It is not the first duel in a major tournament between England and Germany – and that could now be an advantage for the team of national coach Joachim Löw.
When I realized who we were going to face in the round of 16 at Wembley, I immediately had to think back to a couple of very special weeks. But beware! I’m not talking about 1996, when I won the European Championship title in England as national coach with the national team. We have to go further back in time: to the year 1966. I was very young, 20 years old, and had just completed my first season as a professional footballer with Borussia Mönchengladbach.
It wasn’t enough for the final DFB World Cup squad in the “motherland of football”. But in hindsight it was a stroke of luck – my love for English football didn’t develop as a player on the field, but as a spectator. And I have my former Gladbach coach Hennes Weisweiler to thank for that.
It was he who called me in the summer of 1966 and asked if I wanted to drive through England with him to follow the German national team at the World Cup. I said yes immediately. In the weeks that followed, I toured the island with Weisweiler in his car – I at the wheel, next to me my team-mate Herbert Laumen, the coach with his wife in the back seat
And even if it became clear to me relatively quickly that Weisweiler was probably not a big fan of left-hand traffic and that I therefore had to serve as a cheap chauffeur, I wouldn’t want to miss this time. We drove through great cities, got to know incredibly nice people and experienced football games in stadiums with a very special atmosphere. I’ve been a fan of English football ever since.
Part of the 1966 England carpool: Gladbach’s coach Hennes Weisweiler (left) and “chauffeur” and player Berti Vogts. (Source: Horstmüller/imago images)
And yet I’ll of course keep my fingers crossed for my German national team on Tuesday evening.
The preliminary round is over. Now it counts!
And our current national players have to understand what a very special privilege they are being given. Next to the Maracanã in Rio de Janeiro, Wembley is the largest soccer temple on the planet. Whoever plays there is obliged to fight to the bitter end and give everything to win. Even more than usual. And England vs. Germany is not a normal football game, it’s a real classic.
The English are under pressure
Personally, I don’t see any clear favorites in this game. The odds are 50/50. But our advantage is that the past speaks clearly for us – and has an impact on current events. What I mean by that: The English are under more pressure than we Germans. And the longer it is 0-0, the greater the chance that Germany will win. Because England trembles before the penalty shootout. They’re getting more nervous by the minute. The players may not know that yet.
Berti Vogts (in a suit) 1996: The national coach before the penalty shootout in the European Championship semifinals against England. In the end, the DFB team narrowly won. (Source: HORSTMÜLLER/imago images)
But at the latest when the penalty shoot-out draws ever closer in the second half, the old pictures come back. For the players, the coaches and above all for the coach Gareth Southgate, who missed the crucial penalty against us in the 1996 semi-final. The fear of failure is always there with the English. This is historically justified.
Gareth Southgate 1996: Today’s England national coach (l.) fails in the crucial penalty kick in the European Championship semi-finals against DFB goalkeeper Andreas Köpke. (Source: Colorsport/imago images)
And believe me, it’s no use practicing penalties beforehand. It’s a growing mental problem. The pressure is enormous. And so a home game in Wembley can very quickly become an away game for the English. The mostly British viewers will be watching each and every English player closely. That’s why I don’t envy them.
National coach Jogi Löw and his team, on the other hand, now have the unique opportunity to spark new hype about the national team. I’m sure that if we win against England, we can win the European Championship. And that’s what I wish for us.
At this point, I look back fondly on winning the title in England in 1996 – because I see parallels to today: we also had to fight against resistance. We didn’t go into the tournament as top favorites either. But despite injuries, we never gave up, fought our way through every game, braved the taunts of the British press, won the semi-finals against England on penalties and reached the final.
Berti Vogts after winning the 1996 European Championship final: In the final he and the German national team beat the Czechs 2-1. (Source: Horstmüller/imago images)
For me personally, however, it will not be the 2-1 win against the Czech Republic in the final, but the game against England that will always be by far the most important thing in my coaching career. Because as a footballer you can hardly experience anything bigger than this game at a tournament.
And that’s exactly what our current national players need to realize.