|
FACTFILE
|
| Born: |
5 Sep 1951 |
| Caps: |
48 |
| Goals: |
10 |
|
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|
WORLD
CUP FACTFILE
|
Winner
1974
Beaten finalist
1982
Participated
1974 and 1982
Games/Goals
14/4
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|
Paul
Breitner
(West Germany)
Nicknamed
“Der Afro” for his big curly hair, Paul Breitner was a starplayer at an early age. He signed
for Bayern Munich when he was nineteen in 1970 and made his debut for the West German
national team the following year. Paul started his career as a full-back, but moved up in
midfield towards the end of his career. He had a very good right foot shot which he used
frequently with great results.
Breitner was a member of some of the finest teams
Europe has produced. West Germany won the European Championship in 1972 and two
years later, on home soil, they mopped up their second World Cup title. Breitner scored
three goals from his defensive position, two long range thunderbolts against Chile and
Yugoslavia and a penalty in the final against Holland. Also in 1974, Bayern Munich won the
European Cup making it a fantastic year for “Der Afro”. At 22, he had already won
everything a footballer could dream about winning.
Breitner now searched abroad for new challenges. Real
Madrid was next destination and he continued to win more trophies in the Spanish capital.
When he came back to Bayern after three years in 1977, he had won two league
championships with Real and a Spanish Cup title. Paul’s international career was in the
meantime temporarily over. Disagreements with the coaching staff and certain players made
him stay away from the West German national team for several years, but he changed his
mind on the eve of the 1982 World Cup in Spain. Rummenigge was one of several players
who said the team needed him after a run of poor results in the build-up to the finals.
In his midfield role, Breitner guided West Germany to the
final where Italy beat them 3-1. Breitner scored the West German goal making him only the
third man, after Pelé and Vava, to score in two World Cup finals. He retired in 1983 having
won many trophies including seven league championships in Spain and West Germany.
Breitner was also named German Player of the Year once.
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