Rotterdam coin toss
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Liverpool FC
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1. FC Cologne
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Through the "coin toss of Rotterdam" the winner of the quarter-final duel between was posted on March 24, 1965 Liverpool FC and 1. FC Cologne in football 1964-65 European Cup determined: who won Liverpool. This was preceded by three games between the two teams with a total duration of 300 minutes, in which no winner could be determined.
Because of these and other unusual circumstances, the comparison between the two teams is considered one of the most dramatic in European football. So the decisive coin toss had to be repeated. In addition, the Cologne player Wolfgang Weber was on the field until the end, although he broke his fibula during the game.
prehistory
Both teams qualified as champions of the previous season 1963/64 in their respective national leagues for the most important continental club competition, the European Cup , which is now played under the name of the UEFA Champions League. Liverpool FC became champions in England for the sixth time by winning the Football League First Division , while 1. FC Köln won the first edition of the Bundesliga and became German champions for the second time.
The way to the quarter-finals
Both teams survived the preliminary round of the competition with ease. Liverpool beat KR Reykjavík twice clearly (5: 0 and 6: 1), Cologne prevailed against Partizani Tirana (0: 0 and 2: 0). In the first round, the English again had no problems and beat RSC Anderlecht 3-0 and 1-0. 1. FC Köln had a harder time, but ultimately defeated Panathinaikos Athens after a 1-1 win in the first leg with a 2-1 win in the second leg.
Starting position before the duel
Despite a selection of good players in their own ranks, Cologne FC was considered a clear outsider against Liverpool. This is also what representatives of the club saw. Georg Stollenwerk , previously a player at FC, was sent to England as an observer and described Bill Shankly's team as unbeatable. Shankly, who was called "Boss" by his players, coached the "Reds" since 1959 and only rose to the top English division in 1962. Two years later he led the club to the championship.
The Liverpool team consisted of several internationally recognized players who already played together. These include defenders Chris Lawler and Tommy Smith , captain Ron Yeats , midfielder Ian Callaghan , winger Peter Thompson and strikers Ian St. John and Roger Hunt .
The previous season, 1. FC Köln won the first edition of the Bundesliga under coach Georg Knöpfle and was considered an innovative football club in Germany, which was mainly attributed to President Franz Kremer . One loss was the failure of Hans Schäfer . The 1954 world champion, who scored 254 goals in 394 games for Cologne, was unable to play any of the three games and ended his career shortly afterwards. With Heinz Hornig , Wolfgang Overath and Wolfgang Weber , the Cologne team still had players in all positions who belonged to the top in Germany and Europe.
First leg on February 10, 1965, 1. FC Cologne - FC Liverpool 0: 0
The first leg took place on February 10, 1965 in front of 39,139 spectators in the main arena in the Müngersdorf sports park . 1. FC Köln were the game-determining team against a defensive team from Liverpool, but still only developed a few opportunities and missed a goal.
Karl-Heinz Thielen , who failed on the post, had a clear chance to score in the game . The game ended goalless.
Cancellation of the planned second leg on March 3, 1965
The second leg was originally supposed to take place on March 3, 1965. However, the Anfield Road pitch was covered in snow and the referee decided not to whistle. This decision was made 15 minutes before the start of the game, when the stadium was already full.
Second leg on March 17, 1965, Liverpool FC - 1. FC Cologne 0: 0
The second leg took place in front of 48,948 spectators. While Cologne goalkeeper Toni Schumacher hardly had to intervene at all in the first leg, the opposite was the case in the second leg. The Liverpool side was the dominant team but, like FC, failed to score in the first leg.
In addition to Schumacher, defenders Wolfgang Weber and Matthias Hemmersbach also convinced . For their part, the Cologne team created very few opportunities that were also not used. The second leg also ended goalless, whereupon a play-off was scheduled according to the regulations of the time.
Venue of the play-off
If at that time no winner was determined in the European Cup after the return leg, the playoff took place in a neutral place. The rules stipulated that the game had to take place in an uninvolved country. The two clubs forwarded their proposals to UEFA , which had to decide.
Unsurprisingly, both clubs suggested stadiums that were as close as possible to their own location. Those in charge of Liverpool FC preferred Hampden Park in Glasgow , Scotland , while the Cologne team wanted De Kuip in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, as the venue.
UEFA followed the Cologne proposal and had the game hosted on March 24, 1965 in Rotterdam's De Kuip Stadium, among other things because this stadium had proven itself as the final location of the 1962/63 European Cup Winners' Cup two years earlier . This gave FC the advantage of a significantly shorter journey and the higher number of fans on site. Around 20,000 people from Cologne accompanied their team to the Netherlands.
The stadium was sold out on match day with 47,862 spectators.
Course of the game
First halftime
It quickly developed an open exchange of blows, in which Liverpool managed the opening goal by Ian St. John after 21 minutes . Shortly before, Wolfgang Weber broke his fibula in a collision with Gordon Milne and was brought into the cabin. At this point, nobody knew the extent of the injury, but Weber complained of severe pain and hobbled badly.
Since no player changes were allowed at the time, Cologne had to continue playing with ten men. Liverpool took advantage of this in the 36th minute and increased the lead through a dust goal from Roger Hunt , whose opponent was Wolfgang Weber, to 2-0. Shortly before the break, Karl-Heinz Thielen headed Cologne to 1: 2.
Second halftime
Wolfgang Weber returned to the field, where from then on he mainly only took part in the game standing and was therefore positioned at the top by FC trainer Knöpfle. Shortly after the restart, in the 48th minute of the game, Hannes Löhr scored the equalizer with a long-range shot to make it 2-2.
After about 70 minutes, Löhr was then struck down by Liverpool captain Ron Yeats with a punch, but the referee did not respond. The next big upset was an unrecognized goal by Cologne's Heinz Hornig . Shortly before the end, it was Weber of all people who, despite his broken fibula, had the best chance of scoring the winning goal for Cologne, but he narrowly missed. Liverpool FC didn't have any great chances.
renewal
The extension was uneventful. Both teams were close to exhaustion and for the most part limited themselves to not making any more mistakes. The task of scoring the decisive goal was made more difficult by the fact that the lawn in the De Kuip Stadium was meanwhile in a desolate condition and the ground consisted only of mud in places. No winner could be found in extra time either.
After the teams had argued for three games and a total of 300 minutes, the decision now had to be forced.
coin toss
At that time there was no penalty shoot-out. Instead, UEFA rules stipulated that the winner should be determined by tossing a coin . The referee Robert Schaut did not use a coin, but a small wooden disc with a red and white side. He called the two team captains to one of the two penalty rooms, some other players as well as press representatives and police officers had also come to the place of the decision and formed a circle around the referee.
This particular red as the color of Liverpool. After the toss, the disc remained upright on the edge in the swampy lawn, so that a coin toss could not initially determine a winner. After the second throw the target showed red and Liverpool won.
According to Liverpool captain Ron Yeats , who was closest to the action together with Cologne captain Hans Sturm , the disc got stuck in the morass, but leaned significantly in the direction that was unfavorable for him, which is why he quickly advised the referee to close the throw to repeat. Karl-Heinz Thielen and Hannes Löhr from Cologne confirmed this version.
Criticism of the referee
UEFA appointed Belgian Robert Schaut as referee for the game. This was surprising, because the game at European level was the second European Cup game and the first in the European Cup, which Schaut was in charge. During the course of the game, Schaut made several decisions that were blamed on him as a mistake by, among others, the specialist magazine Sportmagazin and Spiegel .
A serious mistake was the withdrawal of a rule-compliant hit by Heinz Hornig, which would have meant the 3-2 for Cologne. The behavior of the Belgian when tossing a coin was also irritating. So Schaut himself decided which color applied to which team, instead of, as usual, leaving this to the team captains.
Game dates
| Liverpool FC | 1. FC Cologne | |||||||
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Tommy Lawrence - Ron Yeats , Chris Lawler , Gerry Byrne , Willie Stevenson - Gordon Milne , Tommy Smith - Peter Thompson , Ian St. John , Roger Hunt - Ian Callaghan Trainer: Bill Shankly ( Scotland )
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Toni Schumacher - Anton Regh , Fritz Pott , Matthias Hemmersbach , Wolfgang Weber - Wolfgang Overath , Hans Sturm - Christian Müller , Hannes Löhr , Heinz Hornig - Karl-Heinz Thielen Trainer: Georg Knöpfle |
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 1-0 Ian St. John (21st) 2-0 Roger Hunt (36th)
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2: 1 Karl-Heinz Thielen (40th) 2: 2 Hannes Löhr (48th)
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Reactions
Press
Horace Yates of the Liverpool Daily Post commented on the coin toss: "The most amazing finish I have ever seen or am ever likely to see in football."
The German sports magazine wrote: “Our German champions did not deserve this bad luck after three exciting, dramatic battles.” The Hamburger Abendblatt commented: “You have to certify that 1. FC Köln was a worthy representative of German football in Rotterdam and that it was a great representative has been. Downright fantastic how the battered elf reared up, how they remained nervous enough to attack, to counter. "On WDR radio it was said:" When the coin was on the ground for the first time, I saw Yeats desperately looking at the Head grabbed and then the choice of heads or tails was repeated, the English football champions were happier, he can be happy. But he didn't beat 1. FC Köln. "
Trainer
Bill Shankly, coach of Liverpool FC, said of 1. FC Köln: “This team didn't deserve to drop out through the toss of a coin. I have to be honest. Liverpool were not the better team. ”'(“ This team didn't deserve to be eliminated by a coin. I have to be honest. Liverpool were not the better team. ”)
Cologne's trainer Georg Knöpfle said: “The whole thing has nothing to do with sport, it shouldn't be true that after three undecided games in exactly five hours a lot decides, a coin that children take to play. If you had used a penalty shootout as a decision, I would still see a point in it, because it has a little to do with football. But the lot with a coin? It's just unbelievable. "
player
Hans Schäfer , FC player who was injured and could not play, said: “I don't think anyone will repeat this: with two goals against such a strong team they are behind and with only 10 players it was 2-2 to create. ”Cologne midfield director Wolfgang Overath stated:“ The English would not have seen anything with a complete team. It's terrible to lose that way. We didn't deserve that. "
aftermath
Various media and officials demanded the abolition of coin tossing and drawing lots to determine the winner. Although decisions in the European Cup were made by the coin repeatedly before the game between Liverpool and Cologne, this procedure has never been used in such an important game. Mostly it was first and second round matches in which a decision had to be made in this way before and afterwards. In the end, however, it was not until 1971 that it was replaced by a penalty shoot-out .
Liverpool FC
In the subsequent semi-finals, the Reds had to admit defeat Inter Milan (3-1, 0-3). For this, about a month after the game in Rotterdam, the FA Cup was won for the first time in the club's history . In 1966 the Reds were again English champions. In the same year, three Liverpool players became world champions: Gerry Byrne , Ian Callaghan and Roger Hunt . Liverpool FC became a regular guest of the European Cup in the 1970s and 1980s through various championship wins and won the competition four times between 1977 and 1984.
1. FC Cologne
The public did not see FC as a loser, but rather as a moral winner, but the bitter elimination did not go away without any aftermath, as Weber, another important player, was canceled for the rest of the season after Hans Schäfer had already been canceled. In the Bundesliga it was enough for the runner-up behind Werder Bremen after the game in Rotterdam due to a lack of consistency .
After that, Cologne gradually fell from the top of the Bundesliga and could only qualify once again, in 1978/79 , for the national championship cup, where they only failed in the semi-finals. Almost a year after the coin was tossed, Wolfgang Overath , Heinz Hornig and Wolfgang Weber failed in the 1966 World Cup finals with the Wembley goal against England and thus also against Byrne, Callaghan and Hunt from Liverpool FC.
Trivia
- As usual, before the actual “Rotterdam coin toss” two coins were tossed to determine which side was selected (before the start of the game and before the start of extra time). These two litters were in favor of Cologne.
- Liverpool FC was again dependent on luck almost three years after the events in Rotterdam. The English drew twice in the first round of the Messestädte-Pokal in 1968/69 from Athletic Bilbao , so that again a coin toss decided on elimination or advancement. This time Liverpool were left behind and eliminated.
- After the game, friendly relations developed between Cologne and Liverpool fans, which were maintained for several decades, but no longer exist.
See also
Web links
- Video compilation of the game (coin toss from 3:00 a.m.) on YouTube
- Series of pictures of the duel between Liverpool and Cologne on kicker.de
Individual evidence
- ↑ Games in the 1964/65 national championship cup of Liverpool FC , on uefa.com, accessed on October 24, 2015.
- ↑ Games in the 1964/65 national championship cup of 1. FC Köln , on uefa.com, accessed on October 24, 2015.
- ↑ a b c It was only the fibula , ksta.de, accessed on August 27, 2015.
- ↑ When Cologne danced to the championship in Dior , on welt.de, accessed on November 30, 2015.
- ↑ When 1. FC Köln was still the white ballet , on welt.de, accessed on November 30, 2015.
- ↑ Data on the first leg , on weltfussball.de, accessed on November 3, 2015.
- ↑ a b In the sign of the billy goat: Dirk Unschuld, p. 170
- ↑ Data on the second leg , on weltfussball.de, accessed on November 3, 2015.
- ↑ In the sign of the billy goat: Dirk Unschuld, p. 171
- ↑ a b In the sign of the billy goat: Dirk Unschuld, p. 172
- ↑ Match report Liverpool-Cologne 1964/65 , weltfussball.de, accessed on October 24, 2015.
- ↑ Wolfgang Weber and the European Cup Drama , 11 friends , accessed on August 27, 2015.
- ↑ A drama in 5 acts , on general-anzeiger-bonn.de, accessed on October 24, 2015.
- ↑ A game that made history , page from WDR , accessed on August 27, 2015.
- ↑ a b c d e f In the sign of the billy goat: Dirk Unschuld, p. 173
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↑ A coin makes history. In: fc-koeln.de. March 24, 2015, accessed August 27, 2015 . Game decision by tossing a coin. (Video, 0:25 minutes) In: YouTube . March 24, 1965, accessed August 27, 2015 .
- ↑ a b 50 years on: Coin toss downs Cologne. In: liverpoolfc.com. March 23, 2015, archived from the original on March 4, 2016 ; accessed on April 10, 2019 (English).
- ↑ Robert look at worldreferee.com, accessed October 24, 2015.
- ↑ Kicker-Sportmagazin , from March 29, 1965, page 2
- ↑ Tor vom Dienst , on spiegel.de, accessed on October 24, 2015.
- ↑ 50 years ago: Cologne loses after tossing a coin , on dfb.de, accessed on October 29, 2015.
- ↑ a b c Cologne-Liverpool No sporting decision was made in the third duel either , on Abendblatt.de, accessed on October 29, 2015.
- ↑ Sound document from the WDR archive ( Memento of the original from December 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , at wdr.de, accessed on October 29, 2015.
- ↑ a b THE LEGENDARY MATCH Liverpool FC vs Koln FC , on eightdaysaweek, accessed on October 24, 2015.
- ↑ The agony and the bliss of the 1964-65 Liverpool season , on lfchistory.net, accessed October 24, 2015.
- ↑ IFAB: Minutes of the AGM (PDF; 7.5 MB) Soccer South Bay Referee Association. June 27, 1970. Archived from the original on April 30, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 24, 2015.
