Shame of Tirana

The German national team's soccer match against the Albanian national team on December 17, 1967, went down in German soccer history as the disgrace of Tirana , in which the qualification for the 1968 European soccer championship in Italy was missed.

background

1968 was the first European football championship to be planned and carried out under this name, after two previous tournaments had taken place under the name of the European Cup of Nations . Since the German Football Association had shown no interest in the European Cup of Nations, a team from the Federal Republic of Germany took part in the European Championship qualification for the first time in 1966 . At the previous international tournament, the 1966 World Cup , coach Helmut Schön's team was runner-up behind England.

As group opponents in qualification group 4, the Germans Albania and Yugoslavia were drawn. It was the only group with three teams. The only third-rate Albanians were considered to be blatant outsiders, while Germany, with Günter Netzer among others , entered the group stage as slightly favored.

Table situation before the game

Pl.	country	Sp.	S.	U	N	Gates	Diff.	Points
1.	Yugoslavia	4th	3	0	1	008: 300	+5	06: 20
2.	BR Germany	3	2	0	1	009: 200	+7	04: 20
3.	Albania	3	0	0	3	000:120	−12	00: 60

As expected, a duel developed between Germany and the strong Yugoslavia. The Yugoslavs won both games against their neighboring country Albania. They won the first leg against Germany 1-0, but lost 3-1 in the second leg. For the German team, the last game against Albania was the decisive game. A simple victory was enough; B. a 1-0 to qualify, as the goal difference against Yugoslavia spoke for Germany. Germany had won the first leg against Albania eight months earlier at the Rote Erde stadium in Dortmund 6-0.

Game and episode

Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana (photo from 2007)

Important players such as Sepp Maier , Franz Beckenbauer , Gerd Müller or Uwe Seeler did not travel to Albania due to limited performance. Nevertheless, Germany was supposedly more heavily occupied than its opponent. There were still five players from the World Cup finals in the German team: Willi Schulz , Wolfgang Weber , Horst-Dieter Höttges , Wolfgang Overath and Sigfried Held . In addition, Bernd Patzke was used in two World Cup games. Peter Meyer , for whom this was the only international match, was the top scorer in the Bundesliga shooting list at the time of the game, while Hannes Löhr was ultimately the top scorer after Meyer's later injury .

For goalkeeper Koço Dinella and defender Frederik Gjinali , the qualifier marked their debut for the Albanian national team. Most international matches were played by captain Lin Shllaku , midfielder Ali Mema from 17 Nëntori and center forward Panajot Pano from Partizani , who was later voted the best player in Albania of the 20th century by the Albanian Football Association, with 13 appearances each.

A strong Albania defied the Germans in a goalless draw on the tough pitch at the Qemal Stafa Stadium in Tirana .

With this result, Germany missed the finals of a European Championship for the only time so far. The 0: 0 against Albania was generally perceived by the German public as embarrassing and avoidable, contrary to the actual course of the game.

So far it is the only game of the Albanian national soccer team that it has not lost to a German selection.

Game dates

pairing	Albania - FR Germany
Result	0-0
date	Sunday 17th December 1967
Stadion	Qemal Stafa Stadium , Tirana
spectator	28,000
referee	Ferdinand Marschall (Austria)
Gates	no
Albania	Koço Dinella - Frederik Gjinali , Frederik Jorgaqi , Teodor Vaso , Ramazan Rragami , Lin Shllaku , Panajot Pano , Ali Mema , Mehdin Zhega , Josif Kazanxhi , Sabah Bizi Trainer: Loro Boriçi
BR Germany	Horst Wolter - Bernd Patzke , Willi Schulz , Wolfgang Weber , Horst-Dieter Höttges , Wolfgang Overath , Günter Netzer , Sigfried Held , Hans Küppers , Hannes Löhr , Peter Meyer Trainer: Helmut Schön

reminiscence

In the 2000s, the game became a running gag in TV coverage of international matches on ARD . During the analysis talks on the current international matches, the moderator Gerhard Delling repeatedly asked his co-moderator and ARD expert Günter Netzer about the Albania game at that time, in which Netzer had participated; Netzer reacted angrily again and again.

More delicate Albania games

European Championship qualifier on November 20, 1983

Almost 16 years later, on November 20, 1983, Germany was again in a European Championship qualifier against Albania in Saarbrücken and had to win again in the last game in order to qualify for the final round, as Northern Ireland was two points ahead of Germany as a competitor. This time too, a simple win was enough due to the better German goal difference. Albania, considered an outsider, took the lead in the 23rd minute of the game through Genc Tomorri after a counterattack. Ferid Rragami provided the template . In direct return, however, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored the equalizer with a directly converted free kick. Tomorri saw the red card in the 45th minute after an assault against Rudi Völler .

In the 79th minute, Gerd Strack scored the 2-1 winning goal, which meant Germany's qualification for the 1984 finals in France .

The day before, the German U-21 national team had failed in qualifying for the U-21 European Football Championship in 1984 with a 1-1 draw against Albania.

Constellations

Albania : Perlat Musta - Ruci, Ferid Rragami , Omuri, Ahmetaj, Lame, Ballgjini, Vukatane (83rd Ijka), Arben Minga , Fiksarko, Genc Tomorri .

Referee: Mattsson ( Finland )

Germany: Toni Schumacher - Bernd Förster , Gerd Strack , Karlheinz Förster , Hans-Peter Briegel (34th Jonny Otten ) - Wolfgang Dremmler , Lothar Matthäus , Norbert Meier , Pierre Littbarski (68th Herbert Waas ) - Rudi Völler , Karl-Heinz Rummenigge .

Greece's disgrace at Tirana

Greece's 2-1 defeat in Tirana on September 4, 2004 in qualifying for the 2006 World Cup was also partially declared a disgrace for Tirana by German media . The Greeks had become European champions at the 2004 European Football Championship in Portugal two months earlier . The Greeks could not make up for the early goals by Edvin Murati and Adrian Aliaj . The coach of the Albanians was Hans-Peter Briegel , often referred to in the media as the intimate enemy of the Greek coach Otto Rehhagel . After the game, riots broke out in many places in Greece, often directed against Albanians. An Albanian was stabbed to death on Zakynthos .

Web links

• Match details on UEFA.com
• Statistics on the game
• Interview with Willi Schulz and Bernd Patzke: "EURO 1968: It was somehow unreal"
• Article on Spiegel online from December 15, 2017

Individual evidence

1. ^ Broder-Jürgen Trede: German football embarrassment: The drama of Tirana . In: Spiegel Online . December 15, 2017 ( spiegel.de [accessed December 15, 2017]).
2. ^ Albania - West Germany 0-0
3. ↑ ^{a b} spox.com: When Rudi exploded
4. ↑ Portret i lojtarit dhe trajnerit më të mirë të kombëtares Loro Boriçi, "zotëria" i futbollit shqiptar ndër vite. Retrieved February 24, 2010 . 
5. ↑ RP-Online (September 5, 2004): World Cup qualification: Briegel team crashes King Otto. (No longer available online.) Formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 28, 2010 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.    
6. ↑ netzeitung.de (September 4, 2004): Briegel's Albanians spoil Rehhagel's Greeks kick-off in World Cup qualification. Archived from the original on September 3, 2012 ; Retrieved February 28, 2010 .