1972: IT'S MÜLLER TIME!

UEFA EURO 1972 FINAL

BELGIUM

HEYSEL STADIUM, BRUSSELS

WEST GERMANY 3-0 SOVIET UNION

Holders Italy were not on hand to defend their European title in 1972, surprisingly defeated by Belgium over two legs in the quarter-finals.


In a repeat of the 1966 World Cup final West Germany faced a familiar foe and a painful trip down memory lane: England at Wembley.

This time they came out smiling. A Gunther Netzer-inspired 3-1 away first leg win killed the tie, and Germany were through.

The Belgians' reward for their heroics was to host the finals as the finals moved to the low countries for the first time.

With Lady Luck on a cigarette break, they drew the formidable West Germans in the last four. Despite lacking genuine class Belgium made a good account of themselves, eventually stopped by a rampant Gerd Müller. A brace from 'Der Bomber' was enough to seal a 2-1 win.

Perennial contenders the USSR took on Hungary in the other semi-final, scraping through, courtesy of a solitary Anatoly Konkov strike, to reach their third final in four tournaments.

'Der Bomber' was in no mood to spare the poor Soviets, netting two more goals as Germany cruised to an impressive, if anticlimactic, three-nil win.

Including qualifying, Müller's goal tally reached an extraordinary eleven, out of his country's fifteen, in just eight matches.

After near misses in the 1966 and 1970 World Cups, captain Franz Beckenbauer finally got his hands on some silverware.

The Belgium finals heralded a golden period of West German football, as they went on to stun Johan Cruyff's wonderful Dutch in the 1974 World Cup, and were right back in contention in 1976.