I have been reading for some time now the views of renowned Belgian referee John Langenus on comparisons between South American football and football played in the British Isles. Langenus, to the annoyance of some authorities on the European continent, had stated that South American football was at a higher level than British football in the late 1920s and 1930s, even though direct comparisons — direct confrontations — had not been carried out between the main forces. , with the teams completely fit, in full technical condition and physical form.

As I had already written in other lines in this file, English football, in 1920, was below more remote decades. Scottish football, on the other hand, dominated the scope of the British Isles, therefore serving as the main focus, the main power of comparison with Central Europe and, consequently, South America.

When Langenus made such comparisons, South American football, like British football, was no longer in its footballing splendor. The Uruguay of 1923 and 1924, for example, was constantly mentioned as a superior team to the 1928 and 1930 versions. Argentina, in turn, in 1930, no longer had the great names that formed great teams in the 1920s, such as Raimundo Orsi, Gabino Sosa, Ludovico Budoglio, Manuel Seoane, Americo Tesoriere, Domingo Tarasconi and among others. Although, yes, the half-back line with Juan Evaristo, Luis Monti & Arico Suárez was stronger than previous ones which Argentina had. Nevertheless, yes, it is completely plausible to say that when Langenus made such comparisons, these two world football's highest-class territories were below the other great versions they once had.

However, could it be that, even so, if such comparisons were made in the main moments of the 1920s, would South American football be, in fact, superior to Scottish football?

Why only "superior to Scottish football"? Well, I really don't believe that the best version of English football — in the 1920s, it's always good to point out — would beat the best version of Argentine football, especially the best version of Uruguayan football.

Wembley Wizards, for many who saw these superstars play, was a team's standout performance against England. Consequently, it is my point of reference for such a comparison with the Uruguay team of 1923 and 1924, even though Scotland did not win the 1927/1928 edition of the British Home Championship. Even so, Scotland almost entirely dominated that championship during the 1920s.

Both teams played in the old Scottish style, but with some tactical differences, as the Uruguayan inside forwards had a more assiduous defensive work than the Scottish insiders. Scotland, quite the opposite of Uruguay, did not have a very physical game with more severe marking and surgery. They, moreover, also lacked the hallmark of Latin football: vigor in every dispute. Scottish football was characterized by sublime technique and very high tactical knowledge, much higher than in the case of Uruguay, as well as all football played in South America.

In terms of values, the Uruguay team in 1923 and 1924 had names from the highest class in world football, such as José Nasazzi, José Leandro Andrade, Héctor Scarone, the young Pedro Petrone, Pedro Cea and a veteran Angel Romano who still produced a lot on the left side of the field. This was a formidable team indeed. Scotland, in turn, had the brilliant names in Jimmy McMullan, Alex Jackson, Hughie Gallacher, Wee Alec James and Alan Morton.

Here, for example, is my top offensive line pick at each position. After all, it was both forward lines that stood out the most in both teams.

Morton 1928                  Gallacher 1928                  Jackson 1928
A. James 1928            Scarone 1923
Mixed forward line between both.

















R. Orsi                  ?                  
Pedro Cea            Scarone

Middelboe         Kada         Andrade

Nasazzi
 
Mazali












//Isaque Argolo 2018


1917:   Héctor Scarone
1918:   Alfréd Schaffer
1919:   Gyorgy Orth
1920:   Gyorgy Orth
1921:   Gyorgy Orth
1922:   Gyorgy Orth
1923:   Gyorgy Orth
1924:   José Nasazzi
1925:   Gyorgy Orth
1926:   Alex Jackson
1927:   Hughie Gallacher
1928:   Raymond Braine
1929:   Hughie Gallacher
1930:   José Nasazzi
1931:   Alex James
1932:   Matthias Sindelar
1933:   Alex James
1934:   Giuseppe Meazza
1935:   Gyorgy Sárosi
1936:   Matthias Sindelar
1937:   Gyorgy Sárosi
1938:   Antônio Sastre
1939:   Arsenio Erico
1940:   José Manuel Moreno
1941:   José Manuel Moreno
1942:   José Manuel Moreno








//Player of the decade


1880s:   Nick Ross.
1890s:   Jimmy Crabtree.
1900s:   Bobby Walker.
1910s:   Patsy Gallacher.
1920s:   György Orth.
1930s:   Alex James.
1940s:   José Manuel Moreno.
1950s:   Alfredo Di Stéfano.
1960s:   Pelé.
1970s:   Johan Cruijff.
1980s:   Diego Maradona.


Some of these decades caused a certain divergence in opinion, due to the very high dispute at certain moments, which could be reflected by the number of players competing at an outstanding, the highest level possible; or for an extraordinary footballing period in just one half or a certain short period of the decade — György Orth, for instance. Just below, I will leave some explanations about certain decades, some players who could compete for the highest position to be selected from the list below or, above all, any other divergence that may be found.

Nick Ross, the Scottish full-back of, for most of the 1880s, Preston North End. To compete with Jimmy's older brother, there was another great Scottish full-back: Walter Arnott, of Queen's Park. The latter was constantly mentioned — also in the book by Alfred Gibson and William Pickford — as the best full-back in football history, even several decades after his retirement. A few years after he stopped playing, Arnott was considered by many to be the greatest player of all-time. However, curiously, so did Nick Ross, who I tend to place above his Scottish compatriot due to his greater regularity in the decade.

Another great name often mentioned in the decade is W. N. Cobbold, one of the greatest dribblers ever mentioned in football history. According to G. O. Smith, the astonishing amateur attack leader, William Neville Cobbold was the greatest player of all-time, even decades after the precise dribbler stopped playing. I, however, still opt for both full-backs, more precisely for Nick Ross.

CRABTREE OR NEEDHAM? AND BLOOMER?

In Victorian Era this was a widely debated question,  and it continued for many decades afterward  as to which of the two was better: Jimmy Crabtree or Ernest Needham. Both with exceptional qualities for their time, two footballers who stood out a lot, but with completely different personalities. Not just this question, no, but several others. After all, England had glittering names in the 1890s. From the goalkeeper to the left winger, there were too many options at the highest level for the Committee to choose.

I tend to lean towards the choice of Jimmy Crabtree, due to his versatility and naturalness on the ball. According to Ernest Needham himself, Crabtree was an almost unrivaled player.


JIMMY CRABTREE

Other big names, mostly disputed ones, emerged in the 1890s — John Goodall and G. O. Smith, for instance. For some, John Goodall was the greatest centre-forward of all-time; G. O. Smith for others. However, Steve Bloomer is another exceptional player who reached the pinnacle of his career in his first spell at Derby County.  When he reached his zenith Bloomer was considered the best forward.  He has, however, never been mentioned on a large scale as a superior footballer to both Aston Villa and Sheffield United's great half-backs.

1900s

Following the decades, football is still largely in domain of the British, even though great football talents were starting to appear in South America and, mainly, Central Europe.

On English soil some players emerge as some of the best ever produced. There was still Steve Bloomer who was still in exceptional shape. Bloomer, however, was a player who reached his peak in the late 1890s and early 1900s. He therefore possessed his divided apex. Therefore, I conclude that it would not have the regularity in an entire decade to compete with other values for the specific fit in a decade.

Names like Bob Crompton and amateur Vivian Woodward appear as two very strong candidates on the part of England. Crompton was a full-back who looked like he was made of iron, very confident and with mathematical precision in his defensive actions. Woodward was a player similar to G. O. Smith, with the difference that the Tottenham Hotspur forward was much more complete in the air, but less brilliant with the ball at his feet than his predecessor.

Both exceptional names in English football.  I, however, consider one from outside England,  though of course not from outside the British Isles. Bobby Walker, Heart of Midlothian's forward magician.

Bobby Walker is a footballer with the perfect fit for the 1900s, as well as having performed at his highest level. Walker was a natural player, a brilliant footballer who possessed one of the most versatile technical weapons that a blessed player of his time could have. A born dribbler and a unique caliber schemer. He wasn't as good a scorer as Bloomer, but he was a more spectacular football player with the ball at his feet.

1910s

With football being widely propagated throughout the European and South American continent, in addition to the beginning of the first world war, several different values emerged within the scope of world football. English football, however, according to authorities at the time, had lost its strength even before the war started. Therefore, for the perfect fit of the decade, due to a matter of regularity, a footballer from the European continent, South America or a player who was playing on British non-English soil would have to be chosen, even more than English players like Charlie Buchan, Bob Crompton, etc. had reached the highest level.

FOOTBALL EXPANDS.

On Scottish soil, there's Patsy Gallacher, Celtic F.C.'s geanial inside forward. A ball performer, Gallacher was the leading British name in the 1920s. In other territories, Imre Schlosser, from Hungary, Adolf Fischera, from Austria, Arthur Friedenreich, from Brazil, José Piendibene, from Uruguay, Alberto Ohaco, from Argentina, were some of the greatest footballers worldwide.





















The South Americans are already back in Vienna and are preparing for their match against Rapid. Interest is high, but the business aspects are not helped by the rain, which, as usual, came down again today, the day before the big attraction. The vagaries and dangers of the weather have also made the federation change its mind and take half the risk. The settlement remains in Rapid's hands, but the association will take responsibility for any shortfall and, of course, for the revenue.

National Montevideo will field the next strong team:

Mazali - Fiorentino, Arispe - Scarone, Carrera, Ghierra - Urdinaran, Castro, Nasazzi, Cea, Casanello.

So Scarone will be half again and Nasazzi will be a striker, not a back. The half-back Castro will also take his place in the team, and Urdinaran, a South American international, will make his first appearance for Vienna.

The interesting thing about Rapid is that Nitsch moves from the left of the half-back line to the centre, trying to replace Brandstätter. The other interesting thing about the Rapid team is that, with the exception of Urdinil, it will be the old Rapid strikers. This is how the
Rapid:

Jancik - Regnart, Solyl - Richter, Nitsch, Silbek - Wondrak, Wesselyck, Kuthan, Bauer, Wessely. 

Kaufmann will referee the match. Before that, a combined team from League I and II will play against an academy team.

The Vienna City team, which will face the South Americans on Sunday, will be assembled by Meisl after the Rapid match.


Friendly match: 25/06/1925, Sunday, 18:00.
S.K. Rapid — Nacional 1:2 (1:2)
Place: Hohe Warte, Vienna, Austria — Heinrich Retschury(Austria)
Attedance: about 19.000.

S.K. Rapid
Coach: Dionys Schönecker.
XI: Janczik — Renard, Solil — Richter II., Silbeck, Nitsch — Wondrak, Weselik, Kuthan, Bauer, Wesely. 

Nacional
Coach: San Martin.
XI: Clavijo — Arispe, Fiorentino — Carreras, Zibecchi, Ghierra — Castro, Scarone, Nasazzi, Cea, Cassanello.

Goals: Weselik(40min) — Nasazzi(19min), Scarone(38min).




//Isaque Argolo, 14/03/2023

One of the main reasons for creating the first international club tournament was to unite and decide the champion of the entire Central European bloc. After the First World War, there were several conflicts between nations, the main one between Hungary and Czechoslovakia, that their clubs and national teams only went back to face each other only in 1925. Furthermore, there were conflicts between Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia due to the last matches that were quite controversial.

Since before the start of the tournament, there were already some doubts about the regulation. Still, the tournament started in such a way.

The poor sporting conditions presented on Yugoslav soil, in addition to them almost not showing any football, the teams from the former Yugoslavia presented a more violent football, so much so that in matches on Hungarian and Austrian soil there were two players who were sent-off and several conflicts.

On the side of the clashes between Sparta-Admira, in Vienna things got quite violent, to the point where Karel Pešek-Káďa, the centre-half captain of the A.C. Sparta, claiming that he would not play again in Vienna.

The final stages brought even more conflict — and diplomatic conflicts, for that matter. On one side of the bracket, there was the much-discussed case of the signing of Kálmán Konrád. This case became quite famous, therefore commented throughout Central Europe. At the time, according to what was decided by the committee, Konrád II., who had played and been considered the best player in the second match against A.C. Sparta, was considered unscalable for that match. Therefore, due to this irregularity, Hungária F.C. was disqualified from the tournament.

Even before the second match against A.C. Sparta, Dr. Henrik Fodor had shown constant displeasure with the ambiguity of the tournament's regulations. Many believed that he tried to pull off a diplomatic coup; others that he was trying to buy time for Konrád II. be regularized to play what would be the most important match. Even knowing that there was a chance of disqualification of the Hungarian team due to the irregularity, the risks were taken, therefore Konrád II. was selected to play.

Dr. Henrik Fodor, completely incredulous, wanted at least a third game to be played – which did not happen. He threatened to abandon the idea of the tournament altogether, and even create his own. This decision also caused widespread MLSZ diplomatic discontent with the Central European committee. In that context, there were doubts whether the Hungarians would go ahead with the tournament project.

In the other semi-final, more precisely in the match played in Hohe Warte,

The second disputed final was considered a real scandal, a completely violent battle between S.K. Rapid and A.C. Sparta. That was no longer considered football, it generated several bad comments about the relationship between Czechoslovakia and Austria.


Hugo Meisl: I am extremely sorry that the Cup final ended in such a scandal. We will do our utmost to avoid such disgraceful events in the future. 

Ferdinand Scheinost: It is bloodcurdling the way the Viennese public treated a visiting team. We will not accept this. In any case, it has been unusual in Central Europe for guests to be at risk of stoning. The Czech team is no longer a threat to the Viennese public.

Karel Pešek-Káďa: I am sorry that I did not keep my word. But now my decision is final. It was my farewell match in Austria. The referee is also seriously guilty of scandals.

Walther Bensemann: In my long career as a sports journalist, I have never seen a scandal like this. It was Rapid's players who started the carnage, but Sparta were better at it.

Dionys Schönecker: Sparta are the toughest team, and they only play fairly until they are in danger of losing. It's amazing that players like Perner are still not banned for life. The referee ruined the game. With a decent referee, we would have equalised Sparta's 6-2 win in Prague.

Willem Eymers, the Dutch referee: Don't blame me, I assumed from my home experience that I would be dealing with 22 gentleman players. I was seriously mistaken. I was dealing with twenty-two madmen. 

Eymers's wife, who was in tears on Sunday from the excitement she had endured: It wasn't twenty-two people who lost their minds at Hohe Warte, but forty thousand. I never would have thought that this was the way football was understood in Central Europe.


Throughout the tournament, there were many doubts whether another edition would be held, as the first one — sportingly and diplomatically speaking — was a complete failure.









"No man can hope to excel at games unless he has perfect body balance," said George Duncan, to his friend Dr. M'Ewan. "I don't care whether you take golf, cricket, boxing, or football, it makes no difference. The athlete so equipped will always be in the forefront."

Son of an eminet surgeon, a professor in Glasgow University, Dr. M'Ewan and the famous Aberdeen golfer, dearly loved to ventilate their opinions when they met a the Fulham F.C. headquarters in the years of the Great War.

I was resident in London then, and Phil Kelso and I would often be drawn into the discussion as one or other appealed support in an argument provoked by their favourite theme.

"George has the right end of the stick," Phil would chip in, with the sole object of prolonging the duel between two sportsmen whose analysis of the merits of boxing champions and style in boxing held Phil and I enthralled. No less entertaining were their views on football celebrities.

George Duncan always cited Bobby Walker as the perfect model of body balance. Those who can link past and present outstanding soccer personalities, and are qualified to judge. I am convinced, will be in agreement in awarding pride of place to Bobby Walker as the most brilliant inside right of all time.

The golfer who amazed the gallery with his fireworks, on the links, is still a close student of football, and his opinions concerning the greatest of all Heart of Midlothian players have not changed.

Of Bobby Walker, R. S. M'Coll, of Queen's Park, a centre-forward comparable with the great one of soccer, remarked after the rout of England's brilliant team at Celtic Park in 1900, that the idol of Tynecastle was "the most wonderful forward he had ever played with." That match was Bobby's debut against the Saxons, and he was still wearing Scotland's colours against England thirteen years later for the eleventh time in a career of brilliant service to his only senior club, and to his country. Altogether, he collected 44 caps, and only Alan Morton equalled his appearances against England.

Let's quote some other authorities on the genius of Walker. Naively put was Jacky Robertson's testimony when he peerless Bobby was nearing the end of his career. "There never was the like of him. He has eight feet when he walks into you, and you always go for the wrong pair." He was as big a puzzle to his opponents and almost as difficult to stop when nearing the end of his playing days as in his first season with the Hearts. A striking tribute from a man who captained International teams, and had played for Everton, Southampton and Rangers.

A Celtic half-back making a first appearance against Bobby Walker at Parkhead, turned to his captain, Jamie Hay, for advice. "Keep your eye on the ball. It's your only chance. If you try to follow Bobby, he'll have you as dizzy as a duck."

"It was my misfortune never to have seen Walker play. I have heard the leaders of football throughout England say that Bobby Walker was the ideal forward, and there was no one in England at any period 'quite so good" — so said the late Herbert Chapman.

There was something in Bobby's personality and skill as a footballer that the others seemed to lack. He stood 5ft. 8ins. and at 11st. 8lbs. was physically as near the perfect model footballer as ever played.

Years ago, I wrote that the spell of Bobby Walker's genius with a ball at his feet fascinated all who saw him play. He was masterful in dibbling, swerving and feinting, and a master of the unexpected goal.

Sometimes he would meander through a defence, with the ball and make a goal appear ever so easily taken — it was a flash of genius. At other times, he would fire a goal from long range to confound experts. Goalkeepers feared his approach.

Strong of body, he could resist and give a heavy body charge without losing balance. As fair a player as the game ever produced, he rarely spoke on the field, unless when imparting friendly advice to a young player.

I saw Ernest Needham of Sheffield, a wing half comparable with George Brown, give up Bobby as a bad job when he was opposed to him in International games in 1901 — one an Inter-League at Ibrox and the other the classic struggle at the Crystal Palace. The pair had never come together before. Needham did not get a kick at the ball, as the saying goes, in the first match. In the other, Needham took the outside man and left the sturdy Corinthian, W. J. Oakley, to look after Bobby Walker invited the challenge of Oakley, and just when the stalwart back believed he had his man in the tackle, Bobby had whisked the ball clear to John Campbell of Celtic.

But enough! Neither England's best back of the period nor Scotland's Jock Drummond ever learned the secret of how to stop Bobby.





First Division, 27th match: 02/02/1935, 
Arsenal F.C. — Sheffield Wednesday F.C. 4:1 (0:0)
Place: Highbury, London — Referee: 
Linesmen: 
Attendance: 52.922.

Arsenal F.C.
Coach: George Allison.
XI: Moss — Male, Hapgood — Crayston, Roberts, Copping — Hulme, Bastin, Drake, James, Beasley.

Sheffield Wednesday F.C.
XI: Brown — Nibloe, Catlin — Sharp, Millership, Burrows — Hooper, Surtees, Palathorpe, Burgess, Rimmer.

Goals: James(3, ).







The line of half-backs did not have several values on the sides, but there was an exceptional dispute for the position of centre-half. Some half-back lines promised great performances during the tournament; others were completely modified for the World Cup; others performed better than expected. The tournament lacked side half-backs like Gyula Lázár, who was injured in the first game against Egypt, and Walter Nausch, who was cut due to injury. These two were regarded as the continent's premier left half-backs. For example, Nausch was replaced by Hans Urbanek, who was far from performing well in the tournament.

AUSTRIAN AND CZECH DOWNGRADE

It's impressive how Austria lost a huge amount of quality during the preparation for the World Cup. Austria has already set up the following half-back lines: Braun-Smistik-Nausch, Nausch-Smistik-Gall, Wagner-Smistik-Nausch and among other exceptional ones, which had Leopold Hofmann as right half-back or centre-half. However, for this edition of the World Cup, Austria had a half-back line far below the quality of the previous ones — and that was largely due to the injury of Walter Nausch in the match against Bulgaria.

On the other hand, it is also impressive the fact that in 1920s Czechoslovakia had the duo František Kolenatý & Karel Pešek-Káďa alongside Antonín Perner, Jaroslav Červený, Emil Seifert, Josef Pleticha, Ferdinand Hajný and among other exceptional half-backs. However, the half-back line Košťálek-Čambal-Krčil did not let the supporters down, mainly because of the excepcional World Cup which Štefan Čambal had.

Mentioning only the best: Franz Wagner. The right half-back of S.K. Rapid was exceptional, marking extremely high-level opponents very well — Raimundo Orsi, for instance — and supplying the forward line very well with precise passes. Wagner was considered the best passer of the Austrian national team. Wagner's best performance was against Italy, when he was widely regarded as the best player in that battle. Hugo Meisl was quite proud of his half-back's performances.





  
ENGLAND
  
1# JOHN GOODALL
  
2# DR. TINSLEY LINDLEY





  
ARGENTINA
  
1# GABINO SOSA
  
2# JULIO LIBONATTI
  
BRAZIL
  
1# ARTHUR FRIEDENREICH
  
2# PETRONILHO DE BRITO
  
URUGUAY
  
1# PEDRO PETRONE
  
2# JOSÉ PIENDIBENE
  
OVERALL
  
1# PEDRO PETRONE
  
2# ARTHUR FRIEDENREICH






  
ENGLAND
  
G.O. SMITH
  
JOHN GOODALL







  
BRITISH ISLES
  
1# TED DRAKE
  
2# JIMMY MCGRORY
  
CENTRAL EUROPE
  
1# MATTHIAS SINDELAR
  
2# DR. GYÖRGY SÁROSI
  
3# GIUSEPPE MEAZZA
  
SOUTH AMERICA
  
1# ARSENIO ERICO
  
2# LEÔNIDAS DA SILVA
  
WESTERN EUROPE
  
1# RAYMOND BRAINE
  
2# ISIDRO LÁNGARA
  
OVERALL
  
1# MATTHIAS SINDELAR
  
2# DR. GYÖRGY SÁROSI









//Rankings: Central Europe 1920s | Players




THE HALF-BACKS

Throughout the 1920s, some half-back lines stood out from the rest, mainly being represented by Czechoslovakia players, more precisely the lines on which A.C. Sparta formed, which they had in Kolenatý, Káďa and Perner as the most prominent. However, the other two — with Jaroslav Červený, Ferdinand Hajný or Antonín Carvan — also achieved worldwide success. Another famous half-back trio of Czechoslovakia was S.K. Slavia's Vodička, Pleticha and Čipera. The choice wasn't too difficult, at least not with regard to the right half-back and centre-half. However, the dispute becomes good when the topic reaches the left side of the half-back line. There wasn't a player who excelled the others with extreme clarity, but some who reached an exceptional level to the point of choosing to become valid if you turn to any opinion.

EASY CHOICE: KOLENATÝ

In the aspect more focused on the right side, above all, I directly highlight the Czech class, as they had one of the highest values ​​for the position throughout the decade. Straight to the point, the best: František Kolenatý, of A.C. Sparta. This right half-back was an exceptionally dominant player in his position. Fast, athletic, artistic and with an advanced tactical sense. He was a skinny player, not strong, but he had a lot of stamina and determination in every action. Without any doubt, Kolenatý is the first option to this position. Czechoslovakia produced others of high level, as is the case of Antonín Vodička, the half-back of S.K. Slavia, however, did not have that much opportunity in the 1920s, as his countryman was much superior. In terms of football qualities, Vodička had nothing in special, but he was efficient to a point that he could nullify his opponent. Although he was also a fine passer, Vodička's main task was that the opposition did not have enough time to play, thus being constantly tackled.


František Kolenatý.

Perhaps the only one who could rival the skinny, lightning-fast Czech would be Vilmos Kertész — Kertész II. —, from MTK, a versatile player and more focused on offensive plays. Kertesz II. was a player with complete attributes and always praised as one of the most important figures of MTK Aranycsapat. He, however, as much as his football only improved with age, he did not play for the entire decade. Kolenatý, in addition, reached a class still superior to Kertész II. In addition to Kertész II., another Hungarian emerged to stand out in the right half-back position, and that was Ferenc Borsányi, from the Újpest ascendant. Unlike the player who was Kertész II., Borsányi was not a robust physique player and not as imaginative as the jokester Kértész, but he was a player who had an even bigger fight.

Compared to the Czech and Hungarian representatives, the Austrian class remained quite low. However, good names emerged, such as Johann Richter, from S.K. Rapid, Josef Schneider, from F.K Austria — Wiener Amateur — and Karl Kurz, from Wiener Amateur — especially the latter. Karl Kurz was part of a transitional era of level for the Wiener Amateur. In the first half of the 1920s, he was the most obvious option for Hugo Meisl. He was a representative of a school more oriented to technique than a more athletic style.

ANOTHER EASY CHOICE: KÁĎA

There are some centre-halves who are important figures in their teams; others are among the best in the world; others are the best in the world; others mark the history of football — and this is Karel Pešek-Káďa. The blonde, classy, and elegantly styled short pass and tactical perception is far above any centre-half that appeared not just in Central Europe but across the world in the 1920s. Káďa, the captain of A.C. Sparta, was in a class of his own.

After Brandstetter, some naysayers believed that a centre-half would hardly emerge that could equalize class of the S.K. Rapid's axis. They, however, were mistaken. Two players emerged to give Hugo Meisl more options: Leopold Hofmann & Josef Smistik. Both were very different players, but of the highest class, even having reached their respective peaks later. Still, for example, Hofmann was already one of the top centre-halves in the world by 1927 and Smistik boosted his level well into the late 1920s. They are, in fact, important names to be mentioned.



On the left side of the half-back, compared to the other two positions, there is a big difference between quality, as the left side is much lower — at the class level. Once again, the Czechs stand out in this position with three highly versatile players, but who showed immense quality as left half-backs: Seifert, Perner, Červený & Hajný. The first, Emil Seifert, from S.K Slavia, was a more defensive player, a technical player and focused on a tactical sense. Perner was the best of the three A.C. Sparta — Perner, Červený, Hajný — however, due to his lack of regularity in the 20s, Červený ends up standing out among Czechoslovakia's left half-backs.

However, while the Czechs had a lot of variety, they did not have the quality of a Leopold Nitsch from S.K. Rapid, which was the main half-back wing of the Austrian territory. Leo Nitsch was a shy but effective, reliable and intelligent player. Nitsch was not a tall player, no, far from it. He, however, had a robust physique, therefore capable of winning tackles against so-called tougher opponents. Over the years, Nitsch gained more and more weight, but his excellent positioning ability and excellent head and foot technique made him still a difficult obstacle to overcome. He is the team's left half-back.

   Nitsch            Káďa            Kolenatý

A complete half-back, in fact, with A.C. Sparta being superior to all other Central European halves. The ranking of the three halves ends like this:


   
1# Karel Pešek-Káďa
   
2# František Kolenatý
   
3# Leopold Nitsch


GYÖRGY ORTH?






//Player levels


 Extraclass:  Alex James, Alfredo Di Stéfano, Antonio Sastre, Diego Maradona, Ernest Needham, Héctor Scarone, Jimmy Crabtree, Lionel Messi, José Manuel Moreno, Pelé.

 1st class:  Adolfo Pedernera, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskás, Franz Beckenbauer, György Orth, Johan Cruijff.

 2nd class:  Alfréd Schaffer, Arsenio Erico, Bob Crompton, Bobby Walker, Charlie Buchan, Dr. Gyorgy Sárosi, Eusébio, Garrincha, G.O. Smith, Hughie Gallacher, José Leandro Andrade, Káďa, Lothar Matthäus, Manuel Seoane, Michel Platini, Ronaldo, Stanley Matthews, Steve Bloomer, W.N. Cobbold, Zico, Zizinho.

 3rd class:  Friedrich Gschweidl, Andrés Iniesta, Kálmán Konrád, Sándor Kocsis, Xavi.

*   *   *
GOALKEEPERS

 Extraclass:  Lev Yashin, Ricardo Zamora.

 1st class:   Dino Zoff, František Plánička, Gianluigi Buffon, Gordon Banks, Jimmy Trainer, Manuel Neuer, Peter Schmeichel, Sam Hardy, Sepp Maier.







//Hungarian development

Puskás         Hidegkuti         Kocsis
Czibor                                                                 Budai II.

*   *   *

Czibor            Puskás               Kocsis            Budai II.

Hidegkuti

*   *   *

Puskás               Kocsis
Czibor                                                                 Budai II.

Hidegkuti                
                           Bozsik