Franz Beckenbauer

During the World Cup in 1966, which England hosted, Beckenbauer scored four goals. He struck twice in a 5-0, early-round pasting of Switzerland, then scored the winner against the Soviet Union winning 2-1 in the semifinals, circling a shot around a Soviet defensive wall. In the finals, against England at historic Wembley Stadium in London, West German coach Helmut Schön had Beckenbauer play out of position, assigning him to mark British standout Bobby Charlton. For years, Schön has endured criticism for West Germany's 4-2 overtime defeat. "Experts felt that had he not been designated to mark Bobby Charlton, West Germany would have won that World Cup, as it was Charlton and Beckenbauer cancelled each other out and the rest is history," analyst Brian Beard wrote on the Web site givemefootball.com. Beckenbauer successfully stalked Charlton, who had scored two goals against Portugal in the semifinal, which took him out of the game offensively. England's Geoffrey Hurst, who scored three goals that day, had both in overtime after Wolfgang Weber tied the game for the Germans on a penalty kick late in regulation.

West Germany and England were not done with each other. They met again four years later, in the 1970 World Cup in Mexico. This time the British were wide open to criticism. "With England leading 2-0, (Coach) Alf Ramsey inexplicably took Bobby Charlton off," Beard wrote. "Freed from the constraints of marking Charlton, Franz inspired a German comeback. He reduced the arrears with a long-range shot and, given fresh hope, West Germany went on to win 3-2." Italy eliminated the West Germans, 4-3 in the semifinal.