France-Germany, 1982, World Cup Semi-Finals in Sevilla
One of the most legendary matches in the World Cup history, when the golden goal did not exist, when the French team was still an European one and when Platini was its captain. I have heard so many times of this match though I was not even born when it happened.
To sum it up, 1-1 at the end of the regular time (Littbarski for Germany, Platini for France). Then, during the prolongations, two French goals : Trésor (93st) and Giresse (99st). 3-1 for France, everyone thinks that it's the end. And then, two German goals : Rumennige (103st) and Fischer (108st). Finally, the penalties : 1-0, 1-1, 2-1, 2-2, 3-2, 3-2, 3-2, 3-3, 4-3 (France is again about to win), 4-4, 4-4 (the French Bossis fails) and finally 4-5 for Germany. German victory.
Quote:
The 1982 semifinal between West Germany and France will always be brought up when people talk about classic games in World Cup history. It had everything. Attacking play, great goals, memorable incidents and a penalty shoot-out as the icing on the cake.
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After 98 minutes a quick counter-attack took the Germans by surprise and Giresse scored with a great shot from the 18 yard line in off the post. At 3-1, the French players looked certain to have won the game. The crowd was 95% on their side and yelled and celebrated everytime a French player passed the ball to another. They kept coming forward looking for goal number four to really humiliate the Germans instead of sitting back on their two-goal advantage.
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Suddenly extra energy was injected in the West German team and France started to play more cautious than earlier. They now tried to hold on to their one goal advantage in the second half, but it took only three minutes for the equalizer to come. Rummenigge was once again instrumental in the build-up. West Germany unbelievably had levelled the score. For the first time in World Cup history, soccer’s version of Russian roulette was needed: The penalty shoot-out.
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Maxime Bossis volunteered to take France’s sixth penalty. His effort was wonderfully saved by Schumacher who chose to dive to his right corner for the fifth time in a row. Horst Hrubesch, the man who scored twice for West Germany in the European Championship final two years earlier, had the opportunity to send the Germans to the final. He sent Ettori the wrong way and scored with ease. The drama was finally over. The French players wept openly as they left the field, having had the Germans in their grasp both in extra-time and also in the shoot-out, without being able to finish them off. West Germany proved once again their remarkable strength in coming from behind and win. The World Cup history is full of late comebacks by the Germans and this match will rank up there with the very best, even though most neutrals were angered by the outcome.
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Planet World Cup - Flashback - West Germany v France semifinal 1982
“I’m convinced the world knows the best team lost. We have only ourselves to blame though. The Germans would have played safe and defensive if they had led 3-1, but that is not our way to do it. We learnt something from this game.”
Michel Platini
Parts of the match (1'05-1'45 ; 2'59-3'42 ; 3'54-4'51) :
One of the key moments, the awful agression of the French Battiston by the German Schumacher. Battiston fell to the ground unconscious, with damaged vertebrae and teeth knocked out, later slipping into a coma, while the referee did not even give a foul. After the World Cup there was a poll in one of France’s biggest newspapers about who the least popular man in France was. Schumacher won the poll with Adolf Hitler in second.
If I was not a nationalist I would have added France-Brazil (1998).
