One win away from finally being crowned world champions, West Germany, European champions and the most consistent World Cup performers over two decades, arrive at 7 July 1974. Standing in their way, they find the Netherlands and the man everyone expects to succeed Pelé as the world’s number one player, …
Read More »12 W/C recalls—1974 (Pt 3): Beckenbauer’s Germans power past the Poles
West Germany also made a confident start in the second round. They began their Group B campaign by seeing off Yugoslavia, with goals in either half from Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller. On the same day, a Grzegorz Lato header gave Poland victory over Sweden in a very tight contest. …
Read More »12 W/C recalls: 1974 when Total Football almost ruled the roost; sum of the parts
“Penalty! Holland have a penalty! And we are still in the opening minute of this long-awaited World Cup final!” In many ways, the amazing 10th Fifa World Cup in 1974 bore an uncanny resemblance to its 1954 counterpart. In Germany like in Switzerland, Fifa played the second round as a …
Read More »12 W/C recalls: Marauding Magyars (Pt 2)—Hungary’s long-lasting lament: Bern, baby, Bern!
For the confident Magyars, the early going in the 1954 Finals could not have been easier. Seeded top in Group Two, they dismissed debutants South Korea 9-0. Then, with the West Germans weakened by separation from the communist East, they put on an 8-3 clinic against them, Sandor Kocsis helping …
Read More »12 W/C recalls: World War, Walter’s tale and how moment of mercy altered Hungary’s fate
“[…] Let us begin with Fritz Walter, who would lead the Germans into battle in the final in the Swiss capital in 1954. A decade and a half earlier, the Germans had won the early battles and the Hungarians had been made to suffer after the outbreak of World War …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Katastrophe! Neuer nightmare as Neymar’s Brazil samba in German tears
In the city of Brasilia, fireworks went off, residents jumped up and down at malls and drivers honked their car horns. And the Brazil team had not even stepped on to the field yet! The Germans call it schadenfreude, which roughly translates to the enjoyment of another’s misfortune. And not …
Read More »Sputnik 2018: Belgium throttle Tunisia, Kroos revives Germany, plus an early peek at W/Cup KO round
It started off with a little rumble and, by the end, the ground was shaking and families were looking for sturdy tables to dash under. No, it was not another earthquake—just German fans sprinting back to the bandwagon, as midfielder Toni Kroos revived the defending World Cup champions with a …
Read More »Maylee Attin-Johnson: Brazil’s the best bet for 2018 W/Cup title; but don’t write off Germany just yet
“There are those who argue that this year’s team may well be the most balanced Brazilian teams we have ever seen, with strengths up front, in midfield, in defence and between the uprights… “[But] I believe Germany pose a significant threat to their title aspirations.” Former Trinidad and Tobago Women’s …
Read More »Cliff Bertrand: Going South!? If Neymar doesn’t do it in Russia, then Messi will
“Grouped with Costa Rica, Serbia and Switzerland, the Samba Boys will, I expect, put everybody else on the back-foot by the time the group stage is over. And then go on to beat all comers because they have a little matter of a big 2014 7-1 embarrassment to settle. “… …
Read More »Amiel Mohammed: “Ich liebe Die Mannschaft;” Low’s Germany as ready as they always are
“On the heels of their great 2014 triumph, much of the German leadership rode off into the sunset, leaving many wondering if that mass exodus would be fatal. But since Lahm, Schweinsteiger, Podolski and Mertesacker all left with medal in hand, Hummels, Muller and Kroos have stepped into their massive …
Read More »Shaka Hislop: Brazil, says my head, Argentina, says my heart, Achtung! warns experience
Who I’d like to see win the World Cup and who I think will win are two completely different things. I’d like to see Argentina win it. For Leo Messi. To take his rightful place on the “best ever” shortlist, Messi, who, in my opinion, is the best player of …
Read More »Moscow 2018 Countdown: Kings go forth as Champions League exits; Brazil to samba for the tsars
Now that Manchester City have officially sealed the title in England and Real Madrid have put Liverpool in their place and reasserted their dominance in Europe—with more than a little help from Judas Iscariot in the red goal—all eyes turn to Russia. It is time to crown the real kings. …
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