When Hans Tilkowski returned back home in early August of 1966 after the World Cup in England, it wasn't just his wife that awaited him. In his house in Herne, as he later recalled in his memoirs, "stood a pile of more than 30,000 envelopes." If Facebook had already been around at the time, the Germany keeper would likely have received millions of motivational messages. The people of Germany felt they had been betrayed 50 years ago to the day. But for Tilkowski, the keeper that had to concede a goal which likely never actually went in, it must have been an even bigger disappointment.
Hans Tilkowski is 81 today and there isn't a single day in his life, where he doesn't have to talk about the moment of fate that occurred to him 50 years ago. On Sunday, Tilkowski will be an honorary guest in Dortmund's German Football Museum together with fellow players from 1966 Uwe Seeler, Willi Schulz and Siggi Held. DFB President Reinhard Grindel will also attend the opening ceremony of the special exhibition "50 Jahre Wembley - der Mythos in Momentaufnahme" (50 years after Wembley - the Myth captured in Snapshots".
So what happened 50 years ago in the most famous stadium of the World and in England's capital London, that makes this such a memorable event? In truth, it's not exactly clear and that's exactly what keeps the myth around England's third goal in the World Cup final so prominent to this day. It's been 50 years and the debate whether it was in or not is still ongoing. Tilkowski was able to deflect Geoff Hurst's attempt in the 101st minute, with the score level at 2-2, against the underside of the crossbar and the ball, as gravity dictates, dropped back down to the ground. But where exactly did it land? TV replays at the time were unable to provide certainty, as Tilkowski's wiry body had blocked the view. Pictures appear to show the ball land on the line and some spectators saw pieces of chalk fly into the air, suggesting the ball had never crossed the line fully.
Hurst: "It went in, I want to believe that"
Everyone saw what they wanted to see and neither side was willing to accept what the other implied. Goal scorer Geoff Hurst made a distinctive statement in an interview with Spiegel in 1996: "I will always believe that it went int. I want to believe that." For the English, including Bobby Charlton ("I saw it very clearly, the ball bounced from the cross bar behind the line"), it was always a goal. Germans refuted that idea.
Suspicions in Germany grew one year after the final, when linesman Tefik Bachramow (Azerbaijan) revealed in an interview that he actually didn't see the ball cross the line, "but I saw England's Hunt raise his arms into the air after Hurst's shot. I also saw the German keeper with an inconsolable expression, so it had to be a goal." A grotesque justification and through the years the controversy only increased. England skipper Bobby Moore didn't want to carry the "guilt" into his grave and in 1991, shortly before his death, he admitted: "They allowed the goal, although it actually wasn’t one." Goalscorer Hurst made a similar revelation in his autobiography in 2001: "After decades of hearing the arguments and watching hundreds of replays on TV, I have to concede that the ball never actually crossed the line."
Wembley reloaded in South Africa
It's a story that has to be remembered and new facets and punch-lines have since been added. In 2010 Germany got their revenge of sorts in Bloemfontein. Germany are leading 2-1 over England, when Frank Lampard's effort from range struck the underside of the bar and clearly dropped behind the line only to bounce back onto the pitch into Manuel Neuer's arms. It was a clear goal, but not for the referee and many in Germany felt that the football gods had just righted a wrong.
The incident in Bloemfontein was a key event in the introduction of goal-line technology in football, which also means that the Wembley goal will always remain a unique occurrence.
[mmc/fr]
When Hans Tilkowski returned back home in early August of 1966 after the World Cup in England, it wasn't just his wife that awaited him. In his house in Herne, as he later recalled in his memoirs, "stood a pile of more than 30,000 envelopes." If Facebook had already been around at the time, the Germany keeper would likely have received millions of motivational messages. The people of Germany felt they had been betrayed 50 years ago to the day. But for Tilkowski, the keeper that had to concede a goal which likely never actually went in, it must have been an even bigger disappointment.
Hans Tilkowski is 81 today and there isn't a single day in his life, where he doesn't have to talk about the moment of fate that occurred to him 50 years ago. On Sunday, Tilkowski will be an honorary guest in Dortmund's German Football Museum together with fellow players from 1966 Uwe Seeler, Willi Schulz and Siggi Held. DFB President Reinhard Grindel will also attend the opening ceremony of the special exhibition "50 Jahre Wembley - der Mythos in Momentaufnahme" (50 years after Wembley - the Myth captured in Snapshots".
So what happened 50 years ago in the most famous stadium of the World and in England's capital London, that makes this such a memorable event? In truth, it's not exactly clear and that's exactly what keeps the myth around England's third goal in the World Cup final so prominent to this day. It's been 50 years and the debate whether it was in or not is still ongoing. Tilkowski was able to deflect Geoff Hurst's attempt in the 101st minute, with the score level at 2-2, against the underside of the crossbar and the ball, as gravity dictates, dropped back down to the ground. But where exactly did it land? TV replays at the time were unable to provide certainty, as Tilkowski's wiry body had blocked the view. Pictures appear to show the ball land on the line and some spectators saw pieces of chalk fly into the air, suggesting the ball had never crossed the line fully.
Hurst: "It went in, I want to believe that"
Everyone saw what they wanted to see and neither side was willing to accept what the other implied. Goal scorer Geoff Hurst made a distinctive statement in an interview with Spiegel in 1996: "I will always believe that it went int. I want to believe that." For the English, including Bobby Charlton ("I saw it very clearly, the ball bounced from the cross bar behind the line"), it was always a goal. Germans refuted that idea.
Suspicions in Germany grew one year after the final, when linesman Tefik Bachramow (Azerbaijan) revealed in an interview that he actually didn't see the ball cross the line, "but I saw England's Hunt raise his arms into the air after Hurst's shot. I also saw the German keeper with an inconsolable expression, so it had to be a goal." A grotesque justification and through the years the controversy only increased. England skipper Bobby Moore didn't want to carry the "guilt" into his grave and in 1991, shortly before his death, he admitted: "They allowed the goal, although it actually wasn’t one." Goalscorer Hurst made a similar revelation in his autobiography in 2001: "After decades of hearing the arguments and watching hundreds of replays on TV, I have to concede that the ball never actually crossed the line."
Wembley reloaded in South Africa
It's a story that has to be remembered and new facets and punch-lines have since been added. In 2010 Germany got their revenge of sorts in Bloemfontein. Germany are leading 2-1 over England, when Frank Lampard's effort from range struck the underside of the bar and clearly dropped behind the line only to bounce back onto the pitch into Manuel Neuer's arms. It was a clear goal, but not for the referee and many in Germany felt that the football gods had just righted a wrong.
The incident in Bloemfontein was a key event in the introduction of goal-line technology in football, which also means that the Wembley goal will always remain a unique occurrence.
