The arguably best WC qualifying group in history

1982 World Cup qualification – UEFA Group 2

             w d l goals pt      att

Belgium      5 1 2 12-9  11   41.703

France       5 0 3 20-8  10   45.195

Ireland      4 2 2 17-11 10   34.914

Netherlands  4 1 3 11-7   9   43.243

Cyprus       0 0 8  4-29  0    7.450

5 goals:

Erwin Vandenbergh (Bel), Michel Platini (Fra) 

4 goals:

Jan Ceulemans (Bel)

3 goals:

Gerry Daly, Michael Robinson, Frank Stapleton (Irl), Bernard Lacombe, Didier Six (Fra) 

2 goals:

Jean-François Larios, Gerard Soler, Jacques Zimako (Fra), Tony Grealish, Mark Lawrenson, Paul McGee (Irl), Arnold Mühren, Kees van Kooten (Ned) 

Serie A topscorer tables 1980s

1979/80
16: Bettega (Juventus)
15: Altobelli (Inter)
13: P. Rossi (Perugia)
12: Graziani (Torino), Pruzzo (Roma), Selvaggi (Cagliari)
11: Savoldi (Bologna)
 9: Giordano (Lazio), Palanca (Catanzaro)

1980/81
18: Pruzzo (Roma)
13: Palanca (Catanzaro)
12: Altobelli (Inter)
11: Graziani (Torino), C. Pellegrini (Napoli)
 9: Antognoni (Fiorentina), Chimenti (Pisa), Pulici (Torino)
 8: Brady (Juventus), Selvaggi (Cagliari), Zanone (Udinese)

1981/82
15: Pruzzo (Roma)
12: Bivi (Catanzaro)
11: C. Pellegrini (Napoli)
 9: Altobelli &  Beccalossi (Inter), Bertoni & Graziani (Fiorentina), Garlini (Cesena), Mancini (Bologna), Piras (Cagliari), Schachner (Cesena), Virdis (Juventus)

1982/83
16: Platini (Juventus)
15: Altobelli (Inter), Penzo (Verona)
12: Pruzzo (Roma)
 9: Antognoni (Fiorentina), Briaschi (Genoa), Piras (Cagliari)
 8: Berggreen (Pisa), Scanziani (Sampdoria), Schachner (Cesena), Selvaggi (Torino)

1983/84
20 Platini (Juventus)
19: Zico (Udinese)
14: Iorio (Verona)
13: P. Rossi (Juventus)
12: Briaschi (Genoa), Monelli (Fiorentina)
11: P. Hernández (Torino)
10: Altobelli (Inter), D. Bertoni (Fiorentina), Virdis (Udinese)

1984/85
18: Platini (Juventus)
17: Altobelli (Inter)
14: Maradona (Napoli)
12: Briaschi (Juventus)
11: D. Bertoni (Napoli), Galderisi (Verona)
 9: Briegel (Verona), Serena (Torino), Virdis (Milan)
 8: Elkjær (Verona), Pruzzo (Roma), Rummenigge (Inter)

1985/86
19: Pruzzo (Roma)
13: Rummenigge (Inter)
12: Platini (Juventus)
11: Maradona (Napoli), Passarella (Fiorentina), Serena (Juventus)
10: Borgonovo (Como), R. Díaz (Avellino), Giordano (Napoli)
 9: Altobelli (Inter), Cantarutti (Atalanta), Carnevale (Udinese), Elkjær (Verona)
 8: Hateley (Milan)

1986/87
17: Virdis (Milan)
12: Vialli (Sampdoria)
11: Altobelli (Inter)
10: R. Díaz (Fiorentina), Serena (Juventus), Maradona (Napoli)
 8: Carnevale (Napoli), Kieft (Torino), Elkjær (Verona)
 7: Magrin (Atalanta), Gritti (Brescia), Manfredonia (Juventus), Graziani (Udinese)

1987/88
15: Maradona (Napoli)
13: Careca (Napoli)
11: Virdis (Milan), Giannini (Roma)
10: Vialli (Sampdoria)
 9: Schachner (Avellino), Altobelli (Inter), Gullit (Milan), Polster (Torino)
 8: Cucchi (Empoli), Giordano (Napoli), Slišković (Pescara)

1988/89
22: Serena (Inter),
19: van Basten (Milan), Careca (Napoli),
15: R. Baggio (Fiorentina),
14: Borgonovo (Fiorentina), Vialli (Sampdoria),
13: Carnevale (Napoli),
12: R. Díaz (Inter), Rui Barros (Juventus),
11: M. Agostini (Cesena), Müller (Torino)

Top three
5 times: Altobelli
4: Platini
3: Pruzzo
2: Maradona, Virdis, Careca. 

Double digits per club
11 times: Napoli
10: Juventus
9: Inter
7: Roma
6: Fiorentina
4: Torino, Milan
3: Verona, Sampdoria
2: Udinese, Catanzaro
1: Perugia, Cagliari, Bologna, Genoa, Cesena, Ascoli, Atalanta.

 Michel Platini's freekick goals in 1984/85

Michel Platini's ratings in World Cups and Euros 1978-1986

1978 World Cup

Italy 1-2 : 5,80

Argentina 1,2 : 6,00 [1 goal]

Hungary 3-1 : 6,60 

average : 6,13

1982 World Cup

England 1-3 : 6,30

Kuwait 4-1 : 7,20 [1]

Czechoslovakia 1-1 : 5,80

Northern Ireland 4-1 : 6,40

West Germany 3-3 pen : 7,00 [1]

average : 6,54

Euro 1984

Denmark 1-0 : 6,20 [1]

Belgium 3-0 : 7,80 [3]

Yugoslavia 3-2 : 7,70 [3]

Portugal 3-2 : 7,30 [1]

Spain 2-0 : 6,30 [1]

average : 7,06

1986 World Cup

Canada 1-0 : 6,00

Soviet Union 1-1 : 6,30

Hungary 3-0 : 6,70

Italy 2-0 : 6,60 [1]

Brazil 1-1 pen : 6,50 [1]

West Germany 0-2 : 5,20

average : 6,22

 

Michel Platini & Marius Trésor, 1978.

Serie A: top rated players, 1981-89

1981/82

6,87 Castellini (Napoli)

6,77 Krol (Napoli)

6,65 Falcão (Roma)

1982/83

6,91 Martina (Genoa)

6,79 Bordon (Inter), Falcão (Roma)

1983/84

6,94 Platini (Juventus)

6,82 Brady (Sampdoria)

6,77 Tacconi (Juventus)

1984/85

6,87 Maradona (Napoli)

6,81 Tricella (Verona)

6,79 Matteoli (Como)

1985/86

6,82 Dirceu (Como), Zaccarelli (Torino)

6,79 Bagni (Napoli)

1986/97

6,77 Zenga (Inter)

6,70 Magrin (Atalanta)

6,68 F. Baresi (Milan)

1987/88

6,77 Mancini (Sampdoria)

6,76 F. Baresi (Milan)

6,68 Gullit (Milan)

1988/89

6,77 Júnior (Pescara)

6,72 Zenga (Inter)

6,69 F. Baresi (Milan)

 

Goals and assist leaders in Euros, 1980-2024

2024: Georges Mikautadze (Georgia) 4 (3 goals+1 ass)

2021: Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 6 (5+1)

2016: Antoine Griezmann (France) 8 (6+2)

2012: David Silva (Spain) 5 (2+3)

2008: Lukas Podolski (Germany) 5 (3+2)

= Wesley Sneijder (Holland) 5 (2+3)

2004: Milan Baroš (Czech Rep.) 6 (5+1)

2000: Patrick Kluivert (Holland) (5+0)

= Savo Milošević (Yugoslavia) 5 (5+0)

= Ljubinko Drulović (Yugoslavia) 5 (1+4)

1996: Alan Shearer (England) 5 (5+0)

1992: Frank Rijkaard (Holland) 4 (2+2)

1988: Marco van Basten (Holland) 7 (5+2)

1984: Michel Platini (France) 10 (9+1)

1980: Klaus Allofs (West Germany) 3 (3+0)

= Antonín Panenka (Czechoslovakia) 3 (1+2)

Interview with Michel Platini (Onze, 1977)

 

Juventus ratings 1982/83

 

Ratings: Guerin Sportivo - La Stampa.

6,59 Michel Platini
6,48 Giuseppe Furino
6,38 Gaetano Scirea
6,35 Claudio Gentile
6,33 Roberto Bettega
6,32 Marco Tardelli
6,31 Sergio Brio
6,30 Antonio Cabrini
6,26 Zbigniew Boniek
6,18 Massimo Bonini
6,15 Dino Zoff
6,04 Paolo Rossi
6,00 Giuseppe Galderisi
5,88 Massimo Storgato
5,81 Domenico Marocchino

Comparison Omar Sívori - Michel Platini (1984)

 

Corriere dello Sport.

Le pagelle della Juventus 1983/84

Gare di Serie A e Coppa delle Coppe.

6,74 Stefano Tacconi 

6,68 Michel Platini 

6,54 Antonio Cabrini 

6,43 Beniamino Vignola 

6,37 Gaetano Scirea 

6,36 Massimo Bonini 

6,34 Paolo Rossi 

6,31 Marco Tardelli

6,26 Zbigniew Boniek 

6,18 Claudio Gentile 

6,09 Sergio Brio 

6,08 Cesare Prandelli 

6,00 Nicola Caricola 

5,62 Domenico Penzo 

Le pagelle Guerin Sportivo: gli stranieri della Serie A 1986/87 e 1987/88

 

 

Michel Platini's ball touches during the Euro 1984.

World Soccer's reader poll: the top 200 players of all time [1999]

 

1. Pelé : 5499 points
2. Diego Maradona : 3949
3. Johan Cruyff : 3388
4. Franz Beckenbauer : 2780
5. Michel Platini : 1854
6. Alfredo Di Stéfano : 1541
7. Ferenc Puskás : 1537
8. George Best : 1190
9. Marco van Basten : 1026
10. Eusébio : 1022
11. Lev Yashin : 821
12. Bobby Charlton : 680
13. Ronaldo : 541
14. Bobby Moore : 539
15. Gerd Müller : 498
16. Roberto Baggio : 486
17. Stanley Matthews : 429
18. Zico : 390
19. Franco Baresi : 371
20. Garrincha : 361
21. Paolo Maldini : 345
22. Kenny Dalglish : 334
23. Gabriel Batistuta : 300
24. Éric Cantona : 299
25. Gheorghe Hagi : 293
26. Romário : 257
27. Jairzinho : 248
28. Zinédine Zidane : 238
29. Ruud Gullit : 221
30. John Charles : 212
31. Lothar Matthäus : 202
32. Gordon Banks : 178
33. Jürgen Klinsmann : 168
34. Dennis Bergkamp : 150
35. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge : 149
36. Gary Lineker : 134
37. Giuseppe Meazza : 132
38. Rivelino : 124
39. Didi : 123
40. Ian Rush : 109
41. Peter Schmeichel & Paolo Rossi : 104
43. George Weah : 99
44. Michael Owen : 90
45. Just Fontaine : 88
46. Duncan Edwards : 86
47. Dino Zoff : 80
48. Hristo Stoichkov : 77
49. David Beckham : 74
50. Tom Finney : 72
51. Rivaldo : 71
52. Claudio Caniggia : 64
53. Tostão : 63
54. Frank Rijkaard : 62
55. José Luis Chilavert : 61
56. Kevin Keegan : 60
57. Paul Gascoigne : 57
58. Roger Milla : 56
59. Michael Laudrup : 55
60. Andriy Shevchenko : 54
61. David Ginola, Glenn Hoddle & Sócrates : 53
64. Roberto Carlos & Alan Shearer : 52
66. Daniel Passarella : 51
67. Davor Suker : 50
68. "Dixie" Dean, Sándor Kocsis, Christian Vieri & Juan Schiaffino : 49
72. Mario Kempes, Johan Neeskens & Gigi Riva : 47
75. José Nasazzi & Günter Netzer : 46
77. Alessandro Del Piero & Carlos Valderrama : 43
79. Ricardo Zamora : 42
80. Enzo Francescoli : 41
81. Edgard Davids & Paco Gento : 40
83. Jim Baxter, Falcão, Ryan Giggs & Sepp Maier : 38
87. Zbigniew Boniek, Pat Jennings & György Sárosi : 37
90. Giacinto Facchetti : 36
91. Alan Hansen, Raymond Kopa, Bryan Robson & Mattias Sammer : 34
95. László Kubala & Neville Southall : 33
97. Gerson : 32
98. Paulo Futre & Preben Elkjær : 31
100. Bebeto : 30
101. Mattias Sindelar, Jaap Stam, Luis Suárez [Spain], Gianni Rivera, Andoni Zubizarreta, Ariel Ortega, László Détári & Jürgen Kohler : 29
109. Teófilo Cubillas, Sunday Oliseh, Nílton Santos, Gaetano Scirea & Steve McManaman : 28
114. Giuseppe Bergomi, Marcelo Salas, Bernd Schuster & Oleh Blokhin : 27
118. Fernando Hierro, Gianfranco Zola & Gianluca Vialli : 26
121. Thomas Hässler, Nwankwu Kanu, Ronald Koeman, Sandro Mazzola & Liam Brady : 25
126. Dragan Džajić, Billy Bremner, Marius Lăcătuş, Brian Laudrup, Jimmy Greaves & Zoltán Czibor : 24
131. John Barnes, Edwin van der Sar, Jimmy Johnstone, Dejan Savičević & Claudio López : 23
136. Claudio Gentile & Geoff Hurst : 22
138. Ángel Amadeo Labruna, Sol Campbell, Diego Simeone & Nándor Hidegkuti : 21
142. Danny Blanchflower & Luis Hernández : 20
144. Leônidas, Ciro Ferrara, Hugo Sánchez & Denílson : 19
148. Emilio Butragueño, Obdulio Varela, Dwight Yorke & Salvatore Schillaci : 18
152. Dunga, Mario Basler, Silvio Piola, Rudi Völler, Ray Wilson, Gheorghe Popescu, Djalma Santos, Ole Gunnar Solskjær, Roberto Mancini & Colin Bell : 17
162. Ray Clemence, Wolfgang Overath, Karlheinz Förster, Juan Sebastián Verón, Oliver Bierhoff, Peter Shilton & Jozsef Boszik : 16
170. Gilmar, Rob Rensenbrink, Billy Wright & Alan McInally : 15
174. Éder, Lawton, Domingos da Guia, I. Wright, Krol, Giles & Ardiles : 14
181. Ademir, L. Sánchez, van Hanegem, Ugarte, Thuram & Köpke : 13
187. Roy Keane, Kluivert, H. Larsson, McCoist, Moreno, Rui Costa, Seeler, Haller & Cafu : 12
196. Jorginho, Juninho Paulista, Pearce, Plánička, Vavá & Friedenreich : 11.



Per nation:
1. Brazil : 27
2. England : 26
3. Italy : 21
4. Germany : 19
5. Holland : 14
6. Argentina : 13
7. Hungary : 8
8. Scotland, France & Spain : 7
11. Uruguay, Wales & Denmark : 4
14. Yugoslavia, Romania, Portugal, Ireland & Northern Ireland : 3
19. Cameroon, Nigeria, Chile, Ukraine, Soviet Union, Mexico : 2

Juventus ratings 1982/83

6,59 Michel Platini
6,48 Giuseppe Furino
6,38 Gaetano Scirea
6,35 Claudio Gentile
6,33 Roberto Bettega
6,32 Marco Tardelli
6,31 Sergio Brio
6,30 Antonio Cabrini
6,26 Zbigniew Boniek
6,18 Massimo Bonini
6,15 Dino Zoff
6,04 Paolo Rossi
6,00 Giuseppe Galderisi
5,88 Massimo Storgato
5,81 Domenico Marocchino

Ratings: Guerin Sportivo - La Stampa.

Who's best: Maradona or Platini?

 

 Guerin Sportivo, November 1985.

Guerin Sportivo, December 1985

European topscorers in the 1978 World Cup

 

Including Qualifiers.

  11: Roberto Bettega (Italy), Hans Krankl (Austria)
  6: Grzegorz Lato (Poland)
  5: Rob Rensenbrink (Holland), Kazimierz Deyna (Poland), Thomas Sjöberg (Sweden), Cemil Turan (Turkey), Martin Hoffmann (East Germany)
  4: Johnny Rep (Holland), Michel Platini (France), Kevin Keegan (England), Manuel Fernandes (Portugal), Joachim Streich (East Germany)
  3: Ruud Geels (Holland), Francesco Graziani & Paolo Rossi (Italy), Andrzej Szarmach & Zbigniew Boniek (Poland), Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (West Germany), Tibor Nyilasi (Hungary), Kenny Dalglish (Scotland), Mick Channon (England), Safet Sušić (Yugoslavia), Chris McGrath (Northern Ireland)
  2: Johan Cruyff, Willy van de Kerkhof, René van de Kerkhof, Ernie Brandts & Arie Haan (Holland), Giancarlo Antognoni, Romeo Benetti & Renato Zaccarelli (Italy), Dieter Müller & Heinz Flohe (West Germany), Stanislaw Terlecki & Wlodzimierz Lubański (Poland), Bernard Lacombe & Dominique Rocheteau (France), Joe Jordan & Archie Gemmill (Scotland), Andras Töröcsik & Sándor Zombori (Hungary), Rubén Cano (Spain), Bo Börjesson (Sweden), Josef Stering (Austria), Raoul Lambert (Belgium), Per Røntved, Lars Bastrup, Henning Munk Jensen & Allan Simonsen (Denmark), Ray Kennedy (England), Chalana & Nené (Portugal), Anghel Iordănescu & Dudu Georgescu (Romania), Aki Heiskanen, Esa Heiskanen & Olavi Rissanen (Finland), David Kipiani (USSR), Mimis Papaioannou (Greece), Hartmut Schade (East Germany), Pavel Panov (Bulgaria), Leighton James (Wales), Sedat (Turkey), Gerry Armstrong (Northern Ireland).

European Cup topscorers 1980-89

 

European Cup, Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup and European Supercup.

33 goals: Torbjörn Nilsson (IFK Göteborg, Kaiserslautern)
31: Santillana (Real Madrid)
30: Alessandro Altobelli (Inter)
29: Karl-Heinz Rummenigge (Bayern München, Inter)
28: Michel Platini (St-Etienne, Juventus)
25: Klaus Allofs (Fortuna Düsseldorf, Köln, Marseille)
25: Dieter Hoeness (Bayern München)
22: Horst Hrubesch (Hamburger SV)
22: Zlatko Vujovic (Hajduk Split, Bordeaux)
22: Kenneth Brylle (Vejle, Anderlecht, PSV Eindhoven, Club Brugge)
21: Marco van Basten (Ajax, Milan)
21: John Wark (Ipswich, Liverpool)
19: Yuri Gavrilov (Spartak Moscow)
18: Mark McGhee (Aberdeen, Hamburger SV, Celtic)
17: Hans Krankl (Rapid Wien, Barcelona)
17: Emilio Butragueño (Real Madrid)
17: Hugo Sánchez (Atlético, Real Madrid)
16: Toni Polster (Austria Wien)
16: Aldo Serena (Inter, Juventus)
15: Preben Elkjær (Lokeren, Verona)
15: Mark Falco (Tottenham, Rangers)
15: Manuel Fernandes (Sporting Lisbon)
15: Juanito (Real Madrid)
15: Sören Lerby (Ajax, Bayern München, Monaco, PSV Eindhoven)
15: Dieter Müller (Köln, Bordeaux)
15: Paolo Rossi (Juventus)
15: Ian Rush (Liverpool)
15: Ramas Shengelia (Dinamo Tbilisi)
15: Erwin Vandenbergh (Anderlecht)
14: Fernando Gomes (FC Porto)
14: Ralph Milne (Dundee United)
14: Nené (Benfica)
13: Nikos Anastopoulos (Olympiakos)
13: Paul Breitner (Bayern München)
13: Jean-Paul Brigger (Servette, Sion)
13: Kees Kist (AZ 67, Paris-SG)
13: Uwe Rahn (Bor. M'gladbach)
---
11: Diego Maradona (Barcelona, Napoli)

Average ratings Juventus 1983/84

Ratings: Guerin Sportivo (Serie A matches), La Stampa (Cupwinners' Cup matches).

6,86 Stefano Tacconi
6,78 Antonio Cabrini
6,66 Michel Platini
6,58 Beniamino Vignola
6,57 Luciano Bodini
6,48 Claudio Gentile
6,47 Marco Tardelli
6,45 Zbigniew Boniek
6,42 Paolo Rossi
6,36 Massimo Bonini
6,39 Gaetano Scirea
6,22 Nicola Caricola
6,18 Sergio Brio
6,12 Cesare Prandelli
5,78 Domenico Penzo