ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY: FEBRUARY 6.

BIRTHS

GYULA LORANT (1923-1981)

Former Hungarian Footballer who played for the national team during their golden years in the 1950's. Some of his noteworthy achievements include a Gold Medal for Football at the 1952 Summer Olympics and a Runner's up medal at the 1954 FIFA World Cup.

BILLY WRIGHT (1924-1994)

Former Wolverhampton Wanderers defender who became the first footballer to reach the 100 cap milestone at international level. Represented England at 3 World Cups between 1950-1958 and enjoyed three premiership trophies with the Wolves during the 1950's.

MARCO ANTONIO (Born February 6, 1951)

Former Brazilian footballer who was part of Brazil's 1970 World Cup winning squad (playing two matches in total during the tournament), Marco Antonio had a fairly modest career at club level. Between 1968-1984, Marco played for a number of clubs which included stints at Botafogo and Fluminense FC.

TIM SHERWOOD (Born February 6, 1969)

Tim Sherwood enjoyed an 18 year strong career in which he played for a number of top flight English clubs. His career highlight came in 1995 when Blackburn Rovers won the league title over season favourites Manchester United in the 1994/95 season. More personal achievements followed in 1999 when, after impressive performances for Tottenham Hotspur, he received a call up to the England national team. In total, Sherwood picked up 3 International caps for England, all of which came in 1999. Sherwood retired from Football in 2005 at the age of 36 and is now manager of Tottenham Hotspur FC.

DEATHS

FAREWELL TO THE BUSBY BABES

On this day in 1958, a horrific plane crash in Munich, Germany claimed the lives of 23 passengers on board, eight of which were travelling players from Manchester United FC. After playing Red Star Belgrade in a European Cup match, United players and staff were on their way home when the plane they were travelling in had to stop off in Munich to refuel. After a third attempt to take off from the runway, the plane suddenly crashed and eventually exploded after impact, killing 23 of the 44 passengers on board. 8 of the 23 fatalities that day involved the Busby Babes (a name given to Manchester United's youngsters in the 1950's) and the other 15 passengers were made up of the club's staff, the pilot, airplane steward and travelling journalists. The United players who perished in the Munich air disaster were Geoff Bent, Roger Byrne, Eddie Colman, Duncan Edwards (died 15 days later in hospital), Mark Jones, David Pegg, Tommy Taylor and Liam "Billy" Whelan. 21 of the remaining passengers all survived this horrific incident, including Sir Bobby Charlton and coach Sir Matt Busby along with 7 other Manchester United players. 56 years on, and that fateful afternoon in Munich will never be forgotten by their families, friends and the wider football community.

Below are a list of the 23 passengers who died in the Munich Air Disaster in 1958:

Captain Kenneth Rayment (Pilot)
Tom Cable (Cabin steward)
Geoff Bent (Busby babe)
Roger Byrne (Busby babe)
Eddie Colman (Busby babe)
Duncan Edwards (Busby babe)
Mark Jones (Busby babe)
David Pegg (Busby babe)
Tommy Taylor (Busby babe)
Liam "Billy" Whelan (Busby babe)
Walter Crickmer (Club secretary)
Tom Curry (Trainer)
Bert Whalley (Chief coach)
Alf Clarke (Journalist)
Donny Davies (Journalist)
George Follows (Journalist)
Tom Jackson (Journalist)
Archie Ledbrooke (Journalist)
Henry Rose (Journalist)
Frank Swift (Journalist)
Eric Thompson (Journalist)
Bela Miklos (Travel agent)
Willie Satinoff (Friend of Sir Matt Busby)

Written by Alex Stilianos.

SOME GAVE ALL.

After news broke of Besart Berisha’s defection from Brisbane Roar to Melbourne Victory last week, I couldn’t help but feel (as a Brisbanite) that the hearts of many Brisbane Roar fans broke with it. When the then 26 year old Albanian arrived in Brisbane two and a half years ago, many Roar fans wondered what this striker could possibly bring to a side that had already won an A-League title just four months earlier. In a side that boasted the likes of the newly imported playmaker Thomas Broich, it seemed Berisha would have to bring something extra special to a team that seemingly had it all. He did that and more after scoring 19 goals in his debut season for the club, which led to the Roar winning their second A-League championship. In a thrilling Grand Final match, which saw the Roar down Perth Glory 2-1, the Albanian striker sealed another Grand Final trophy for Brisbane as he calmly slotted a penalty goal late in the game. Since that day, both Besart Berisha and the Brisbane Roar have gone from strength to strength.

Since Berisha’s arrival at the club, the Roar have won an A-League championship (their second in total), reached an Australian record of 36 games undefeated (a record in any Australian Football code) and, as of this week, are on track to win their second minor premiership. While it does hurt to see a legend leave, even when he has so much more to offer, it’s important to remember what he did for the club in the time he was there. There can be no doubt that Besart Berisha gave everything he ever had when it came to playing for the Roar. When the 90 minutes were up, the Albanian left it all behind on the football pitch. No one (not least in Brisbane) will ever forget the Football he played for us while he was a Roar player. There are very few players like Besart Berisha that come along and leave such a huge impact on a club. Two former footballers who similarly left a huge mark on their football clubs were Gabriel Batistuta and Henrik Larsson.

Batistuta and Larsson both served long stints at their respective clubs and left nothing to be desired when on a football pitch. Former Argentine international Batistuta played for Fiorentina for nine years between 1991-2000. Although the club achieved a moderate amount of success during his time there, the Argentine ultimately left the club in 2000 to sign for AS Roma as he “wanted to win silverware”. Although the hearts of many Fiorentina fans were left broken, Batistuta could not forget his time spent at the club as he refused to celebrate a goal he scored against his old club. After firing in a beautiful goal from long range, Roma teammates swarmed Batistuta in celebration but it was not particularly rewarding for the Argentine, as he was seen holding back to tears during the post-goal celebrations. Former Swedish International Henrik Larsson also had the same predicament after scoring a goal for FC Barcelona against his old club Celtic FC.  Larsson was similarly solemn during his post-goal celebration and could not bring himself to enjoy the moment.

Whether or not this will be the case for Berisha once he leaves Brisbane is another story. Although he ultimately left Brisbane for the money, after being given an offer he couldn’t refuse, it’s a situation you cannot judge/applaud him for unless you’ve been in that situation yourself. I for one hope we don’t see a repeat of what happened back in 2012 when Ange Postecoglou jumped ship from Brisbane Roar to coach Melbourne Victory. In the blink of an eye, Ange supporters had gone from loving the man to cursing him. Ironically it is the same club which has broken the hearts of Roar fans yet again. So when the 2013/14 A-League season comes to a close in April this year, rather than raising your voice or concerns about Berisha’s defection from Brisbane (if you’re a Roar supporter), why not raise your glass and toast a man who gave this club everything it could have possibly wanted. Because when it came down to the crunch, Besart Berisha left it all on the field and gave it his all.


Written by Alex Stilianos.