September 1 – And Heskey Makes it Five!
England, Germany, Michael Owen, World Cup September 1st, 2008FAR too many times on this website we’ve had to tell you about a shambolic/frustrating/heroic England defeat, so we thought it was time that we’d look at one of their better days at the office.
Today in 2001 there was no penalty heartache, no silly red cards, no broken metatarsals and no dodgy keepers, just a 5-1 win over Germany at the Olympiastadion in Munich.
England went into the 2002 World Cup qualifying match with their rival needed a result to keep their hopes of automatic qualification to the competition in Japan and South Korea the following summer alive.
Sven Goran Eriksson had been in charge of the Three Lions for nine months and this was the first real test of his regime. The Germans were comfortably sitting at the top of the qualifying ground and when Carsten Jancker scored after six minutes England fans everywhere feared the worst.
However, instead of the usual capitulation, England went on the rampage. By the time that everyone’s favourite baldy ref Pierluigi Collina blew for half-time Michael Owen had equalised and a textbook injury-time Steve Gerrard long-ranger had put England 2-1 up.
Michael Owen scored two more goals in the second half to bag the first England hat-trick since you-know-who, you-know-when. Owen’s treble came in the year that him pick up five trophies with Liverpool and win the Ballon d’Or. Those were the days eh Mickey?
As if the Germans weren’t already embarrassed enough, Emile Heskey even found time to score one the five goals he’s ever scored in an England shirt. Go to any England game these days and you’ll more than likely hear a chorus of “Five one – even Heskey scored”.
This was the first time that Germany had conceded five or more since a 6-3 defeat to France in 1958. The result meant that England would go on to win their group, but they still managed to do that the hard way, as we’ve told you before.
At the end of the day though, Germany had the last laugh, as both sides qualified for the 2002 World Cup, with the Germans out-doing England, reaching the final, where they would lose to England’s quarter-final conquerors Brazil. Still, we’ll always have that night in Munich.
See all the goals below and make sure you’re back tomorrow for more of the same. In the meantime, have a look here at the life-ruining event that also happened today here.
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September 1st, 2008 at 9:57 am
At around the time of the Munich victory, I was “thrust” into the world of showbusiness as Sven’s double and have been privileged to “stand in” for him at 100’s of events (working with some of the world’s top soccer stars and showbusiness personalities) ever since. Contrary to some of the media’s (xenophobic?) portrayal of Sven-Goran Eriksson, I have personal experience of the regard and affection in which he is widely held and have pride in his record of only losing 5 competitive games (2 qualifying matches and 3 quarter finals) during his tenure. In view of previous and subsequent events, did we throw away our best coach manager for decades? Euro08 was a good indication and W-Cup 2010 may confirm that, if anything less than Eriksson’s consistancy is demonstrated.
Already many soccer fans look back on the “Sven/Becks years” as something of a golden period with England cruising to top qualifying place in every international tournament and many may judge the conditions under which we were defeated in the series of quarter finals as a little “unjust”(or at least “unlucky”?)and no reflection on S-G E’s qualities? If any consider the charge that Eriksson was the cause of “England’s Golden Generation” NOT bringing back a trophy (or two..?), consider how they have done since his perfidious dismisal by TheFA, without his guidance…..?
Derek Williams
Proud to “be” Sven.