1988 – Pyro On The Pitch

International Duty – Club Banners At National Team Games #7: Euro 88 Special (Gallery)

Following our recent What Football Is Supposed To Look Like focus on the Belgian league scene of the late 80s and early 90s, our also-usually “random” International Duty gallery series now gets a similar treatment with a special look at the club banners of the 1988 European Championships.

Of course we cannot highlight every flag representing a domestic side present at the tournament, as we are beholden to the TV directors, distant blurriness, and the general footage available, while certain country’s supporting styles mean more numerous example than others. As a result, England, Italy and the hosts West Germany are unsurprisingly the best represented, while the likes of eventual champions the Netherlands, who surely must have had some such banners present among their large array, have unfortunately not made the cut.

Group 1:
Denmark
Italy
Spain
West Germany

Group 2:
England
Republic of Ireland
Netherlands
USSR

Group 1: West Germany vs Italy
Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, 10/06/1988:
West Germany
VfB Stuttgart and Rot-Weiss Essen:

TSV 1860 Munich:

Borussia Dortmund (with “SS” far-right symbolism):

Italy
Irriducibli of SS Lazio:

Commando Yankees Curva Sud of HC Meran:

AS Roma:

Group 2: England vs Republic of Ireland
Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, 12/06/1988:
England
Swindon Town and Chelsea FC:

Plymouth Argyle:

Bristol City:

(Possibly Bristol Rovers)

Southampton:

Leeds United:

Manchester City (“Beer”) and neutral (West Germany) Vfb Stuttgart:

Bushwhackers of Millwall FC:

Ireland
Jacobs FC:

Group 1: West Germany vs Denmark
14/06/1986, Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen:
West Germany
Rot-Weiss Essen and VfB Stuttgart:

Group 1: West Germany vs Spain
Olympiastadion, Munich, 17/06/1986:
West Germany
Rot-Weiss Essen and 1.FC Koln(?):

Hamburger SV:

Arminia Bielefeld:

Group 1: Italy vs Denmark
Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, 17/06/1986:
Italy
Testaccio possibly of AS Roma:

Group 2: England vs USSR
Waldstadion, Frankfurt, 18/06/1986:
England
Blades Business Crew (BBC) of Sheffield United:

Bolton Wanderers (BWFC):

Semi-Final 1: West Germany vs Netherlands
Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, 21/06/1988:
West Germany
Hamburger SV:

Freiburger FC:

Semi-Final 2: Soviet Union vs Italy
Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, 22/06/1988:
Italy
Vis Boys of Vis Pesaro 1898 and Viking of Juventus:

Internazionale Milano:

Boys Novara of Novara Calcio:

SSC Napoli:

Final: Soviet Union vs Netherlands
Olympiastadion, Munich, 25/06/1988:
Neutral (West Germany)
Wuppertaler SV (WSV):

Netherlands
And so as not to end on somewhat of an anti-climax, we can see that one reason for the lack of Dutch flags is that most of them are laid out flat on the running track. But luckily they are virtually visible from space:

Video Links:

West Germany vs Italy
England vs Ireland
West Germany vs Denmark
West Germany vs Spain
Italy vs Denmark
England vs USSR
West Germany vs Netherlands
USSR vs Italy
USSR vs Netherlands
General (“Tor! Total Football (Euro 88)”)

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What Football Is Supposed To Look Like #8 (Gallery)

Last time in WFISTLL, we zoomed in on the Belgian league scene of the late 80s and early 90s with a whirlwind of pics and gifs illustrating the gritty supporter culture present in that time and place. Now we return to our usual format of a selection of images that demonstrate what used to make football so interesting, in a variety of classic 20th century ways.

Superb away jersey, Northern Ireland vs Republic of Ireland, World Cup qualifier, 14/09/1988:

Umbrella crowd, fence, classic hoarding and graphics, Chile vs Yugoslavia, Under-20 World Cup (hosted by Chile), 10/10/1987:

Raised stands and large entrance-way with row of people, Turkey vs West Germany, European Championships qualifier, 24/04/1983:

Snow-patch pitch, East Germany vs Scotland, European Championships qualifier, 16/11/1983:

Competing anthem bands (although the lot on the right look like children in comparison?) and angular team line-ups, West Germany vs Netherlands, World Cup 74 final, 07/07/1974:

Confetti pitch, Internazionale Milano vs AS Roma, Serie A, 24/03/1988:

Arabic Marlboro advert, Zaire vs Zambia, African Cup of Nations 74 (hosted by Egypt), 12/03/1974:

Amazing old-old school end with supporters on roof, Portugal vs Italy, friendly, 15/04/1928:

Rain plus no roof equals many, many umbrellas, Czechoslovakia vs Netherlands, European Championships 76 semi-final (hosted by Yugoslavia, match in Zagreb), 16/06/1976:

Classic graphics, USSR vs Netherlands, friendly, 28/03/1990:

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International Duty – Club Banners At National Team Games #6 (Gallery)

In this photo-series we take a look at some low-fi old school examples of ultras and hooligan group banners, club supporter group banners and regular club flags, when used in the context of an international match. This was particularly common for countries who would rotate home stadiums on a regular basis and hence visit a lot of clubs’ home grounds (with the most prominent example being Italy), while away games provided the opportunity for the likes of England’s firms to display banners that would not have been seen at Wembley.

Italy vs Argentina, friendly, 21/12/1989
“Sconvolts” and others of Cagliari Calcio:

England vs Germany, US Cup, 19/06/1993
Bristol City:

Germany vs Portugal, World Cup 98 qualifier, 06/09/1997
“Dietmar Bottrop” and “Menden Sieg” of FC Schalke 04, “Blue System” of “Hamburger SV”, and many others:

Switzerland vs Scotland, Euro 92 qualifier, 11/09/1991
Arbroath FC:

Switzerland vs England, friendly, 28/05/1988
Hull City, “Blades Business Crew” of Sheffield United, and “6:57 Crew” of Portsmouth FC:

Slovenia vs Ukraine, Euro 00 qualifier, 13/11/1999
“Green Dragons” of NK Olimpija Ljubljana:

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What Football Is Supposed To Look Like #7: Belgian League Special 1988-1993 (Gallery)

This 7th installment of WFISTLL signals the start of a new phase for both it and our other gallery series, as we will begin to focus on such themes as specific leagues, stadiums, competitions and other aspects. But don’t fear, the original format of a “random” selection of classic scenes shall also continue.
We start this new era with a look at Belgium in the late 80s and early 90s, which it turns out was mostly a lot of riot police, police dogs, fences, pitch invasions, etc…

Scenes From The Gritty Belgian First Division, 1988-1993

Standard De Liege vs RSC Anderlecht, 05/01/1988:

K. Beerschot V.A.C. vs Royal Antwerp FC, 19/03/1988:

Royal Antwerp FC vs RSC Anderlecht, 19/08/1989:

KAA Gent vs Club Brugge, 11/02/1990:

Club Brugge vs RSC Anderlecht, 1990/1991:

RSC Anderlecht vs Club Brugge, 1990/1991:

KAA Gent vs RSC Anderlecht, 1991:

RFC Liege vs Standard De Liege, 01/03/1991:

RSC Anderlecht vs Racing White Daring Molenbeek, 11/05/1991:

Eendracht Aalst vs KV Mechelen, 1991/1992:

KV Mechelen vs Royal Antwerp FC, 1991/1992:

Standard De Liege vs Club Brugge, 1992/1993:

Standard De Liege vs Royal Antwerp FC, 09/01/1993:

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Heroic Hang Jobs #2 (Gallery)

It’s high time for another edition of this new series where we look at classic flag and banner hanging, great and small. Throw in some of the best sinister old school railings and fences for a winning formula.

Austria Vienna vs Zalgiris Vilnius, UEFA Cup, 07/10/1988:

Netherlands vs Greece, Euro ’88 qualifier, 25/03/1987:

West Germany vs Argentina, friendly, 12/09/1984:

Slovakia vs Romania, Euro ’96 qualifier, 15/11/1995:

FC Den Bosch vs Feyenoord, Eredivisie, 14/09/1986:

Hamburger SV vs Nottingham Forrest, European Cup Final, 28/05/1980:

Northern Ireland vs Republic of Ireland, World Cup ’94 qualifier, 17/10/1993:

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What Football Is Supposed To Look Like (Gallery) #1

Some classic grounds, shirts and general aesthetics of what football used to be.

Sand dunes, a car park, unorthodox ground sectioning, other random stuff laying around (handy for a riot) and a beautifully filthy pitch at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea vs West Ham, Division 1, 1986: