Photo by Mario Klassen from Unsplash
The rising of a football team and shining in fame make the fans think the football team will last for eternity. That’s not the case; some teams once flourished but today, what you hear from them is their legendary stories. One thing about most teams is they are unpredictable and many reasons cause the teams to fall, one being finances. In the history of football worldwide, you can see slain giants who have nothing to show except the trophies in history, and they have no medals from recent times.
Before we look at the forgotten heroes you can have a look at the current giants in football. Now let’s look back and find some big teams that are nowhere to be seen today. Their impact was enormous, and some people are left wondering what they used to do when they were popular that they are not doing now? Here were once the world’s most popular teams, but they are no more.
The Slain Football Giants
Hungary
Back in the 1950s, the Hungary national team was on top of the Elo ranking; if it were today, the team would be one of the best teams. The national team then was called the mighty Magyars, one of the best teams in the world, and the entire world loved it. Some of the matches it played are still recorded in global football history, like the 1954 world cup, where the Hungarian team was beaten by Germany 3-2. That final match broke the hearts of so many football fans.
This would have been a great opportunity for bettors. Nowadays there are licensed betting sites in Hungary which you can easily find on onlinesportfogadás.com. This makes betting on the Hungarian league simple and safe.
Hungary’s national team lost grip on its fame after rising in the 1930s and declining in the 1940s after the breakout of the Second World War. Most national teams of the day declined, but the Hungarian football team started to rise in the 1550s again. Most had expected a win from Hungary in the 1954 World Cup since it had tremendous wins like 9-0 against South Korea, 4-2 against Brazil, 4-1 against Turkey, etc. After losing in 1954 and 1958, Hungarians did not come close to winning the world cup.
Greece
2004 was a lucky year for Greece’s national team, and its fans had a jubilating period after winning the European cup. The Greek won against its host Portugal in the finals and won against France in the semi-finals. They had beaten the Czech Republic during the quarter-final, and the three consecutive wins made Greek football fanatics celebrate after a small country had beaten the three giants.
In September 2004, Greece was defeated by Albania in the 2010 world cup qualifiers by 2-1. Greece shone because its coach, Otto Rehhagel, had trained his team on a solid defense system. He has installed good defense and believes in the unity of players. Even though Greece had a hard time winning against its opponents, its defense was vital to keep the opponents from winning.
The Greece national football team didn’t qualify for the 2006 world cup, but they played in South Africa four years later. They lost against South Korea and Argentina but made their first victory in 2010 after winning against Nigeria 2-1, and that’s when Rehhagel left the team. The country’s economic crisis significantly contributed to the team’s decline.
Italy
Italy was once a country that most football players envied; it has a vibrant football history where it won FIFA world cup titles in 1934, 1938, 1982, and recently 2006. The Italian team had dominated the football world, won the European championship in 1968, and became the runners-up in 2002 and 2012. Finishing second runners-up in the European cup in 2012 was a sign of a significant comeback for Italians, but a 4-0 thrashing from Spain was a forecast of doom in the coming years.
Although Italian football has been doing well in the local arena, its national team has declined terribly on the world stage. After the big win in 2006, the national team failed to qualify for the 2010, 2014, and 2022 world cups. Missing the 2018 World cup was their first time not to qualify for the 1958 World Cup.
Uruguay
Uruguay football history is worth narrating, but not its current situation. The Uruguay national team won the world cup in 1930 and 1950. The team has boasted of winning two Olympic golds in 1924 and 1928, and its success in the Copa America competition makes it the best team in Copa America titles with 15 titles and one of the best teams in the world. Despite the remarkable performance and 19 trophies, they won the 18 before 2000, and the last trophy they won over a decade ago in the 2011 Copa America title.
It has been a journey since they won the 1950 world cup; the closest they have come to winning another cup was in the FIFA world cup 2010 in South Africa, where they became fourth thanks to the great help they got from Diego Forlan. What happened to this football giant? Uruguay has taken the most significant slumber among the countries that have declined in football.
Czech Republic
Football has been one of the most loved games in the Czech Republic. The country has its share of good times in football history like they were runners-up in the FIFA world cup in 1934 and 1962. In 1976 they won the euro cup and became the third in 1960 and 1980, and in 1996 became the runners-up. From their competitive nature, the Czech Republic fans expected a better performance in the 2006 FIFA world cup since it was their golden era.
The team was crowned the second in FIFA ranking, having some of the world’s best players like Petr Cech, Milan Baros, Pavel Nedved, and Tomas Rosicky. With big stars, the team fanatics, the national team was expected to deliver better than getting eliminated at the group stage with one win at the tournament finals. The Czech Republic has failed to appear on the world cup stage since 2006, making it one of the teams facing the most significant declines. Uruguay is ranking in position 45, almost to their worst performance of 48.
Conclusion
Nothing lasts forever so is the fame and popularity of a football team. Some footballing nations have faced the most significant declines in their national teams. Teams like Italy and Hungary once did so well. Some of these teams have remarkable football stars, but it will be hard for them to shine internationally because it takes teamwork to win the tournaments. Teams like Hungary its decline have existed for so long, but thanks to Victor Orban, there might be a revival of the mighty Magyars.