1954: Germany's Legendary Victory Quiz

Answer: 16

This was the fifth World Cup ever held. The four preceding ones were held in Uruguay (1930), Italy (1934), France (1938) and Brazil (1950). There was no World Cup held during World War Two. The 16 teams participating in the 1954 World Cup were: Switzerland (host), Uruguay (defending champions), Yugoslavia, France, Brazil, Mexico, West Germany, Turkey, Hungary, South Korea, Czechoslovakia, Austria, Scotland, England, Belgium and Italy.

Answer: Hungary

Hungary scored 27 goals in five matches. Germany ranked second in this statistic, with 25 goals in 6 matches. Czechoslovakia, Scotland and South Korea left the tournament without having scored any goals. All in all 140 goals were scored in 26 matches. Just for comparison: During the 2002 World Cup in Japan/South Korea 161 goals were scored in 64 matches.

Answer: Sandor Kocsis (Hungary)

Kocsis scored 11 goals, Hügi scored six, Borges scored four, and Lofthouse scored three.

Answer: 25

During the group phase, West Germany beat Turkey 4-1, but lost to Hungary 3-8. After that West Germany had to play Turkey again, in order to determine which of the two teams would advance to the next round. That match ended 7-2 to West Germany. In the quarter-final West Germany beat Yugoslavia 2-0, and in the semi-final they beat Austria 6-1, which led them to the final, where they beat Hungary 3-2.

Answer: Hungary v Brazil

During this quarterfinal the players started fighting. Three players were sent of the field, but after the match the fighting continued in the locker rooms, and this time even coaches and officials got involved (at least that´s how the story goes).

Answer: 5

They lost their opening match against Hungary, but won the next five matches, after which they became the World Champions for the first time.

Answer: Hungary

For England and Brazil the tournament ended after the quarterfinals, where England lost to Uruguay (2-4), and Brazil lost to Hungary (2-4). The defending champions Uruguay then lost to Hungary in the semi-final (2-4). (It just occured to me that 2-4 obviously was a quite popular result in those days.) The final was held on 4th July 1954.

Answer: 3-2

Hungary scored the first two goals (Ferenc Puskas: 6th minute, Zoltan Czibor: 8th minute), but Max Morlock managed to score only two minutes later. In the 18th minute Helmut Rahn equalized after a corner kick by Fritz Walter. This 2-2 scoreline remained until the 84th minute, when Rahn scored again.

A couple of minutes later the Hungarian player Ferenc Puskas kicked the ball into the goal but, as he had been in an offside position, the goal did not count. After 90 minutes the game was over, and whole of Germany celebrated.

Answer: Fritz Walter

Walter played for 1.FC Kaiserslautern. The other three players were also members of the 1954 national team. Toni Turek (the goal keeper) played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, Bernhard Klodt played for Schalke 04 and Max Morlock played for 1.FC Nuremberg.

Answer: Sepp Herberger

Sepp Herberger was the coach from 1936-1964. Helmut Schön was West Germany´s coach from 1964 to 1978, and Beckenbauer held that position from 1984 to 1990. Fritz Walter never coached the German national team. But nevertheless he was very famous and the stadium in Kaiserslautern, where he played, was named after him. Walter passed away during the 2002 World Cup.

Answer: "A match lasts for 90 minutes"

Herberger had the reputation to be a "philosopher", and he is still quoted very often by Germans when they talk about soccer (or football as we call it). Apart for the one stated above, Herberger also said the following: "The ball is round" ("Der Ball ist rund", meaning: anything can happen during a match), "The next opponent is always the hardest" ("Der nächste Gegner ist immer der schwerste"), "You have to be 11 friends" ("Elf Freunde müßt ihr sein"). and "After the match is before the match" ("Nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel").

Answer: Uwe Seeler

Uwe Seeler also is a soccer legend in Germany, especially in Hamburg, where he grew up and played soccer throughout his whole career. He was was a member of the West German national team from October 1954 (He joined after the World Cup) to 1970.

Answer: William Ling (England)

The other three are all referees who took part in the 2002 World Cup. Pierluigi Collina can always be recognized by his bald head, his piercing stare and his cheeky grin. He manages to have fun during the match and joke with the players, but still keep the control over the match. He was the referee during the World Cup final 2002, in which Brazil beat Germany 2-0.

Answer: Bern

When talking about West Germany´s triumph in that tournament, Germans usually refer to it as "the miracle of Bern" ("Das Wunder von Bern"). In 2003, German director Sönke Wortmann released a movie with the same title, which tells the story of the "heroes of Bern" ("Helden von Bern", which is what the players and their coach are often called)

Answer: Herbert Zimmermann

In the early 1950s most people in Germany did not have a TV set at home. So either they went to a pub to watch the game, or they listened to it on the radio. Zimmermann´s report was so enthusiastic and so full of real emotions, that the original radio broadcast is used nowadays, whenever scenes from that game are shown on TV.
Gottschalk, Schmidt and Raab are German TV show hosts.