History

West Germany hosted the 1974 tournament with Beckenbauer at the centre of a team mixing Bayern’s experience with leading players from other clubs. The campaign was not smooth: defeat to East Germany in the opening phase became a moment of reflection. In the second round West Germany recovered to reach the final. At Munich’s Olympiastadion on 7 July, the Netherlands went ahead through Johan Neeskens’s early penalty before Paul Breitner equalised, also from the spot. Gerd Müller scored the decisive goal before half-time. The contest is often described through opposing tactical philosophies, but the result also depended on discipline in the penalty areas and resilience after an unusually early concession. Beckenbauer lifted the newly introduced World Cup trophy as captain. His 1974 achievement later gained another dimension when he guided West Germany to the 1990 title as team manager.

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