Johan Cruyff and Franz Beckenbauer in the Final.
The fact that the Dutch wore a bright color
and the Germans wore black and white
seemed symbolic of each country's soccer style.
July 7, 1974: Rarely is a sports competition remembered less for the team that won than for the team, or one of the teams, that lost. The 1974 World Cup was one of them.
The tournament was being held in West Germany, and the Dutch team seemed to have the best of all Dutch worlds:
* From AFC Ajax, of Amsterdam (currently or formerly), came forwards Johan Cruyff and Piet Kiezer, midfielder Johan Neeskens, right wing Johnny Rep centerback Arie Haan, right back Wim Suurbier, and left back Ruud Krol.
(Note: Since his name was usually written as "Cruyff" for the English-speaking world, that's how I'm going to spell it in this post, even though it was always written as "Cruijff" in his homeland.)
* From Feyenoord, of Rotterdam, who formed the country's greatest rivalry with Ajax, came goalkeeper Eddy Treijtel; defenders Wim Rijsbergen, Wim Jansen, Rinus Israel and Harry Vos; and midfielders Willem van Hanegem and Theo de Jong.
* From PSV Eindhoven came defender Pleun Strik and twin brother midfielders René and Willy van de Kerkhof.
* From Twente Enschede came goalkeeper Piet Schrijvers and defender Kees van Ierssel.
* From FC Amsterdam came starting goalkeeper Jan Jongbloed.
* From Belgian club Anderlecht came forward Rob Rensenbrink.
* And from Anderlecht's arch-rivals, Club Brugge, came midfielder Ruud Giels. While Belgium is mostly divided among ethnic French (Wallonia) and ethnic Dutch (Flanders), both Anderlecht and Brugge are on the Dutch side of the country.
(And to clear something up: The names "Holland" and "the Netherlands" are not interchangeable. While Holland includes the country's 3 largest and most important cities -- Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague -- it has about 1/3rd of the country's population, and about 1/6th of its area. Telling someone from Eindhoven, in North Brabant, that he lives in "Holland" is less dangerous than telling someone from Glasgow that he lives in "England," but it's still an insult.)
The Netherlands defeated Uruguay 2-0, drew 0-0 with Sweden, and demolished Bulgaria 4-1 to advance to the 2nd Group Stage. There, they beat Argentina 4-0, East Germany 2-0, and defending champions Brazil 2-0. The match with Sweden featured Cruyff faking out Jan Olsson with a move that became known as "The Cruyff Turn," and it became his signature play. Two things, though: He wasn't the first to do it -- no one knows for sure who was, although Pelé is known to have done it in 1960 -- and it didn't result in a shot, let alone a goal.
It was beginning to look easy. They had played 6 games, and had an aggregate advantage of 14-1. With their flowing football, flowing hair and bright orange uniforms, they had captivated the entire world -- especially since this was, for many countries, still the early days of color television. But not in America: No matches were broadcast live. CBS broadcast the Final a few days later.
On July 7, 1974, at the Olympiastadion in Munich, the dream seemed to be coming true. The Dutch lined up for the Final against a West Germany side dominated by players from Bundesliga winners Bayern Munich, including defender Franz Beckenbauer, goalie Sepp Meier and forward Gerd Müller. In only the 1st minute of the game, Crujiff advanced into the penalty area, and Bayern's Uli Hoeness brought him down. A penalty was rightly awarded, the 1st ever awarded in a World Cup Final, and Neeskens converted to give the Dutch a lead before 2 minutes had passed.
The Olympiastadion in Munich
But the Dutch may have scored too soon, and rested on their laurels. The Germans fought back, and got a legitimate penalty of their own in the 25th minute. Müller scored in the 43rd to give West Germany the lead. The half soon came, and Cruyff argued with the referee, Englishman Jack Taylor, and was booked for this.
The Dutch came a little unglued, and although they fell no further behind, neither did they get any closer. West Germany won, 2-1. It was not a home soil victory: Indeed, in the 2nd half, they had a goal waved off for offside, and were denied what looked like another legitimate penalty.
Playwright Johan Timmers wrote, "The defeat of 1974 is the biggest trauma that happened to Holland in the 20th Century, apart from the floods of 1953 and World War II." Historian Bastiaan Bommeljé wrote, "It should have been the epiphany of the sixties. Instead it turned out to be its requiem. The team was a product of an age that had put all its money on youth and the promise of youth and the idea that good times will be here when a new generation takes over."
In his book Brilliant Orange: The Neurotic Genius of Dutch Soccer, David Winner wrote, "The most talented group of footballers their country -- almost any country -- ever produced blew it. How? Why? It's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma." He cited a 20th Anniversary survey that showed that nearly everyone old enough to watch remembered exactly where they were, and, on that basis, he compared it to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963.
Despite the defeat in the Final, Cruyff, since 1973 playing his "club football" for FC Barcelona in Spain, was awarded the Ballon d'Or (Golden Ball), as World Player of the Year, for the 3rd time in the last 4 years. There was no doubt that he was now the best player in the world, even if he couldn't quite get his country to the greatest prize of all.
In 1977, Cruyff announced his retirement from international soccer, refusing to play in the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. For 30 years, it was believed that he was protesting the military dictatorship that took over Argentina in 1976, after the country was awarded the tournament. But in 2008, he revealed the truth: There was a threat against his family, and it got into his head, and he didn't think he would be at his best for the tournament.
Again, the Netherlands reached the Final, even without Cruyff. This time, it was a home soil victory, as the Argentines' mere qualification for the Final under the system then in place was dubious, and they scored 2 dubious goals in extra time to win 3-1. There were some Dutch players who were quoted as saying they didn't know if they would leave the stadium alive if they won.
Cruyff has been called the greatest player that Europe has ever produced. However, the lack of a World Cup sticks out on his resume, as it does for players like Puskás, Argentina's Di Stéfano and (so far) Lionel Messi, France's Raymond Kopa, Wales' John Charles, Northern Ireland's George Best, Italy's Paolo Maldini, and Portugal's Eusébio and (so far) Cristiano Ronaldo. (UPDATE: In 2022, Argentina, with Messi, won the World Cup.)
For some of those players (particularly Charles and Best), it's because their countrymen were not up to their level. For Maldini, it was down to luck: He was considered too young to make the national side in 1982, and too old in 2006, despite his 25 years of top-flight football.
But the Netherlands has had so much talent, yet their only major tournament win has been Euro 88. They would lose the World Cup Final again in 2010, to Spain. No other country that's been in at least 3 Finals has failed to win at least 1.
But the Netherlands has had so much talent, yet their only major tournament win has been Euro 88. They would lose the World Cup Final again in 2010, to Spain. No other country that's been in at least 3 Finals has failed to win at least 1.
One more note: The Olympiastadion in Munich is 1 of 3 stadiums to have hosted an Olympic Games, a World Cup Final and a UEFA European Cup/Champions League Final. The others are the Olympiastadion in Berlin and the old Wembley Stadium in London. In 2024, the Stade de France outside Paris will make it 4.
UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 4th.
*
July 7, 1974 was a Sunday. These baseball games were played that day:
* The New York Yankees lost to the Texas Rangers, 3-2 at Arlington Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Arlington, Texas. Steve Hargan outpitched Pat Dobson. Chris Chambliss went 3-for-4 with an RBI in defeat.
* The New York Mets beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-0 at Shea Stadium. Ted Martinez went 3-for-4 with 4 RBIs. Tom Seaver had to leave the game after 5 innings, allowing 2 hits. Bob Apodaca went the rest of the way, for a 3-hit shutout.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers swept a doubleheader from the Montreal Expos, 4-1 and 5-3 at Jarry Park in Montreal.
* A doubleheader was split at Fenway Park in Boston. The Kansas City Royals won the 1st game, 11-9. Hal McRae singled home the winning run in the top of the 10th inning. Rick Miller went 5-for-5 with an RBI in defeat. The Boston Red Sox won the 2nd game, 5-3. After going 0-for-4 in the 1st game, Carl Yastrzemski went 3-for-3 with a walk in the 2nd game. George Brett was nursing an injury: He didn't play in the 1st game, and was removed from the 2nd after going 1-for-2.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the San Diego Padres, 9-3 at Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia. Mike Schmidt went 2-for-4 with a walk and an RBI. Willie McCovey, then with the Padres, went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Dave Winfield did not play.
* The Cincinnati Reds swept a doubleheader from the St. Louis Cardinals, 2-1 and 11-2 at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati. Pete Rose went 1-for-5 with 4 walks in the doubleheader. Johnny Bench went 1-for-9. Joe Morgan went 0-for-4 in the 1st game, and didn't play in the 2nd game. Lou Brock went 0-for-4 in the 1st game, and didn't play in the 2nd game. Joe Torre didn't play in the 1st game, but went 1-for-4 in the 2nd game.
* The Chicago White Sox beat the Detroit Tigers, 3-1 at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Al Kaline, in his last season, did not play.
* The Chicago Cubs beat the Atlanta Braves, 4-3 at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Hank Aaron went 2-for-4, including his 725th career home run.
* A doubleheader was split at Milwaukee County Stadium. The Milwaukee Brewers won the 1st game, 8-5. The Minnesota Twins won the 2nd game, 5-3. Steve Brye doubled home the winning run in the top of the 11th inning. He and Bobby Darwin each went 4-for-5, and Darwin had a home run and 4 RBIs. Harmon Killebrew only appeared as a pinch-hitter in each game, getting a hit in the 2nd game. Rod Carew went 3-for-9 with a walk.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros, 6-4 at the Astrodome in Houston. Richie Zisk hit 2 home runs, and Willie Stargell went 1-for-2 with 3 walks and an RBI.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the California Angels, 6-2 at Anaheim Stadium (now Angel Stadium of Anaheim). Frank Robinson was then with the Angels, did not play in this game, was traded to the Indians later in the year, and was named their manager, the 1st black manager in the major leagues, at the end of the season.
* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Oakland Athletics, 4-1 at the Oakland Coliseum. Dave McNally outpitched Ken Holtzman. Reggie Jackson drove in the only run for the A's.
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