England and Germany to renew classic rivalry (Feature)

By Andy Goldberg Jun 25, 2010, 12:17 GMT

Port Elizabeth, South Africa - The legendary Prussian general Carl Philipp Gottlieb von Clausewitz posited in the early 19th century that 'war is the continuation of politics by other means.'

Had he lived to witness the great post-World War II football rivalry between Germany and England, he may have amended his most famous aphorism to read 'Football is the continuation of war by other means.'

Historically great European rivals, England and Germany became political best friends following the defeat of Hitler and Nazism.

But the rivalry on the football pitch remained as fierce as ever. This is especially true for English football fans, who continually hark back to the war, perhaps to assuage the pain of their sporting defeats.

For the Germans, the link with a shameful war that ended 65 years ago is rarely broached.

'It is high time to forget about that. We live in 2010 and in a unified Europe,' German coach Joachim Loew said Friday at the squad's press briefing.

On the football pitch and in the stadium the German dominance as multiple world and European champions sometimes translates into condescension to their lesser English rivals.

'The rivalry is purer, more exclusive and more focused here,' noted the British Observer in 2001. 'It is ultimately more important to the English than the Germans.'

The most famous game of all, and perhaps the most famous game of all time, was the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley. England had still never lost to West Germany, the 1954 World Champions, but it was the West Germans who opened the scoring in the 12th minute with a cross shot by Helmut Haller.

England soon equalized through Geoff Hurst and looked to have won the game when Martin Peters put them in front with 12 minutes remaining. In what would become a recurring nightmare for England, Bobby Charlton missed an easy chance to seal the victory, and Wolfgang Weber equalized in the 89th minute.

It was the first World Cup Final to go into extra time, and was won 4-2 by England with two more goals from Hurst, including one which to this day still has fans from both sides arguing over whether the ball actually crossed the line.

Germany gained sweet revenge in June 1970 in the World Cup quarter-final in Mexico. In thin mountain air and extreme heat, the team came back from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 after extra time and set a pattern of apparent invincibility for many games to come. 'What we did still makes me feel good,' said Uwe Seeler many years later.

If that result was close, the next game established German superiority beyond question. It was in April 1972, in the Wembley leg of a two-legged European Championship quarterfinal. The 3-1 victory for Germany is still referred to as the 'Gunter Netzer masterclass' by many sports historians.

'Playing with grace and spirit and an absolute commitment to attack, Germany administered the most through defeat ever inflicted on Alf Ramsey's England on their home ground', one British reporter lamented.

Another famous clash came in the semifinals of Italia 90. Germany were the team of the tournament while England had muddled through unconvincingly. England raised their game, yet despite dominating the first half they fell behind to a deflected free kick from Andreas Brehme before Gary Lineker drew them level.

Germany then won on penalties again, prompting Lineker to utter his famous 'truism.' 'Soccer is a game for 22 people that run around ... and in the end Germany always wins.'

Germany worked from the same script at the European Championship semi-final in 1996 at Wembley, where England once again lost their nerve in the penalty shoot-out.

Four years later Germany seemed to seal their dominance by winning 1-0 in a World Cup qualifying game that was the last match to be held at the old Wembley Stadium. But England refused to accept that fate, turning the tables in Munich the next year by winning 5-1. The German trauma was symbolized by the heart attack suffered by the father of manager Rudi Völler as he watched from the stands.