THE
BACKLINE
RISE. FALL. REPEAT.
If you are a regular viewer of European Football you might have heard mentions of teams that are no longer visible on those
maddening Tuesday and Wednesday European nights. But the pre-Champions League shows are all misty-eyed about them and the
experts rave about those teams.
I never used to pay much heed to these teams because I have no memories associated with those fallen giants except for the Scottish
team, Rangers. The fall of big teams is a very alien phenomenon to me. The empires of today’s giants are built not on football, but
money. So their fall is a very improbable scenario, and occurs only due to deliberate implosion.
In the past couple of years 2 men and the teams associated with them have piqued my curiosity - Vitaly Daraselia of Dinamo Tbilsi
and Brian Clough of Nottingham Forest. They made me take a journey back in time to witness the fall of giants due to decisions other
than money. Some rose back, some are rising slowly and some are slumbering in the pits of Tartarus.
Imagine, skipping past 2 defenders and scoring the winning goal in the 87th minute of a European trophy final. A dream every
footballer dreams. But it came true for Vitaly Daraselia of Dinamo Tbilsi. A man who tragically died at the age of 25. Before his early
demise he had won a European Cup Winners Cup (1981), a Soviet Top League (1978) and 2 Soviet Cups (1976, 1979). Quite an
achievement for a Georgian player and his club in the USSR. But the 1981 European trophy was the pinnacle of their success. The
player died in 1982 and the club became a victim of political turmoil of the last Soviet years. Both faded from the popular memory.
Though the older Georgians still like to reminisce the good old days over a glass of Saperavi (a variety of Georgian Red Wine), the
younger generation hasn’t witnessed their team play even in the group stage of Champions League. The anonymity of Georgian Football
is far removed from the glamour of European football, so outside of Georgia few know them. Times are changing, Dinamo Tbilsi has
come out of the Soviet hangover and is targeting regular Champions League Football. But in modern world they still believe in building
a team with Football not with money. I for one hope it pays off.
Porto in 2004 and Ajax 1995 are the only teams to have won the European Cup without significant investment since 1992 (when it was
not Champions League). This sight wasn’t rare before that and an English team called Nottingham Forest won it back to back (1978-79
& 1979-80). Their manager, the inimitable Brian Clough. Authoritarian, disciplinarian, driven and a great footballing mind. Faith in youth,
commitment to attacking Football and glib tongue, endeared him to fans across Europe. Him prowling on the touchline in his green
sweater is still etched in the memory of many-a forest fans.
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