With four World Cup titles (1954, 1974, 1990 and 2014) as well as three European Championship trophies (1972, 1980 and 1996), Germany are one of the most decorated nations in football history. They are also one of its biggest powerhouses.
With such a rich and long record, it is not easy to point to just one of its national teams as having been its best. Even so, the side that won UEFA Euro 1972 probably has the best case for having been the starting point of Germany’s golden generation.
Germany’s Golden Generation: Why the 1972 Euro Winners Were Likely Germany’s Best Ever Team
German teams were never really known for their flair and technical abilities, but the side coached by the legendary Helmut Schön and captained by “the Kaiser,” Franz Beckenbauer, are generally said to have been the best German side in that department.
Another reason for the special nostalgia surrounding that team is the fact that they were the first team from their country to defeat England at Wembley, something that they had infamously failed to do in the World Cup final six years earlier.
But the biggest reason why this team are given this special status, as perhaps the best German national side and the starting point to Germany’s golden generation, is the great success that continued with this group of players, leading up to the World Cup title on home soil two years later.
The Peculiar Format of the 1972 Euros
The format of the tournament was comparable to that of the most recent edition of the UEFA Nations League. There were eight groups of four in the qualifying round.
Then, the eight group winners advanced to a two-legged quarterfinal, while the final tournament only included the four winners of that round, meaning the semifinals, a third-place match, and, of course, the final itself.
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The Team’s Journey to the Title
The then West German side were in qualifying Group 8, alongside Poland, Turkey and Albania. There, they won four of the six matches (home and away), drawing the other two, while scoring ten goals and conceding two in the process.
Thus, they reached the quarterfinal round vs. England, where they celebrated that legendary above-mentioned first German Wembley win. It was a 3-1 victory, with goals from Uli Hoeneß, Günter Netzer and the great poacher Gerd Müller, while Franny Lee scored for the Three Lions.
Therefore, a scoreless draw in the second leg was enough to send the Germans to the final tournament in Belgium.
They beat the hosts 2-1 in the semi-finals, with Müller scoring a brace before Odilon Polleunis got one back, less than ten minutes from time.
In the final, it was another Müller brace and a Herbert Wimmer goal sandwiched in between that gave the Germans a 3-0 win over the Soviet Union.
As we mentioned above, two years later, West Germany won the World Cup on home soil. Then, at the Euro 1976 in Yugoslavia, their winning run only ended in a final penalty shootout defeat to Czechoslovakia.
It is understandable why many consider the sides between those 1972 and 1976 Euros to have been Germany’s golden generation.
Main Photo
Credit: IMAGO / Sven Simon
Recording Date: 01.07.1972
