The 1972 UEFA European Championship was pivotal for West Germany. Beforehand they had won just one international trophy and played in two finals; since their triumph in Belgium they have won two FIFA World Cups, EURO crowns in 1980 and 1996, and reached six other major finals. The hero of 1972 was Gerd Müller, who scored both goals in the 2-1 semi-final win against the hosts and two more as West Germany beat the Soviet Union 3-0 for the title. However, the modest Müller, whose 62 caps brought 68 goals, puts it down to luck.

An element of luck...
I have to say we were a bit lucky. A bit lucky and then I scored two goals, I cannot remember more than that. We had a very good team at that time. Everything worked well. The team worked, the coach worked and it was good. We were lucky and we won and honestly speaking we did not fear the Russians in the final. We had won against them before and we knew who was marking who. We played well. I scored a couple of goals, and the final was the best.

Blending star names...
We were all good in the Bundesliga as well. Most of us came from [FC] Bayern München or [VfL Borussia] Mönchengladbach and then the ones from [Eintracht] Frankfurt. We had a good harmony and understood each other very well. That also goes for when we were on the pitch. You cannot ask for more.