The Retro-PES Corner

[slamsoze]

I'm pretty sure Coutinho needs to be the star,I remember him as outstanding in the PL,but he's had a few injuries since leaving (and before) Liverpool if I don't remember completely wrong.
Remember how lethal Torres was before knee injury?

Many players that didn't reach their potential the past decade 2000-2010. My favourite Djibril Cisse, the first years of decade in Marseille, when after Ronaldo Phainomenon , it started a trend of very fast Strikers, like Baros, Eto, Saviola . Ofcourse none of them had the technique of Ronaldo_9 and Cisse lacked much in Teqnique, in pes terms i would give him a 65~69 TEC. But he had the instict of the striker, he had the power and the pace and he could take some crazy obe touch finishing knuckle shots under any circumstances, ball landing, ball bouncing, ball sliding etc, etc. Shame that he broke his leg, he was not same after in Liverpool and it was obvious he was afraid cause of his shocking injury . Only in Panathinaikos in 2010 he achieved some decent performance, not a world class one, but he earned an invitation to France NT for African WC2010. Even if France went bad, Cisse worked hard for that invitation.

PS.:On a carrier i had on FIFA 2005, the only one i have ever played all 15 seasons until the end of CM, which end was around 2019 or 2020!!!! , i remember the last season Real Madrid had the best CF duo in the world in that current save, which were Fernando Torres and Djibril Cisse. They were 99 overall (in old Fifas, old players were not on decline as in ML.)

 

[sniglet]

@sniglet What's Croatian for Triffic and bare bones?

Let's go with nvjrojatan (nevjerojatan minus some vowels) and skelet (meaning skeleton)! In a sentence we could say:

"The boys were nvjrojatan, nvjrojatan - despite the squad being down to the skelet."

(Thanks to Google Translate).

 

[rockstrongo]

Many players that didn't reach their potential the past decade 2000-2010. My favourite Djibril Cisse, the first years of decade in Marseille, when after Ronaldo Phainomenon , it started a trend of very fast Strikers, like Baros, Eto, Saviola . Ofcourse none of them had the technique of Ronaldo_9 and Cisse lacked much in Teqnique, in pes terms i would give him a 65~69 TEC. But he had the instict of the striker, he had the power and the pace and he could take some crazy obe touch finishing knuckle shots under any circumstances, ball landing, ball bouncing, ball sliding etc, etc. Shame that he broke his leg, he was not same after in Liverpool and it was obvious he was afraid cause of his shocking injury . Only in Panathinaikos in 2010 he achieved some decent performance, not a world class one, but he earned an invitation to France NT for African WC2010. Even if France went bad, Cisse worked hard for that invitation.

PS.:On a carrier i had on FIFA 2005, the only one i have ever played all 15 seasons until the end of CM, which end was around 2019 or 2020!!!! , i remember the last season Real Madrid had the best CF duo in the world in that current save, which were Fernando Torres and Djibril Cisse. They were 99 overall (in old Fifas, old players were not on decline as in ML.)

Dedication right there,going 15 seasons!
Cisse was a great player, especially in France, obviously R9 being the best forward ever,period!
His Barcelona days were insane.
So many great players back then, especially the 90s in Serie A.

 

[Madmac79]

@slamsoze I remember the six months of Cissè in Lazio.. he started very well then for some reasons unfortunately he fell off and we sold him in january.. we were so hyped for his arrive..

However all Lazio fans remember a post he hit with a wonderful volley in a derby (that we won anyway).. had he scored that one, maybe his history would have been different..

 

[slamsoze]

@slamsoze I remember the six months of Cissè in Lazio.. he started very well then for some reasons unfortunately he fell off and we sold him in january.. we were so hyped for his arrive..

However all Lazio fans remember a post he hit with a wonderful volley in a derby (that we won anyway).. had he scored that one, maybe his history would have been different..

Yeah @Madmac79 , this video is spot on on Cisse's charisma to knuckle with one touch, usually players with such technique don't even try such shoots in these occasions, or shoot very bad ballons or they cant even hit the ball, they hit thin air.
I would swear that as a Lazio fan, you would always remember him for what he and Ninis did to Roma , the season 09-10 in the round of 32 in Europa!!!


@rockstrongo yeah R9 is the best, or to be accurate is the most complete Striker, at least as much as i have seen. He had pace/instict/tec all in an awesone way.
If i would pick on CF with emotion , i would choose Henry, Ibra, or Drogba. If i would pick with sense, i would pick only R9.

 

[Madmac79]

Yeah @Madmac79 , this video is spot on on Cisse's charisma to knuckle with one touch, usually players with such technique don't even try such shoots in these occasions, or shoot very bad ballons or they cant even hit the ball, they hit thin air.
I would swear that as a Lazio fan, you would always remember him for what he and Ninis did to Roma , the season 09-10 in the round of 32 in Europa!!!


@rockstrongo yeah R9 is the best, or to be accurate is the most complete Striker, at least as much as i have seen. He had pace/instict/tec all in an awesone way.
If i would pick on CF with emotion , i would choose Henry, Ibra, or Drogba. If i would pick with sense, i would pick only R9.

Ahaha, yeah of course I remember that . Panathinaikos was pretty feared at the times. They were kinda happy with the draw but back then I knew it would have been difficult. And in fact..

Ninis seemed also like such a promising guy back then, I remember buying him with great delight in my historical Pes 2011 ML. Then unfortunately he disapperead from the radar as well.

p.s. R9 is literally the stuff of the legends. In my opinion at his top shape he's simply the best striker who ever lived. I was lucky enough to see him in a live match at the stadium in his best year in Italy (97-98) and I'll never forget it! It's so sad he was devastated by any kind of physical problem. If he could have kept his 96-98 shape for just a couple more years he would have probably rewritten football history in some unimaginable way.

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

Dedication right there,going 15 seasons!
Cisse was a great player, especially in France, obviously R9 being the best forward ever,period!
His Barcelona days were insane.
So many great players back then, especially the 90s in Serie A.

@rockstrongo , and @slamsoze , something iconic and timeless about Ronaldo (R9), though I only ever refer to him normally as simply Ronaldo.
My generation will always remember the Brazilian hitman in his prime at PSV and Inter, prowling the halfway line like a big cat waiting for a kill. Ronaldo did not do defending and he was that good, you could not fault him.

Djibril Cisse was definitely more in the Vieri or Drogba mould, very reliant on his power and speed. He had a horrendous leg break and amazing he ever played again.

 

[rockstrongo]

@rockstrongo , and @slamsoze , something iconic and timeless about Ronaldo (R9), though I only ever refer to him normally as simply Ronaldo.
My generation will always remember the Brazilian hitman in his prime at PSV and Inter, prowling the halfway line like a big cat waiting for a kill. Ronaldo did not do defending and he was that good, you could not fault him.

Djibril Cisse was definitely more in the Vieri or Drogba mould, very reliant on his power and speed. He had a horrendous leg break and amazing he ever played again.

First time I saw Ronaldo (didn't play at all I think) was at the WC in -94,since we played Brazil twice that world cup (draw and a fucking loss in the semi) never thought that weird kid would be the power house he became.
And I'm only using the R9 for the younger generation really,we all know him as Ronaldo.
Stunning player.

 

[miguelfcp]

Round of 16 - Matchday #2 - Romania vs. Austria

(match in progress...)

 

[slamsoze]

@rockstrongo , and @slamsoze , something iconic and timeless about Ronaldo (R9), though I only ever refer to him normally as simply Ronaldo.
My generation will always remember the Brazilian hitman in his prime at PSV and Inter, prowling the halfway line like a big cat waiting for a kill. Ronaldo did not do defending and he was that good, you could not fault him.

Djibril Cisse was definitely more in the Vieri or Drogba mould, very reliant on his power and speed. He had a horrendous leg break and amazing he ever played again.

Me also as @rockstrongo spell him R9 for the youngers. Since C. RONALDO, always "C." for me, or CR7 or whatever, decide to self claim himself Ronaldo!
We saw really great STs the previous decade. Miro Klose as i watched him to @Madmac79 video, Super Pipo, Crespo, Adriano, Henry even the other wonderkid underachiever Nicolas Anelka, Ibra, Eto, Drogba, Lusandro Lopez , my pesfavourites Felipe Caicedo and G. PAZZINI. Everyone with different playstyle but all considered as "killer". The latest years we have players that more between No10-No11 +No9 and less the classic No9 . We lost the classic No10 players and after 2010 we started loosing Classics 9s.
My last man standing that i pick in my modern MLs after 2014, is the Colombian Roger "Baker" Martinez, who in pes started declining since 2019 , while in real life seems stuck around Chinese SL, loan in CA America and a semester in Villareal as loaniem Still waiting for him. My second PES current striker that is in danger to be lost is Matteo Cassierra, from Ajax loaned to an Argentinean club.

 

[miguelfcp]

A star is born.

...at least one.

This Round of 16 Romania vs. Austria matchup might not have been the most anticipated of them all, as neither of these teams are expected to make any waves later on in this World Youth Cup. However, as we've learnt so far after witnessing the shocking eliminations of teams such as France and Portugal (who've lost to Switzerland and South Korea, respectively), this first edition of the competition might end up being the ultimate underdog World Cup - so it might make sense to pay attention to these otherwise uninteresting sides. English fans got the memo and surprisingly enough, were able to fill the Valley Parade (Coral Windows Stadium) up.

It's fair to say that this wasn't a spectacular encounter. It was more of an endless midfield battle with few clear-cut-chances for either side; it was the kind of hyper-tactical match that the managers and wannabe managers alike surely loved to experience, not so much for your typical football fan. Neither team was able to exercise dominance over the other, which was to be expected beforehand anyway.

After just three minutes of play, Austria had to deal with an injured player, as midfielder Demaku is brought down and seemed unable to continue on. The foul didn't look as hard enough for to have such a powerful effect on him, but though he kept trying to return to the match and carry on, he would be substituted by the 23rd minute. A tough blow for Austria's aspirations in this match as one of their most talented players is off for the day.

Meanwhile, in a very timid manner both sides were trying to get to the opponent's last third of the pitch. No team decided to bet on attacking profusely; rather both chose to hold on to their defensive solidity and wait for the perfect opportunity to counter-attack. Now, while Romania tried to use Mihaila (one of the top-scorers of the tournament with two goals scored in their previous encounter) down the right-wing to create some danger on the run, Austria preferred to keep the ball possession and wait much more patiently for an opportunity to attack. Anyway, neither were having much success: it's fair to say they were both able to get a few shots here and there, but none was really worthy of note.

After ten minutes of mild action, no shots were taken for ten more minutes. Argh. Is this going to be Northern Ireland vs. China all over again? I sure hope to never see such a terrible event ever happening again. It'll haunt me until the end of days.

Worry not, dear writer, said Austria. More precisely, one of the most feared attacking duos of the competition, one that the WYC is revealing to the general audience. I'm speaking of Krienzer and Edelhofer. By the 23rd minute, Krienzer got the ball in front of Romania's defense, decides to lob it to Edelhofer...

...and the man rides the elevator, gets out on the 56th floor, jumps without any parachute and dives to glory! He scored! What a potent header by one of the most exciting (and beforehand, totally unknown) talents in this WYC!

The goal sparked a foul fest for the remaining minutes of the first half. Fifteen minutes without any shots on goal - right after Krienzer tried a ultimately unsuccessful one - and too many fouls everywhere. Romania was entirely to blame for that as by the end of the first half, they had ten fouls against Austria's only one. The goal took a toll on their mental well-being and Austria took advantage of the situation and established control over the game. I give all credit to Austrian manager Aivanschitz as you can perfectly see how in each moment of the match this team is able to assert itself with class and solidity. Despite the fact that neither of their defensive players is particularly skilled, they were able to pass the ball around among themselves when the team was building up play, effectively participating on that process. It was a joy to watch, truly.

At half time, Austria's winning 0-1 and despite the fact that the shot count was balanced, the ball possession levels reveal how Austria treated the ball better than their rivals.

Spoiler: .

If most expected a vivid reaction by the losing team Romania for the second half of play, that clearly didn't happen. In fact, it was Austria who almost scored the second goal on a couple of occasions: first it was Hahn who almost scored from a beautifully taken free kick - the ball seemed to be ice-skating on air, such was the graceful swerve it had - and then it was Radulovic who hit the post on the edge of the box.

Andrei wouldn't be able to stop any of those if they had gone in.

At this point, Austria deserved to be winning by two goals. I say this not so much for their offensive production - as those two shots pretty much sum their second half attacking ventures (even if Romania didn't do any better) -; rather, a star was born in this second half on Austria's defensive side: and that star single-handedly stopped the entire Romania's offense. Meisl, the centreback, rose up to the challenge: he had already threaten to taken over in the first 45 minutes but he must've taken something at halftime, because he absolutely exploded later on. I'm not exaggerating: he won every challenge, he never got dribbled, he blocked shots, crosses, and passes of all kinds; he patrolled the midfield, the CB area where he belongs, he covered for his left back, his right back, and even his CB partner Moormann. Meisl was possessed by the spirits of Van Dijk, Maldini, Nesta and Cannavaro all at the same time.

Even so, Romania was able to get a clear-cut-chance to score - their most dangerous one of the entire match. Ten minutes before the end, Moormann misses what looked like a simple header to try and clear the ball away from danger, but it ends up on J. Markovic's feet and he instantly gets one-on-one with the keeper, who manages to save it.

Moments later, Austria's right-back gets injured and because the team is all out of subs, he has to painfully carry on playing.

Fortunately for him, he wouldn't need to play the extra-time as Austria secures the 0-1 win over Romania - and rightfully so as the Austrians were the better team out there on both sides of the pitch during the whole match.

Spoiler: .

Spoiler: .

Man of the Match: Meisl. The task of marking Markovic would always be a tough one for any defender but Meisl definitely rose to the occasion, in style I'd add. This was by far the greatest defensive exhibition we've had in this WYC2019 and one that would be very tough to beat. Meisl, I don't know if you'll ever make it on professional football, but save this game's broadcast and you won't even need a football agent to land you a job.

Up: Krienzer and Edelhofer. I don't know if there's any other attacking duo as finely tuned as this one. Each always knows where the other is at all times, they share the offensive workload perfectly and flawlessly: exhibit A, the goal they've built and scored.

Up: Screciu. Sad to see this exciting midfielder go, as he never fails to impress defensively and offensively: if he's usually only a defensive-minded anchorman, this time he took the reins of the team's offense and acted like a box-to-box-meets-anchorman.

Down: Markovic. Meisl and Moormann denied him the chance to shine at all times - and even when he had a bit of space, he could never do anything noteworthy with the ball.

 

[rockstrongo]

Truly great players,I mentioned it a year ago or so in the Pes 18/19 thread,that strikers/goalscorers today aren't what they use to be, Messi/CR7 obviously in a top ten list or even top three in performance,but not quite the flair and extra as the ones back in the 90s
Bergkamp for instance,Henry as you mentioned,Henrik Larsson,so many great ones back then.
Couldn't care less for Hazard/Lukaku/Dybala/Salah etc
Messi will obviously be missed when he retires,perhaps I've taken him for granted?

 

[slamsoze]

Truly great players,I mentioned it a year ago or so in the Pes 18/19 thread,that strikers/goalscorers today aren't what they use to be, Messi/CR7 obviously in a top ten list or even top three in performance,but not quite the flair and extra as the ones back in the 90s
Bergkamp for instance,Henry as you mentioned,Henrik Larsson,so many great ones back then.
Couldn't care less for Hazard/Lukaku/Dybala/Salah etc
Messi will obviously be missed when he retires,perhaps I've taken him for granted?

Messi is no doubt of the top3 players of our era. But for me (personal view) he failed to reach the pantheon of best of the best, the true Legends, like Zidane,Ronaldo, Maradona, Pele etc etc for two reasons:
1) He never solved me the quiz, if the 2011 Barcelona was more Messi eitheir Xavi+Iniesta.
2) But most important, in contrast with Maradona, Messi with Argentina NT achieved pretty nothing, such a "looser" attidute. He even failed to stay until 90', to receive a third place Bronze medal, by taking a red-card in the 3rd-place match in Copa America. And generally in WC2010 and WC2014 he was like hiding in crucial moments, when the ball was too hot!!

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

Messi is no doubt of the top3 players of our era. But for me (personal view) he failed to reach the pantheon of best of the best, the true Legends, like Zidane,Ronaldo, Maradona, Pele etc etc for two reasons:
1) He never solved me the quiz, if the 2011 Barcelona was more Messi eitheir Xavi+Iniesta.
2) But most important, in contrast with Maradona, Messi with Argentina NT achieved pretty nothing, such a "looser" attidute. He even failed to stay until 90', to receive a third place Bronze medal, by taking a red-card in the 3rd-place match in Copa America. And generally in WC2010 and WC2014 he was like hiding in crucial moments, when the ball was too hot!!

@slamsoze , absolutely spot on. And to emphasize your point I would add three other players who surpass Messi.
Dear Kaiser, Lothar Matthaus and Paolo Rossi all were crucial players in winning World Cups for West Germany and Italy.

Interesting wikistat that five West German players have won gold, silver and bronze medals in World Cups.

 

[mattmid]

@slamsoze In Messi's defence internationally he has generally had a very average team around him in recent years. In recent season's though I don't think he has any kind of fitness or stamina. Take that game against Liverpool, there was a 10-15 minute spell late in the first half I think it was, when he was suddenly everywhere and making lots of dribbling runs. By the end of it he was shot. Bent over on his knees. This is why he walks around most of the game now and only comes to life when he has the ball. Did I imagine it, maybe(?) but I'm sure at the 2014 world cup a commentator mentioned that Messi had been complaining that his legs felt like lead. Anyway he's not a shadow, athletically, of what he was as a youngster.

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

@slamsoze In Messi's defence internationally he has generally had a very average team around him in recent years. In recent season's though I don't think he has any kind of fitness or stamina. Take that game against Liverpool, there was a 10-15 minute spell late in the first half I think it was, when he was suddenly everywhere and making lots of dribbling runs. By the end of it he was shot. Bent over on his knees. This is why he walks around most of the game now and only comes to life when he has the ball. Did I imagine it, maybe(?) but I'm sure at the 2014 world cup a commentator mentioned that Messi had been complaining that his legs felt like lead. Anyway he's not a shadow, athletically, of what he was as a youngster.

@mattmid , I have noticed that too about Messi. But then again if you think about it, truly great players like Ronaldo can still make a big contribution to a team in order to win a World Cup like in 2002, his legs were gone by then but he still had the eye for goal.

 

[slamsoze]

@slamsoze In Messi's defence internationally he has generally had a very average team around him in recent years. In recent season's though I don't think he has any kind of fitness or stamina. Take that game against Liverpool, there was a 10-15 minute spell late in the first half I think it was, when he was suddenly everywhere and making lots of dribbling runs. By the end of it he was shot. Bent over on his knees. This is why he walks around most of the game now and only comes to life when he has the ball. Did I imagine it, maybe(?) but I'm sure at the 2014 world cup a commentator mentioned that Messi had been complaining that his legs felt like lead. Anyway he's not a shadow, athletically, of what he was as a youngster.

Now tgat you mention wc2014 incident, there were some videos back then, commented highly in greek TV, where he was constantly vomiting during games. They said a lot about this, that he had much pressure, that some medicine taking for his knees caused the vomits, even some said that the "superfoods" he ate were responsible.
Completely agree with your point that his teammates were not on par, but he didn't either convinced that he tried his best his 1,000%.
On the other hand C. Ronaldo on Euro2016, while in some games he carried Portugal NT, when in final he failed to achieve a carrying performance, he accepted his fate, although he did some bullshit on the final near the coach. I don't know what @miguelfcp or other fellow Portuguese guys believe about that Euro, but for us Greeks it was a cup win credited 100% to coach Fernando Santos and was also justice for him, as he had stuck on the past, many League and Cup looses in the final fixtures etc, despite he managed very underdog rosters. I remember after he lost a Portugal Ligue win witg Porto or Benfica on last fixture, after in Greece he lost two times the league, the first in goal difference and the second in last fixture with AEK, while he started the season with a roster missioned to avoid relegation!!!. This Euro (2016) gave him the justice he diserved at least in Greek people eyes.Many celebrated as being Portuguese, although we hurted them in 2004

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

I remember last year before the World Cup. The History channel I think replayed the official FIFA World Cup 1970 highlights film, about ninety minutes long I think.

What amazed me was how players back then did actually sort of walk around, even on the ball, until they entered the opposition half. And great players like Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Charlton were rarely tackled until they got into dangerous areas, for fear of being made look silly by them I imagine, with their amazing close dribble control.

This modern pressing thing kind of takes the 'joie de vivre' out of our game.

 

[rockstrongo]

Messi is no doubt of the top3 players of our era. But for me (personal view) he failed to reach the pantheon of best of the best, the true Legends, like Zidane,Ronaldo, Maradona, Pele etc etc for two reasons:
1) He never solved me the quiz, if the 2011 Barcelona was more Messi eitheir Xavi+Iniesta.
2) But most important, in contrast with Maradona, Messi with Argentina NT achieved pretty nothing, such a "looser" attidute. He even failed to stay until 90', to receive a third place Bronze medal, by taking a red-card in the 3rd-place match in Copa America. And generally in WC2010 and WC2014 he was like hiding in crucial moments, when the ball was too hot!!

Spot on!
He never been a leader in Argentina (that I know)
Shouldn't had a red Vs Chile though,bad decision by the ref,strange decision even,never went to VAR on that one

 

[mattmid]

I remember last year before the World Cup. The History channel I think replayed the official FIFA World Cup 1970 highlights film, about ninety minutes long I think.

What amazed me was how players back then did actually sort of walk around, even on the ball, until they entered the opposition half. And great players like Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Charlton were rarely tackled until they got into dangerous areas, for fear of being made look silly by them I imagine, with their amazing close dribble control.

This modern pressing thing kind of takes the 'joie de vivre' out of our game.

That pressing things nothing new


But I totally agree with your point in the modern game. There's too many teams play not to lose rather than play to win.

 

[rockstrongo]

I remember last year before the World Cup. The History channel I think replayed the official FIFA World Cup 1970 highlights film, about ninety minutes long I think.

What amazed me was how players back then did actually sort of walk around, even on the ball, until they entered the opposition half. And great players like Pele, Cruyff, Beckenbauer and Charlton were rarely tackled until they got into dangerous areas, for fear of being made look silly by them I imagine, with their amazing close dribble control.

This modern pressing thing kind of takes the 'joie de vivre' out of our game.

They had a whole series both on History and Discovery channel.
Great build up to the WC

Also imagine Cruyff/Maradonna on modern pitches,you know the golf greens,and a modern ball..

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

That pressing things nothing new


But I totally agree with your point in the modern game. There's too many teams play not to lose rather than play to win.

Yep, that total football thing I guess was the beginning of the modern pressing game. But when every team does exactly the same, as you say, to avoid losing, it just ruins the game.

And @mattmid , who won in '74 ? The Germans........

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

They had a whole series both on History and Discovery channel.
Great build up to the WC

Also imagine Cruyff/Maradonna on modern pitches,you know the golf greens,and a modern ball..

Yeh @rockstrongo , I actually had an old school leather football with a proper natural rubber bladder when I was a kid. It was much lighter than the 1960s and 70s balls but it was much heavier and more dead than modern synthetic balls without the rubber bladder. You had to give it some boot.

 

[rockstrongo]

Yeh @rockstrongo , I actually had an old school leather football with a proper natural rubber bladder when I was a kid. It was much lighter than the 1960s and 70s balls but it was much heavier and more dead than modern synthetic balls without the rubber bladder. You had to give it some boot.

Started playing when I was 6-7 years old (Mid 70's) remember those heavy balls then(for me as a kid) and we didn't always play on grass either
Sometimes (often wed play between sep- Jan/Feb on clay/mud/gravel not artificial turf like today)

 

[mattmid]

@rockstrongo Is that Stamford Bridge from the 70's

I remember a team I played for as a kid, one game we had, it had been raining for about two days solid. Great big puddles every where and one in the middle of the each goalmouth, not a chance of it being called off. Everybody covered head to toe in mud by the end of the game. Great fun! I think it ended something like 7-5

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

Started playing when I was 6-7 years old (Mid 70's) remember those heavy balls then(for me as a kid) and we didn't always play on grass either
Sometimes (often wed play between sep- Jan/Feb on clay/mud/gravel not artificial turf like today)
View attachment 17294

@rockstrongo , love it Rocko. I am guessing back in the day when we were kids, only a few years between us, global warming had not altered the scandinavian climate yet and you had proper autumn's and winters in Sweden with no grass growth.

That pitch looks fun, a heavy leather ball and and a load of gravel smacking you in the head all at once, proper football.....

 

[WhoAteMeDinner]

Started playing when I was 6-7 years old (Mid 70's) remember those heavy balls then(for me as a kid) and we didn't always play on grass either
Sometimes (often wed play between sep- Jan/Feb on clay/mud/gravel not artificial turf like today)
View attachment 17294

I am officially proposing @rockstrongo , Rocko's childhood football "pitch":

The Cuito Scandinale....

a ferocious rutted, clay ground and a graveyard of shattered ML title hopes.

 

[rockstrongo]

@rockstrongo Is that Stamford Bridge from the 70's

I remember a team I played for as a kid, one game we had, it had been raining for about two days solid. Great big puddles every where and one in the middle of the each goalmouth, not a chance of it being called off. Everybody covered head to toe in mud by the end of the game. Great fun! I think it ended something like 7-5

Looks Like Stamford bridge doesn't it

As an adult playing very low league football we sometimes played teams out in the sticks,those pitches were always in mint condition

 

[rockstrongo]

I am officially proposing @rockstrongo , Rocko's childhood football "pitch":

The Cuito Scandinale....

a ferocious rutted, clay ground and a graveyard of shattered ML title hopes.

Probably edit my Olimpico on Pes 5 to that Dinner

 

[rockstrongo]

@rockstrongo , love it Rocko. I am guessing back in the day when we were kids, only a few years between us, global warming had not altered the scandinavian climate yet and you had proper autumn's and winters in Sweden with no grass growth.

That pitch looks fun, a heavy leather ball and and a load of gravel smacking you in the head all at once, proper football.....

Yeah probably had a few screamers hitting me in the face back then,an explanation to why I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed pal