1954 FIFA World Cup Final

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1954 Football World Cup poster

The 1954 Football World Cup Final was played at the Wankdorf Stadium in Berne, Switzerland on July 4, 1954. The game saw the underdogs West Germany beat the favourites Hungary 3-2. In Germany it is referred to as Das Wunder von Bern or the The Miracle of Bern. The game was the subject of a 2003 German film of the same name.

1 The Mighty Magyars
2 The unfancied Germans
3 The game
4 Impact on German history
5 Impact on Hungarian history
6 Match summary
7 References
8 External links

[edit] The Mighty Magyars

The Hungarians, with their legendary team of Mighty Magyars, were favourites to win. They had been unbeaten in their previous 32 games and were reigning Olympic Champions and winners of the Central European International Cup teams in 1953. In 1953 they defeated England 6-3, becoming the first non-UK team to beat them at Wembley Stadium. They then gave England a 7-1 hammering in Budapest just before the 1954 World Cup.

As they were drawn in the same first round group, Hungary had already played and beaten West Germany 8-3. However, Germany was already qualified to progress, and coach Herberger had fielded a reserve team. Ferenc Puskás was injured during this match but even without him, the Magyars then beat both Uruguay and Brazil, the winners and runners-up of the 1950 World Cup.

[edit] The unfancied Germans

Poster for Miracle of Bern film

Prior to 1954 Germany’s World Cup record was modest, with the third place of 1934 being the pinnacle of their achievements as Germany had not send a team to Uruguay in 1930 for economic reasons. After a failure in the 1936 Summer Olympics, new coach Sepp Herberger had formed a quite successful German team in 1937, called "Breslau-Elf" after beating Denmark 8-0 in that town. Prior to the 1938 World Cup Austrian players were ordered to join the German team as Austria had become part of Germany in the Anschluss. This "united" German team was knocked out in the first round after two games against Switzerland, Germany's worst result in any World Cup.

After the Second World War, the three German states of that time were not allowed yet to compete in 1950, so the qualification games for the 1954 World Cup saw Germany return to international football. West Germany were not expected to do well. However they had a shrewd tactician in their coach Sepp Herberger. As Germany was already qualified to progress, Herberger played the backups against Hungary in the first round, losing 3:8 and receiving criticism. The Germans progressed to the final after beating Turkey twice, Yugoslavia and Austria.

[edit] The game

The Wankdorf Stadion in Berne saw 60,000 people cram inside to watch the final between the two teams. The match was played under the rain - conditions which are known as "Fritz Walter weather" after the experienced German team captain. When it rained a few days earlier, coach Herberger had send his players out to practise during the rain, much to the surprise of the press. In addition, Germans were equipped with footwear supplied by adidas which had studs with screws, so the best size could be chosen for the soft turf.

For Hungary, Ferenc Puskás was back in the lineup even though he was not fully fit. Despite this, he put his team ahead after only 6 minutes, and with Zoltán Czibor adding another goal two minutes later, it seemed destined that the pre-tournament favourites would beat Germany again and take the title. However, Germany did not give up, and with goals from Max Morlock and Helmut Rahn within the next ten minutes, the score was equalized at 2-2, with 72 minutes to play. In the second half, there were several good scoring chances missed by the Hungarian team or saved by German keeper Toni Turek. With six minutes left, "Boss" Rahn scored his second goal, making the score 3-2 for West Germany. Two minutes from the end, Puskás then shot the equalizer into the net, but the goal was disallowed due to a controversial^{[citation needed]} offside. The match and Hungary’s unbeaten run ended.

[edit] Impact on German history

The unexpected win evoked a wave of euphoria throughout Germany, and the 1954 victory is regarded as a turning point in post-war German history by Arthur Heinrich and Joachim Fest. In the radio reports, German fans can be heard singing the well-known first verse of the Deutschlandlied even though only the less controversial yet then rather unknown third verse was the national anthem of West Germany. As television was only available to few homes or public places then, radio commentator Herbert Zimmermann emerged as a German hero due to his emotional reporting style ("call me crazy, call me nuts"). His ecstatic cries of "Tor!" for all scores, but especially when Germany scored the winner following his "advice" ("from the backfield, Rahn should kick now - Rahn kicks - goal!"), and "Over! Over! The game is over! Germany is World Champion, beating Hungary 3-2!" at the final whistle, have been credited with helping to change the whole German nation's view of itself, inspiring them with optimism.

[edit] Impact on Hungarian history

After being unbeaten for years and thus considered undisputed favorites, the loss was a major disappointment for Hungarians. The players, mainly the goal keeper Grosics, were blamed and even their families had to suffer consequences like losing jobs. The game is often considered as leading indirectly to the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.

[edit] Match summary

July 4, 1954 17:00
	West Germany	3–2	Hungary	Berne, Wankdorf Stadium Ref: William Ling (England) Attendance: 60,000
	Morlock 10' Rahn 18', 84'		Puskás 6' Czibor 8'