Düsseldorf, 1988: Hackett saves the hosts
Six years after the World Cup final in Madrid, West Germany would once again come to face to face with their blue nemesis – this time in the first phase of the 1988 European Championships, hosted on German soil.
Having finished runners-up at the World Cup for the second time in succession in 1986, the Germans were favourites to win the tournament – and started as favourites against the Italians in the tournament’s opening match at Düsseldorf’s atmospheric Rheinstadion.
Right from the start the younger Italian side made most of the running, but chances were few and far between as both midfields cancelled each other out. There were petulant outbursts, fouls that escaped the referee’s eye and a scrappy last period – in short, yet another encounter between the Nationalmannschaft and the Azzurri.
Some seven minutes into the second half, Italy stunned the home crowd and take the lead. The goal came from a miscalculation between German skipper Lothar Matthäus and midfielder Olaf Thon, who was overpowered by the marauding Roberto Donadoni. The big-haired Donadoni swept the ball into the area where it was met by Roberto Mancini, who up to that point had not looked as though he could have hit a very wide barn door from two yards, let alone five.
It was Mancini’s first goal in fourteen games; once again, Germany were staring into the deep azure blue abyss.
Luckily for the home side they would get a lucky break just three minutes later, when Italian ‘keeper Walter Zenga was pulled up by English referee Keith Hackett for taking too many steps in his own area. Pierre Littbarski tapped the resulting free-kick to Andreas Brehme, who drove the ball past the wrong-footed Zenga to level things up at one apiece.
Andreas Brehme celebrates his fifty-fifth minute free-kick, and the Mannschaft are back on level terms in Düsseldorf
Despite playing at home, the building sense of fear against these opponents led to more German mistakes, and coupled with an ineffective display up front the team found themselves even up against their own supporters as the minutes ticked by. When the final whistle finally blew, Franz Beckenbauer’s side could consider themselves lucky to have escaped with the draw.
The Mannschaft had now played five competitive matches against the Italians, and remained as far as they ever were from achieving their first win.
The remainder of the first phase saw both the Germans and Italians win their remaining group fixtures against Denmark and Spain, with the Germans topping the group table on goal difference. The semi-final stage proved to be the Endstation for both sides however, with the Italians beaten by the Soviet Union and the hosts suffering a painful 2-1 defeat in a dramatic encounter with their old foes from the Netherlands.
UEFA European Championship First Phase Group 1, Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, 10.06.1988
1-1 (0-0)
Brehme 55. / Mancini 52.
Germany: Immel – Herget – Berthold, Buchwald, Kohler, Brehme (76. Borowka) – Littbarski, Matthäus (c), Thon – Klinsmann, Völler (82. Eckstein)
Italy: Zenga – Bergomi, Franco Baresi, Ferri, Paolo Maldini – Donadoni, De Napoli (87. De Agostini), Giannini, Ancelotti – Vialli (90. Altobelli), Mancini
Referee: Keith Hackett (England)
Assistants: Neil Midgley (England), Brian Hill (England)
Fourth Official: Michał Listkiewicz (Poland)
Yellow Cards: – / P. Maldini, Ancelotti
Red Cards: – / –
Attendance: 62,552