He remains the only player in history to captain and coach a team to a World Cup title. Following only six years at the helm he brought World Cup glory back to the West German national team. Germany beats England to win the World Cup on home soil.Īfter retiring from football in 1983, Beckenbauer took over as coach of the German national team in 1984. Although Cruijff was the better player in the first few minutes, Beckenbauer played a superior match, won the battle with Cruijff and finally tasted World Cup glory in his third and final tournament as a player. The second half was controlled by the German team playing in front of their home crowd and in the end West Germany won the match with the same 2-1 scoreline. By half time Germany had equalized and then taken the lead 2-1 through goals from Paul Breitner and Gerd Müller. Starting at the midway point in the first half, Cruijff was effectively taken out of the game by the German defense while Beckenbauer commanded the German team and pushed them into attack whenever they had the ball. After twenty minutes of play dominated by the Dutch, the Germans settled and began to control the match. The opening goal defined the match the Germans now had no choice but to attack. The Dutch had a penalty which Neeskens summarily converted. The match began with a bang, after one minute of play, with no German having touched the ball, Cruijff made a darting run into the box and was brought down by Uli Hoen ess.
The game was billed as the showdown between the two nations’ icons, Beckenbauer vs Cruijff. In the 1974 World Cup final Germany played the Netherlands, “the Brilliant Orange,” led by skipper Johann Cruijff. He also organized the team’s travel to the next match and shared command of the team with Schön. Beckenbauer accompanied Schön to the subsequent press conference and did all of the speaking. In the same tournament he came to the rescue of coach Schön who broke down after the loss to East Germany the coach was unable to speak and locked himself in his room. Here, a classic move as Beckenbauer shows himself to be one of the greatest attacking defenders ever.īeckenbauer had a massive influence on the West German side in the 1974 World Cup in Germany both as a player and an unofficial “assistant manager.” When the team threatened to walk away from their own World Cup because they were being paid less than the Dutch and Italians, he convinced them to accept the lesser pay. His amazing runs from the back defined Der Kaiser’s career. He finished the World Cup tied for third top goalscorer with four goals from his defensive position.
In the future he would not again be told to stay back and simply defend. This defeat was integral in defining Beckenbauer’s true strength and import to the West German team. In the end Beckenbauer focused on his defensive role, did not attack in his trademark manner, and England defeated Germany to win its first and only World Cup. How much should Beckenbauer be held back?Ĭramer argued that having Beckenbauer simply mark Bobby Charlton-England’s best player-would be counterproductive because it would rob Germany of its major creative force. However, Dettmar Cramer, the West German assistant coach summed up the dilemma that Beckenbauer’s coaches faced early in his career: The position demanded that the player stay back, and mark the opponent’s star he was the last line of defense. For anyone other than Beckenbauer, sweeper was one of the most unambiguous positions on the field. A Young Beckenbauer and a young King Ludwig II The 1966 World CupWhen Germany reached the World Cup final in 1966 the question was, “How was Beckenbauer to be used?” The dilemma the German team faced with the 22-year-old Beckenbauer speaks to the special role that he had in the team.
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