Franz Beckenbauer - On Top Of The World

West Germany, the host nation in 1974, overcame a bitter loss to East Germany in the first meeting between the two rival countries. Both teams were assured of advancing under the new tournament format, but the defeat prompted Beckenbauer to hold a team meeting, suggest lineup and strategy changes to Schön and even appear on national television to calm a skittish public. "When you are hosts, there is obviously twice the pressure, because everybody expects you to win," Beckenbauer said. In the final, at Olympic Stadium in Munich, West Germany drew powerful Holland, led by Johan Cruyff and Johann Neeskens. The Dutch scored before the Germans could even touch the ball-Neeskens converted a penalty kick two minutes into the contest. But West Germany rallied on first-half goals by Paul Breitner and Gerhard Müller for a 2-1 victory and its first World Cup championship since 1954. They were the only goals the Dutch allowed in the tournament. Beckenbauer and goalkeeper Sepp Maier effectively throttled the "Clockwork Orange," once Germany took the lead.

Sixteen years later, Beckenbauer coached the West Germans to another World Cup. By then the Berlin Wall had fallen and the 1990 tournament in Rome would feature the last pre-unification national team. Andreas Brehme's penalty kick gave the Germans a 1-0 win over Argentina in the title game after they eliminated England in a shootout in the semifinals. Beckenbauer joined Brazil's Mario Zagalo as having played for and coached a World Cup champion. (Beckenbauer was a captain, Zagalo wasn't.)