This week one of the greatest footballers of all-time passed away at the age of 75: Gerd Müller, is arguably the best striker of all time; although some of his records have been broken over the last years, he remains the most scoring player of the German league. He was for many years the most scoring player of the German national team with 62 goals in 68 matches (until Miroslav Klose beat him, but with more than 100 matches). He was European Footballer of the year in 1970, after he had become top-scorer at the 1970 World Cup, and his legend was perhaps cemented by his goal in the 1974 World Cup final, which gave West Germany the world championship:
Showing posts with label Gerd Muller. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gerd Muller. Show all posts
Thursday, August 19, 2021
Monday, February 22, 2016
The Greatest Euro Matches: West Germany-USSR (1972)
In 1972 West Germany had built up a strong and competitive side based on the two strongest clubs in the country: Bayern Munich and Borussia Monchengladbach. While Borussia Monchenglandbach had won the 1970 and 1971 Bundesliga titles, in 1972 a period of dominance by Bayern Munich would set in, that would give the club three German and European Cup titles in a row.
Germany had qualified for the final tournament in Belgium by winning an easy group ahead of Poland, Turkey and Albania, before facing England in the quarterfinals. In the first leg at Wembley Stadium Germany got revenge for the World Cup final defeat six years before by winning 3-1.
In the semi-final they had defeated the Belgian home side 2-1 on two goals by the Bayern Munich striker Gerd Muller. Muller was already then know as “Der Bomber”, and would go on to become the most prolific goalscorers of all time. But he was not the only one who would become a legend on the German side. The captain of Germany and Bayern Munich was Franz Beckenbauer, who was by then probably the best defender in the world and had redefined the role of a defender in football. Alongside he had other Bayern collagues: Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Paul Breitner and Sepp Maier in the goal. As midfield general the Germans had the elegant Gunther Netzer from Borussia Monchengladbach, who would become German footballer of the year in 1972 and 1973, before moving to Real Madrid. He was complemented by Uli Hoeness and Jupp Heynckes, from Munich and Monchengladbach respectively, who could both pass the balls and score goals.
The USSR had won their qualifying group ahead of Spain, Northern Ireland and Cyprus, and the defeated Yugoslavia in the quarterfinal. In the semi-final they defeated Hungary 1-0. It was a solid and physically strong side captained by Murtaz Khurtsilava from Dynamo Tbilisi. The midfield was entirely made up of Dynamo Kiev players: Viktor Kolotov, Vladimir Troshkin and Anatoli Konkov.
Although only one month before, in a friendly match, West Germany had beaten the USSR 4-1, it was worth noting that was in the Soviets third European final in four tries, and they remained one of the most stable and strong sides in the world.
But that June day in Brussels was again Germany's day. With a superb Gunther Netzer in midfield and a perfect Beckenbauer in defense, they completely dominated the match from start to end. Gerd Muller scored the opener when he picked up a rebound from the Soviet goalkeeper on a strong shot from Jupp Heynckes. Ten minutes into the second half the Borussia Monchengladbach player Herbert Wimmer when he got a through-ball from Heynckes that completely tore apart the USSR defense. Five minutes later Muller scored his second after he got through on a one-two with Heynckes, and that sealed the match. In the last half hour the Germans could have won the match by more goals against a disillusioned Soviet side, but the match ended 3-0, which remained the largest margin of victory in a Euro final until 2012.
In 1974 West Germany would cement itself as the strongest team in the world by winning the World Cup, and would be the only European country until Spain in 2010 who won a World Cup after winning a European Championship.
Many still regard the German side that won in 1972 as the best team to have ever won the competition. Today this role would perhaps be contested by the 2012 Spanish side.
Brussels, 18th June 1972, Heysel Stadium
Attendance: 43,437
Referee: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)
West Germany-USSR 3-0
West Germany: Sepp Maier; Franz Beckenbauer (c), Horst-Dieter Höttges, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Paul Breitner, Herbert Wimmer, Uli Hoeness, Günter Netzer, Jupp Heynckes, Gerd Müller, Erwin Kremers. Coach: Helmut Schön
USSR: Yevhen Rudakov; Revaz Dzodzuashvili, Murtaz Khurtsilava (c), Vladimir Kaplichny, Yuri Istomin, Viktor Kolotov, Vladimir Troshkin, Anatoli Konkov (Eduard Kozynkevych, 46), Anatoliy Baidachny, Anatoly Banishevski ( Eduard Kozynkevych, 66), Vladimir Onishchenko. Coach: Aleksandr Ponomarev
Goals:
1-0 Muller (27)
2-0 Wimmer (52)
3-0 Muller (58)
Germany had qualified for the final tournament in Belgium by winning an easy group ahead of Poland, Turkey and Albania, before facing England in the quarterfinals. In the first leg at Wembley Stadium Germany got revenge for the World Cup final defeat six years before by winning 3-1.
In the semi-final they had defeated the Belgian home side 2-1 on two goals by the Bayern Munich striker Gerd Muller. Muller was already then know as “Der Bomber”, and would go on to become the most prolific goalscorers of all time. But he was not the only one who would become a legend on the German side. The captain of Germany and Bayern Munich was Franz Beckenbauer, who was by then probably the best defender in the world and had redefined the role of a defender in football. Alongside he had other Bayern collagues: Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Paul Breitner and Sepp Maier in the goal. As midfield general the Germans had the elegant Gunther Netzer from Borussia Monchengladbach, who would become German footballer of the year in 1972 and 1973, before moving to Real Madrid. He was complemented by Uli Hoeness and Jupp Heynckes, from Munich and Monchengladbach respectively, who could both pass the balls and score goals.
The USSR had won their qualifying group ahead of Spain, Northern Ireland and Cyprus, and the defeated Yugoslavia in the quarterfinal. In the semi-final they defeated Hungary 1-0. It was a solid and physically strong side captained by Murtaz Khurtsilava from Dynamo Tbilisi. The midfield was entirely made up of Dynamo Kiev players: Viktor Kolotov, Vladimir Troshkin and Anatoli Konkov.
Although only one month before, in a friendly match, West Germany had beaten the USSR 4-1, it was worth noting that was in the Soviets third European final in four tries, and they remained one of the most stable and strong sides in the world.
But that June day in Brussels was again Germany's day. With a superb Gunther Netzer in midfield and a perfect Beckenbauer in defense, they completely dominated the match from start to end. Gerd Muller scored the opener when he picked up a rebound from the Soviet goalkeeper on a strong shot from Jupp Heynckes. Ten minutes into the second half the Borussia Monchengladbach player Herbert Wimmer when he got a through-ball from Heynckes that completely tore apart the USSR defense. Five minutes later Muller scored his second after he got through on a one-two with Heynckes, and that sealed the match. In the last half hour the Germans could have won the match by more goals against a disillusioned Soviet side, but the match ended 3-0, which remained the largest margin of victory in a Euro final until 2012.
In 1974 West Germany would cement itself as the strongest team in the world by winning the World Cup, and would be the only European country until Spain in 2010 who won a World Cup after winning a European Championship.
Many still regard the German side that won in 1972 as the best team to have ever won the competition. Today this role would perhaps be contested by the 2012 Spanish side.
Brussels, 18th June 1972, Heysel Stadium
Attendance: 43,437
Referee: Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)
West Germany-USSR 3-0
West Germany: Sepp Maier; Franz Beckenbauer (c), Horst-Dieter Höttges, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Paul Breitner, Herbert Wimmer, Uli Hoeness, Günter Netzer, Jupp Heynckes, Gerd Müller, Erwin Kremers. Coach: Helmut Schön
USSR: Yevhen Rudakov; Revaz Dzodzuashvili, Murtaz Khurtsilava (c), Vladimir Kaplichny, Yuri Istomin, Viktor Kolotov, Vladimir Troshkin, Anatoli Konkov (Eduard Kozynkevych, 46), Anatoliy Baidachny, Anatoly Banishevski ( Eduard Kozynkevych, 66), Vladimir Onishchenko. Coach: Aleksandr Ponomarev
Goals:
1-0 Muller (27)
2-0 Wimmer (52)
3-0 Muller (58)
Friday, September 06, 2013
Insignificant surprises in Europe
In Europe's World Cup qualifying group I the world champions of Spain took an important step by winning 0-2 against Finland, at the same time as France only managed to tie 0-0 in Georgia. France now has four points up to Spain, who will have to mess up their last home matches against Belorussia and Georgia not to qualify.
But France's 0-0 was far from the only surprise in the European qualifiers. Estonia managed a 2-2 against the Netherlands, who were in fact lucky with a late penalty to give them the tie. However, it matters little to the Dutch, who are six points ahead of Romania in group D, and will surely make it to Brazil.
In group B Italy is almost certain to go to Brazil with a 1-0 victory against Bulgaria. In the meantime, there are now four pursuers to the second spot, where Armenia are the big surprise. After defeating Denmark 0-4, the Armenians showed that they mean it seriously by defeating the Czechs 1-2 in Prague. Bulgaria has 10 points, while Armenia, the Czech Republic and Denmark all have nine points, and will be struggling for the play-off second spot. That said, all four teams are so mediocre that it would seem impossible for them all to win a play-off match against any team in Europe.
In group E Switzerland had an opportunity to take an important step to Brazil at home against Iceland. Switzerland were 4-1 up, but the usually so solid Swiss defense did not hold, and the match ended 4-4. Switzerland are still on first spot, four points ahead of Norway, with eleven points, and closely followed by Albania, Iceland and Slovenia. However, I must say that this is another of the mediocre groups that would be likely not to win a play-off (unless they draw one of the group B sides!).
Sweden managed an important 1-2 away victory to Ireland, and are now second behind Germany by five points. Germany defeated Austria 3-0, with one goal by Miroslav Klose, who with his 68th goal for Germany equaled Gerd Muller as the most scoring player on the German national team ever. Germany will be going to the World Cup, and Miroslav Klose is bound to break the legendary Muller's record.
But France's 0-0 was far from the only surprise in the European qualifiers. Estonia managed a 2-2 against the Netherlands, who were in fact lucky with a late penalty to give them the tie. However, it matters little to the Dutch, who are six points ahead of Romania in group D, and will surely make it to Brazil.
In group B Italy is almost certain to go to Brazil with a 1-0 victory against Bulgaria. In the meantime, there are now four pursuers to the second spot, where Armenia are the big surprise. After defeating Denmark 0-4, the Armenians showed that they mean it seriously by defeating the Czechs 1-2 in Prague. Bulgaria has 10 points, while Armenia, the Czech Republic and Denmark all have nine points, and will be struggling for the play-off second spot. That said, all four teams are so mediocre that it would seem impossible for them all to win a play-off match against any team in Europe.
In group E Switzerland had an opportunity to take an important step to Brazil at home against Iceland. Switzerland were 4-1 up, but the usually so solid Swiss defense did not hold, and the match ended 4-4. Switzerland are still on first spot, four points ahead of Norway, with eleven points, and closely followed by Albania, Iceland and Slovenia. However, I must say that this is another of the mediocre groups that would be likely not to win a play-off (unless they draw one of the group B sides!).
Sweden managed an important 1-2 away victory to Ireland, and are now second behind Germany by five points. Germany defeated Austria 3-0, with one goal by Miroslav Klose, who with his 68th goal for Germany equaled Gerd Muller as the most scoring player on the German national team ever. Germany will be going to the World Cup, and Miroslav Klose is bound to break the legendary Muller's record.
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Champions and records
With a 3-0 away victory against the team of the moment, Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid made sure that their lead is too big to be overtaken by their archrivals of Barcelona to take their 32nd Spanish league title. This was a welcome victory for the team which has trailed the Catalonians for the last three years, and a great triumph for Jose Mourinho, who has now won the title in four different countries, and continues sealing his position as the world's greatest coach.
Real Madrid is now chasing a new record: if they win their last two matches they will reach an impressive 100 points, something the team has never achieved before (although there are 3 points given for a victory since 1996, and more matches than in the 1950s, this would still not have been reached, so it is amazing).
And while archrivals from Barcelona may be on their way down, their little star, Lionel Messi, became the most scoring player in a season in Europe when scoring three goals against Malaga in their 4-1 victory. With 68 goals (combined in the league, cup and Champions League) Messi has surpassed the legendary Gerd Muller who scored 67 goals in the 1972-73 season.
Real Madrid is now chasing a new record: if they win their last two matches they will reach an impressive 100 points, something the team has never achieved before (although there are 3 points given for a victory since 1996, and more matches than in the 1950s, this would still not have been reached, so it is amazing).
And while archrivals from Barcelona may be on their way down, their little star, Lionel Messi, became the most scoring player in a season in Europe when scoring three goals against Malaga in their 4-1 victory. With 68 goals (combined in the league, cup and Champions League) Messi has surpassed the legendary Gerd Muller who scored 67 goals in the 1972-73 season.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Greatest World Cup Matches: West Germany-Netherlands (1974)
The two teams to dispute the final of the 1974 world cup in West Germany were undoubtedly the best teams in the world at the time: West Germany were defending European champions, and were led by Franz Beckenbauer, the Bayern Munich captain, and arguably one of the best players of all time. Solid on all places, they furthermore had the striker Gerd Müller, who after this tournament became the most scoring player of all world cups (until Ronaldo in 2002).
The home team had nevertheless not started the tournament well. In the first round they had only finished second in their group, after losing against East Germany in a politically loaded match in Hamburg. However, this match had apparently awakened the Germans, who in the second round had scored three consecutive victories against Yugoslavia, Sweden and Poland, to make it to the final.
In spite of playing at home in Munich in front of almost 80,000 fans, the Germans were not favourites: they were facing the Netherlands, a team that had taken the world with storm. Coached by the former Ajax Amsterdam coach Rinus Michels, the Dutch “orange machine” played a style of football that came to be known as “Total football”, putting pressure everywhere on the pitch with its many extraordinary players, notably Barcelona’s Johann Cruyff, the European footballer of the year in 1971, 1973 and in 1974, and one of the best players of all time.
The Dutch had been incredible the entire tournament, winning their first round group ahead of Sweden, Bulgaria and Uruguay, and in the second round cruising through Argentina, East Germany, and finally defeating the defending world champions of Brazil 2-0.
Thousands of Dutch fans had crossed over to West Germany from the Netherlands to see what was in reality an extraordinary feat for the small country against its big neighbour, who many Dutch people had a hateful relationship to. For instance, the Dutch Feyenoord player Wim Van Hanegem, who had lost his father and two brothers during WWII, expressed his disdain for Germans when stating "I don't like Germans. Everytime I played against German players, I had a problem because of the war."
The stage was thus set for an enormous drama in Munich.
And it all started well for the Dutch favourites. As they gave up the ball they passed the ball around, without a single German player getting a touch, when the ball landed with Johann Cruyff. The small Borussia Mönchengladbach player known as “the Terrier”, Bertie Vogts, was appointed as the player who was to neutralize Cruyff, but he was unable to stop the Dutchman in this first minute, as he rushed at full speed directly towards the German goal. As he entered the German area a desperate Uli Hoeness tackled him, and the English referee Jack Taylor correctly awarded a penalty for the Dutch. The Ajax Amsterdam (and that year Barcelona) striker Johann Neeskens took the penalty and scored his fifth goal of the tournament, and the Dutch machine was ahead 1-0 after only one minute.
The Germans had not even touched the ball yet.
But if one thing has characterized German football throughout football history, it is that German teams never give up, and in front of their home crowd, the West German side increasingly managed to fight themselves into the match, and in particular Berti Vogts completely managed to neutralize Johann Cruyff, while the Dutch thought that they had the match under control. Johann Cruyff later recalled: “Being ahead so soon caught us off balance since we never expected that defeating the hosts would be so easy. We had a sense of vertigo. Germany was almost defeated, but we then started to make mistakes. Germany didn’t win the world cup, but we lost it.”
The Dutch were overconfident, and 25 minutes into the first half they were punished when Eintracht Frankfurt’s Bernd Hölzenbein stormed down the left side, and in a rush that reminded of Cruyff’s 24 minutes earlier, stormed into the Dutch area, and right before shooting, was brought down by Feyenoord’s Wim Jansen.
Referee Jack Taylor awarded the Germans the second penalty kick ever in a world cup final, and the outstanding Bayern Munich defensive midfielder (soon to become Real Madrid player) Paul Breitner made no mistake in scoring the equalizer for West Germany.
In spite of the Netherlands still often controlling the ball, the Germans now seemed more solid all over the pitch. Almost at the end of the first half the youngest German player, Rainer Bonhof, passed the ball into Gerd Müller inside the Dutch penalty box. The pass was too close to Müllers feet and the ball bounced backwards, away from Müller and the Dutch defender, but in a split-second Müller turned and shot immediately, not too hard, but past Jan Jongbloed in the Dutch goal.
The home team was up 2-1 at half-time, with the Dutch effectively having thrown away their early advantage.
The Dutch tried to attack feverishly in the second half, but the solid German defense and an excellent Sepp Maier on goal, prevented the Netherlands from scoring. On the opposite side, West Germany had more chances on counter-attack, with a Gerd Müller goal even being disallowed for off-side. In any case, the 2-1 result held for West Germany, who twenty years after their first world title in Switzerland, West Germany had deservedly won the world championship at home against a Dutch team that remains one of the best teams ever never to have won the world cup.
Match Stats:
Goals: 0-1 Neeskens (1) (pen); 1-1 Breitner (25) (pen); 2-1 Muller (43)
Teams:
West Germany: Maier, Vogts, Schwarzenbeck, Beckenbauer, Breitner, Bonhof, Hoeness, Overath, Grabowski, Muller, Hölzenbein
Netherlands: Jongbloed, Suurbier, Rijsbergen (de Jong), Haan, Krol, Jansen, Van Hanegen, Neeskens, Rep, Cruyff, Rensenbrink (R. Van der Keerkof)
The home team had nevertheless not started the tournament well. In the first round they had only finished second in their group, after losing against East Germany in a politically loaded match in Hamburg. However, this match had apparently awakened the Germans, who in the second round had scored three consecutive victories against Yugoslavia, Sweden and Poland, to make it to the final.
In spite of playing at home in Munich in front of almost 80,000 fans, the Germans were not favourites: they were facing the Netherlands, a team that had taken the world with storm. Coached by the former Ajax Amsterdam coach Rinus Michels, the Dutch “orange machine” played a style of football that came to be known as “Total football”, putting pressure everywhere on the pitch with its many extraordinary players, notably Barcelona’s Johann Cruyff, the European footballer of the year in 1971, 1973 and in 1974, and one of the best players of all time.
The Dutch had been incredible the entire tournament, winning their first round group ahead of Sweden, Bulgaria and Uruguay, and in the second round cruising through Argentina, East Germany, and finally defeating the defending world champions of Brazil 2-0.
Thousands of Dutch fans had crossed over to West Germany from the Netherlands to see what was in reality an extraordinary feat for the small country against its big neighbour, who many Dutch people had a hateful relationship to. For instance, the Dutch Feyenoord player Wim Van Hanegem, who had lost his father and two brothers during WWII, expressed his disdain for Germans when stating "I don't like Germans. Everytime I played against German players, I had a problem because of the war."
The stage was thus set for an enormous drama in Munich.
And it all started well for the Dutch favourites. As they gave up the ball they passed the ball around, without a single German player getting a touch, when the ball landed with Johann Cruyff. The small Borussia Mönchengladbach player known as “the Terrier”, Bertie Vogts, was appointed as the player who was to neutralize Cruyff, but he was unable to stop the Dutchman in this first minute, as he rushed at full speed directly towards the German goal. As he entered the German area a desperate Uli Hoeness tackled him, and the English referee Jack Taylor correctly awarded a penalty for the Dutch. The Ajax Amsterdam (and that year Barcelona) striker Johann Neeskens took the penalty and scored his fifth goal of the tournament, and the Dutch machine was ahead 1-0 after only one minute.
The Germans had not even touched the ball yet.
But if one thing has characterized German football throughout football history, it is that German teams never give up, and in front of their home crowd, the West German side increasingly managed to fight themselves into the match, and in particular Berti Vogts completely managed to neutralize Johann Cruyff, while the Dutch thought that they had the match under control. Johann Cruyff later recalled: “Being ahead so soon caught us off balance since we never expected that defeating the hosts would be so easy. We had a sense of vertigo. Germany was almost defeated, but we then started to make mistakes. Germany didn’t win the world cup, but we lost it.”
The Dutch were overconfident, and 25 minutes into the first half they were punished when Eintracht Frankfurt’s Bernd Hölzenbein stormed down the left side, and in a rush that reminded of Cruyff’s 24 minutes earlier, stormed into the Dutch area, and right before shooting, was brought down by Feyenoord’s Wim Jansen.
Referee Jack Taylor awarded the Germans the second penalty kick ever in a world cup final, and the outstanding Bayern Munich defensive midfielder (soon to become Real Madrid player) Paul Breitner made no mistake in scoring the equalizer for West Germany.
In spite of the Netherlands still often controlling the ball, the Germans now seemed more solid all over the pitch. Almost at the end of the first half the youngest German player, Rainer Bonhof, passed the ball into Gerd Müller inside the Dutch penalty box. The pass was too close to Müllers feet and the ball bounced backwards, away from Müller and the Dutch defender, but in a split-second Müller turned and shot immediately, not too hard, but past Jan Jongbloed in the Dutch goal.
The home team was up 2-1 at half-time, with the Dutch effectively having thrown away their early advantage.
The Dutch tried to attack feverishly in the second half, but the solid German defense and an excellent Sepp Maier on goal, prevented the Netherlands from scoring. On the opposite side, West Germany had more chances on counter-attack, with a Gerd Müller goal even being disallowed for off-side. In any case, the 2-1 result held for West Germany, who twenty years after their first world title in Switzerland, West Germany had deservedly won the world championship at home against a Dutch team that remains one of the best teams ever never to have won the world cup.
Match Stats:
- 7th July, 1974, Olympia Stadion, Munich
- Attendance: 77,833
- Referee: John Taylor (England)
Goals: 0-1 Neeskens (1) (pen); 1-1 Breitner (25) (pen); 2-1 Muller (43)
Teams:
West Germany: Maier, Vogts, Schwarzenbeck, Beckenbauer, Breitner, Bonhof, Hoeness, Overath, Grabowski, Muller, Hölzenbein
Netherlands: Jongbloed, Suurbier, Rijsbergen (de Jong), Haan, Krol, Jansen, Van Hanegen, Neeskens, Rep, Cruyff, Rensenbrink (R. Van der Keerkof)
Friday, December 04, 2009
Greatest World Cup Matches: West Germany-Italy (1970)
West Germany entered the 1970 World Cup in Italy with a strong team of quite experienced players. Among them was Franz Beckenbauer, who only 25 years old already was one of the most experienced and established players in international football. The team was still captained by the legendary Uwe Seeler, who was playing his last World Cup, while the Bayern Munich striker Gerd Müller had seemed unstoppable, scoring seven goals in the first three matches, which the Germans won against Peru, Bulgaria and Morocco.
In the quarterfinals West Germany had played England, in a repeat of the 1966 final. This time though, the Germans were better prepared against an English team that was arguably better than it had been in 1966, but was apparently not well-adapted to the intense Mexican atmosphere. Also, Coach Alf Ramsey made obvious tactical changes when England could have carried the match away. In the end, West Germany won 3-2 after extra time, on a Gerd Müller goal.
This was only the second time England lost to West Germany, and as has happened so much since, the English swam over in references to the war.
Italy had not had good results for the World Cup for many years, but under coach Feruccio Valccareggi had built up a very strong team playing the reputed “Catenaccio” style, around a highly organised and very strong defense. The midfield led by AC Milan’s Gianni Rivera (who and 1969 had won the “Balon d’or” as best player of the year), and with powerful strikers, notably Gigi Riva from Cagliari (who is still the most scoring player in the history of the Italian national team). In 1968 Italy had won the European championship and was surely one of the best teams of the world at the time.
However, the Italians were not popular for their “catennaccio” style after their first round matches where they tied 0-0 with Uruguay and Israel, and defeated Sweden 1-0. In the quarterfinals they had nevertheless shown their attacking power against the hosts of Mexico, and won 4-1, and were now ready to the semifinal, where the winner would play the winner between Brazil and Uruguay.
The match in from of a full Azteca Stadium started well for the Italians: only eight minutes into the match the Inter striker Roberto Boninsegna got a return ball at the edge of the German area and resolutely shot and scored.
After this, Italy pulled back around its strong defense, and while the Germans had the ball the most, they were unable to open up the defense. It was frustrating for the many spectators as well as for the German players, to see the German team in possession and attacking, but unable to score. In particular Franz Beckenbauer was playing a strong match, and in the second half he dislocated his shoulder in a fearless tackle. However, unwilling to be substituted, the Bayern Munich star continued playing with a bandaged shoulder for the remainder of the match for what must have been a very painful sacrifice.
In the 90th minute of the match, the frantic German attacks finally paid off when the AC Milan defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (”Volkswagen”) suddenly found himself alone in front of the Italian goal on a cross by Jurgen Grabowski, and just had to put the foot on the ball, that went straight into the net. It was one of the few mistakes that the well-organized Italian defense had made.
West Germany had equalized and now seemed to have everything going for them as the match went into extra time.
Only four minutes later, Gerd Müller took advantage of a misunderstanding between the goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi and the defender Fabrizio Pelotti; when either decide to grab the ball, Gerd Müller quickly got in between them and squeezed the ball into goal for a German lead.
With the match completely turned on its head, it was now Italy’s turn to start attacking against the partly amputated German defense, and only four minutes later the Inter defender Tarcisio Burgnich scored after receiving a bounced off ball from a German defender. Another defensive mistake had equalized it for the Italians, who nevertheless continued attacking after the goal. At the end of the first half of the extra time, Gigi Riva was given too much space at the edge of the German area, and in spite of it not being a very hard shot, it was well-placed towards the far corner of the goal, and Sepp Maier had no chance.
The match had in fifteen minutes turned around twice!
Again it was West Germany’s time to attack as the teams went into the last fifteen minutes of the match, and after only a few minutes Gerd Müller scored to 3-3 on a header.
But the Italians, immediately when putting the ball into play, scored again, without the Germans even touching the ball: Boninsegna crossed the ball to a Gianni Rivera and the Milan striker made no mistake when carefully placing the ball perfectly behind Sepp Maier!
Anything seemed possible in this crazy semifinal, but it was the last goal of the extraordinary drama which Italy won 4-3 and put them in the World Cup final against Brazil.
An anecdote of this match tells that the guards at a prison near Acapulco, absorbed in the dramatic match on TV, didn’t notice the escape of 23 prisoners…
Surely one of the greatest World Cup dramas!
Match Stats:
Goals: 0-1 Boninsegna (8), 1-1 Schnellinger (90), 2-1 G. Muller (94), 2-2 Burgnich (98), 2-3 Riva (104), 3-3 G. Muller (110), 3-4 Rivera (111)
Teams:
West Germany: Maier; Schnellinger, Beckenbauer, Schulz, Vogts, Seeler, Overath, G. Muller, Patzke (Held), Loehr (Libuda), Grabowski
Italy: Albertosi; Burgnich, Facchetti, Cera, Rosato (Poletti), Bertini, Riva, Domenghini, Mazzola (Rivera), De Sisti, Boninsegna
In the quarterfinals West Germany had played England, in a repeat of the 1966 final. This time though, the Germans were better prepared against an English team that was arguably better than it had been in 1966, but was apparently not well-adapted to the intense Mexican atmosphere. Also, Coach Alf Ramsey made obvious tactical changes when England could have carried the match away. In the end, West Germany won 3-2 after extra time, on a Gerd Müller goal.
This was only the second time England lost to West Germany, and as has happened so much since, the English swam over in references to the war.
Italy had not had good results for the World Cup for many years, but under coach Feruccio Valccareggi had built up a very strong team playing the reputed “Catenaccio” style, around a highly organised and very strong defense. The midfield led by AC Milan’s Gianni Rivera (who and 1969 had won the “Balon d’or” as best player of the year), and with powerful strikers, notably Gigi Riva from Cagliari (who is still the most scoring player in the history of the Italian national team). In 1968 Italy had won the European championship and was surely one of the best teams of the world at the time.
However, the Italians were not popular for their “catennaccio” style after their first round matches where they tied 0-0 with Uruguay and Israel, and defeated Sweden 1-0. In the quarterfinals they had nevertheless shown their attacking power against the hosts of Mexico, and won 4-1, and were now ready to the semifinal, where the winner would play the winner between Brazil and Uruguay.
The match in from of a full Azteca Stadium started well for the Italians: only eight minutes into the match the Inter striker Roberto Boninsegna got a return ball at the edge of the German area and resolutely shot and scored.
After this, Italy pulled back around its strong defense, and while the Germans had the ball the most, they were unable to open up the defense. It was frustrating for the many spectators as well as for the German players, to see the German team in possession and attacking, but unable to score. In particular Franz Beckenbauer was playing a strong match, and in the second half he dislocated his shoulder in a fearless tackle. However, unwilling to be substituted, the Bayern Munich star continued playing with a bandaged shoulder for the remainder of the match for what must have been a very painful sacrifice.
In the 90th minute of the match, the frantic German attacks finally paid off when the AC Milan defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger (”Volkswagen”) suddenly found himself alone in front of the Italian goal on a cross by Jurgen Grabowski, and just had to put the foot on the ball, that went straight into the net. It was one of the few mistakes that the well-organized Italian defense had made.
West Germany had equalized and now seemed to have everything going for them as the match went into extra time.
Only four minutes later, Gerd Müller took advantage of a misunderstanding between the goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi and the defender Fabrizio Pelotti; when either decide to grab the ball, Gerd Müller quickly got in between them and squeezed the ball into goal for a German lead.
With the match completely turned on its head, it was now Italy’s turn to start attacking against the partly amputated German defense, and only four minutes later the Inter defender Tarcisio Burgnich scored after receiving a bounced off ball from a German defender. Another defensive mistake had equalized it for the Italians, who nevertheless continued attacking after the goal. At the end of the first half of the extra time, Gigi Riva was given too much space at the edge of the German area, and in spite of it not being a very hard shot, it was well-placed towards the far corner of the goal, and Sepp Maier had no chance.
The match had in fifteen minutes turned around twice!
Again it was West Germany’s time to attack as the teams went into the last fifteen minutes of the match, and after only a few minutes Gerd Müller scored to 3-3 on a header.
But the Italians, immediately when putting the ball into play, scored again, without the Germans even touching the ball: Boninsegna crossed the ball to a Gianni Rivera and the Milan striker made no mistake when carefully placing the ball perfectly behind Sepp Maier!
Anything seemed possible in this crazy semifinal, but it was the last goal of the extraordinary drama which Italy won 4-3 and put them in the World Cup final against Brazil.
An anecdote of this match tells that the guards at a prison near Acapulco, absorbed in the dramatic match on TV, didn’t notice the escape of 23 prisoners…
Surely one of the greatest World Cup dramas!
Match Stats:
- 17th June 1970, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City
- Attendance: 102,000
- Referee: Arturo Yamasaki Maldonado (Peru)
Goals: 0-1 Boninsegna (8), 1-1 Schnellinger (90), 2-1 G. Muller (94), 2-2 Burgnich (98), 2-3 Riva (104), 3-3 G. Muller (110), 3-4 Rivera (111)
Teams:
West Germany: Maier; Schnellinger, Beckenbauer, Schulz, Vogts, Seeler, Overath, G. Muller, Patzke (Held), Loehr (Libuda), Grabowski
Italy: Albertosi; Burgnich, Facchetti, Cera, Rosato (Poletti), Bertini, Riva, Domenghini, Mazzola (Rivera), De Sisti, Boninsegna
Friday, June 23, 2006
Ronaldo's 14th World Cup goal
Ronaldo has been highly criticized lately, and he is certainly not such a potent striker as he used to be. In spite of this, he can still score goals. In last night's Brazilan win against a rather tame Japanese side, Ronaldo scored two goals. With that, he has now scored 14 goals in World Cups (1998 and 2002 included), equalizing legendary Gerd Muller's 14 goal all-time record. With only one more goal, Ronaldo will place himself firmly on top of the all-time scorers list.
Well done Mr. Ronaldo!
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