July 8 – West Germany win Italia 90
ON this day in 1990 the biggest football match on earth, the World Cup Final, was played in the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.
Just as four years previously at Mexico 86, Argentina faced West Germany, who had got past England on penalties in the semi-final to reach the show piece game.
While Italia 90 had plenty of great moments and enduring images, it had very few goals and with just a 2.21 goal-per-game average it is also the lowest scoring World Cup tournament in history.
Sadly, the final was in the same vein and never really got going, eventually being decided by just the one goal. Maradona, the hero of 1986 for Argentina, was no longer his win-a-match-single-handed old self and despite plenty of support from the Italian fans who worshipped him when playing for Napoli, he was not the same force he had been in Mexico.
After a pretty poor match it fell to Andreas Brehme to score the winner after 85 minutes from the penalty spot for the Germans to avenge their defeat four years earlier. And just when some excitement was threatening to break out with extra time or even a shoot-out. Spoil sport.
Still, for stat fans everywhere, the 1990 final did have a couple of ‘firsts’. When Pedro Monzón was sent off after 64 minutes he became the first player ever to see red in the World Cup Final.
He was followed shortly afterwards by his compatriot Gustavo Dezotti who was given a second yellow just three minutes from time.
ANother sorry stat for the Argentines was the fact that they became the first finalists not to score in the big game.
The Germans were managed by Der Kaiser himself Franz Beckenbauer. He became one of two men (with Mario Zagallo) to have won the Cup as player and as coach, and the only man to have won the title as team captain as well as coach.
Have a look at the key moments below, or check this out for one of the most shocking fouls and refereeing decisions in World Cup history.
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