The most politically-charged match in history: when East Germany met West in 1974

https://thesefootballtimes.co/2018/09/21/the-most-politically-charged-match-in-history-when-east-germany-met-west-in-1974/

Roughly translated from German, ‘ein kampf zwischen brüdern’ means ‘a struggle between brothers’ and has been used to describe the game that took place as part of the initial group stages of the World Cup in 1974, when West Germany played East for the only time at international level during the 41-year period when the country was divided between the capitalist West and the communist East.

In those times of Cold War tensions, epitomised by the scar of barbed wire and concrete running through the country’s erstwhile capital, especially in the latter years, football acted as a bridge to many in the eastern sector. Whenever a team from the other side of the divide visited an Eastern Bloc country for a European tie, there was a collective clamour for tickets. It was hardly the sort of collectivist movement desired by the authorities in the East, but illustrated both a desire to see the stars from the other side of the political divide and a sustained sense of belonging, a bond that remained strong if restrained by the edifice of a wall.

Even in the 1950s, it was not particularly unusual for clubs from either side of the divide to play friendlies. It was a way to keep a small measure of contact in place. Indeed, in what almost amounted to an all-Germany playoff in 1956, Kaiserslautern, who had been West German champions in 1951 and 1953, also finishing as runners-up in the following two years, played against Wismut Karl-Marx-Stadt, at the time champions of East Germany.

The game, played out at the Zentralstadion at Leipzig, drew massive interest with upwards of half-a-million applications made for tickets, outstripping supply many times over. The people lucky enough to be able to attend saw the team from the west triumph in a goal glut of a game 5-3.

Across all of the club games between teams from East and West, it was usually the way that the latter ran out winners. The authorities in the former would doubtless have loved to trumpet the success of the communist system over the corrupt capitalist West, but the reality was that the teams from the DDR were usually just that bit weaker.

As the Cold War heightened in the 1960s, the opportunity to play such games dwindled. At least the teams from the East weren’t losing any more, but when the draw for the finals of the 1974 World Cup was made, chance – or fate, depending on your preference – offered up an opportunity for the national teams to play each other. Now it was more than mere club pride at stake. Should the East German team prevail it would be a moment to paint the result as a major coup and significant victory for the socialist system

The draw for the competition took place in Frankfurt on 5 January 1974. There were four groups, with West Germany as the hosts in Group One and the other previous winners, Brazil, Uruguay and Italy, heading the remaining groups. The drawing of the teams to fill each of the remaining slots was entrusted to the innocent hand of a young boy selected from the Schöneberger Sängerknaben boys choir of Berlin.

Call it irony, divine intervention, or merely the playing out of the cards dealt by chance, but the youngster from the divided city initially provoked gasps, and then applause, as he drew out the token that would mean a 90-minute reunification of Germany on the football field, separated only by white lines rather than red ones and an edifice of concrete.

As hosts, West Germany had no need to go through an arduous qualification campaign, but for the East Germans, a group including Romania, Finland and Albania had to be negotiated before they could take their place at the football world’s jamboree. Despite being run close by Romania, with both teams winning their home games, the giants of Bucharest slipped up with a 1-1 draw in Finland, while the East Germans won all of their remaining fixtures to take their place at the finals.

Alongside the two Germanys in Group One were Chile and Australia, and as the draw came together, and surely as drama would require, the final game of the group would be between the hosts and their separated brethren. 

The tournament would begin in mid-April, but a month before that, players from East Germany sounded a warning that perhaps their football was reaching a new height when FC Magdeburg, under the astute and iconoclast coach Heinz Krügel, delivered the Cup Winners’ Cup, becoming the first and – latterly proven to be – only East German club to lift a major European trophy.

Clubs in the west though were hardly struggling, though, as Bayern Munich lifted the European Cup a few days after Magdeburg’s triumph. They would go on to retain Europe’s premier club trophy for the next two years as well.

The group stages of the 1974 World Cup started positively for both of the German teams. A fairly scrappy opening game saw West Germany get the better of Chile thanks to a single strike from Paul Breitner, while Georg Buschner’s East Germany secured a 2-0 victory over Australia thanks to an own goal and a strike from Hansa Rostock’s Joachim Streich.

In the following round, with the difficult first game now safely behind them and the points in their pockets, veteran coach Helmut Schön would see his West Germany team overcome the Aussies with some ease. Three goals from Wolfgang Overath, Bernhard Cullmann and Gerd Müller were more than enough to account for the boys from Down Under. The hosts were clearly finding their stride.

At the same time, for East Germany, the going was somewhat tougher. In a tense game against the South Americans, Magdeburg striker Martin Hoffman gave them the lead after 55 minutes, but an equaliser by Sergio Ahumada with 20 or so minutes to play kept Chilean dreams alive – at least for a while.

 

In these more innocent times, the last games of the group were not played simultaneously. That was an innovation that FIFA decided to adopt after another West Germany final group game in 1982 left a nasty smell of collusion in the air. At this tournament, however, Chile faced off with Australia three-and-a-half before the all-German squabble, and a 0-0 draw meant that neither could now qualify. All that was left to be decided was who would win the group, and which regime would be able to claim sporting hegemony for their particular doctrine.

The game, which had been discussed in as many political circles as sporting ones since that choirboy’s hand drew out the East Germany ball back in January, took place on 22 June. Five months of anticipation, anxiety and apprehension were to be played out in 90 minutes of football. As well as the inevitable political attention, it’s important to note that on both sides of the border, there was also huge public interest, not so much to promote any particular political philosophy, but more it was a touchpoint, a nexus, between the divided country and, more pertinently, the divided people.

Part Two.

It would be of little surprise that a number of people living in the East were keen to see West Germany triumph. Both teams were seen as representing Germany, so there was little if any national rivalry, and a result the other way would only bolster an unpopular regime keen to build its renown on sporting exploits, no matter how they were gained, as later events in a number of other sports would reveal.

In the opinion of most pundits, the West German team was seen to be the more accomplished and likely to prevail. This wasn’t merely due to the contrasting performances of the two teams in the tournament so far. Neither was it because Schön’s team were reigning European champions, and any home advantage they held would be arguable at best. The key factor was that they were perceived as having the better players, the core of their team being taken from the Bayern XI that had defeated Atlético Madrid to lift the European Cup. They were overwhelming favourites to win the game and top the group.

It wasn’t thought, however, that their opponents were going to succumb easily. As well as Magdeburg’s European success, East Germany had won bronze at the 1972 Olympics and would take gold in 1976.

Although it’s difficult to find any direct evidence, a number of reports around the game suggest that confidence was riding high in the West German squad, with a comfortable assurance of victory being the dominant trait. There would also be a superiority of support for West Germany at the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg. Over 60,000 would watch the game, but of that number, only 1,500 or so selected guests from the East would be allowed to travel across the border to watch. It’s hardly needs to be said that none amongst that number would be anything other than staunch supporters of the regime.

It should also be mentioned that the West Germany squad had an additional incentive to win the game. Veteran manager Schön, who was guiding his nation’s hopes through a third World Cup finals tournament, had been born in the East German city of Dresden, although at the time of his birth, back in 1915, the division of the country was a long way off. Much later, his family had fled the East to escape the Soviet-imposed regime. There was, therefore, a strong feeling amongst the group that they were playing for Schön, literally and metaphorically. It was a theme that skipper Franz Beckenbauer used to urge on his teammates.

It’s interesting to note that, after the initial ceremonies, as the players were stripping off their tracksuit tops, the chants of “Deutschland, Deutschland” rang around the stadium. Was this merely for the home team or some kind of statement by the people attending? The pitch had a running-track around it, creating a buffer between the players and crowd, but the emotions streamed down from the terraces and washed over the men on the pitch representing the divided country.

Uruguayan referee Ramón Barreto blew for the start of the game. Müller tapped the ball to Overath and the intra-international game was underway. Very quickly, it became clear that the underlying emotion in the air was one of tension. A desire to win from both sides was there to see, but so was an appreciation of the pressure thrust upon the 22 players on the pitch, each seen to be representing a whole doctrine of life, as well as a nation. It wasn’t quite the Cold War subsumed into a football match, but it wasn’t a million miles away from it.

With the all-pervading political backdrop, no-one wanted to make a mistake and caution was the byword. Tackles were tame and tempers held in check as a mutual respect – and perhaps a measure of fraternal understanding for each other’s situation – came to the fore. It was understandable, but meant that the first half of the game became quite sterile. 

A shot from the right by Heinz Flohe flew wide of Jürgen Croy’s right-hand post. The goalkeeper threw himself towards the ball, but it was more of a gesture than a required save. The best chance of the half for the home team came when an astute pass by Beckenbauer towards Müller allowed Der Bomber to roll his defender before squaring across the box for an onrushing Jürgen Grabowski, but although the ball beat the despairing dive of Croy, who tried to intercept, it ran behind the Eintracht Frankfurt wide man and he couldn’t reach back to turn the cross on target.

Midway through the half, Breitner shot tamely wide as the West German efforts continued to break down at the well-drilled East German back line, offering solid protection to Croy.

It would be wrong to say that there was no threat from the nominally away team. A throw-in from the left by Lothar Kurbjuweit into the West Germany box caused consternation as Reinhard Lauck gathered and turned towards goal. Sepp Maier was drawn towards his near post, Cullmann followed suit, but the move left Hans-Jürgen Kreische in yards of space. Lauck squared the ball across the box, bisecting goalkeeper and defender and leaving an unguarded net for his teammate.

In a 14-year career, Kreische would play over 250 league games for Dynamo Dresden, netting almost 150 goals. In his club colours, the chance would surely have been accepted, but this was an entirely different pressure. As the ball arrived to him on the six-yard line, he leant back and hoisted his shot way over the bar. The clear opening had come and gone. The striker walked back with head bowed to receive a consolatory pat from Jürgen Sparwasser. 

At the break, the game remained goalless. The West Germans had clearly been the more dominant team, but as is so often the case, the best chance fell to their opponents. For differing reasons, both coaches would have had cause to feel both frustrated and relieved at the scoreline.

The second-half began much as the first had ended. One change, though, was that, for some reason, Maier had seen it necessary to change his black goalkeeping top for a green one. Everything else remained the same.

West Germany continued to press and a ball by Müller sent Grabowski into space, but his shot was high, wide and not at all handsome. Long-range shooting was becoming the order of the day, but with East German efforts sporadic and West German ones facing a solid blue wall of defenders to block any efforts on goal, a draw began to look increasingly inevitable. Given the other group results, it would mean West Germany would top the group; the authorities in East Berlin would have to console themselves with an honourable draw and progression to the next phase.

There was still time for that scenario to be changed, though. A scrambled effort by Breitner was at least on target as he followed up on a poor clearance, but the ball bounced a number of times before it rolled into Croy’s welcoming arms.

With 65 minutes played and a few tired legs beginning to show, Buschner withdrew midfielder Harald Irmscher, replacing him with Erich Hamann. A dozen or so minutes later, the move would prove to be hugely significant. On the other bench, Schön was also looking at options. A few minutes later, he removed the teak-tough centre-back Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, who often provided the stability at the back for Beckenbauer to indulge in his sallies forward, both for Die Mannschaft and Bayern, sending on Horst-Dieter Höttges. He also took off Overath and threw the thrusting power of Günter Netzer into the fray. For the next few minutes nothing changed, but with 13 minutes remaining, the goal came.

With his back to goal, Uli Hoeneß flicked the ball over his head in an attempt to cross, but the ball fell comfortably to Croy. Quickly looking up, he saw the fresh legs of Hamann, the substitute, cantering forward down the right flank, and hurled the ball towards him. The 30-year-old was playing in one of only three games in which he would represent his country but, in the next few seconds, he would take a leading role in one of East Germany’s greatest sporting triumphs.

Running forward, he looked up as he entered the West Germany half. Sparwasser was accelerating into a gap as the defence funnelled back to cover. Hamann hoisted a perfect ball to meet the attacker’s run. Chesting past a slipping Beckenbauer, exposing the libero’s less-than-perfect defensive prowess as he entered the box, the Magdeburg player then fired right-footed past Maier to give East Germany the lead.

Completing a forward roll in celebration, Sparwasser regained his feet to see the small contingent allowed to travel from the East celebrating in jubilation, before he was engulfed by his ecstatic teammates. The West Germans stood, hands on hips. They hadn’t really threatened to score other than the poor pull-back from Müller that Grabowski had been unable to fully control. As time had ticked away, the draw that would see them top the group seemed like an increasingly inevitable conclusion to the game, but their lethargy in settling for a share of the spoils had betrayed them to their hungrier brethren. Now they had a mountain to climb – and precious little time to do it in. 

Inevitably, the pressure mounted, and a series of free-kicks and corners saw plenty of bluster but hardly any sustained threat on Croy’s goal. The East Germans locked down at the back and held a firm line as belief and time drained away from their hosts. When the final whistle was sounded, it was the blue-shirted East Germans surrounded by photographers capturing their moment of triumph with Croy and Sparwasser receiving particular acclaim.

The Magdeburg striker was well aware of the significance of his goal, later declaring: “If one day my gravestone simply says ‘Hamburg 74’, everybody will still know who is lying below.” In East Berlin, the authorities would have been in raptures. In the cities and towns around East Germany, the people were less so. East had triumphed over West. Socialism had defeated capitalism. Fifteen-hundred fans celebrated while 58,000 sloped away. But what did it mean?

The victory took East Germany to the top of the group. Normally, this would mean an easier path to progress, but as things shaped up, that wasn’t the case. Plunged into a second-stage group alongside Brazil, Argentina and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Netherlands, a single point was all they could achieve after a meaningless draw in the last game against Argentina when both were already eliminated.

In contrast, the West Germans were pitted against Sweden, Poland and Yugoslavia, duly winning all their games and then going onto beat the Dutch in the final. If the East had won the battle, the West had won the war. There was a political triumph to savour, but perhaps that was a Pyrrhic victory as well.

Later, players who had worn the DDR shirt on that summer evening would seek to play down any political importance. Tall, powerful and blond, every inch the athletic sweeper he was, East German skipper Bernd Bransch would relate that it was the victory that was important, not the opponent over whom it was gained. Goalkeeping hero, Jürgen Croy, would concede that, “It was important because it was the World Cup and because it was Germany against Germany,” but was keen to add, “Of course it was glorified by the politicians, but that happens everywhere. All countries try to take political advantage of sports success.”

Let’s leave the final summary to Jürgen Sparwasser, the goal-scoring hero. When responding to questions about how the goal changed his life in the East, he said: “Rumour had it I was richly rewarded for the goal, with a car, a house and a cash premium. But that is not true.” Perhaps the result changed very little in the end, especially for the central character in the passion play. In 1988, just a year before the Berlin Wall fell, a 40-year-old Jürgen Sparwasser defected to the West.

For a short while, it looked like the qualifying tournament for Euro 92 may produce a reprise of that June evening in Hamburg when the two Germanys were again drawn to play each other. Political events overtook matters, though and the falling of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 precluded any such event.

On 12 September 1990, the Deutsches Demokratisches Republik – East Germany – played their last ever international game: a friendly against Belgium in Anderlecht’s Astrid Parc Stadium in Brussels. Less than a month later, the two sectors of Germany were reunited. The struggle between brothers was finally over.

By Gary Thacker @All_Blue_Daze

Excellent read that, I once watched a short programme about this game and it was a great watch. 

Short highlights from FIFA TV

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/47456049

World Cup whisky and the Cold War: When East & West Germany met

By Mani Djazmi

Part 1

A historic goal, a risky bet, whisky smuggled beyond the Iron Curtain and a star striker banished by secret police from his national team just before its greatest moment.

A remarkable series of events was set in motion after East Germany's 1-0 victory over West Germany in the 1974 World Cup.

It was the only football match played between the nations, two ideological opposites partitioned following the Second World War.

After the fall of Nazi Germany, the Communist East became a satellite state of the Soviet Union, while the capitalist West was formed of occupation zones administered by America, Britain and France.

Until 1964, they competed in the Olympics together - as the United Team of Germany.

But the East German-built Berlin Wall, erected three years earlier, was a sign of diminishing political warmth, and when Erich Honecker took over leadership of East Germany's only party in 1971, he announced that unification with the West was no longer an objective.

For years the East Germans rejected West German overtures to play football. It was seen as too much of a risk - there was a far greater chance of defeat than in sports such as swimming and weightlifting.

But in a World Cup, there was no choice.

"The officials were hoping it wouldn't be a disgrace," says Hans-Jurgen Kreische, a softly-spoken former Dynamo Dresden and East Germany striker who played in the landmark game at Hamburg's Volksparkstadion on 22 June 1974.

"The players didn't feel any pressure though. On the contrary, we were looking forward to comparing ourselves to the West.

"It was something we repeatedly strived for, but the authorities always prevented."

In the West Germany side were captain Franz Beckenbauer and prolific striker Gerd Muller. They were the host nation, and the European champions.

No wonder Hans Apel, then a month into his new job as the country's finance minister and a spectator at the group stage match, was in confident mood.

"I was quite sure we would beat them at least 3-0," he said, speaking before his death in 2011.

"I wasn't excited, I wasn't nervous. We were very good at football, and nobody knew anything about them."

The match turned out quite differently. Controlling a bouncing ball and cutting through the West Germany defence, Magdeburg striker Jurgen Sparwasser struck with 12 minutes left to secure victory for East Germany.

According to Kreische, the game was played in friendly circumstances. Nothing like a derby between enemy states.

Afterwards, he and Apel would have a fateful encounter.

"Following the final whistle all the players swapped shirts, although we didn't do it on the pitch because officially it was forbidden," Kreische says.

"But we got on very well. We spoke the same language after all. It was a hard but fair battle."

The win gave East Germany top spot in the group, which appeared to actually work in West Germany's favour.

It meant they avoided Brazil, Argentina and Netherlands in the second group stage, landing among Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia instead.

The circus moved on. An exodus of fans, players and journalists headed to their next venues. For Apel, it was a return to the real world of government in the West German capital Bonn, via Dusseldorf.

Kreische was on the same flight, en route to Hanover, where defending champions Brazil lay in wait.

The two men sat next to each other.

"He asked me who I was," Apel recalled.

"'I'm the Finance Minister of the Federal Republic,' I said, and he laughed, so I showed him my identity card. He was astonished, maybe even a little bit afraid.

"I said to him, one thing is absolutely clear, West Germany will never win the World Cup.

"But he said to me 'no, that's totally wrong, you will be the world champion'.

"'You're just talking nonsense', I said. 'Perhaps you're too polite to tell me how bad this team is. Let's make a bet. Five bottles of whisky'."

Kreische didn't have the means to buy whisky or send it across the border, so they agreed that only Apel would have to pay up if he lost.

The wager was set, and Kreische's career would take an irreversible turn.

West Germany did go on to win the World Cup, coming from a goal down to beat a brilliant Netherlands side 2-1 in the final in Munich.

East Germany were eliminated from their intimidating second group, losing to the Dutch and Brazil, but managing a 1-1 draw with Argentina.

Once he was back in Bonn after the tournament ended in July 1974, Apel asked his secretary to buy him some bottles of good whisky.

"I telephoned the ambassador of East Germany in Bonn, and I said to him 'You will get five bottles of whisky, and you will transport them please to Mr Kreische'."

This is how a diplomatic bag containing several headaches-worth of fine scotch crossed one of the most sensitive and dangerous borders in the world.

"I was shocked to receive it at first because I didn't really know Apel at all," says Kreische.

"In Dresden we couldn't receive West German TV so we weren't that well informed. A lot of us, including me, didn't even know who he was.

"And it was absolutely forbidden to have any contact with anyone in West Germany.

"But I was allowed to keep the bottles. I shared them with my friends. It was good whisky. Black and White."

And there, for a few weeks, the matter rested. Until a letter reached Apel's office.

"I got a typed letter - a peculiar letter," Apel said.

"Kreische later told me it was written by the secret service, and he had to sign it."

That secret service was the infamous and pervasive Stasi, who infiltrated every part of East German society. They recruited informants, and informants to inform on the informants. It would have been impossible for Kreische not to consider the potential consequences of taking the whisky.

"I was anxious. I was certainly aware of the fact someone would notice this affair, but I wasn't exactly afraid," he says.

"I had such a high position at Dynamo Dresden that I couldn't really imagine being sacked or expelled from professional sport."

He was wrong.

Part 2.

The whisky, as well as a letter that Apel sent with the gift, had a devastating impact on Kreische's career.

"In my letter there stood a sentence which created additional problems for him," Apel said.

"It read 'I hope that we will meet again soon'. This created the impression there might have been more than football talk and a simple bet."

In 1976, East Germany won the football gold medal at the Montreal Olympics. But Kreische was absent. He followed their historic exploits from Dresden instead.

"That year Dynamo Dresden was the top team of the country. We won the league title and the cup and I was the top scorer, with 24 goals," he says.

"After I read my Stasi file in 2004, I now know that it was because of this bet that I wasn't taken.

"The file said: 'Sportsman Kreische is not acceptable to represent East Germany at the Olympic Games'."

Two years later, at the age of 30, Kreische retired.

But despite missing out on an Olympic gold medal, he is still very proud of his contribution to East German football history, and his 50 caps for his country.

"Why should I mourn or regret something that happened so long ago?

"Since then I met Apel and we became really good friends. He regretted that the whole thing had harmed me a lot.

"That I could be part of that 1974 World Cup was overwhelming. And that we could prove we could play good football on the other side of Germany was wonderful."

Was reading recently about a very good East German discus thrower of the 1970s/80s and how he was put in prison for almost 2 years wanting to leave East Germany.

The East German political control over it's people was total. No dissent allowed or tolerated.

Yes the Stasi.

1 minute ago, Strider6003 said:

Yes the Stasi.

Yeah it was.

The book I read was called 'Thrown Free.'  The story of Wolfgang Schmidt.

By William Johnson and Anita Verschoth from 1991.

How the East German Sports Machine molded, trained and broke an Olympic hero and how he won his fight for freedom.

 i

Jurgen Sparwasser (at left) scores the winning goal

 

europebetweeneastandwest.wordpress.com

The Benefits of Defeat – East Germany Versus West Germany At The 1974 World Cup

Posted on January 10, 2017

It was one of the few matches in World Cup history where both the winner and loser both ended up getting what they needed. The match took place in the first round of group play in the 1974 World Cup. It would be the only time East Germany and West Germany would face each other in the world’s most prestigious football tournament. The match coincided with the 1974 World Cup being held in West Germany. Fittingly, this was the only time East Germany qualified for the finals.

A match that was more than a game – West & East German captains shake hands before the historic match

“To Prove To The World That We Could Play Football” – East Germany’s Challenge
The match took place before a packed crowd of 60,200 at the Volksparkstadion in the port city of Hamburg. The overriding majority of fans were West German supporters. In the same stadium eight days earlier, just 15,800 had shown up to watch the East Germans defeat Australia 2-0. The East German government had allowed only 2,000 hand-picked supporters to travel west of the Iron Curtain to cheer on their side. The majority of these were from the Ministry of State Security, better known as the Stasi. The secret police watched over and controlled every aspect of life on the eastern side of the Iron Curtain. They were there to cheer, as well as keep a close eye on the East German team. As the lone vocal supporters of their national side, they gave a pre-planned cheer throughout the match, “7-8-9-10-Great.” The cheer was just as unimaginative as the communist system that had produced it.

West Germany came in to the match as heavy favorites, based on talent, form and history. They already had created quite a legacy in World Cup play, winning the title in 1954, a runner-up finish in 1966 and two semifinal appearances in 1958 and 1970. West Germany also came in to the tournament as European Champions. By comparison, the East Germans had achieved little in international play. Their greatest accomplishment up to that point had been a bronze medal finish at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. East Germany had produced many Olympic and World Champions in athletics. It was later discovered that much of their athletic success was due to doping, but drugs were of little help in fielding a world class football team. The 1974 squad was one of the best East Germany ever fielded. Yet no one believed they stood a chance against West Germany. As Bernd Brausch, the great East German midfielder later would say, “Everyone thought that we had no chance and we just wanted to prove to the world that we could play football.”  They would certainly do that.

“We Are Playing This For Schon” – West Germany’s Challenge
East Germany versus West Germany would be the final match in Group One play. While both teams had already qualified for the next round, the match result would determine future opponents for each team. Ironically, the winner would end up with a much tougher matchup in the second round of group play, though neither team thought much about this at the time. The truth was that both sides wanted to win badly, the West Germans to avoid embarrassment, the East Germans to prove they belonged on the same international football stage as their ethnic kin. One participant under immense pressure was the West German coach, Helmut Schon. Schon had been born in Dresden, a major city in what was now East German territory. Here was his chance for revenge and his players knew it. Franz Beckenbauer, West Germany’s star sweeper, made quite the statement when he said, “we are playing this for Schoen.” Those words would come back to haunt the team

Pressure was magnified by the heightened security situation. The World Cup was the first major international sporting event held in West Germany since the Munich massacre at the 1972 Summer Olympics where eleven Israeli athletes were taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group. There was a concerted effort by the West German authorities to ensure that this did not happen again.  The security measures were visible, police armed with guns all around the stadium and a helicopter hovering over the pitch throughout the match.

Jurgen Sparwasser (at left) scores the winning goal

An Atmosphere Fraught With Tension – The Decisive Goal
Nerves certainly played a role in the shaky play of both teams during the first half. Neither team was able to capitalize on their best opportunities. The East Germans failed to score when they were gifted an open goal. The West Germans did not do any better.  Gerd Mueller, their brilliant striker, was denied when his shot hit the goal post. He created another excellent chance for Jurgen Grabowski who also missed. The first half ended in a scoreless tie. The second half was largely dominated by West Germany. They controlled play throughout, but were still unable to score.

The longer the game remained scoreless, the greater likelihood that the East Germans just might breakthrough. In the 82^nd minute that is exactly what happened. Erich Hamann fed Jurgen Sparwasser the ball on the right, where he managed to get behind West German defender Berti Vogts. Sparwasser then unleashed a shot into the net. It turned out to be the decisive goal. When time expired a few minutes later, the East Germans had scored an upset for the ages. Their victory would be exploited by the regime for political purposes, but Sparwasser and the East German team got little reward. In the near term, the West Germans were devastated. Later that evening the team drowned its sorrows in a bout of drinking that continued until dawn. Strangely enough, they would realize the benefits of defeat.

To the loser goes the spoils – West Germany celebrates its 1974 World Cup title

Winning By Losing – West Of Victory, East Of Defeat
East Germany’s victory meant that they were the victors in Group One, while West Germany finished in second place. Unfortunately the East Germans had set themselves up for placement in the tougher of the two groups in the second round, having to face the Netherlands, Brazil and Argentina. Consequently they would not win another match in the tournament. Fortune smiled on the West Germans who were placed in a much weaker group with Poland, Sweden and Yugoslavia. They also reconfigured their lineup after the defeat against East Germany. The upshot was that West Germany went undefeated in group play and avoided facing the Netherlands until the final, a game in which they eked out a 2-1 victory. They had won the 1974 World Cup despite their devastating loss to East Germany. It was their reaction to that loss and luck with the draw that propelled them to their second World Cup title. They could not have asked for much more. The same could be said for the East Germans, who won the game that mattered most to them, their government and a nation that fifteen years later would cease to exist. Both East and West Germany had been victorious, even in defeat.

Edited September 20, 20205 yr by erskblue