By Mike Martin ⋅ June 5, 2006 ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

World Cup Analysis

In West Germany in 1974, the hosts won the trophy, the Dutch won everybody’s hearts and Africa’s reputation was set back decades. With England, along with many other big nations failing to negotiate the qualifying stages, there was little doubt that the Germans had a strong chance of pleasing their home crowd.

The Jules Rimet trophy had been stolen almost as soon as Brazil had won it, but there was more than a change in trophyware that made this World Cup very much one of transition. Brazil had gone from being the greatest team in the world to unremarkable also-rans over the four years; Pelé had retired, Carlos Alberto, Tostão and Clodoaldo were injured and physicality had replaced majesty in the World champions’ play.

Ironically, it was the wretched Zaïre, whose atrociousness unfairly blighted all sub-Saharan African football teams with the ‘uncultured’ stereotype for decades afterwards, who helped Brazil to progress at the expense of Scotland; the first side to be knocked out of the World Cup without losing a match, a feat repeated by Belgium in 1998.

With Brazil, Scotland and Yugoslavia all drawing with each other, it was the goal-difference attained in routine wins over the African minnows that determined who went through. Scotland laboured to a 2 - 0 win in Dortmund, in which Zaïre goalkeeper Kazadi Mwamba hopelessly spilled a Joe Jordan header over his own goal-line. But four days later it became apparent that two goals may not have been enough. Despite a credible goalless draw with Brazil, Scotland fretted as their final opponents, Yugoslavia, stuck nine goals past the hapless Africans. Mismanaged to the point of farce, Zaïre were inept in defense, as no less than seven different Yugoslavs found the net. With the score at 3 - 0, Kazadi was ridiculously substituted after just twenty minuted. Coach Blagoje Vidinic had shattered his team’s confidence in one fell swoop.

The margin may have only been three goals, but the defeat against Brazil did far more damage. Had Mwepu Ilunga been Bulgarian, Swedish or Chilean, his act of petulance in kicking the ball away at a Brazilian free-kick would have been seen for what it was. But, as a representative of the first black African side in a World Cup, he became a cult figure of comedy for some, but also a tool of those who wished to denigrate the whole continent’s footballing potential. Africa would have no more than two teams at the World Cup until 1994. So shameful was Zaïre’s display, in fact, that they eventually changed their name to the Democratic Republic of Congo and wisely chose not to qualify for the World Cup again.

Zaïre were the worst, but there were many more underachievers. Mainstays England, France, Spain, Mexico and Belgium had all failed to qualify; old masters Hungary and Austria were on the wane and also absent. But those who made it were a mixed bag. The Dutch and the Poles were brilliant, but were outsmarted by the hosts. Five of the twenty-four group stage games ended goalless, and many more were low-scoring bores.

Yet there were plentiful examples of brilliance, individual and collective. West Germany were ruthlessly efficient, apart from their defeat to the equally rugged East Germans, but they never got the mix between attack and defense right. Group A was let down by two poor teams (Australia and Chile) and two better Germanic teams who were more conservative than they needed to be. The East-West ‘derby’ in West Berlin was more a political curiosity than a clash of great rivals, and West Germany did themselves a service by losing; they avoided Holland, Argentina and Brazil in the second group stage.

At least Italy managed to qualify; they didn’t impress once the tournament began. Against Haiti they conceded their first goal in twelve internationals, but a comeback to win 3 - 1 didn’t hide their faults. Chinaglia and Riva were struggling up front and their defensive infallability was disproved. An Argentinian own goal saw them scrape a point in their second match before succombing, feebly, to a more athletic and skilfull Poland. The 2 - 1 defeat saw Italy eliminated.

The tournament woke up in the second group stage; Holland turned on the style against Argentina, with Johan Cruijff at the heart of everything. Truly this was total footballl; unwittingly invented by Brazil in 1970, embraced and cherished by the Dutch ever since. A 4 - 0 win was followed by 2 - 0 triumphs over the tiring East Germans and the dormant Brazilians. Jairzinho and Rivelino remained, but the rest were a group of players for whom the phrase ‘shadow of their former selves’ was invented.

West Germany saw off Yugoslavia, Sweden and Poland in Group B to meet the Dutch in a final that saw the quickest ever goal scored in the world’s biggest fixture. English referee Jack Taylor, having delayed the start of the game whilst somebody went to find the missing corner flags, awarded a penalty to Holland after Uli Hoeness had felled Cruijff. Johann Neeskens scored, but it always felt likely that Germany would get things evened up.

Indeed, just 23 minutes later it happened. Bernd Hölzenbein was spuriously ‘fouled’ by Wim Jansen, and the hirsute Paul Breitner, once brilliantly described by writer Cris Freddi as ‘a Marxist with Harpo tendencies’, got the equalizer.

Holland had been caught in two minds; to attack and build on their lead, or to consolidate what they had? In the end, they had nothing by half-time, as Gerd Müller, still the World Cup’s record goalscorer with fourteen, turned at drove the ball under Jan Jongbloed. It turned out to be the winning goal, despite a siege by the Dutch attackers in the second half. Holland, rattled after allegations of partying with bare-breasted German girls in a swimming pool had come out the previous day, were all there in body but not entirely in spirit. The skill and commitment were always beyond dispute, but they just weren’t sufficiently level-headed to beat the Germans.

Tags: Germany, Holland

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