East Germany 1-0 West Germany
West Germany 1974 | First group stage
Volksparkstadion, Hamburg
Attendance: 60,200
East Germany goal: Jurgen Sparwasser (77)
Teams
East Germany
Coach: Georg Buschner
Starting XI: Jurgen Croy; Siegmar Watzlich, Bernd Bransch, Konrad Weise, Gerd Kische; Lothar Kurbjuweit, Hans-Jurgen Kreische, Harald Irmscher, Reinhard Lauck; Martin Hoffmann, Jurgen Sparwasser
Substitutions: Erich Hamann for Irmscher (65)
West Germany
Coach: Helmut Schon
Starting XI: Sepp Maier; Paul Breitner, Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, Franz Beckenbauer, Berti Vogts; Wolfgang Overath, Bernhard Cullmann, Uli Hoeness; Heinz Flohe, Gerd Muller, Jürgen Grabowski
Substitutions: Horst-Dieter Hottges for Schwarzenbeck (68), Gunter Netzer for Overath (69)
Hitherto head-to-head record
None.
Going into the game
While both teams were already through to the next round before a ball had been kicked in this highly-charged showdown, there was still plenty at stake, not least top spot in Group 1 and “brotherly” bragging rights. Having overcome Chile 1-0 in their opener and eased past Australia 3-0, West Germany went into the match knowing that a share of the spoils would be enough for them to win the group. On the other hand, only victory would suffice for Georg Buschner’s side – who had been held 1-1 by the Chileans after defeating the Australians 2-0 – to leapfrog their arch-rivals.
A total of 60,200 fans – including some 1,500 East German citizens – packed into the Volksparkstadion to witness a piece of history: the first and only meeting between the German full national teams, and on football’s grandest stage no less. The pecking order ahead of the encounter could not have been clearer: the East Germans, contesting their maiden FIFA World Cup™ campaign, were major underdogs up against their heavyweight neighbours, the UEFA EURO title holders and 1954 world champions.
The game
It was a cagey affair right from the get-go: with both teams desperate not to lose, the two sets of players largely cancelled each other out, meaning that clear-cut openings were few and far between. Although there was no shortage of fight and passion on display during a keenly contested clash, the game was played in the right spirit. Indeed, Uruguayan referee Ramon Barreto was only forced to reach into his pocket three times, on each occasion to show a yellow card to an East German player.
West Germany’s most notable chance came in the 40th minute, when Gerd Muller controlled the ball with his back to goal in the penalty area and, in trademark fashion, swivelled and got a shot away in one fell swoop. Less characteristically, however, Der Bomber slightly scuffed his strike, which bobbled agonisingly onto the foot of the woodwork. At the other end, Hans-Jurgen Kreische should have given his side the lead eight minutes earlier. Presented with a tap-in at the far post following a fizzed cross from the left, the midfielder contrived to balloon his first-time effort over the crossbar.
With the clock ticking down, it looked for all the world like the contest would end with honours even. However, all that changed in the 78th minute, when quick-thinking East German goalkeeper Jurgen Croy held onto a header following a corner and launched a lightning counter-attack, releasing Erich Hamann down the right. The substitute, who had only been on the pitch for a little more than ten minutes, made the most of his fresh legs to power forward 30 yards.
With legendary sweeper Franz Beckenbauer slow to close him down, Hamann had time to pick his spot and lofted an inch-perfect diagonal pass to the edge of the box, which the onrushing Jurgen Sparwasser was able to take in his stride, first nodding the ball down and then cushioning it with a combination of shoulder and chest. The closest two West Germany players, Berti Vogts and Horst-Dieter Hottges, were wrong-footed and reduced to mere bystanders as Sparwasser burst through before clipping an unstoppable finish home from five yards to secure a sensational 1-0 success for the World Cup newcomers.
Quotes
“If one day my tombstone reads simply ‘Hamburg 74’, everybody will still know who’s buried below.”
East Germany’s hero of the hour, Jurgen Sparwasser
“Sparwasser’s goal was a wake-up call. Without it, we’d never have been crowned world champions.”
West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer
“The glamorous Western professionals against the cloggers from the East – that’s how it was billed. Of course, we wanted to prove everyone wrong.”
East Germany defender Gerd Kische
“We thought that, up against East Germany, Chile and Australia, we could cruise through with one eye closed and one leg tied behind our backs. As a result, we were a long way off hitting top gear at that point.”
West Germany full-back Paul Breitner
Stats
1 – Gunter Netzer was one of the finest playmakers of his generation and was named Footballer of the Year in West Germany in both 1972 and 1973, yet a late cameo in this match represented the sole World Cup appearance of his career.
4 – Four members of the East Germany squad – Wolfgang Seguin, Jurgen Pommerenke, Martin Hoffmann and Jurgen Sparwasser – had warmed up for the 1974 World Cup in style by lifting the UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup with Magdeburg thanks to a 2-0 victory over AC Milan just over a month before the global showpiece kicked off.
481 – West Germany had gone an extraordinary 481 minutes without conceding before Sparwasser ended that shutout streak with his supreme strike.
