Football Schnellinger of all people…
“They forgot me,” says the German World Cup legend
As of: 12:01 p.m. | Reading time: 2 minutes
June 17, 1970: Karlheinz Schnellinger directs a cross into the Italian goal – the equalizer in the 90th minute of the World Cup semi-final
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa/UPI
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After the ’74 world champions, Karlheinz Schnellinger, the next great German footballer, is disappointed with the association. He doesn’t want to come to Germany for the European Championships. The DFB repeatedly cuts an unfortunate figure.
They are words that are burned into German football memory. “The Italians will say Schnellinger of all people,” commented ARD sports reporter Ernst Huberty on June 17, 1970. And he followed up again in disbelief: “Schnellinger of all people.”
It was in the so-called game of the century in the Aztec Stadium. Schnellinger, who was already playing for AC Milan at the time, scored 1-1 shortly before the end of the World Cup semi-final against Italy, saving Germany into extra time. In the end, the Italians won the semi-finals 4-3. In the final there was a 1:4 defeat against Brazil.
The Italian defender Tarcisio Burgnich (r.) consoles Karlheinz Schnellinger after the defeat
Quelle: picture alliance/dpa
It’s been a long time. Schnellinger will be 85 years old on Easter Sunday. The Rhineland native still lives near Milan, where he will celebrate his birthday with his wife, three daughters, Italian sons-in-law and four grandchildren. But he says: “It always seems to me as if I am a foreigner in Germany – and in Italy too.”
Together in the TV studio: Franz Beckenbauer and Karlheinz Schnellinger on the ZDF program “Our Best Footballers” in 2006
Quelle: picture alliance/Sascha Radke
He will not come to Germany for the European Football Championship. “The last time I was there was a year or two ago. I hardly know anyone there anymore.”
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Schnellinger also doesn’t speak particularly well of the German Football Association (DFB). “It goes haywire with them. “It’s just a big business,” he says, believing. “They have forgotten me.” Schnellinger will therefore “watch the European Championships in Germany on TV. Home.” So in Italy.
DFB boss wants to improve relations with 74 world champions
Schnellinger’s statement comes at a time when the DFB’s treatment of its heroes of yesteryear is being criticized. The 1974 world champions had just expressed their disappointment at how the association was handling their anniversary. 50 years after their triumph, the heroes of the DFB feel abandoned. For example, the DFB invited them very late to the international match against the Netherlands this Tuesday (8.45 p.m./RTL) – but it would have been the perfect occasion.
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Disappointing anniversary
Now four German and eleven Dutch players from the 1974 World Cup final are coming to the test match as spectators. Germany won the World Cup final in Munich 2-1 against the Netherlands.
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“It is a personal concern of mine,” DFB President Bernd Neuendorf now told BILD, “that the DFB’s relationship with its legends improves. We are therefore currently looking at how we can do justice to our former stars.”
