Mexico City, 1970: The Match of the Century
Mexico in 1970 was the setting for the next competitive meeting between West Germany – now under Helmut Schön – and the Azzurri. The World Cup semi-final in Mexico City would witness one of football’s classic encounters, a match that was later dubbed the “Match of the Century” – Jahrhundertspiel in German, and in Italian the Partita del Secolo.
Both sides had reached the last four undefeated. The Germans had walked through their opening phase with three wins from win three as Peru, Bulgaria and Morocco were brushed aside by a attack led by the prolific Gerd Müller, with Der Bomber scoring seven goals in the opening three games including two hat-tricks. Seven would then become eight as Müller bagged the winner in extra-time to complete a stunning comeback from two goals down to defeat defending champions England.
Italy meanwhile started in typical fashion, beating Sweden 1-0 before securing goalless draws with both Uruguay and Israel to put them at the top of their group. Having not scored a goal for over four hours, the Azzurri sparked into life in their quarter-final against hosts Mexico, where after falling behind they responded with four unanswered goals.
With the Nationalmannschaft looking dominant and Italy gathering momentum, the semi-final in a hot and sultry Estadio Azteca was always set to be a classic – though it would not be until the onset of extra time when things really took off.
The first goal of the game was scored by Italy’s Roberto Boninsegna in the eighth minute, and from that point on the men in blue shut up shop, engaging in tactics that ranged from the sneaky to the borderline criminal – with Mexican referee Arturo Yamasaki completely oblivious to all of the shenanigans. Led by arch-chopper Tarcisio Burgnich, the Italians set about stifling the German game; both Müller and skipper Franz Beckenbauer were heavily marked, and as full-time approached it looked as though the Italians had secured yet another single-goal win to take them through to the final.
Having used all of their available substitutes the Germans would then see Beckenbauer leave the field with a rib injury – only to return with his arm in a sling, much like the character played by Pelé in the film Escape to Victory. A heroic display was in the offing, surely.
Almost inevitably, things would take a dramatic twist as the game entered injury time. The Germans won a throw-in out on the left, and Jürgen Grabowski worked his way into space to deliver a cross into the box. Who was there to meet it? Müller? Seeler? No, sweeper Karl-Heinz Schnellinger. A man who played in Italy for AC Milan, and had not found the back of the net in forty-four appearances for the Mannschaft. Completely unmarked, Schnellinger slid in to finish and send the match into extra time. ARD Commentator Ernst Huberty was almost shellshocked, uttering the immortal words “ausgerechnet Schnellinger!” – literally, “Schnellinger, of all people!”
Gerd Müller challenges for the ball during Germany’s “match of the century” against Italy in Mexico City
With Schnelliger’s dramatic equaliser began a passage of play that would go down in the history of world football. Four minutes into extra time, Müller gave Germany the lead. Just four minutes later however, defender Burgnich matched Schellinger in scoring a rare goal. A minute before half time in extra time, Luigi Riva restored Italy’s lead, only for Müller to score his tenth goal of the tournament six minutes later to level things up again at 3-3.
Then came the killer blow, one of many heartbreaking moments for the Mannschaft against this scourge in blue. Less than a minute after Müller had scored, Gianni Rivera found the back of the net to send the Italian fans into raptures. There was no German comeback; unlike in Escape to Victory, the man with his arm in a sling would not score a spectacular overhead kick, and the score would not be taken to 4-4. Instead, the Italians saw out the remaining nine minutes, securing their place n the final against Brazil.
Clearly exhausted, the Azzurri weresubsequently swamped by the Brazilians in what was another classic performance; the day before, a Wolfgang Overath strike would earn a Beckenbauer-less Germany third place with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Uruguay.
FIFA World Cup Semi-Final, Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, 17.06.1970
3-4 aet (1-0, 1-1)
Schnellinger 90., Müller 94., 110. / Boninsegna 8., Burgnich 98., Riva 104., Rivera 111.
Germany FR: Maier – Vogts, Patzke (66. Held) – Beckenbauer, Schnellinger, W. Schulz – Grabowski, Seeler (c), G. Müller, Overath, Löhr (52. Libuda)
Italy: Albertosi – Burgnich, Rosato (91. Poletti), Facchetti – Bertini, De Sisti, Cera – Boninsegna, Mazzola (46. Rivera), Domenghini, Riva
Referee: Arturo Yamasaki Maldonado (Peru)
Assistants: Rafael Hormazabal Diaz (Chile), Guillermo Velasquez (Colombia)
Dismissals: – / –
Attendance: 102,444