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The 1920's

In the roaring 20's, radio broadcasts of football games began, and players really started to become huge stars. Even though their actual wages were still fairly low, players were still frequently seen on billboards and in newspapers advertising various products for businesses. It was in this era that the rest of the world caught up with, and in some ways surpassed, British football. The era also saw the introduction of professionalism in Europe, with the Austrian league becoming the first to go pro. This led to change in the South American game, as more and more of their best players were lured away to Europe by the big bucks. So, too, were the South Americans forced to accept professionalism. Despite this, training was almost non-existent, and players were mostly left by managers to do their own thing, until Herbert Chapman changed all that, becoming the first manager to fully control the team - who was selected, how they trained and how they played. He even used these fandangled things called "tactics", giving players specific roles on the pitch. Stadium lights and count down clocks, white balls, and numbers on jerseys were other revolutions of the time.

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