Northern Ireland vs the World’s Best Players (1956-1968)

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-  Intro - 1956-1968 - 1971-1985 - 1990-2001 - 2003-date -

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In 1956 the magazine France Football instigated the Ballon d’Or (Golden Ball) to honour the best footballer in Europe. Known in the British press as the European Footballer of the Year, from 1995 onward its scope was widened to honour any footballer playing in a European league.

FIFA launched its own World Player of the Year award in 1991. In title at least, this award was open to any player in any league, however the men’s award has only ever been given to someone who was Europe-based (the female award has however been given to players from further afield).

In 1998 UEFA launched the Club Footballer of the Year Award which was then re-launched as the UEFA Men’s Player of the Year in 2011.

Between 2010 and 2015 the FIFA and France Football entered a partnership to award the FIFA Ballon d’Or, merging the two established prizes. The partnership ended in 2016 with France Football taking back sole control of the Ballon d’Or and FIFA re-launching their own award, now called the Best FIFA Men’s Player (with a Women’s equivalent).

To date Northern Ireland has produced one winner of these awards, George Best taking the Ballon d’Or in 1968, the year he starred in Manchester United’s first European Cup win.

So, how have the “World’s Best” faired against Northern Ireland?

Stanley Matthews (England) Ballon d’Or 1956

ENG

Matthews, Stanley

Stoke City (ENG)

b:

01/02/1915

1

16/11/38

A

BC

L

0

-

7

(age 23)

1 gl

d:

23/02/2000

(age 85)

Blackpool (ENG)

International Apps/Gls

2

05/11/47

A

BC

D

2

-

2

v.NI:

7

/2

3

09/10/48

H

BC

L

2

-

6

*

Tot:

54

/10

4

07/10/50

H

BC

L

1

-

4

5

11/11/53

A

WCq/BC

L

1

-

3

Won

5

6

02/10/54

H

BC

L

0

-

2

Drawn

2

7

06/10/56

H

BC

D

1

-

1

(age 41)

1 gl

Lost

0

* listed in some sources as a goalscorer, but more widely credited as a Smyth own goal.

The first Ballon d’Or winner remains the oldest, 41-year-old Stanley Matthews still had a year left of his 23 year England career. The supreme winger, in 1956 he helped Blackpool to runners-up spot in the First Division and would play his final league game nine (!) years later.

In 1938, Matthews marked his first game against Ireland with a trademark goal (England’s seventh), running from the half-way line and slotting home from a narrow angle. He didn’t play against Ireland again until after the Second World War. In 1948 his cross came off the post and bounced off goalkeeper Billy Smyth’s back to give England their opener in a 6-2 win. In a stand-out performance he also provided the crosses for two other English goals. 

In 1956 he scored his final international goal, opening the scoring against Northern Ireland after just a few minutes minutes. The Irish battled their way to an equaliser and showed the skill and guile that marked that golden era for the men in green. Danny Blanchflower took the time to point out that he had been a schoolboy spectator in short trousers when Matthews had last scored an international goal.

Alfredo Di Stéfano (Argentina/Spain) Ballon d’Or 1957, 1959

ESP

Di Stéfano, Alfredo

Real Madrid (ESP)

b:

04/07/1926

1

15/10/58

A

FR

L

2

-

6

(age 32)

d:

07/07/2014

(age.88)

International Apps/Gls

v.NI:

1

/0

ARG

6

/6

COL

4

/0

ESP

31

/23

Tot:

41

/29

Won

1

Drawn

0

Lost

0

Alfredo Di Stefano had won a South American Championship with his native Argentina before moving to Europe via a spell in the El Dorado of Colombian football. His goalscoring helped fire Real Madrid to dominance of the fledgling European Cup, he scored in every final from 1956-1960 and earned the Ballon d’Or in 1957 and 1959.

In October 1958 Northern Ireland, fresh from their successes at the World Cup in Sweden, travelled to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid for a first ever meeting with Spain. Although Di Stefano drew a blank in front of goal, thanks largely to a fine goalkeeping of Norman Uprichard, his play “time and again tore gaps in the Irish defence with his deft passes” as the Spaniards ran out convincing winners.

One thing missing from Di Stefano’s glorious CV was an appearance at a World Cup. Although selected for Spain’s 1962 squad, a muscular injury sidelined him, and his adopted country left Chile after the group stage.

Raymond Kopa (France) Ballon d’Or 1958

FRA

Kopa, Raymond

Stade de Reims (FRA)

b:

13/10/1931

1

11/11/52

A

FR

L

1

-

3

(age 21)

2 gls

d:

03/03/2017

(age 85)

Real Madrid (ESP)

International Apps/Gls

2

19/06/58

N

WC

L

0

-

4

(age 26)

v.NI:

2

/2

Tot:

45

/18

Won

2

Drawn

0

Lost

0

Raymond Kopaszewski was born of Polish immigrants, adopting the more western-sounding Kopa while at school. Before making it as a footballer he worked as a coalminer, losing his finger in an accident.

Ireland made a rare trip beyond the British Isles in 1952 travelling to France and offering Kopa the opportunity to score his first international goals. With Stade de Reims Kopa claimed French titles and a Latin Cup (Europe’s most prestigious tournament prior to the launch of the European Cup). In 1956 he played in the first European Cup final as Reims lost out to Real Madrid.

A diminutive play-maker, Kopa joined Madrid in 1956 and claimed three successive European Cups, but it was his performances for France at the 1958 World Cup that brought him the most praise. He scored three times in Sweden, but more tellingly he aided Just Fontaine aided to a record 13 tournament goals. Northern Ireland were among the victims of that almost telepathic partnership, as France won their quarter-final meeting 4-0. Although France exited the World Cup in the semis, Kopa was selected in the Team of the Tournament.

As well as winning the Ballon d’Or in 1958, Kopa was runner-up in 1959 and third in 1956 and 1957.

 Luis Suárez (Spain) Ballon d’Or 1960

ESP

Suárez, Luis

Barcelona (ESP)

b:

02/05/1935

1

15/10/58

A

FR

L

2

-

6

(age 23)

2 gl

Internazionale (ITA)

International Apps/Gls

2

30/10/63

H

ENC

L

0

-

1

(age 28)

v.NI:

2

/1

Tot:

32

/14

Won

2

Drawn

0

Lost

0

Northern Ireland first came up agains Luis Suarez in that 1958 humbling by Spain, when he scored twice from inside-right, both goals assisted by the aforementioned Di Stefano. A star for a Barcelona side going toe-to-toe with Real Madrid in the Spanish League, Suarez’s goals were unable to wrest the European Cup away from the capital, Instead, they had to make do with two wins in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the latter of these coinciding with his 1960 Ballon d’Or win.

In 1961 Suarez left Spain behind to join Inter Milan, and with the Italians he finally managed to get his hands on the European Cup, winning it in 1964 and 1965. With Spain he was part of the 1964 European Nations Cup winning team. On the way to that success he played in the second leg of a round-of-16 meeting with Northern Ireland. The first leg had finished 1-1 in Bilbao before a second half goal from Gento in the Belfast return saw the Spaniards progress by a single goal. In addition, Suarez played at the 1962 and 1966 World Cups and managed Spain to two wins over Northern Ireland in the 1990 World Cup qualifiers.

Omar Sívori (Argentina/Italy) Ballon d’Or 1961

ESP

Suárez, Luis

Juventus (ITA)

b:

02/10/1935

1

25/04/61

A

FR

L

2

-

3

(age 25)

1

d:

17/02/2005

(age.69)

International Apps/Gls

v.NI:

1

/1

ARG

19

/9

ITA

9

/8

Tot:

28

/17

Won

1

Drawn

0

Lost

0

If timings had fallen one way or the other, Omar Sivori might have played more than just once against Northern Ireland. A talented forward, he was Player of the Tournament as Argentina claimed the 1957 South American Championship. He was spotted by Juventus, who paid a world record fee to take him to Italy. The move saw him (along with Maschio and Angelillo who had joined Inter and Bologna respectively) barred from representing Argentina, and he thus missed out on facing Northern Ireland at the 1958 World Cup.

Sivori’s Italian ancestry allowed him to be selected by his new home country, and it was against Northern Ireland in 1961 that he made a goal-scoring debut for the Azzurri. If the international “switch” had happened earlier, he might have helped Italy to qualify for the 1958 World Cup in Northern Ireland’s stead. As it was, he did make it to the World Cup with Italy in 1962.

His 1961 Italian debut coincided with his Ballon d’Or and his third and final Scudetto.

Josef Masopust (Czechoslovakia) Ballon d’Or 1962

TCH

Masopust, Josef

Dukla Prague (TCH)

b:

09/02/1931

1

08/06/58

N

WC

W

1

-

0

(age 27)

d:

29/06/2015

(age.84)

2

17/06/58

N

WC

W

2

-

1

(age 27)

aet

International Apps/Gls

v.NI:

2

/0

Tot:

63

/10

Won

0

Drawn

0

Lost

2

It is hard to fathom how accomplished the Czechoslovakia team of the 1950s/1960s was, and Josef Masopust was the lynchpin of their midfield.

Northern Ireland’s two wins over the Czechs at Sweden 1958 perhaps only look so impressive in retrospect as they went on to claim the Central European Cup in 1960, finish third in the first European Nations Championships (also in 1960) and, perhaps most notably, finish runners-up in the 1962 World Cup. Masoputs actually scored to put the Czechs 1-0 up in the final before Brazil ran-out 3-1 winners. For his efforts, Masoputs was awarded the Ballon d’Or.

1962 also brought Masoput’s Dukla Prague side to wider attention, as they lost over two legs to Danny Blanchflower’s Tottenham in the European Cup quarter-final. In 1963 he played for the Rest of the World against England in the FA’s Centenary match and in 1965 he featured for a World Stars XI in Stanley Matthew’s farewell match.

Denis Law (Scotland) Ballon d’Or 1964

SCO	Law, Denis		Huddersfield Town (ENG)
b:	24/02/1940		1	05/11/58	A	BC	D	2	-	2	(age 18)
d:			2	03/10/59	H	BC	L	0	-	4
International Apps/Gls			Manchester City (ENG)
v.NI:	10	/6	3	09/11/60	A	BC	L	2	-	5		1 gl
Tot:	55	/30	Manchester United (ENG)
			4	07/11/62	A	BC	L	1	-	5		4 gl
	Won	5	5	25/11/64	A	BC	L	2	-	3
	Drawn	2	6	02/10/65	H	BC	W	3	-	2
	Lost	3	7	21/10/67	H	ECq/BC	W	1	-	0
			8	06/05/69	A	BC	D	1	-	1
			9	20/05/72	N	BC	L	0	-	2		1 gl
			Manchester City (ENG)
			10	11/05/74	N	BC	W	1	-	0	(age 34)	65>

One of the most prolific goalscorers British football has ever produced, Denis Law remains Scotland’s (equal) top scorer almost 50 years after his retirement.

Law emerged as a teenager with Huddersfield in the late-50s, making a goalscoring international debut as an 18-year-old. He raised a record transfer fee when transferred to Manchester City in 1960, and again when transferring to Torino a year later. After a difficult season in Italy he returned to Manchester, this time with United, for another record-breaking fee. At Old Trafford he formed the “Holy Trinity” with Bobby Charlton and George Best, with each of them claiming the Ballon d’Or through the 1960s. He claimed two league titles and an FA Cup in his eleven years with United, but in 1964, when he claimed the Ballon d’Or he was otherwise empty-handed. In 1968 he missed out on the European Cup final due to injury.

With Scotland, Law twice scored four goals, against Norway in 1963 and Northern Ireland in 1962. His performance in that 5-1 win over Northern Ireland at Hampden was described as a “tour de force”, his “dashing opportunism … holding the stage, almost entirely alone.” Law would score the thirtieth and final international goal against Northern Ireland in 1972 (his sixth in ten appearances against the men in green), but it is perhaps the final club goal of his career that will be longest remembered.

At the end of a swansong season back at City, it was Law’s backheeled goal in a season-closing Manchester Derby that copper-fastened United’s relegation from the topflight. It was a crestfallen Law that travelled to the 1974 World Cup with Scotland, and he made the last appearance of his long career in a 2-0 win over Zaire in Dortmund.

Eusébio (Portugal) Ballon d’Or 1965

POR

Eusébio

Benfica (POR)

b:

25/01/1942

1

28/03/73

N

WCq

D

1

-

1

(age 31)

1 gl

d:

05/01/2014

(age.71)

International Apps/Gls

v.NI:

1

/0

Tot:

64

/41

Won

0

Drawn

1

Lost

0

Eusebio, aka the Black Pearl, emerged in the early-1960s as the complete centre-forward. Fast, strong, skillful and with a ferocious right-foot. He was still just 20 when he really established himself on the big stage, helping Benfica to a second European Cup win in 1962. His goalscoring took Benfica to another three European Cup finals through the 1960s, though he was unable to claim another winner’s medal. In a 15 year career at the Stadium of Light he averaged over a goal a game, claimed eleven Portuguese titles and five Portuguese Cups. In 1965, the year he claimed the Ballon d’Or, he scored 48 goals in all competitions. He topped this tally in 1968 when he hit 50, claiming the first ever European Golden Boot.

Born in Mozambique, then a Portuguese colony, Eusebio scored a then record 41 goals for Portugal, a tally only since surpassed by Pauletta and Cristiano Ronaldo. He was topscorer at the 1966 World Cup, his nine goals helping Portugal to a best-ever third place finish. By the time he faced Northern Ireland for the first time he had already played in Belfast a few times. In 1963 he was part of a Benfica-side held 3-3 by a Tom Finney-inspired Distillery in a European Cup match at Windsor Park, and in 1967 he scored a late equaliser with a “rocket” to deny Glentoran a famous win at the Oval in the same competition. His one appearance against Northern Ireland was to witness his final international goal in a game played in Coventry due to the “Troubles”.

Bobby Charlton (England) Ballon d’Or 1966

ENG	Charlton, Bobby		Manchester United (ENG)
b:	11/10/1937		1	04/10/58	H	BC	D	3	-	3	(age 20)	2 gl
d:			2	08/10/60	H	BC	L	2	-	5		1 gl
International Apps/Gls			3	22/11/61	A	BC	D	1	-	1		1 gl
v.NI:	10	/6	4	20/11/63	A	BC	L	3	-	8
Tot:	106	/49	5	03/10/64	H	BC	L	3	-	4
			6	10/11/65	A	BC	L	1	-	2
	Won	8	7	20/10/66	H	ECq/BC	L	0	-	2
	Drawn	2	8	22/11/67	A	ECq/BC	L	0	-	2		1 gl
	Lost	0	9	03/05/69	H	BC	L	1	-	3
			10	21/04/70	A	BC	L	1	-	3	(age 32)	1 gl	capt

Bobby Charlton’s Ballon d’Or came following England’s 1966 World Cup win, during which he scored three times in six games. In total he scored 49 international goals, a national record that stood until surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2015. Perhaps his biggest legacy is that he popularised the modern attacking midfielder role that would shape the British game for the next 50 years.

Charlton made his England debut just two months after being pulled, seemingly lifeless, from the plane wreckage of the 1958 Munich disaster by Harry Gregg - he scored in that match against Scotland. That October he put two past Gregg in his first match against Northern Ireland. He racked up a total of six goals in ten games against Northern Ireland, with the last of those strikes, his penultimate as an international, coming on the occasion of his 100^th cap. This was shortly before England’s departure for the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, a competition that proved to be his international swansong.

Of course, Charlton is perhaps best remembered for his 17-year Manchester United career, particularly as part of the "Holy Trinity" along with Denis Law and George Best, that yielded three Football League titles, an FA Cup and the 1968 European Cup when he scored twice in the final win over Benfica.

George Best (Northern Ireland) Ballon d’Or 1968

George Best is Northern Ireland’s only Ballon d’Or winner. The award coincided with perhaps his greatest season, highlighted by a virtuoso display against Scotland and his celebrated performance in the European Cup final.

Turn up soon for Cruyff et al...

See also:

• Opposition Dual Internationals