IV EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIP (BELGIUM 1972)

FINAL STAGE — GAME DETAILS

(From 14-06-1972 to 18-06-1972)

1/2 FINAL
STADIUM: Bosuil (Antwerpen) DATE: 14-06-1972 (20:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 55.601 REFEREE: William Mullan (SCO) GOALS: 0-1 (Müller 24'); 0-2 (Müller 71'); 1-2 (Polleunis 83') BOOKED: Van den Daele (17')
		Belgium - FRG
		1-2 (0-1)
BELGIUM Piot Heylens, Van den Daele, Thissen, Dolmans Dockx, Verheyen, Martens (Polleunis 68') Semmeling, Lambert, Van Himst (c) COACH: Raymond Goethals			FRG Maier Breitner, Beckenbauer (c), Schwarzenbeck, Höttges Hoeneß (Grabowski 58'), Netzer, Wimmer Heynckes, Müller, Kremers COACH: Helmut Schön
GAME SUMMARY Belgium had hoped that their fans would cheer them on to victory over West Germany, but so great was the number of German fans who made the short journey to Antwerp that, with their bugles, klaxons and hunting horns, they all but drowned the cheers of the Belgian crowd. The home side began well enough, containing the German attack for over twenty minutes without difficulty, but the unpredictable genius of Gerd “Torpedo” Müller then played a decisive part as Netzer floated a seemingly innocuous ball into the box. The Belgian goalkeeper seemed certain to reach the ball first, but Müller, to Piot’s surprise, made an incredible leap and headed the ball into the net while the keeper froze in disbelief. West Germany started to create more chances, and just before halftime Erwin Kremers and Franz Beckenbauer had shots blocked. Early in the second half, Belgium put the German goal under pressure, but Sepp Maier kept the home forwards at bay with a series of excellent saves. In the final quarter of the game Müller struck again when, once more, he beat both the Belgian defense and Piot to a long pass from Netzer and planted the ball firmly into the net. Near the end, Odilon Polleunis pulled one back for Belgium when he hooked a powerful shot past Maier. With time running out, the home side failed to find the equalizer, and instead it was West Germany who came close to scoring again, when Heynckes shot over the bar from close range. The Germans held on till the end to qualify for the final.

1/2 FINAL
STADIUM: Parc Astrid (Bruxelles) DATE: 14-06-1972 (20:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 1.659 REFEREE: Rudolf Glöckner (GDR) GOALS: 0-1 (Kon'kov 53') BOOKED: Bálint (65') / Khurtsilava (80') [Incidents: Zámbó missed a penalty shot (min. 85), saved by Rudakov.]
		Hungary - Soviet Union
		0-1 (0-0)
HUNGARY Géczi Fábián, Páncsics, Bálint, P. Juhász I. Juhász, Kocsis (Albert 60'), Kű Szőke, Bene (c) (A. Dunai 60'), Zámbó COACH: Rudolf Illovszky			SOVIET UNION Rudakov Dzodzuashvili, Khurtsilava (c), Kaplichnyj, Istomin Kon'kov, Troshkin, Kolotov Bajdachnyj, Banishevskij (Nodia 70'), Onishchenko COACH: Aleksandr Ponomarjov
GAME SUMMARY In front of a pitifully small crowd, Hungary and the Soviet Union provided very little entertainment. The Magyars had by far the most of the play, but their approach work was so slow and cumbersome that they never even looked likely to score. After a goalless first half, Anatolij Kon'kov scored the winner when his deflected shot went through a crowded goalmouth following a corner. After that, the game improved immensely. Near the end, Flórián Albert put Antal Dunai through and Revaz Dzodzuashvili charged him off the ball inside the box. Hungary, somewhat luckily, were awarded a penalty. Sándor Zámbó took it, but Evgenij Rudakov dived to his left to save the shot, and István Szőke, following up, hit the side netting. After this, the Russians controlled the last and desperate Hungarian attacks to progress to their third final in four editions of the European Championship.

PLACES 3-4
STADIUM: Sclessin (Liège) DATE: 17-06-1972 (20:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 6.184 REFEREE: Johan Boström (SWE) GOALS: 1-0 (Lambert 24'); 2-0 (Van Himst 28'); 2-1 (Kű [p.] 53') BOOKED: Dolmans (63') / P. Juhász (60') [Incidents: Paul van Himst set a new record of international games with Belgium (68).]
		Belgium - Hungary
		2-1 (2-0)
BELGIUM Piot Heylens, Thissen, Van den Daele, Dolmans Verheyen, Dockx, Polleunis Semmeling, Lambert, Van Himst (c) COACH: Raymond Goethals			HUNGARY Géczi Fábián, Páncsics, Bálint, P. Juhász Kű, I. Juhász Albert, Zámbó (Szűcs 46'), Kozma, A. Dunai COACH: Rudolf Illovszky
GAME SUMMARY Belgium clinched the third place after a bad-tempered game, in which they showed more aggresiveness than Hungary. Right after kick-off, the Belgians kicked and elbowed their rivals whenever the opportunity arose. Midway the first half, Raoul Lambert beat Miklós Páncsics twice, leaving him on his backside, before shooting high and left-footed to the goalkeeper's right for the opener. Then he went up the left and crossed the ball, and a mistake by István Géczi and Páncsics left the goalkeeper stranded and presented Paul van Himst with an open goal. Early in the second half, Hungary were lucky to pull one back when Lajos Kű was pushed by Léon Semmeling in the area and the Hungarian midfielder converted from the penalty spot.

FINAL
STADIUM: Heysel (Bruxelles) DATE: 18-06-1972 (16:00 h) ATTENDANCE: 43.066 REFEREE: Ferdinand Marschall (AUT) GOALS: 1-0 (Müller 27’); 2-0 (Wimmer 52’); 3-0 (Müller 58’) BOOKED: Kaplichnyj (4’) [Incidents: Thousands of German fans invaded the pitch five minutes before the final whistle to celebrate the victory of their team, because the stadium clock had a different time than the referee's. The game was interrupted until the crowd abandoned the field.]
		FRG - Soviet Union
		3-0 (1-0)
FRG Maier Breitner, Beckenbauer (c), Schwarzenbeck, Höttges Hoeneß, Netzer, Wimmer Heynckes, Müller, Kremers COACH: Helmut Schön			SOVIET UNION Rudakov Dzodzuashvili, Khurtsilava (c), Kaplichnyj, Istomin Kon'kov (Dolmatov 46'), Troshkin, Kolotov Bajdachnyj, Banishevskij (Kozinkevich 66'), Onishchenko COACH: Aleksandr Ponomarjov
GAME SUMMARY Supported by virtually a German crowd, West Germany completed a brilliant competition with a clear victory in the final. Once more, Gerd Müller proved why he was Europe’s leading marksman as, time and again, he penetrated the Soviet defense. The West Germans, led by Franz Beckenbauer in defense and Günter Netzer in midfield, never allowed the Russians to settle down and seemed able to mount their attacks at will. Twice in the first quarter hour, West Germany broke clear through the Soviet defense, only to be denied by an excellent Evgenij Rudakov. Time and again the Russian goalkeeper kept the Germans at bay, until midway the first half the three most influential German players were all involved in the first goal: Beckenbauer bringing the ball out from the back, Netzer volleying almost nonchalantly against the bar and the inevitable Gerd Müller controlling a rebound after a shot by Kremers before pushing the ball in. The Russians tried to react, and a rare effort from long range by Dzodzuashvili was deflected by Maier. In the second half, Herbert Wimmer scored the goal he deserved from a return pass by Jupp Heynckes—but only thanks to a rare mistake by Rudakov. Then “Torpedo” Müller scored his second after Georg Schwarzenbeck had made a rare appearance in the opposition penalty area and attempted a one-two. When the ball broke to him, Müller looked offside, but nobody seemed to notice. After the third German goal, the Soviet Union practically gave up (except for a distant shot by Khurtsilava that hit the crossbar), as West Germany settled on their lead waiting for the formality of the final whistle to collect their trophy. Few could have challenged the German’s right to the title of “best team in Europe” and, two years later, they went on to prove themselves the best team in the world by winning the World Cup.

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