Century game
The game of the century (also game of the century , Italian Partita del secolo , Spanish Partido del siglo ) is the semifinals of the Soccer World Cup in Mexico in 1970 , in which Italy beat Germany 4-3 after extra time. It was played on June 17, 1970 in the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City . The duel between the European champions from 1968 Italy and the vice world champions from 1966 Germany is considered to be one of the most dramatic games in football history .
A few days before this game, the German journalists had already described the quarter-finals between the German team and world champions England , which Germany had won 3-2 in extra time after falling 2-0 down, as the game of the century. However, they had to revise this after the Italy game. Both games played a major role in the fact that the World Cup from 1970 to today is described as the best World Cup so far in terms of football. In the final four days later, Italy were clearly defeated by Brazil 1: 4. Experts attribute the clarity of the result to the enormous loss of strength of the Italians in the game against Germany.
venue
Mexico City was originally set as the venue for the first semi-final between Uruguay and Brazil and the Estadio Jalisco in Guadalajara for the German game against Italy. However, after the pairings were established, FIFA switched venues. Uruguay entered its semi-finals only under protest, as it was suspected that the game had been moved to Guadalajara because the Brazilians had played their previous games there. According to Article 26 of the World Cup regulations, the semifinal venues were only determined after the participants had been determined. The decision was made to let the teams travel as little as possible.
The sympathies of the Mexican spectators were on one side in both games: The Brazilians were supported in Guadalajara, the Germans in Mexico City, as Italy had previously thrown out the hosts. While every German player was greeted with applause from the audience at the performance, the Italian players were greeted with wild whistling concerts.
Course of the game
Note: The times for goals and substitutions differ in different sources. The times stated here correspond to the information provided by FIFA.
| Italy | BR Germany | ||||||
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Enrico Albertosi - Tarcisio Burgnich , Pierluigi Cera , Roberto Rosato (91st Fabrizio Poletti ), Giacinto Facchetti - Mario Bertini , Sandro Mazzola (45th Gianni Rivera ), Giancarlo De Sisti - Angelo Domenghini , Roberto Boninsegna , Luigi Riva Trainers: Ferruccio Valgieggi |
Sepp Maier - Berti Vogts , Willi Schulz , Karl-Heinz Schnellinger , Bernd Patzke (63rd Sigfried Held ) - Uwe Seeler , Franz Beckenbauer , Wolfgang Overath - Jürgen Grabowski , Gerd Müller , Hannes Löhr (53rd Reinhard Libuda ) Trainer: Helmut Schön |
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 1: 0 Boninsegna (8th) 2: 2 Burgnich (98th) 3: 2 Riva (104th) 4: 3 Rivera (111th)
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1: 1 Schnellinger (90.) 1: 2 Müller (94.) 3: 3 Müller (110.)
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 Rosato, Domenghini, De Sisti
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Müller, Overath
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The early Italian 1-0 lead by Roberto Boninsegna in the eighth minute was only compensated by Karl-Heinz Schnellinger in stoppage time in the second half, shortly before the actual final whistle. The German television commentator Ernst Huberty led to a cult statement (“… of all things Schnellinger!”), Because Schnellinger earned his money as a professional in Italy at AC Milan and before that at AS Roma and AC Mantova and this was his only goal in 47 international matches was.
There was therefore an extension in which Gerd Müller brought the German team into the lead in the 4th minute, which was equalized by Tarcisio Burgnich four minutes later. A minute before the break, Luigi Riva made it 3-2 for Italy. Gerd Müller equalized to 3: 3 for the DFB selection. At that time, the team practically only had nine field players, as their substitution contingent was exhausted and Franz Beckenbauer, who had been playing with a bandaged right arm since the beginning of extra time, was barely able to play. He broke his shoulder joint in the 65th minute when he tried to score a penalty in a collision at the edge of the penalty area that was punished with a free kick for Germany.
One minute after the German equalizer, Gianni Rivera, who replaced Sandro Mazzola at halftime, decided the match with his goal for Italy to make it 4-3. At the end of the game, the spectators rose from their seats and applauded both teams.
media
The game was broadcast live on ARD . The reporter for the game was Ernst Huberty . Oskar Klose and Kurt Brumme commented on the game live on the radio . Brumme, who was actually known for his aloof style, sarcastically commented on the Italian team's attempts to save the 1-0 lead through delays over time: “My God, is this a football game here. That's horrible, that's disgusting. Burgnich has just passed away, I see. No, there he comes again ”.
Plaque
The game of the century is commemorated by a plaque at the Aztec Stadium in Mexico City that reads:
- El Estadio Azteca, bark homenaje a las selecciones de:
- Italy (4) y Alemania (3)
-
Protagonistas en el Mundial de 1970, del “Partido del Siglo”
- 17 de junio de 1970
Translation:
- The Aztec Stadium honors the national teams of
- Italy (4) and Germany (3)
- as a participant in the "game of the century" at the 1970 World Cup
- 17th June 1970
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b IX. Football World Cup Mexico 1970, Bertelsmann Sachbuchverlag 1970, page 190
- ↑ Süddeutsche Zeitung WM-Bibliothek 1970, page 94 (Ed. 2005)
- ^ Match Report: Federal Republic of Germany - Italy 1970 FIFA.com
- ↑ The referee is originally from Peru, but was active for the Mexican Football Association from 1968. This is why there are different information about the country of origin in football databases.
- ↑ Gentleman as a man of sorrows . sueddeutsche.de , May 26, 2010.
- ↑ Search with binoculars (part 9) . sueddeutsche.de , May 17, 2010.
- ↑ Germany against Italy 1970: The game of the century article by the DFB
- ^ Hans Weymar: Italy-Germany World Cup 1970 - "Of all things Schnellinger". Handelsblatt , July 4, 2006, accessed on March 28, 2009 .
Web links
- Statistics for the game of the century data from the DFB
- Germany versus Italy 1970: The game of the century article by the DFB
- Compilation of the “Century Game” with German commentary by Frank Buschmann (2010), YouTube video, 10:54 min.
- dfb.de: "3: 4 against Italy:" The game of the century ""