Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

[Glavisted]

Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

Football, as it's now recognized, probably had its main starting point in 1863 when The Football Association (FA) was founded in England and since then it developed almost exclusively in the United Kingdom for the rest of the 19th century. British supremacy continued during the first decade of the 20th century (even after the founding of FIFA in 1904) and only ended when the outbreak of World War I in 1914, which forced the suspension of the English League for 4 years and marked the beginning of the development of this sport in other places.

During this first era and until before 1910 some of the most celebrated figures of British football were Arthur Kinnaird, Billy MacKinnon, Charles Campbell, William Cobbold, Nick Ross,Walter Arnott, John Goodall, Billy Bassett, Gilbert Oswald Smith, Ernest Needham,Steve Bloomer, Vivian Woodward and Billy Meredith.

As of the decade of the 1910's football expanded by leaps and bounds in other European countries (especially in Hungary, Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Czechoslovakia) and South America (especially in Uruguay and Argentina) and in addition of the Olympic Games other international championships emerged as the South American Championship (now called Copa América). The most prominent footballers in the first half of that decade were British (especially English), but in the second half the origin of them diversified.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Godotelli]

Meredith used to play with a toothpick in his mouth lol

 

[PIPA23]

great to see you back

 

[Glavisted]

Sam Hardy
SAFE AND STEADY SAM

Date of Birth: 26/08/1882
Country: England
Position: Goalkeeper
Major Club: Liverpool (ENG)
Honors: Club:
- English First Division (1): 1905-06
- FA Cup (2): 1912-13, 1919-20
International:
- British Home Championship (3): 1908-09, 1910-11, 1912-13

Sam Hardy was, undoubtedly, the most prominent goalkeeper of the British football from the end of the first decade of the 20th century to the first half of the 1910's (until before the outbreak of the World War I). His great leadership, excellent anticipation and good sense of positioning made him one of the greatest figures of Liverpool, with which he won the First Division in 1906 and was runner-up in 1910. After 239 appearances with "The Reds" and having earned the nickname "Safe and Steady Sam" he signed for Aston Villa in 1912, a stronger club at that time, and in his first season he was runner-up in the league and won the FA Cup. The outbreak of war interrupted his career that decade for 4 years and on his return he managed to win the FA Cup for second time. At international level he won the British Home Championship for 3 times.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Bob Crompton

Date of Birth: 26/09/1879
Country: England
Position: Right Full-Back
Major Club: Blackburn Rovers (ENG)
Honors: Club:
- English First Division (2): 1911-12, 1913-14
International:
- British Home Championship (4): 1903-04, 1908-09, 1910-11, 1912-13

Bob Crompton was one of the most celebrated defenders of British football in the early 20th century and is probably the most legendary historical figure of Blackburn Rovers, club with which he played practically his entire career and disputed 528 matches in 24 years. As captain he led his team during the conquests of the First Division in 1912 and 1914 and after the outbreak of World War I he played a few games for Blackpool in the regional leagues. For England he played 41 matches and was captain in 22 of them (actually, he was the first professional captain of his national team) winning the British Home Championship 4 times and setting a record of international appearances that wasn't surpassed until 1952 by Billy Wright.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Jesse Pennington
PEERLESS PENNINGTON

Date of Birth: 23/08/1883
Country: England
Position: Left Full-Back, Right Full-Back
Major Club: West Bromwich Albion (ENG)
Honors: Club:
- English First Division (1): 1919-20
International:
- British Home Championship (5): 1907-08, 1908-09, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1912-13

Jesse Pennington was one of the best defenders of British football in the early 20th century and was considered by many as the finest of his generation. He could play both left and right full-back position and made virtually his entire career with West Bromwich Albion, the club for which he played more than 500 matches in 20 years until his retirement in 1921 for medical reasons, which he captained during the conquest of the First Division in 1920 and which he reached the final of the FA Cup in 1912. In 1913 he was involved in a scandal referred to an attempt to fix a match against Everton, which he denounced. For England he played 25 matches captaining the side in his last 2 games and became the oldest capped outfield player by his national team.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Andy Ducat

Date of Birth: 16/02/1886
Country: England
Position: Right Half-Back
Major Club: Arsenal (ENG)
Honors: Club:
- FA Cup (1): 1919-20

Andy Ducat was one of the best British sportsmen of the first decade of the 20th century, he was successful and international in cricket and football. He began his football career in 1903 with Southend United and 2 years later he joined Arsenal (then called Woolwich Arsenal). Although he began as centre-forward, he was soon repositioned as right half-back and gradually became a figure of the London club, however, due to a financial crisis and after 7 years in which he played 188 matches and scored 21 goals, he was transferred to Aston Villa in 1912, a stronger club at the time. An injury keep him away from the fields during his first season at Villa Park, but after recovering he also became a figure in that club and after World War I he captained the side during the conquest of the FA Cup in 1920. For England he played 6 international matches.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Charlie Roberts

Date of Birth: 06/04/1883
Country: England
Position: Centre-Half
Major Club: Manchester United (ENG)
Honors: Club:
- English First Division (2): 1907-08, 1910-11
- FA Cup (1): 1908-09

Charlie Roberts was probably the best centre-half in Europe in the early 20th century. He signed for Manchester United in 1904 and his arrival was very important for the development of the club becoming one of the main pillars of the team that won the First Division in 1908 and 1911 and the FA Cup in 1909. He was a very strong, fast and skillful player that made himself a reputation of rebel mocking the FA rules by wearing his shorts above the knee and was politically minded in favour of the unionisation of professional footballers, which gained him the antipathy of his federation and explains why he was called just only few times to represent England. In 1913 he was transferred to Oldham Athletic for a then record fee of 1500 pounds after 299 matches and 23 goals with "The Red Devils" and retired there after the outbreak of the World War I in 1915.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Nils Middelboe
THE GREAT DANE

Date of Birth: 05/10/1887
Country: Denmark
Position: Centre-Half, Left Half-Back
Major Club: Copenhagen (DEN)
Honors: Club:
- Danish Championship (1): 1912-13

Nils Middelboe was a famous Danish amateur player who shone in the early 20th century. He was a tall and vigorous centre-half who had excellent physical qualities, very good ball control and a superb shot from a medium distance. At 15 he arrived at Copenhagen, with which he soon dominated the Danish football and won the first professional edition of the Danish Championship in 1913, and then he emigrated to England enlisting Chelsea, with which he retired in 1922 after playing only 41 matches in the First Division and 5 in the FA Cup due to the outbreak of the World War I and because he couldn't play games out of London as he worked there. For Denmark he played 15 matches and scored 7 goals standing out in the 1908 and 1912 Olympic Games (in both he got the silver medal reaching the final and in the second edition attended as captain of his national team).

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Billy Meredith
THE WELSH WIZARD

Date of Birth: 30/07/1874
Country: Wales
Position: Outside-Right
Major Club: Manchester United (ENG)
Honors: Club:
- Welsh Cup (1): 1893-94
- English First Division (2): 1907-08, 1910-11
- FA Cup (2): 1903-04, 1908-09
- FA Charity Shield (2): 1908, 1911
International:
- British Home Championship (2): 1906-07, 1919-20

Billy Meredith was one of the most important figures in British football in the early 20th century and arguably the best player in the world between the late 1990's and early 1910's. He was an outside-right who possessed an explosive change of pace, devilish dribbling and very accurate crossing and passing, moreover he also developed a successful and very long career (he retired at 49). He arrived in 1894 at Manchester City and for 12 seasons he became a legendary figure of that club, but after being punished for a bizarre incident he signed in 1906 for Manchester United and with that club he achieved his greatest triumphs winning 2 times the First Division, the FA Cup in 1909 and 2 times the FA Charity Shield. For Wales he played 48 matches, won 2 times the British Home Championship and became the oldest player to dispute an international match in 1923 at 48.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Patsy Gallacher
THE MIGHTY ATOM

Date of Birth: 16/03/1891
Country: Ireland
Position: Inside-Right
Major Club: Celtic (SCO)
Honors: Club:
- Scottish League (6): 1913-14, 1914-15, 1915-16, 1916-17, 1918-19, 1921-22
- Scottish Cup (4): 1911-12, 1913-14, 1922-23, 1924-25

Patsy Gallacher is one of the greatest historical figures of Irish football and was regarded as one of the most impressive and skillful forwards in Europe of his generation. He began his career in 1911 and after overcoming some initial doubts about his fragile physique he quickly became a legendary figure of Celtic, with which he won 6 times the Scottish League, 4 times the Scottish Cup and 4 times the Glasgow Cup, besides having played 464 matches and scoring 192 goals (which makes him the 6th leading scorer in the history of that club). In the final of the Scottish Cup in 1925 he made a famous acrobatic maneuver that remained in the memory of the fans to score one of the goals in the victory against Dundee. For Ireland he played 12 international matches and his figure increased the popularity of his national team since his debut against England at Windsor Park.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

* Graphic description of the maneuver of Patsy Gallacher in 1925:

 

[Glavisted]

José Piendibene
EL MAESTRO

Date of Birth: 05/06/1890
Country: Uruguay
Position: Centre-Forward
Major Club: Peñarol (URU)
Honors: Club:
- Uruguayan League (4): 1911, 1918, 1921, 1928
- Copa de Honor (3): 1909, 1911, 1918
- Cup Tie Competition (1): 1916
International:
- South American Championship (3): 1916, 1917, 1920
- Lipton Cup (3): 1910, 1911, 1912
Individual:
- Best Player of the South American Championship (1): 1920

José Piendibene was one of the first great figures of Uruguayan and South American football, perhaps the first, and one of the most outstanding players of the 1910's and early 1920's. He debuted with Peñarol in 1908 and marked an era in the evolution of football in his country playing as a centre-forward in the mold of false 9, described as an attacking-playmaker of great vision, excellent short passes, precise shot, skilled dribbling and powerful header. During his 21 years with that club he played 506 matches and scored 253 goals winning 4 times the Uruguayan League, 3 times the Copa de Honor Cousenier and once the Cup Tie Competition. For Uruguay he scored 20 goals (he's the leading scorer of the Río de la Plata classic), was 3 times champion of America and was voted as the best player of the 1920 edition, however, he didn't attend to the 1924 Olympic Games due problems between leaders.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Imre Schlosser
SLÓZI

Date of Birth: 11/10/1889
Country: Hungary
Position: Inside-Left
Major Club: Ferencváros (HUN)
Honors: Club:
- Hungarian League (13): 1906-07, 1908-09, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1912-13, 1916-17, 1917-18, 1918-19, 1919-20, 1920-21, 1921-22, 1926-27
- Hungarian Cup (2): 1912-13, 1926-27
Individual:
- Hungarian League Top Goalscorer (7): 1908-09, 1909-10, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1912-13, 1913-14, 1916-17
- European Top Goalscorer (4): 1911, 1912, 1913, 1914

Imre Schlosser was one of the most impressive scorers in the first half of the 20th century. He began his career in 1906 with Ferencváros at 16 and made a huge impact quickly becoming the great figure of the team that won 6 times the Hungarian League with him as top goalscorer for 6 consecutive years and European top scorer in 1911, 1912, 1913 and 1914. After a quarrel with the directors of his club decided to move to rival club, MTK Budapest, with which he won again 6 times the Hungarian League consecutively and was crowned as the top scorer in 1917. Until now he's the top scorer in the history of Hungarian League with 411 goals in 301 matches. For Hungary he was international for over 20 years, played in the 1912 Olympic Games and scored 59 goals in 68 matches (making him the third leading scorer of his national team, just only behind Ferenc Puskás and Sándor Kocsis). Overall, with around 489 goals, he's one of the top 30 goalscorers in football history.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Ángel Romano
EL LOCO

Date of Birth: 02/08/1893
Country: Uruguay
Position: Inside-Left, Outside-Left
Major Club: Nacional (URU)
Honors: Club:
- Uruguayan League (9): 1911, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924
- Copa de Honor (4): 1911, 1915, 1916, 1917
- Cup Tie Competition (1): 1915
International:
- South American Championship (6): 1916, 1917, 1920, 1923, 1924, 1926
- Olympic Games (1): 1924
- Lipton Cup (5): 1911, 1912, 1919, 1923, 1924
Individual:
- South American Championship Top Goalscorer (2): 1917, 1920

Ángel Romano was one of the best Uruguayan footballers among the 1910's and 1920's. He was an inside or outside-left who possessed exceptional skills, capable to play as a great playmaker, mark the rival outputs, make surprising dribbles and become a cold and calculating finisher. Although he played for CURCC (which later became Peñarol) and Boca Juniors (starring the first major international transfer of South America), he debuted and played most of his career for Nacional, with which he scored 164 goals in 388 matches, won 9 times the Uruguayan League, 4 times the Copa de Honor Cousenier and once the Cup Tie Competition, and was part of the famous team that made an European tour in 1925. For Uruguay he played 69 matches and scored 28 goals, won 6 times the South American Championship (though he didn't play any match in the 1923 edition) and was the top scorer in the 1917 and 1920 editions.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Cayetano Saporiti

Date of Birth: 14/01/1887
Country: Uruguay
Position: Goalkeeper
Major Club: Montevideo Wanderers (URU)
Honors: Club:
- Uruguayan League (2): 1906, 1909
- Copa de Honor (1): 1908
- Cup Tie Competition (3): 1911, 1917, 1918
International:
- South American Championship (2): 1916, 1917

Cayetano Saporiti was probably the first great Uruguayan goalkeeper in history. He made his debut very young with Montevideo Wanderers in 1903 and he quickly became one of the figures of one of the best teams in the amateur era of Uruguay winning 2 times the Uruguayan League, 2 times the Copa de Honor Cousenier and 3 times the Cup Tie Competition. For Uruguay he made his international debut in 1905 with only 18 years and 179 days, making him one of the youngest international goalkeepers in history, besides won the 1916 and 1917 South American Championships completing a total of 51 games for his national team until 1919 (a record that was not surpassed until 1983 by Rodolfo Rodríguez).

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

José Benincasa
JOSEFERA

Date of Birth: 16/06/1891
Country: Uruguay
Position: Right Full-Back
Major Club: Peñarol (URU)
Honors: Club:
- Uruguayan League (9): 1908, 1910, 1913, 1914, 1918, 1921, 1924, 1926, 1928
- Copa de Honor (2): 1912, 1918
International:
- South American Championship (2): 1916, 1917
- Lipton Cup (1): 1910

José Benincasa was one of the first great Uruguayan defenders in history and is recognized as the inventor of the famous maneuver called "La Palomita" to mark an opponent. He began his career in 1908 with River Plate (of Uruguay), with which he won 4 times the Uruguayan League and was part of a solid defensive partnership with his brother, Miguel Benincasa. After a brief spell in Boca Juniors he returned to Uruguay to play for Peñarol, club which he captained for several years and won 5 times more his local league. For Uruguay he debuted internationally in 1905 and played more than 50 official matches, also won the South American Championship in 1916 and 1917 and formed another great defensive partnership with Alfredo Foglino.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Alfredo Foglino
EL MARISCAL

Date of Birth: 01/02/1893
Country: Uruguay
Position: Left Full-Back, Right Full-Back
Major Club: Nacional (URU)
Honors: Club:
- Uruguayan League (9): 1912, 1915, 1916, 1917, 1919, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924
- Copa de Honor (3): 1915, 1916, 1917
- Cup Tie Competition (2): 1913, 1915
International:
- South American Championship (3): 1916, 1917, 1920

Alfredo Foglino was one of the first great Uruguayan defenders in history and was the first to be nicknamed "El Mariscal" ("The Marshal"). He was a firm and polished full-back who played his entire career for Nacional, club with which he disputed 409 matches, was captain for 10 years and became one of its most successful players ever winning 9 times the Uruguayan League, 3 times the Copa de Honor and once the Cup Tie Competition. For Uruguay he disputed 47 matches and won the first 2 editions of the South American Championship, the first of them participating not only as player, but also as coach of his national team at only 23.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Renzo De Vecchi
IL FIGLIO DI DIO

Date of Birth: 03/02/1894
Country: Italia
Position: Left Full-Back, Left Half-Back
Major Club: Genoa (ITA)
Honors: Club:
- Italian League (3): 1914-15, 1922-23, 1923-24

Renzo De Vecchi was perhaps the first remarkable figure of Italian football. At only 15 years old he made his debut for AC Milan in 1909 and soon he gained a place in the starting lineup. He was a left full-back that besides winning balls had great technical skills with the ball at his feet, which is why he was nicknamed "Il Figlio di Dio" ("The Son of God"), and was also capable to play in midfield as left half-back. In 1913 he arrived at Genoa, with which he won 3 times the Italian League until his retirement in 1929. For Italy he became the youngest player ever to debut internationally at 16 years, 3 months and 23 days and played the 1912 and 1924 Olympic Games.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's

 

[Glavisted]

Jimmy Gordon

Date of Birth: 23/07/1888
Country: Scotland
Position: Right Half-Back, Centre-Forward
Major Club: Rangers (SCO)
Honors: Club:
- Scottish League (5): 1910-11, 1911-12, 1912-13, 1917-18, 1919-20
International:
- British Home Championship (1): 1911-12

Jimmy Gordon was a talented and polyfunctional footballer who shone with Rangers, club with which he played 334 matches between 1906 and 1920 and won 5 times the Scottish League. He was capable to play as a defender, midfielder or forward (especially as left full-back and centre-forward), but his favorite position was right half-back and that was the one that he played regularly at international level. For Scotland he played 10 matches between 1912 and 1920 winning the British Home Championship in 1912 and also represented the Scottish League XI 15 times.

Source: Glavisted: Dream Team of the Decade: 1910's