Bronze Age - Defensive Midfielders
Giresse - An intelligent playmaker who possessed fine agility and acceleration due to his diminutive frame. Alain was handed his first France cap in Poland in September of 1974. "That first match is still a memory loaded with emotion. That was a dream as we were part of a generation of players that came out of nowhere because youth academies didn't exist yet."
Nevertheless, when it came to picking a squad for the 1978 FIFA World Cup, Giresse was left by the wayside, a snub he has yet to forget: "In the 1970s, people didn't take much notice of me, even though I had a few great seasons... But I had a more balanced role as the supply line, whereas other members of the 'Carré magique' worked on getting the ball back and moving it forward. In short, that midfield was like a well-oiled assembly line, with Platini there to finish everything off."
Giresse is wary now of "being stuck in the past", but 1982 clearly looks to have been a turning point for the player nicknamed 'Little Big Man'. His superb performances in Spain brought him a second-place finish behind Paolo Rossi in the Ballon d'Or stakes that year.
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Van Hanegem - In 1974 Cruyff's status as the greatest Dutch footballer was again called into question when he and Willem (Wim) van Hanegem played together. Van Hanegem was a left-footed midfielder who could read the game like few others in the history of football. Indeed, after the 1974 World Cup, journalist Brian Glenville chose Van Hanegem over Cruyff as his player of the tournament, an opinion shared by others.
1976 Euro. In the semifinal game after an unfair goal by the Czechs, the Dutch were due to kick off from the centre, and referee Thomas ordered Wim van Hanegem to do so. Wim was still angry with the referee: "I said, 'Why? I'm a midfield player. The strikers have to start the game.' Thomas said, 'Come here.' Usually the referee comes to the player, so I stayed where I was. He said again, 'Come here.' I thought, I'm not your dog, I don't have to follow your orders, and I stayed where I was." The referee then showed Van Hanegem a red card, leaving the Dutch team with nine men.
What the Dutchman couldn't understand was that he was up against the only referee in the world who was even more stubborn and smug than he was. Years later, in a Dutch TV documentary, Thomas admitted: "I'm sorry, my decision was wrong. But that doesn't excuse the players' behaviour, mistakes happen all the time." That would have been the end of it, but...
Four years earlier, following an incident in a match between Feyenoord and Benfica, Van Hanegem had publicly called Thomas a "thief". Thomas later said he hadn't heard it, otherwise he would have tried to get the midfielder banned for 10 games, maybe even for life. "Nobody can call me that."
