Sports photo of the century

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The Sports Photo of the Century is a famous photograph by German photographer and journalist Sven Simon , taken after the 1966 World Cup finals in England.

The photo shows the dejected Uwe Seeler , then captain of the German national soccer team , leaving the field. England had previously won the game with a final score of 4-2 after extra time. The game enjoys historical importance due to the controversial Wembley goal .

In 2000, the photo was named Sports Photo of the Century by Die Welt am Sonntag because it shows “upright losers” who “were bent over but left the field quietly and without hatred”.

Image description

The black and white photograph shows members of a band on the left . In the center of the picture, Uwe Seeler is walking towards the stands with his back bent and looking at the floor. He is accompanied by the head of the World Cup protocol, who looks back, and a security officer who puts a hand on his back. Behind the trio run the then national coach Helmut Schön , who pushes up the sleeve of his jacket, and the defender Willi Schulz . Other unknown people are shown on the right side of the picture. The full tiers of Wembley Stadium can be seen in the background .

Discussion about the time of inclusion

Uwe Seeler had meanwhile claimed that the photo was taken at half time. Journalists had repeatedly suspected that Seeler had only looked at his loose shoelaces.

The exhibition team of the German Football Museum discovered the contact sheets in the archive of the photo agency Sven Simon, based on which the time of the photo could be determined. In an interview between Museum Director Manuel Neukirchner and Uwe Seeler, the latter admits: “My disappointed, sad expression says it all. It fits the posture. I'm really upset. ”He also admits:“ The plucking at the neck was more of a distraction. ”

On Sven Simon's contact sheet, the sports photo of the century is followed by other photos showing cheering Englishmen and disappointed Germans. This confirms that the photo was taken after the game.

background

After the German team had prevailed with a 2-1 victory in the semifinals against the team of the Soviet Union , they stood in the final against the team of the host England . The game took place on July 30, 1966 at Wembley Stadium, London, starting at 3:00 p.m. local time. After the regular playing time it was 2-2. In extra time, England's Geoff Hurst scored a controversial goal to make it 3-2 ( see also: Wembley goal ). The game ended 4-2 for the hosts. Seeler is on the way to the box of honor at Wembley Stadium, where Queen Elizabeth II honored the teams .

Trivia

  • Sven Simon gave the photo the caption: "Marked by the fight, beaten by the enemy, broken by a mistake".
  • The photo has the number 18A on the negative strip.

literature

  • Manuel Neukirchner: Wembley 1966: The myth in snapshots. Klartext Verlag, Essen 2016, ISBN 978-3-8375-1622-7 , pp. 5–11, 134–136, 153.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Melanie Meyer: 50 Years of Wembley: Mystery of the iconic Seeler photo solved. In: DerWesten , July 30, 2016, accessed September 7, 2016.
  2. ↑ FIFA Match Report In: Official FIFA website , accessed September 7, 2016.