Tor uli hesse8/30/2023 ![]() ![]() We really did have so many world-class players. There were so many players active in Italy at the time. But people said that team had a good chance to win. It was different in 1990 - I wouldn’t say that people expected the team to win, which is because you’re against an Argentina or Brazil, Italy were the hosts. Nobody expected much in 86 - it was a surprise that the team got. Beckenbauer came in and said ‘I’m sorry, it will take me a while,’ because there aren’t any good players coming through. ![]() He’d never coached a team before.īut there was a general feeling that things had to change. We felt they needed to change and that was the reason they brought in Beckenbauer. There was the Patrick Battiston incident (see below). There was the game against Austria where the two teams colluded against Algeria. The team had won the Euros in 80, they had gotten to the World Cup final in 82, but everybody hated the football and the 82 tournament was an unmitigated disaster. I don’t know if people outside of Germany are aware of this, but the country was really fed up with the national team in 1984. The 86 team was not popular but not unpopular. There was a huge difference between 86 and 90. Yes, it was an ugly tournament, the football wasn’t good, but basically, they were one of the few decent teams that showed up and won it in the end. If you followed the press coverage, that’s what everyone said after the tournament. I wouldn’t say they are not fondly remembered. Maybe the 1990 team is even more fondly remembered than the 1974 team. And the teams that preceded the 1990 team weren’t very popular. The teams that followed weren’t very popular. Not as popular as the 2004 team, maybe even the 2002 team was quite popular - one reason that team was popular was because Rudi Völler was coach and Rudi Völler is one of the most beloved players in German history. They will not be as fondly remembered as this young team. He is the author of a number of acclaimed books, including ‘Tor! The Story of German Football’ – the first extensive English-language history of German football. ULI HESSE IS a freelance journalist who writes for a number of publications including ESPN. ![]()
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