X-Nico

unusual facts about West Germany national football team



Dieter Burdenski

Looking for decent goalkeepers to someday succeed ageing Sepp Maier in the West Germany goal, Helmut Schön turned his attention to the Werder Bremen man in 1977, handing Burdenski his first of altogether 12 caps in a friendly in Montevideo against Uruguay.

Harald Konopka

Konopka's career for West Germany was a brief one, lasting for only two matches, but earned him a participation in the 1978 FIFA World Cup.

Heinz Vollmar

With the population of Saarland to join West Germany, via a referendum taken place already in 1955, Vollmar's first of twelve West Germany caps was on 30 June 1956, in Stockholm versus Sweden.

Jim Finney

Later he was selected as one of the English referees at the 1966 World Cup, gaining some notoriety there for his handling of the Uruguay versus West Germany quarter-final in which he sent off Horacio Troche and Héctor Silva.

Joël Bats

However, he uncharacteristically let a free-kick from Andreas Brehme slip through his hands in the semi-final against West Germany, which France lost 2–0.

Len Shackleton

His one goal was scored with a chip against the then World Champions West Germany in December 1954, the last England goal scored by a Sunderland player until Darren Bent's goal against Switzerland in September 2010 .

Skënder Hyka

His only senior appearance came on 8 April 1967 against West Germany in Dortmund, a game which Albania lost 6-0 thanks to four goals by Gerd Müller and a double by Hannes Löhr.


see also