Santiago, 1962: The First Encounter
The first meeting between the then West Germany and the Azzurri would take place at the FIFA World Cup in 1962, with the two teams meeting in Santiago’s Estadio Nacional in the opening group phase. This was the last German team to play in a World Cup prior to the establishment of the Bundesliga, and Sepp Herberger’s squad included the likes of Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Helmut Haller and Uwe Seeler – as well as one of the heroes of 1954, skipper Hans Schäfer.
The Italian squad also featured some familiar names, including two future national team coaches in Cesare Maldini – the father of the great Paolo Maldini – and Giovanni Trapattoni, who would later have two spells in charge of FC Bayern München. There was also a familiar name in goal for the Italians – Lorenzo Buffon, a cousin of the grandfather of current Italian number one Gianluigi.
Uwe Seeler has a shot on goal in Santiago, where Germany played out a goalless draw en route to the World Cup quarter-finals
The match itself was a fairly uneventful one, finishing goalless on what was a warm afternoon in the Chilean capital. This was one of the few World Cups in which the Nationalmannschaft actually bettered their Italian rivals: having shared the points with the Azzurri in their opening fixture, Herberger’s side would go on to beat Switzerland 2-1 before defeating the hosts 2-0 to secure first place in the group and a spot in the quarter-finals. Italy meanwhile would go down 2-0 to Chile, eliminating them before their final 3-0 win against the Swiss.
Germany’s tournament didn’t last much longer however. Their quarter-final against Yugoslavia resulted in a one-goal defeat, the winner coming just five minutes before full-time.
FIFA World Cup First Phase Group 2, Estadio Nacional, Santiago, 30.05.1962
0-0 (0-0)
– / –
Germany FR: Fahrian – Nowak, Schnellinger – W. Schulz, Erhardt (c), Szymaniak – H. Sturm, Haller, Seeler, Ha. Schäfer, Brülls
Italy: Buffon – Losi, Robotti – Salvadore, Maldini, Radice – Ferrini, Rivera, Altafini, Sivori, Menichelli
Referee: Robert Davidson (Scotland)
Assistants: Raymond Morgan (Canada), Luis Antonio Ventre (Argentina)
Dismissals: – / –
Attendance: 65,440