggering display of resilience from centre-back Jose Mangrinan. Alfredo Di Stefano had hit 27 goals in 28 league games the previous season but – armed with Los Che manager Carlos Iturraspe’s instruction to “forget everything and follow Di Stefano everywhere” – the indomitable defender barely gives the Blond Arrow a kick. ‘Mangrinan’ soon enters Spanish lexicon as a synonym for a wife whose shadowy presence won’t let her spouse leave the house under any circumstances. Legendary.