A brief history of British-German Football

1871 - 1938 The Fifties The Sixties The seventies The eighties the nineties 2000 & beyond

The Seventies

During the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, England (without first-choice keeper Banks) and West Germany met in a rematch of the 1966 final. This time, however, German football fortunes held and the match ended in a narrow German 3–2 victory.

After fifty minutes with some heavy tackling, England had secured what seemed a safe lead with two beautiful goals by Mullery and Peters. Nevertheless, the Germans kept attacking and were awarded. A Beckenbauer goal in the 67th minute and they were back in the match. In the 70th minute, Ramsey decided to substitute playmaker Bobby Charlton. Suddenly, the English seemed unable to set their own pace. When Ramsey finally removed Peters, England's source of unexpected moves and goals, Germany equalised with a Seeler header. The teams had to be separated in extra time but neither had any substitutes remaining. Though a drained England side made more chances, their efforts came to nothing. When Gerd Müller scored, England roared back yet again but was unable to convert chances into goals and Germany were through.
The Germans went on to play their riveting "Game of the Century" in the semi-final against Italy (losing 4–3 ) and ended up third place.

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Though the FA lifted the ban on women's football in 1971, it should take two more years before the Women's Football Association (founded 1969) was formally recognised by the FA. In Scotland, the SFA granted official recognition to the Scottish Women’s FA in September 1974.

While West Germany still discussed the foundation of a Women's FA, East Germany set up its first official team in 1968. Nevertheless, women were only allowed to play regional championships until 1979.

Preparations of the British men's outfits for internationals, meanwhile, continued to suffer from League pressures. The 1972 European Championship saw Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and East Germany out in the group phase, but England and West Germany qualified for the Quarterfinal. The first match at Wembley would prove a watershed for English football. Almost from kick-off, the crowd was treated to exhilarating football by a strong German side to which England's efforts proved ultimately inadequate. The match ended in a 1–3 debacle for England. It was followed up by a draw in an embarrassingly foul-ridden second match in Berlin. West Germany, however, was not to be stopped and went on to win their first European Championship title.

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Only Scotland and the two German teams qualified for the 1974 World Cup. England, who got kicked out in the qualification, went on to install a new coach, Don Revie. The Cup proved disappointing for Scotland who, though not losing to any of their opponents, were eliminated in the first round on goal difference.
The 1974 Cup also saw a politically charged match between the two German sides in which the East beat the West by one goal. East Germany failed in the second round while West Germany went on to win its second title against a dazzling Dutch team.

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As friendlies were resumed after the Cup, Scotland defeated East Germany 3–0. In 1975 England met a much weakened German side and duly defeated them 2–0 – the first time England had won over West Germany since 1966. Nevertheless, England continued to perform weakly, failing to qualify for the 1976 European Championship or the 1978 World Cup. In the Euro 76, West Germany narrowly failed to defend their title, losing to Czechoslovakia in the final in a penalty shootout, after a 2–2 match.

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The British-German football spring of 1977 began with a 5–0 defeat of Northern Ireland. Yet Germany was not as strong as the result would make believe, failing to score until well minutes into the 2nd half. Even though the victory over West Germany in the 1974 World Cup had given football in East Germany an official boost, the team failed to make any major impact in competitions during the late seventies.

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1978 saw only one international match between British and German teams, a friendly between West Germany and England, in which Germany defeat England 2–1.
The only two German and British teams that had qualified for the 1978 World Cup failed fairly soon – West Germany in the second round, unable to win any of their matches, and Scotland in the first.

While things tottered on in men's football, they were improving for East Germany's women's teams when the FA introduced its first national women's football competition. In 1980, the country already had 360 official teams who went to play their own East German premier league from 1987/88.

West Germany played two European Championship qualifiers against Wales in 1979, winning 1–0 on the first leg and serving out a demolishing 5–1 victory on the second, the highest victory/defeat in a German-Welsh match.

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1871 - 1938 The Fifties The Sixties The seventies The eighties the nineties 2000 & beyond


   
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