This is the 184th episode of my podcast, 'Soccernostalgia Talk Podcast’.
For this
episode, I interview Italian Author Roberto Amorosino as we discuss The Historical Italy v. West Germany
World Cup Semifinal on June 17, 1970, dubbed as the Match of the Century
Roberto Amorosino, has in the past, worked at international organizations
in the human resources area between Washington DC, Paris and Rome.
He writes for Italian sports website https://www.sportmemory.it/ and is the author of Italian language book: Venti di calcio
(2022).
For any questions/comments,
you may contact us:
You may also contact me on
this blog, on twitter @sp1873 and on facebook under Soccernostalgia.
Mr. Paul Whittle, @1888letter
on twitter and https://the1888letter.com/contact/
https://linktr.ee/BeforeThePremierLeague
You may also follow the podcast on
spotify and Apple podcasts all under ‘Soccernostalgia Talk Podcast’
Please leave a review, rate and subscribe
if you like the podcast.
Mr. Amorosino’s contact info:
Website: https://www.sportmemory.it/
Book:
https://www.sportmemory.it/prodotto/venti-di-calcio/
https://www.amazon.it/Venti-calcio-Roberto-Amorosino/dp/8894670619
Listen on Spotify /
Apple Podcasts:
June 17, 1970-The Match
of the Century, Italy v. West Germany World Cup Semifinal at the Azteca
Many Football Historians
consider the 1970 World Cup as the best one of all. Of course, this is a
subjective as different Generations may have different preferences.
What is beyond dispute is
that this World Cup is memorable for the star quality in display. The names
speak for themselves: Pele, Carlos Alberto, Rivellino, Jairzinho, Beckenbauer,
Seeler, Riva, Rivera, Facchetti, Mazzola, Cubillas, Chumpitaz, Moore, both
Charltons, Hurst, etc.
The same historians consider
one match from this particular World Cup that stands above the rest.
The Semifinal between Italy
and West Germany on June 17, 1970, owes its status for the drama and the roller
coaster battle that captivated its audience for two hours.
This match has since been
dubbed as, ‘The Match of the Century.’
The West Germans managed by Helmut
Schön and led by veteran and captain Uwe Seeler (playing in his fourth World
Cup). The stars of the team were the Bayern Munich contingent led by Franz
Beckenbauer and goalscoring machine Gerd Müller.
They had won all their
matches in the Group round with Müller scoring two hat-tricks along the way.
In the quarterfinal, they
faced defending Champions England in a replay of the previous World Cup Final.
The West Germans overturned a (0-2) deficit by winning (3-2) in dramatic
fashion.
Perhaps, this exertion of
energy against the English would be their undoing vs. Italy.
Italy’s trajectory had been
different. They had advanced from their Group by scoring just one goal. They
had come to life in the quarterfinals, when they defeated the Mexican hosts
(4-1).
They were wedded to the
successful Catenaccio of Helenio Herrera, playing with a Libero and man-to-man
marking.
The main controversy in the
Italian camp concerned the Rivera-Mazzola situation.
Ferrucio Valcareggi had built his team around the Cagliari (the recent
Serie A Champions) and Inter axis. He retained Mazzola at the expense of 1969
Ballon d’Or winner, AC Milan’s Gianni Rivera, to maintain balance in his
system.
AC Milan president Franco
Carraro would call Rivera regularly to boost his morale.
Reportedly, AC Milan Manager
Nereo Rocco was sent to Mexico to defuse the situation.
Once there Rocco proposed
upon their return to home, a match should be played between the starters and
the substitutes, then according to Rocco, everyone could see whether Valcareggi
was right in his decisions.
In the end, Valcareggi
proposed a compromise, known as ‘La Staffeta’, meaning relay as in athletics.
Sandro Mazzola would start
the matches and then he would be replaced by Rivera in a programmed second half
substitution.
The match-up appeared to be a
contrast in styles, the free-scoring Germans against Italian Catenaccio. It
should also be remembered that Germany had not defeated Italy since 1939.
Italy took the lead in the 8th
minute with Roberto Boninsegna scoring with a long-range shot from outside of
the box.
After this Italy just
defended to preserve its lead for the rest of regulation time.
West Germany would attack in
waves to force a goal.
Helmut Schön made a tactical
substitution in the 53rd minute. Reinhard Libuda replaced Hennes
Löhr and moved on the right wing.
Grabowski moved to the left
wing in Lohr’s position.
At this point, the Germans
had five players upfront, three in midfield and only two in defense.
From the 62nd to
79th minute, the Germans had as much as ten chances. They forced 17
corners in the regulation time and could have had three penalty appeals.
Helmut Schön made another
substitution in the 63rd minute, Siegfried Held replaced Bernd
Patzke.
In this spell, the Italians
were powerless, even the scheduled substitution of Mazzola by Rivera had no
beneficial impact.
In the 66th
minute, Franz Beckenbauer was fouled and suffered a shoulder injury. He bravely
stayed on with a dislocated shoulder with one arm in a sling.
The Germans kept trying but
the ball would just not go in.
Just as it seemed the game
seemed headed for a narrow Italian win, the Germans struck in injury time. Grabowski crossed from the left side and Schnellinger
dove to score and force an equalizer.
The match had to go to extra
time and perhaps at this moment the Germans would have been more confident and
on a high after a last-minute goal.
Ferrucio Valcareggi made a substitution by taking off Roberto Rosato and sending on Fabrizio Poletti for the
overtime.
This could have been a
disastrous in retrospect, as Fabrizio Poletti was partially responsible for
West Germany’s go-ahead goal in the 94th minute. The Germans took a
corner from the right side and Seeler headed it. Fabrizio
Poletti tried to retrieve the ball for Albertosi to pick up, but Müller snuck
in to get a slight touch on the ball and get it past Albertosi.
Uwe Seeler felt they lost at
this moment. He stated they felt they had done the hard part and relaxed and
the Italians took advantage.
In the 98th
minute, the Italians tied the match with another defensive mistake, this time
from the Germans. Rivera sent a
free kick into the box, Held failed to clear it properly and Burgnich knocked
in the loose ball.
Italy took the lead
once more in the 104th minute. Angelo Domenghini crossed from the left
side for Luigi Riva to shoot past Maier.
The Germans were
not out yet and in the 110th minute, they tied the match at (3-3).
Libuda crossed
from the right side, Seeler headed the ball across for Müller to head in from close range. This was his 10th
goal of this World Cup and he ended as top goalscorer of the Tournament (and
would win the Ballon d’Or at the end of the year).
In the following minute, the
Italians put the game beyond the reach of the Germans, with Rivera scoring
after Boninsegna had found him with a cross from the
left side.
There was nearly
ten minutes left, but the Germans could do no more. There was a last-minute
chance with Müller near the end, with
Beckenbauer open in the box. Müller chose the individual approach and failed
and in frustration Beckenbauer punched the ground with his un-injured hand.
It was over and Italy had
reached the Final and would face Brazil on June 21st.
There were naturally
celebrations all over Italy. Former 1934 and 1938 World Cup Champion Guiseppe
Meazza, writing in ‘La Notte’, stated, “they played a memorable match that will
enter in our Football and World Football history. We have proven to the world
that we can also attack and score goals”.
Italy would lose the Final
vs. Pele’s Brazil on June 21st, once more at the Azteca. Perhaps,
Brazil would have won regardless, irrespective of which team they faced, but
the fatigue accumulated from this match certainly did not help.
This match on June 17th,
1970, has gone down in history for all its drama, stories, errors and the skill
displayed.
At the Azteca stadium, there
is a commemorative plaque referencing this match as ‘Partido del Siglo’ (Match of the Century) and paying
homage to the players.
Sources:
Azzurri, Storia della
Nazionale di calcio tre volte campioni del Mondo, 1910-1983
France Football, Issue
3137bis, May 26, 2006
History of the World Cup,
Author Michael Archer
L’Equipe Magazine, Issue 792,
June 7, 1997
L’Equipe-La Coupe Du Monde,
Volume 1, 1930-1970
Mondial, New Series, Hors
Serie 14, 1982, La Glorieuse Epopee De la Coupe Du Monde
No comments:
Post a Comment