Fifty years ago, Bayern became the first German team to win a hat-trick of Bundesliga titles and the European Cup – all within the space of eight days. Members magazine ‘51’ has taken a look back at four unforgettable games and forgotten moments off the pitch in May 1974. Part 5 tells the story of the final against Atletico Madrid and smashed vases in Gerd Müller’s apartment.
Wednesday, 15 May: 8pm
Heysel Stadium was sold out with 55,000 fans and lit up in red-white and red-white-blue. Almost unnoticed by the football fans, track and field athletes completed a pre-event race, with the German 400-metre runner Horst-Rüdiger Schlöske finishing in second place.
Bayern had wanted to play in red because they had worn that kit since the defeat against Fortuna Düsseldorf at the beginning of January and had not lost again, according to general manager Robert Schwan, but the draw determined that they had to wear their white away strip.
A ticket for the final between Bayern and Atletico Madrid cost 200 Belgian francs, around €5 today.
During their recent run of good results, the team had developed a routine of winning and some bizarre superstitions. Coach Udo Lattek always ate soused herring the evening before the game: “It brings me and the team luck.” Gerd Müller always put his left boot on first. And Uli Hoeneß had worn the same pants on the pitch since the 3-3 draw in Dresden. “After the final in Brussels, they've had their day too, regardless of the outcome of the game,” he admitted.
Whole of Munich watching
The streets in Munich were empty. The police did not report any major offences. “The crooks were in front of the TV until the last minute,” police inspector Georg Lukas from the police station on Ettstraße later reported in a newspaper. Nobody wanted to miss the first appearance by a German team in the European Cup final for 14 years.
Kick-off in Brussels was at 8pm. German television viewers wouldn’t be able to watch the match until 8.15, since ARD would first broadcast the news, as it did every day. They’d already missed a great chance from Conny Torstensson, who fired over in the second minute of the game.
Whoever scores the first goal here will win the game.
Udo Lattek
However, there wasn’t much space that evening. The Spaniards were tightly packed and impressed with their precise short passing and dangerous counter-attacks. The feared attacking duo of Hoeneß and Müller were rendered largely ineffective by defenders Ramon Heredia and Eusebio Bejarano, only managing one shot each in the entire match. “A very good game, especially in terms of fighting spirit,” praised Hennes Weisweiler, coach of rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach, during the half-time break.
And it continued in exactly the same manner. Intensive instead of offensive. Before the game, Lattek had said: “Whoever scores the first goal here will win the game.” Müller celebrated briefly in the 71st minute, but the goal was disallowed because of an infringement on goalkeeper Miguel Reina. Towards the end of the game, Atlético began to gain momentum, but Bayern held on for the first extra-time in the history of the European Cup final.
Newspapers reported after the game of Gerd Müller’s grandma ripping down curtains in celebration.
Wednesday, 15 May, 10pm
In extra-time, Adelardo, Luis Aragones and Jose Luis Capon all missed chances due to Sepp Maier and their own nerves. In the 114th minute, Johnny Hansen took down Heraldo Bezerra one metre outside Bayern's penalty area. The referee awarded a free-kick. “We knew that Luis Aragones was an excellent free-kick taker,” recalled Paul Breitner, “and that he liked to move the ball back a metre or two for a better angle.”
While the referee arranged the wall, Breitner saw the Spaniard move the ball unnoticed. “And we morons stood still.” The whistle. Aragones hit the ball over the wall and past Maier into the goal. Was it all over? Even coach Lattek “no longer believed my team would score”.
And then, in the 120th minute, Katsche Schwarzenbeck was not supposed to shoot a good 20 metres from goal, but he did...
Katsche Schwarzenbeck scored one of the most important goals in Bayern's history against Atletico Madrid.
What a cheer in the stadium, in the streets and pubs of Munich and in countless homes. Uschi Müller, Gerd's wife, had invited 15 friends who were Bayern fans, and after Katsche's goal they tore down curtains and smashed vases. “My dear, our friends demolished the flat out of sheer joy,” she later told him on the phone. Der Bomber jokingly replied: “Then Schwarzenbeck will have to pay for the damage. After all, he caused it.”
Atletico sat silent and in despair in the dressing room. Bayern were hugging each other in disbelief. President Wilhelm Neudecker wandered through the stadium catacombs in the general chaos and even kicked down a door to get to the team. Schwan cancelled the planned banquet at the hotel so that the players could recover. Only 30 of the 130 meals ordered are consumed. “It was embarrassing,” complained the president in a newspaper, listing what the guests missed out on: “Melon, shrimp cocktail, a wonderful veal roast and an ice cream cake shaped like a football pitch.”
Read part 4 of our series here:
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