July 4, 1954: The Miracle of Bern

West German Captain Fritz Walter,

with the Jules Rimet Trophy

July 4, 1954, 70 years ago: The World Cup Final is held at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern (sometimes written as "Berne"), the capital of Switzerland. Due to the cancellations of the tournament for 1942 and 1946, and the 1950 edition being held in Brazil, it is the 1st World Cup held in Europe since 1938.

It is also the 1st time the tournament is held in a country where the predominant language is German. Western Switzerland, bordering France, uses French as its main language (about 23 percent of the country's population); some southern and eastern regions, bordering Italy, use Italian (about 8 percent); and a few eastern parts of the country speak a language called Romansh (about 0.5 percent). But most of the country (68 percent) uses German. Germany would eventually host the World Cup in 1974 and 2006, while Austria has never hosted it, although they co-hosted Euro 2008 with Switzerland.

Among the Quarterfinals, played in 104-degree heat in Stade Olympique de la Pointaise in Lausanne, was a match between hosts Switzerland and neighboring Austria. The players' feet were as hot as the weather, and the game ended 7-5 to Austria. It remains the highest-scoring game in World Cup history.

Fittingly, West Germany were one of the teams in the Final. Among the punishments for its predecessor state, Nazi Germany, after World War II was a slower integration into postwar Europe. The Federal Republic of Germany, a.k.a. West Germany, allied with the Western democracies; while the German Democratic Republic (which was neither democratic nor a republic), a.k.a. East Germany, were controlled by the Soviet Union. Both were formed in 1949, and neither was admitted to FIFA, the governing body for world soccer, in time for qualifying for the 1950 World Cup.

Josef "Sepp" Herberger had managed the national team, known in Germany as Die Mannschaft, from 1936 until its 1942 disbanding due to the war. In spite of having been a member of the Nazi Party, there seemed to be no one more qualified to rebuild the team than he. He built the team around players from 1. FC Kaiserslautern, in the western Rhineland, including star forward Fritz Walter (who was named national team Captain) and his brother Ottmar Walter.

Sepp Herberger

In the Group Stage, they beat Turkey, but lost to Hungary, forcing a playoff with Turkey to get into the knockout stage, which West Germany won. They beat Yugoslavia in the Quarterfinal and Austria in the Semifinal.

No one was surprised that they lost to Hungary, or even that the score was 8-2. Known as "the Golden Team," "the Magnificent Magyars" and "the Magical Magyars," from 1950 to 1956, they used an early form of what the Netherlands would later call "Total Football" to put up a record of 58 wins, 10 draws, and only 1 loss.

Manager Gusztáv Sebes built the team around forwards Ferenc Puskás, Sándor Kocsis and Nándor Hidegkuti; midfielders Zoltán Czibor and József Bozsik, and goalkeeper Gyula Grosics. Hidegkuti played his "club football" for MTK Hunagaria (now MTK Budapest), while the rest played for Budapest Honvéd.

There was no European Championship tournament for them to compete in until 1960. But they won the Gold Medal at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. In 1953, they won the Central European International Cup, competing against Austria, Czechoslovakia, Italy and Switzerland.

Later that year, they became the 1st team from outside the British Isles to defeat England on English soil, 6-3 in front of 105,000 stunned spectators at London's Wembley Stadium. A rematch in Budapest the next year was even less of a contest, a 7-1 loss that is still the heaviest that England's national team have ever faced. Puskás, known as the Galloping Major for his service in the Hungarian Army, was now considered the best player in the world.

Ferenc Puskás

Hungary beat South Korea and West Germany in the Group Stage, to top their group. However, in the West Germany game, Puskás was kicked in the ankle by Germany centerback Werner Liebrich, and sustained a hairline fracture. It didn't seem to matter much, as Hungary then beat both 1950 Finalists: Brazil in the Quarterfinal, and defending Champions Uruguay in the Semifinal. They were heavy favorites for the Final against the Germans, especially after it was announced that Puskás was ready to play.

But the night before the Final, a village fair took place in front of the hotel that lasted until the early morning hours, and disrupted the players' sleep. By contrast, the German team resided in the tranquil lake town of Spiez, where it was unaffected from such disturbances. The Spirit of Spiez became proverbial in Germany for describing the team's morale and comradeship.

West Germany came back quickly. In the 10th minute, Fritz Walter fired a shot that was deflected by midfielder József Zakariás, but it went right to Max Morlock, a forward from 1. FC Nürnberg (Nuremberg), who closed Die Mannschaft to within 2-1. In the 18th minute, Helmut Rahn of Rot Weiss Essen (Red and White, of Essen) tied the game.

In the 23rd minute, Hidegkuti nearly scored, but German goalkeeper Toni Turek, of Fortuna Düsseldorf, made a spectacular save. Four minutes later, Hidegkuti hit the goalpost. Early in the 2nd half, Turek made a save on Puskás, and then Kocsis hit the crossbar. In the 72nd minute, Grosics made a great save on Rahn.

In the 84th minute, Rahn pretended to pass to Ottmar Walter, then fired past Grosics. Herbert Zimmerman, calling the game for German national radio, yelled, "Aus dem Hintergrund müßte Rahn schießen. Rahn schießt! Tor! Tor! Tor! Tor!" (Meaning, "Rahn should shoot from deep. Rahn shoots! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!" "Tor" can also mean "gate": The native name for the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin is Brandenberger Tor.)

Helmut Rahn

After 8 seconds of letting the roar of the crowd tell the story, Zimmerman resumed: "Tor für Deutschland! Drei zu zwei führt Deutschland. Halten Sie mich für verrückt, halten Sie mich für übergeschnappt!" (Goal for Germany! Germany lead 3-2. Call me mad, call me crazy!" Shades of 3 years earlier, in New York, when Russ Hodges broadcast, "The Giants win the Pennant!")

But the game was not over, and Hungary did not give up. Just 2 minutes later, Puskás appeared to have tied the game when he converted a pass from forward Mihály Tóth. But the goal was controversially ruled offside. In the 90th and last minute of regular time, Turek made one more save, on Czibor. 

West Germany won, 3-2. I mentioned that the Magnificent Magyars only lost 1 game from 1950 to 1956. This was it, at the worst possible time.

It became known as "The Miracle of Bern." In his book Tor! The Story of German Football -- named in part for Zimmerman's call -- Uli Hesse wrote that it was the 1st time since the end of the war that the German people were allowed to feel good about themselves and their country again, and helped to make Die Mannschaft a vital part of German cultural life.

West Germany reached the Final again in 1966, losing to England; in 1974, beating the Netherlands on home soil; in 1982, losing to Italy; in 1986, losing to Argentina; and in 1990, beating Argentina. Shortly after that World Cup, the country was reunified. A united Germany reached the Final in 2002, losing to Brazil; hosted the tournament in 2006, but lost a Semifinal to Italy; and beat Argentina in the Final in 2014, for their 4th World Cup win, matching Italy's total, and trailing only Brazil's 5.

Hungary, however, have never been a soccer power again. The Soviets' crushing of the 1956 Revolution shattered the national team, forcing its players to play in other countries. They reached the Quarterfinals of the World Cup in 1962 and '66, but haven't done even that well since. They last qualified for the tournament in 1986.

The Wankdorf Stadium, or Wankdorfstadion, was built in the Bern neighborhood of Wankdorf in 1925, as the home of the team BSC Young Boys. It later hosted the 1961 European Cup Final, where Benfica beat Barcelona. It was torn down in 2001, and was replaced by a new stadium of the same name on the same site in 2008.

The Wankdorf Stadion

Kaiserslautern's home was renamed Fritz-Walter-Stadion in 1985, and was one of the host venues for the 2006 World Cup. Walter died in 2002. That year, Budapest's Népstadion (People's Stadium), which had opened as a showcase for Hungary's national team in 1953, at the height of its powers, was renamed Puskás Ferenc Stadion. (Hungarian naming convention puts the surname first). Puskás died in 2006. In 2016, the stadium named for him was demolished, and replaced with the new Puskás Aréna on the same site in 2019.

Jenő Buzánszky was the last surviving player from Hungary's "Magnificent Magyars," living until 2015. Horst Eckel was the last surviving player from the West German team that won, living until 2021.