Game of the Century (football)
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The Game of the Century (Italian: Partita del Secolo; German: Jahrhundertspiel; Spanish: Partido Del Siglo) is known as the semi-final football match that took place during the 1970 FIFA World Cup between Italy and West Germany, played on 17 June 1970 at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. Italy won 4:3 after extra time. It is said to be the most dramatic match in football history, as this game is the only FIFA World Cup game to have five goals in extra time.
There is a monument commemorating this match in front of Aztec Stadium. On a plaque the following sentence is engraved: El Estadio Azteca, Rinde Homenaje A Las Selecciones De: Italia (4) Y Alemania (3) Protagonistas En El Mundial De 1970, Del "Partido Del Siglo" 17 De Junio De 1970.
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[edit] The match
Italy led for the majority of the match, after Roberto Boninsegna scored in the 8th minute. However, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger equalised for West Germany during the 90th minute in injury time. German television commentator Ernst Huberty exclaimed "It had to be Schnellinger!", since Schnellinger played in Italy's professional football league, Serie A, at AC Milan and previously for A.S. Roma and A.C. Mantova. It was also his first goal in 47 matches. The match's regulation time ended with the score tied 1:1 and was the point when the matchup's extra time turned into an athletic brawl.
Gerd Müller scored a goal for West Germany in the 94th minute and gave his team the lead, but West Germany's extra goal was equalized by Tarcisio Burgnich's follow-up goal within the 98th minute. Luigi Riva scored six minutes later, giving Italy a 3:2 lead. Gerd Müller scored again for West Germany to tie the score 3:3. Yet, as television cameras were still replaying Müller's goal, Italy's Gianni Rivera scored the decisive goal in the 111th minute. Being left unmarked near the penalty area, Rivera connected a fine cross made by Boninsenga, securing the victory for Italy at 4:3.
For a section of the match, West Germany was essentially playing a man short, since Franz Beckenbauer's clavicle had been broken during a very serious foul, but since Germany had used up the maximum number of substitutions, he refused to quit and continued playing with a sling.
[edit] Match overview
| June 17, 1970 16:00 |
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 Italy |
4–3 (AET) |  West Germany |
Mexico City, Estadio Azteca Ref: Yamasaki (Peru) Attendance: 80,000 |
| Boninsegna 8' Burgnich 98' Riva 104' Rivera 111' |
(Report) | Schnellinger 90' Müller 94', 110' |
[edit] Line-ups
- See also: 1970 FIFA World Cup squads
Italy: Enrico Albertosi; Tarcisio Burgnich, Roberto Rosato (Fabrizio Poletti 91), Giacinto Facchetti; Mario Bertini, Giancarlo De Sisti, Pierluigi Cera; Roberto Boninsegna, Sandro Mazzola (Gianni Rivera 46), Angelo Domenghini, Luigi Riva
Germany: Sepp Maier; Berti Vogts, Bernd Patzke (Siegfried Held 66); Franz Beckenbauer, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, Willi Schulz; Jürgen Grabowski, Uwe Seeler, Gerd Müller, Wolfgang Overath, Hennes Löhr (Stan Libuda 52)
[edit] External links
- FIFA section of the 1970 FIFA World Cup
- FIFA article of the "Game of the Century" with overview and video clips
- Gallery for more pictures of the 1970 FIFA World Cup
