Too late at the World Cup

Alfredo di Stefano. George Best. Ryan Giggs. George Weah. Great players that never played at the World Cup. But there are others who were just as unlucky. They did reach the World Cup, but not in time. They were veterans already, hoping for a final miracle. It didn’t happen. Here are six former world class players that made it to the World Cup a little too late.

Majed Abdullah (Saudi Arabia)

116 caps, 71 goals

Born: November 1, 1959

World Cup: 1994 (35 years old)

Minutes played: 2 matches, 90 minutes (45 minutes each)

Voted the best Saudi Arabian footballer of all time, Majed Abdullah was one the best soccer players in Asia during the eighties. He was especially successful with the national team of Saudi Arabia, winning the Asian Cup in 1984 and 1988. In the final against China in 1984 Abdullah scored the second goal in their 2-0 victory. Four years later he scored the winning goal in the semifinal against Iran (1-0). The final against South Korea ended 0-0, but Saudi Arabia won after penalties, Abdullah scoring the third. He was also voted Asian’s Player of the Year in 1984, 1985 and 1986.

Looking at the World Cup, Saudi Arabia didn’t qualify in 1982, 1986 or 1990. Abdullah played seventeen of these qualifying matches, scoring five goals. During the 1994 campaign Abdullah played three matches: against Malaysia (3-0, 2 goals), Kuwait (2-0, 1 goal) and Japan (0-0). Especially at the end of his career he suffered from a lot of injuries. At the World Cup finals in the United States in 1994 he captained his team against the Netherlands, played reasonably well in the first half after which he was substituted. Abdullah didn’t play against Morocco and his 45 minutes against Belgium were mediocre. He wasn’t picked for the next round, when Saudi Arabia was beaten by Sweden 1-3 and was knocked out of the tournament.

Denis Law (Scotland)

55 caps, 30 goals

Born: February 24, 1940

World Cup: 1974 (age 34 years)

Minutes played: 1 match, 90 minutes.

Denis Law couldn't beat Zaire's goalkeeper Kazadi Mwamba

Denis Law of course is one the greatest footballers of the sixties. As a young boy he moved from Aberdeen to England, to nearby Huddersfield Town. He was capped for Scotland the first time in 1958, and after stints at Manchester City and Italian club AC Torino, he was transferred to Manchester United in 1962. He was European Footballer of the Year in 1964, league champion in 1965 and 1967, but missed the European Cupfinal in 1968 through injury. With the national team, Law failed to qualify in 1962, 1966 and 1970. For the 1974 World Cup, Law played only the two matches against toughest rival Czechoslovakia. But finally Scotland topped their group and had great expectations of the World Cup in West Germany. Law played in the first match against Zaire (2-0 victory), but was dropped for the next matches against Brazil and Yugoslavia. In 2006, Law took a trip down memory lane for The Scotsman:  “I didn't think my exclusion was merited as I felt I'd played well enough against the Africans to keep my place, or at least to play a part in the Brazil game. But I accepted it, and I have some good memories from that time. Law's 55 caps was a Scottish record, his 30 international goals still is. Kenny Dalglish got his 56^th cap in 1978 and equaled but never surpassed Law’s 30 goals in 1984.

Carlos Pavón (Honduras)

101 caps, 57 goals

Born: October 9, 1973

World Cup: 2010 (36 years old)

Minutes played: 1 match, 60 minutes

Carlos Pavón was eight years old when Honduras made it to the World Cup for the first time. Players like Gilberto Yearwood, Anthoney Costly and Roberto Figueroa put Honduras on the map. Ten years later, Pavón started a career that would outshine all of them. He played for years in Honduras, but also in Mexico (seven seasons), Spain (one season), Italy (two seasons) Colombia (one season) and the United States (one season). With the national team, Pavon failed to qualify for the World Cup in 1998, 2002 and 2006, playing 28 matches and scoring 18 goals. During the 2002 campaign the lethal striker managed to score ten goals, but was kept out of the tournament by Costa Rica, Mexico and the USA. For the 2010 tournament Pavón made a final attempt. He played nine matches, scoring seven goals. In the meanwhile he was already the top goal scorer of his country with 57 goals.

The final tournament in South Africa proved to be a big disappointment for veteran Pavón. While he was hoping to top his career with a great performance at the world stage, Pavón was substituted in the 60^th minute of the first game against Chile. He didn’t get another chance and Honduras failed to make an impression scoring no goals in three matches.

Kevin Keegan (England)

63 caps, 21 goals

Born: February 14, 1951

World Cup: 1982 (age 31 years)

Minutes played: 1 match, 26 minutes as a substitute

The failure of England not qualifying for the 1974 and 1978 World Cup was certainly the biggest disappointment for Kevin Keegan in his career. Especially 1978 would have been great, as he was crowned European Footballer of the Year in 1978 and 1979 for his performances at Liverpool FC and Hamburger SV. After 1980, he was still a good player. He proved it at Southampton in the 1981-82 season, which he ended as top goal scorer with 26 league goals and winning the Player of the Year Award. So Keegan could become a World Cup hero after all, as England managed to beat Hungary in the qualification group for Spain 1982.

But he didn’t, as he suffered from a chronic back injury just prior to the World Cup. He even consulted a German doctor he knew from his time in Hamburg. Still, it was not enough to get him injury free at the start of the World Cup.  So England played the first round without him. Keegan did eventually play in England’s second match of the second round against Spain, coming on as a substitute for Tony Woodcock. He had one hard to miss chance, but headed the ball wide. It was Keegan’s 63th cap, and his very last.

Theophilus ‘Doctor’ Khumalo (South Africa)

50 caps, 9 goals

Born: June 26, 1967

World Cup: 1998 (30 years)

Minutes played: 1 match, 23 minutes as a substitute.

Midfielder Theophilus ‘Doctor’ Khumalo made a name for himself at South African club Kaizer Chiefs. He was vital in their league winning campaigns in 1989, 1991 and 1992. Those were his best playing years, just before South Africa was allowed to rejoin the FIFA family in 1992. Khumalo of course was picked for the very first official international game, against Cameroon. South Africa won 1-0 and Khumalo scored the only goal, a penalty. In 1996 Khumalo was an important part of the team that surprisingly won the Africa Cup, playing in five of six matches, only missing the match against Egypt when South Africa was already qualified for the quarter finals. By 1998, when South Africa got to the World Cup for the very first time, thirty year old Khumalo was past his best. So the 'doctor' of course was in the squad, but only played 23 minutes as a substitute in the last match. Without making any kind of fuzz, which is a bit sad for such a player.

Allan Simonsen (Denmark)

55 caps, 20 goals

Born: December 15, 1952

World Cup: 1986 (34 years old)

Minutes played: 1 match, 20 minutes as a substitute

Denmark was a small soccer country since the early fifties. So it wasn’t a big surprise they mostly failed at qualifying for the World Cup. But during the seventies their chances slowly improved. At Borussia Mönchengladbach Henning Jensen and Allan Simonsen were making headlines, a few years later Sören Lerby and Frank Arnesen did the same at Ajax. Simonsen had tremendous pace which suited the play of Mönchengladbach very well. He was at his peak in 1977, when he won the European Footballer Award. In 1982, while at Barcelona, he became the first player ever to score in the final of all three European Cups (Champions Cup, Cup Winners Cup and UEFA Cup).

In 1986, Simonsen was already a few seasons back home with his first club, Vejle BK, but was still playing for the national team.  He only played 45 minutes during the qualification rounds for Mexico, but was picked for the 22 squad anyway. The tournament itself went very well for first timers Denmark. They won their first two matches and were already through to the last sixteen before the match against West Germany. Coach Sepp Piontek gave 34-year old Simonsen 20 minutes as a substitute against the country that made him a star in the first place. 

Emmanuel Sanon, World Cup hero from Haiti

His goal at the World Cup of 1974 against Italy was legendary. Emmanuel Sanon, from the small island of Haiti, made Italian defenders look like fools. Sanon played soccer with his heart; he had no sense of strategy– “that’s playing soccer like a robot”. The Haitian Athlete of the Century always took much pleasure in the game, until his untimely death in 2008.

Playing soccer on the island

Emmanuel ‘Manno’ Sanon (born June 25, 1951 in Port au Prince) lost both his parents at a young age. Being a foster child he was brought up by the congregation Salesians of Don Bosco, dedicated to youth care. The Dutch pastor Sjaak Diebels had founded a soccer club for these children, named Don Bosco. Sanon joined this team, and it soon became clear he was the biggest talent of them all. His uncanny ability to score goals, made Don Bosco a serious contender for the national title of Haiti. In 1971 Don Bosco indeed did win the national league.

Qualifying for Germany 1974

At the time, Sanon was already playing for his country. Haiti did come close to qualifying for the World Cup 1970 in Mexico, without Sanon. But enhanced with his Sanon’s scoring abilities, Haiti’s chances for the next World Cup in Germany in 1974 dramatically increased, only being rivaled by Mexico and Trinidad.

First Haiti beat Puerto Rico 7-0 and 5-0, with Sanon scoring three times in both matches. After that, Haiti played in the  final round against Mexico, Trinidad, Guatemala, Honduras  and the Dutch Antilles. Dictator Baby Doc Duvalier paid a large sum of money to ensure home-advantage for the Haitian soccer team. They started well, winning 3-0 against the Dutch Antilles, with Sanon scoring twice. After that, Trinidad was beaten 2-1 (one goal by Sanon), just as Honduras (1-0). That gave them six points, two ahead of Mexico and four ahead of Trinidad. On December 13, 1973, Sanon scored both goals against Guatamala (2-1). One day later Trinidad defeated Mexico 4-0, which made Haiti out of reach for both Mexico and Trinidad. 

Preparations in the Netherlands

So the big adventure could begin for Sanon and his teammates. The Haitian soccer association decided to prepare for the World Cup in the Netherlands. In the last Month before the tournament Haiti first won against Dutch top level club Go Ahead Eagles 1-0 (the goal coming from Sanon, obviously), but the team lost against AZ’67 1-3 and against the Dutch National Military Team 1-4. Sanon made one goal against a regional selection which Haiti won 3-1, but the faith must have vanished completely after Haiti lost 4-0 against a selection of amateur players from the small Dutch town of Leiden.

Famous goal against Italy

So now everyone was expecting Haiti to lose big time during this World Cup. Their first opponent was Italy, silver medalist of the previous tournament.  Before the match on June 15 in Munich Italian goalkeeper Dino Zoff has set a new record, staying undefeated in more than twelve international matches in a row (1096 minutes). Haiti manages to finish the first half without any damage, 0-0. Then, in the first minute after the break, Sanon runs after a long ball, beats Fabio Capello on speed, gets past Zoff and puts the ball in the net. Zoffs record ends after 1142 minutes. Shortly after the goal Gianni Rivera puts Italy level, and eventually the big favorite wins 3-1.

Four days later Poland gives Haiti no chance at all, winning 7-0.  Now the team can’t reach the next round anymore, and only the match against Argentina remains ending  4-1 in favor of the South-Americans, but not before Sanon scores his second goal; a fierce shot from outside the box.

Contract in Europe

So, Haiti didn’t perform as bad as everyone feared, and they gained a lot of sympathy. Of course, for most players the level was too high. Goalie Henri Francillon arrogantly considered himself the best of the tournament. He got signed by German second division club München 1860, but failed to perform to expectation, and quite disillusioned returned home one year later. Big star Sanon did much better. On June 25 (his 24^th birthday) he was given a contract by Belgium club Beerschot.

Emmanuel Sanon, standing third from the left, next to
Henri Francillon (in the blue shirt).

Problems at Beerschot

So now Sanon lived in Antwerp, in a small apartment close to the Olympic Stadium. He and his wife lived a rather boring life, feeling a bit lost in their new surroundings. On top of that, Sanons career at Beerschot failed to live up to his expectations. Belgium defenders were rough on him, and tactically he didn’t understand what the team needed from him. Besides, he thought most of the players in Belgium lacked the elegance and talent to be any good, with the exception of his teammate Juan Lozano, Beerschot’s playmaker.

Fortunately, coach Rik Coppens, a big soccer star of his own time, considered Sanon very talented. So he tried getting him used to the roughness of the game in Europe. Coppens made Sanon into a defender, forcing him to make tackles himself and clash with forwards. It worked wonders. After that, Sanon returned to the upfront position and began to score and provide goals.

Meanwhile, he also tried to get Haiti into the World Cup in Argentina, in 1978. In the second round Haiti defeated Cuba 1-1, 1-1 and finally 2-0, with Sanon scoring all of the goals. During the final round Haiti was no match for Mexico.

Sanon wins Belgian Cup

Despite his troubled start, Sanon scored a total of 43 league goals and was instrumental in the Cup final of 1979. Against Club Brugge, Sanon rushed past all his opponents and gave teammate Johan Coninckx an opportunity he couldn’t miss. It was the only goal of the match, crowning Beerschot Belgian Cup winner.  One year later his time in Belgium came to an end. Big club RSC Anderlecht was looking for someone to replace Rob Rensenbrink and had their eye on Sanon.  Negotiations started, but along the way something went wrong. Sanon blamed Beerschot and decided to leave.

Happy in San Diego

The Haitian striker took the plane to Miami –close to Haiti - where he played in the second division with Miami Americans. Within a month Sanon changed clubs, and together with his coach Ron Newman tried his luck at San Diego Sockers. That worked well, Sanon scored 10 goals that season and the situation even improved, when San Diego contracted a young Mexican, Hugo Sanchez. Together they were lethal. After a satisfying second year Sanon got a serious knee injury and had to quit professional soccer at the age of 31.

Life after soccer

Emmanuel Sanon started a new life as coach, mainly involving himself with youth soccer. For a short period, 1999 until 2000, he was coach of the national team of Haiti, but failed to get to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea. Nonetheless, he did get awarded the title of “Haitian’s Athlete of the Century” in 1999.

Working as a coach for the Ajax Orlando youth team in Florida, Sanon was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He died on February 21, 2008, at the age of 56. Back in Haiti the beloved Sanon was given a national burial ceremony at the Sylvio Cator Stadium, with his teammates from the 1974 Haitian national team, carrying his coffin onto the field.