Soccer in Haiti

The football in Haiti , first developed in the capital Port-au-Prince , where in 1912 the first time a regional championship round was held.

societies

The RC Haïtien and the Violette AC , both based in Port-au-Prince, have become the two major rivals of Haitian club football and have each won the CONCACAF Champions' Cup once , although in both cases this happened without a fight.

In the only second edition of the competition, which was introduced in 1962, the RC Haïtien reached the finals in 1963 against last year's winner CD Guadalajara . The original plan was to host both games in Guadalajara . Because the Haitians did not receive their entry permit in time, the encounter had to be postponed. Because the Haitians also missed two other dates, the CD Guadalajara filed an official complaint with CONCACAF , which ultimately declared the Mexicans the winner. Thereupon the RC Haïtien filed a complaint, which led CONCACAF to the decision announced on April 2, 1964, that the games must now be made up within the next two months. Because Guadalajara had already planned a five-week trip to Europe at that time , the club decided not to participate in the finals and the Racing Club Haïtien has now been declared the winner by CONCACAF.

The tournament of 1984, which was divided into a North and Central American section on the one hand and a Caribbean section on the other, was not played to the end either. Haitian representative Violette AC won the Caribbean branch and reached the finals. But because the final for the North and Central American branch between the New York Pancyprian Freedoms and (again this time) the Club Deportivo Guadalajara did not come about because both teams could not agree on a game date, both were disqualified and the Violette AC to Winner declared.

National team

The best phase of the Haitian national soccer team was the 1970s, when they finished first or second in the CONCACAF Nations Cup three times in a row .

In 1971 , Haiti defied the Mexicans 0-0 in the first group game, but lost more points in the games against Costa Rica and Cuba , which also ended goalless, while Mexico won all other games and thus secured the tournament victory over the Haitians.

In 1973 Haiti acted as host and the tournament also served as qualification for the 1974 World Cup, which was held in Germany for the first time . Although Haiti lost the last game against Mexico, the Haitians had won all games by then and were more unassailable because the Mexicans had made several mistakes.

Haiti qualified for the first (and so far only) time to take part in a soccer world championship , where their best and at least most popular soccer player of all time, Emmanuel Sanon , made history. Because it was Sanon who was able to defeat the Italian national goalkeeper Dino Zoff after twelve international matches without conceding a goal. Sanon also scored Haiti's second goal at this World Cup in the last group game against Argentina . Nevertheless, Haiti was eliminated in the end with a score of 2:14 goals and 0-6 points.

In retrospect, however, doubts arose as to whether Haiti had even qualified for the 1974 World Cup on its own. Because in the third qualifying game against Trinidad and Tobago , which Haiti won 2-1, the opposing team (which ten days later defeated the Mexicans 4-0) did not recognize several goals and the Salvadoran referee of this game, José Roberto Henríquez , later banned for life for accepting bribes.

Another outstanding player in Haiti at the 1974 World Cup was her goalkeeper Henri Françillon , who was signed by TSV 1860 Munich immediately after the World Cup , but was unable to prevail against the other newcomer Bernd Hartmann and after the 1974/75 season , in which he was only used five times, returned to his homeland.

The 1977 CONCACAF Nations Cup also served as a qualifying tournament for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina . After Haiti lost the opening game against Mexico (1: 4), the chance of participating in the World Cup again was over because Mexico also won all subsequent games. But at least Haiti took second place again before the national team disappeared again into insignificance.

Before that, Haiti had already missed a great opportunity at the qualifying tournament for the football World Cup in Mexico in 1970 to participate in a World Cup. After all, Mexico was automatically qualified as host and thus did not stand in the way of Haiti. But Haiti failed at the last moment because of the El Salvador national team , which instead went to Mexico.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Haiti - List of Champions at RSSSF
2. ^ Central American Club Competitions 1963 at RSSSF
3. ^ Central American Club Competitions 1984 at RSSSF
4. ↑ World Cup: 25 stunning moments ... No12: Haiti stun Dino Zoff's Italy (English; article in The Guardian of April 29, 2014)
5. ↑ Sanon's goal against Zoff on YouTube
6. ↑ John Spurling ( 11 Friends ) Quantum of Solace (December 18, 2011 article)
7. ↑ Jose Roberto Henriquez was banned for life by FIFA after a match in 1973 at worldreferee.com (English; article from July 3, 2010)