Germany hold edge in Norway finals
Friday, July 26, 2013
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Sunday's UEFA Women's EURO final will be the fourth between Germany and Norway. We look back at Germany's three wins and a world final in Solna that went a different way.
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Sunday's UEFA Women's EURO 2013 final in Solna will be the fourth between the competition's two most successful nations – seven-time winners Germany and double champions Norway.
Three of those Germany triumphs have come against Norway, while the Scandinavian team have defeated Sweden and Italy to take their two European titles. UEFA.com looks back at that trio of deciders between the pair – plus the 1995 FIFA Women's World Cup final in Sweden where things went a different way.
2005 UEFA European Women's Championship final
Germany 3-1 Norway, Blackburn (Grings 21, Lingor 24, Prinz 63; Mellgren 41)
Germany: Rottenberg; Garefrekes, Hingst, Jones, Minnert; Carlson (Günther 81), Grings (Smisek 69), Lingor, Pohlers; Mittag (Wimbersky 59), Prinz.
Norway: Nordby; Paulsen, Christensen, Stangeland, Følstad; Gulbrandsen, Stensland, Rønning (Knutsen 83); Mellgren, Klaveness (Bystad-Bjerke 87), Frantzen (Herlovsen 59).
Germany lifted the fourth of their current run of five consecutive titles with a comfortable win in Silvia Neid's last game as assistant before succeeding Tina Theune as head coach. Like this year, Norway had come through an epic semi-final against neighbours – Sweden rather than Denmark – while Germany had progressed with minimum of fuss. Although Norway had early chances, they were soon behind when Inka Grings headed in and Renate Lingor chipped Bente Nordby. Norway responded well and finally, as rain began to fall, Dagny Mellgren pulled one back. However, they could not level and Birgit Prinz clinched it with a deflected shot from distance, the third of four finals in which she would score.
Still involved from those sides are Germany's Anja Mittag and Norway's Trine Rønning, Ingvild Stensland, Marit Fiane Christensen and Solveig Gulbrandsen. Curiously the Germans had already beaten the Norwegians in the group stage, and the two teams met twice again in 2009 (with Germany victorious in both the group and the semi-final) and now this year (Even Pellerud's side edging Neid's 1-0 in Group B in Kalmar).
1995 FIFA Women's World Cup final
Norway 2-0 Germany, Solna (Riise 38, Peterssen 41)
Norway: Nordby, Svnsson, A Andersen. N Andersen, Espeseth, Myklebust, Riise, Haugen, Medalen, Aarønes, Pettersen.
Germany: Goller, Bernhard, Austermühl, Pohlmann (Wunderlich 75), Lohn, Meinert (Smisek 86), Voss, Wiegmann, Mohr, Neid, Prinz (Broker 42).
At the old Råsunda Stadium, just down the road from the modern Friends Arena, Norway won the second Women's World Cup final. Pellerud was coming towards the end of his first spell as Norway coach, just as Neid was near her swansong as a player, and earlier in the year Germany had succeeded their opponents as European champions – a title they have held ever since, at least until Sunday. Although Norway were missing suspended captain Heidi Støre, the team that lost the inaugural 1991 final to the United States were in control from the start.
Pellerud said: "From the first 15 minutes I was never afraid." Germany recovered to pick up the World Cup in 2003 and 2007.
1991 UEFA European Women's Championship final
Germany 3-1 Norway (aet), Aalborg (Mohr 62 93, Neid 96; Hegstad 54)
Germany: Isbert, Fitschen, Nardenbach, Kuhlmann, Unsleber (Gottschlich 52), Neid, Damm, Raith, Voss (Bornschein 91), Mohr, Wiegmann.
Norway: Seth, Svensson, Zaborowski, Medalen, Nyborg, Strædet, (Aarønes 70), Riise, Støre (Haugenes-Humlestøl 84), Carlsen, Espeseth, Hegstad.
Two years on from beating Norway to collect their maiden continental crown, Germany did it again in Denmark in the first tournament with full European Championship status. Parallels with Sunday again present themselves, as Pellerud's Norway sneaked past Denmark on penalties to reach the final, while Germany had ousted Italy 3-0. Norway actually struck first but Heidi Mohr and captain Neid had other ideas.
Neid later paid tribute to the German coach, saying: "It made us really proud and you cannot give enough credit to Gero Bisanz – he masterminded the success."
1989 European Competition for Women's Football
West Germany 4-1 Norway, Osnabruck (Lohn 22 36, Mohr 45, Fehrmann 73; Grude 54)
West Germany: Isbert, Kuhlmann, Nardenbach, Raith, Haberlass (Bindl 27), Fitschen (Fehrmann 62), Neid, Damm, Voss, Mohr, Lohn.
Norway: Ludvigsen, Strædet, Carlsen, Zaborowski, Nyborg, Hoch-Nielsen (Storhaug 41), Støre, Haugen, Hegstad (Haugland 66), Medalen, Grude.
This was a landmark game in women's football. Germany took their first title in a match that captured the public imagination – a sell-out crowd of 22,000 packed the Bremer Brücke stadion, a record for a final that has stood for 24 years but will be eclipsed this weekend. Having downed Italy on penalties in a semi-final a few days earlier, in what was the first women's match shown live on German television, the hosts were underdogs against the holders but a Neid-captained team controlled proceedings.
"I will never forget it," Neid said. She has since featured in every German women's senior world and European title – a tally they hope to raise to ten on Sunday.