West Germany secured their place amongst worldwide soccer’s defining groups by profitable the European Championship in 1972 and following it with the World Cup two years later.
Helmut Schön’s facet achieved the double with a core constructed round Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner and Gerd Müller. But the workforce that grew to become world champions in Munich was not merely a duplicate of the one which had swept by way of Europe.
West Germany advanced. Günter Netzer drove the inventive soccer of 1972, whereas Wolfgang Overath assumed the principal playmaking function on the 1974 World Cup. Schön adjusted his midfield, trusted totally different supporting gamers and located a method to win when the performances had been much less convincing.
The end result was a two-year interval that delivered the nation’s first European Championship and its second World Cup.
Wembley offered the primary main assertion
West Germany arrived on the decisive phases of the 1972 European Championship with a technology already formed by earlier World Cups.
Beckenbauer, Maier, Müller and Wolfgang Overath had all been concerned as West Germany reached the 1966 World Cup closing. 4 years later, the nationwide facet completed third in Mexico.
Schön now had youthful expertise alongside that skilled core. Breitner and Uli Hoeness introduced vitality, whereas Borussia Mönchengladbach playmaker Netzer gave the midfield a special dimension.
The clearest signal of what was growing got here towards England within the European Championship quarter-finals.
On the time, the ultimate match featured solely 4 groups. West Germany due to this fact needed to come by way of a two-legged quarter-final earlier than travelling to Belgium for the semi-finals.
They gained the primary leg 3–1 at Wembley on 29 April 1972. Hoeness opened the scoring earlier than Netzer transformed a penalty and Müller struck late. It was West Germany’s first victory at Wembley. A 0–0 draw within the return leg accomplished the job.
It was greater than one other qualifying end result. West Germany had overwhelmed one in every of Europe’s main sides away from residence whereas exhibiting the technical management that may outline their match.
West Germany took management of Euro 1972
Hosts Belgium stood between West Germany and the ultimate.
Schön began Maier behind a defence containing Beckenbauer, Breitner, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck and Horst-Dieter Höttges. Netzer and Herbert Wimmer operated in midfield, with Hoeness supporting an assault that includes Müller, Jupp Heynckes and Erwin Kremers.
Müller scored twice in Antwerp as West Germany gained the semi-final 2–1. Belgium pulled one again by way of Odilon Polleunis late within the sport, however Schön’s workforce had already established management.
The Soviet Union awaited within the closing at Brussels’ Heysel Stadium on 18 June.
West Germany gained 3–0.
Müller opened the scoring, and Wimmer made it 2–0 after the interval. Müller then added his second of the match.
The striker completed the four-team finals with 4 targets after scoring twice towards Belgium and twice towards the Soviet Union. UEFA additionally information him because the main scorer in qualifying, underlining how central he was all through the marketing campaign.
But Müller’s ending was solely a part of the image.
Netzer may dictate the course of an assault from midfield, whereas Beckenbauer stepped ahead from his deeper function to affect possession. Wimmer offered steadiness alongside Netzer, and the motion round Müller prevented opponents from concentrating solely on the centre-forward.
Seven West German gamers had been subsequently included in UEFA’s workforce of the match: Beckenbauer, Breitner, Hoeness, Netzer, Wimmer, Heynckes and Müller.
| Competitors and stage | Opponent | End result |
|---|---|---|
| Euro 1972 quarter-final, first leg | England | Received 3–1 |
| Euro 1972 quarter-final, second leg | England | Drew 0–0 |
| Euro 1972 semi-final | Belgium | Received 2–1 |
| Euro 1972 closing | Soviet Union | Received 3–0 |
| 1974 World Cup first group stage | Chile | Received 1–0 |
| 1974 World Cup first group stage | Australia | Received 3–0 |
| 1974 World Cup first group stage | East Germany | Misplaced 1–0 |
| 1974 World Cup second group stage | Yugoslavia | Received 2–0 |
| 1974 World Cup second group stage | Sweden | Received 4–2 |
| 1974 World Cup second group stage | Poland | Received 1–0 |
| 1974 World Cup closing | Netherlands | Received 2–1 |
Schön modified the midfield for the World Cup
Profitable Euro 1972 didn’t go away West Germany with a settled components for each match.
By the 1974 World Cup, Schön confronted a major selection between Netzer and Overath.
Netzer had been one of many excellent gamers of the European Championship. Overath, nonetheless, had already appeared on the 1966 and 1970 World Cups and provided Schön one other method to organise the midfield.
The coach selected Overath.
Netzer ultimately performed solely a restricted function on the match, showing in its place towards East Germany. FIFA information that Schön opted for Overath as his major playmaker and retained him as West Germany progressed in the direction of the ultimate.
Different roles developed too. Berti Vogts grew to become an essential determine in defence, whereas Rainer Bonhof and Bernd Hölzenbein contributed to a facet that didn’t all the time possess the identical fluency seen two years earlier.
The constants remained vital.
Maier offered safety in objective. Beckenbauer captained the workforce and continued to form possession from the again. Breitner provided attacking ambition from defence, whereas Müller remained the penalty-area specialist round whom a lot of the attacking risk revolved.
East Germany uncovered the champions
West Germany hosted the 1974 World Cup as reigning European champions and opened with victories over Chile and Australia.
They beat Chile 1–0 earlier than defeating Australia 3–0.
Then got here a match not like another of their worldwide historical past.
West Germany met East Germany in Hamburg on 22 June. It stays the one senior worldwide assembly between the 2 nationwide groups.
Jürgen Sparwasser scored the decisive objective as East Germany gained 1–0. The end result left East Germany prime of the first-round group and West Germany second.
The defeat broken any assumption that the European champions would transfer easily by way of their residence World Cup.
What adopted confirmed a special energy.
Slightly than reproduce the free-flowing soccer of Brussels two years earlier, West Germany grew to become more and more efficient because the match progressed.
Three wins carried West Germany into the ultimate
The 1974 format despatched the surviving groups into one other group section relatively than typical quarter-finals and semi-finals.
West Germany opened the second stage by beating Yugoslavia 2–0. They adopted that with a 4–2 victory over Sweden.
That left Poland as the ultimate impediment.
Each groups had gained their opening two second-round matches. Their assembly in Frankfurt due to this fact successfully determined which facet would advance to the World Cup closing.
Heavy rain left the Waldstadion pitch severely waterlogged and delayed kick-off. Uli Hoeness later had a penalty saved by Jan Tomaszewski, however Müller ultimately broke the impasse throughout the second half.
West Germany gained 1–0 and reached the ultimate in Munich.
The route demonstrated why the 1974 facet needs to be seen in a different way from its 1972 predecessor.
Schön’s workforce may nonetheless create and assault, however circumstances demanded higher persistence. That they had recovered from defeat towards East Germany, handled the bizarre second-round format and survived a particularly tough match towards Poland.
The Netherlands introduced a special problem
West Germany confronted the Netherlands at Munich’s Olympiastadion on 7 July.
The Dutch had change into the match’s most influential attacking story. Rinus Michels’ facet moved gamers between positions, pressed aggressively and used Johan Cruyff as the point of interest of an strategy that grew to become generally known as Complete Soccer.
Their run to the ultimate stays some of the mentioned campaigns in World Cup historical past, explored additional in World in Sport’s function on the Netherlands’ 1974 World Cup facet.
The ultimate instantly examined West Germany.
The Netherlands moved the ball from kick-off with out permitting a West German participant a contact. Cruyff drove into the penalty space and gained a penalty.
Johan Neeskens transformed it within the second minute.
West Germany had been behind earlier than they’d touched the ball.
But they didn’t enable the begin to resolve the match.
Paul Breitner equalised from the penalty spot within the twenty fifth minute. Then, shortly earlier than half-time, Müller produced the objective that accomplished the turnaround.
Rainer Bonhof attacked down the fitting and delivered the ball into the realm. Müller adjusted contained in the field and completed previous Jan Jongbloed.
FIFA information the objective within the forty third minute. West Germany protected their 2–1 benefit by way of the second half and have become world champions for the second time.
Beckenbauer and Müller gave the facet its defining backbone
Particular person high quality ran all through the squad, however Beckenbauer and Müller represented its two most recognisable strengths.
Beckenbauer may defend, carry possession ahead and affect the tempo with out working as a standard midfielder. His function helped West Germany flip defence into assault with out committing one other participant ahead merely to start out strikes.
He captained the nation to each main titles.
Müller provided the ending.
He scored all 4 of West Germany’s targets throughout the closing match at Euro 1972 and one other 4 on the 1974 World Cup. His winner towards the Netherlands took his World Cup profession complete to 14 targets, then the competitors report.
The supporting forged mattered simply as a lot.
Maier was ever-present in objective throughout each title-winning tournaments. Schwarzenbeck gave the defence steadiness alongside Beckenbauer. Breitner developed into one of many groups’s most adventurous gamers, whereas Hoeness provided direct operating.
Netzer outlined a lot of the 1972 facet’s creativity. Overath then demonstrated that West Germany may reorganise their midfield with out shedding the power to win a serious match.
That adaptability separates this era from a single nice summer season.
The 1972 facet and 1974 facet gained in numerous methods
The temptation is to deal with West Germany between 1972 and 1974 as one unchanged workforce.
The outcomes inform a extra fascinating story.
The European champions produced a few of their most interesting soccer with Netzer directing play and Müller ending strikes. Two years later, West Germany endured higher turbulence. They misplaced to East Germany, modified the emphasis in midfield and needed to overcome the Netherlands after conceding nearly instantly within the closing.
Schön didn’t insist on recreating 1972.
He retained the strongest parts of the workforce and tailored all the things round them.
West Germany would later win one other World Cup in 1990, with Beckenbauer returning as the person in command of the squad. World in Sport has additionally appeared again on the West Germany workforce that gained Italia ’90.
After reunification, Germany ultimately lifted the trophy once more in Brazil. The 2014 Germany World Cup facet adopted a really totally different tactical path, however the skill to mix particular person high quality with match adaptability remained acquainted.
For the 1972–74 technology, nonetheless, the achievement was compressed into simply over two years.
European champions in Brussels. World champions in Munich.
The personnel shifted, and the performances modified, however West Germany discovered two totally different routes to the 2 greatest trophies out there to a European nationwide facet.
