FLASHBACK! IT’S HOLLAND ONE GOAL, WEST GERMANY ZERO KICKS! TOTAL FOOTBALL RULES… OK?

DATE: 7th July 1974

OCCASION:World Cup fina

SIGNIFICANCE: From kick-off, the Dutch made 15 smooth passes before giving the ball to the playmaker lurking in the middle. Johan Cruyff moved forward like a matador, accelerating past Vogts – and over Hoeness’s outstretched foot. Penalty!

SCORE: West Germany 2-1 Holland

SCORERS:West Germany: Breitner (25), Muller (43). Holland: Neeskens (2)

WHAT HAPPENED NEXT? Twenty minutes of showboating humiliated the Germans... But with Vogts tight on Cruyff, Holland’s Total Football stuttered. An iffy equalising penalty saw Beckenbauer emerge as key string-puller, setting up some glorious attacks from deep. Once Muller had pounced in his international swansong, the home crowd sensed the greater tactical power of the stifling game.

LINE-UPS:

WEST GERMANY: Maier, Vogts, Breitner, Schwarzenbeck, Beckenbauer, Overath, Bonhof, Grabowski, Muller, Hoeness, Hoelzenbein

HOLLAND: Jongbloed, Krol, Rijsbergen (de Jong 69), Suurbier, Haan, Van Hanegem, Jansen, Neeskens, Cruyff, Rensenbrink (R. van de Kerkhof 46), Rep

STADIUM: Olympic Stadium, Munich

ATTENDANCE: 75,200

21 July 1974

Michael Winner’s Death Wish hits cinemas, starring Charles Bronson. Four increasingly questionable sequels appear over the following 20 years

21 July 1974

Monmouthshire is rechristened ‘Gwent’ and officially becomes part of Wales

6 July 1974

Jimmy Connors wins Wimbledon for the first time, beating Ken Rosewall 6-1, 6-1, 6-4 in the final