In 1974 Jurgen Sparwasser scored a goal, which helped East Germany crash West Germany in the match marked by the country's historic division.

West Germany captain Franz Beckenbauer shakes hands with East Germany Bernd Bransch before the match

East Germany against West Germany. In other words, the Germany of of the capitalist bloc against the Germany of the communist bloc. In 1974 Two Germanies confronted on the pitch. What is more, it was on German land and it was one of the most extraordinary milestones in the World Cup history.

It was the last group stage match and with this result the two Germanies got through to the next round leaving Chile and Australia behind. East Germany went out in the second-round. They had a draw 1-1 with Argentina and lost Brazil (0-1) and the Netherlands (0-2). The Westerners happened to become the champions in Munich. “I got a long pass, I was running and when I entered the area, I decided to shoot. It has always been said that I shot from the East to the West”, Sparwasser recalled many years after, when he was living in West Germany, where he stayed in 1988, barely a year before the Berlin Wall's fall, taking advantage of his trip to play in a veterans’ match.

His goal was and will always be one of the most memorable goals in Germany and a symbol of the Cold War, but Jurgen Sparwasser didn’t want to know anything about politics.

Source: Mundo Deportivo

Soccer / jurgen sparwasser

The Goal That Separated Germany

The Goal That Separated Germany

The Goal That Separated Germany