German Goalkeeping Battle

Before the 1962 World Cup in Chile, the seventh staging since 1930, Sepp Herberger, Germany’s national coach, even considered integrating the 41-year-old Fritz Walter, the 1954 World Cup winning captain, into the team.

The “Boss” would have done so but Fritz declined. As Hans Schäfer, the captain, as he had been in Sweden in 1958, was in the eleven, there was still one man on the pitch that had appeared in the game known by Germans as the “Wunder von Bern” (“Miracle of Berne”). Herberger only played 15 of the 22 man squad at the tournament. He picked nine players for all four games but the continuity did not pay off.

Germany had to play Italy (0-0), Switzerland (2-1) and Chile (2-0) in the first round Group B matches in Santiago de Chile. The results were sufficient for them to top the group ahead of the hosts. But then the hurdle posed by Yugoslavia in the round of the last sixteen was one that was too high. With five minutes to go a Galic and Radakovic exchange of passes led to the Balkan country’s winning goal. Willy Schulz was left chasing shadows and goalkeeper Wolfgang Fahrian was beaten. In contrast to 1954 and 1958, Yugoslavia had finally beaten the perennial adversaries, Germany, whilst Brazil eventually ended up as World Champions. From a German point of view that would have been the whole story of the tournament had there not been a crazy battle for the goalkeeping position.

Herberger gives the young Fahrian the nod

Herberger was obviously undecided as to he should choose to play in goal in 1962. Only one thing was for certain: Fritz Herkenrath and Heinz Kwiatkowski, the keepers from four years previously, were out of the picture. In the lead up to the finals, the “Boss”, as Herberger was called, therefore picked six goalkeepers – Sawatzki and Tilkowski, Fahrian, Ewert, Kirsch and Bernard – in his initial 40 strong squad. When the jerseys with the German eagle were eventually handed out, Hans Tilkowski was given the No. 1, Günther Sawatzki the No. 21 and Wolfgang Fahrian the No. 22. Tilkowski had played in every single international in 1961 and having the No. 1 seemed to make him Herberger’s favourite for the job.

What happened next is something “Til” still has not got over today. He was given the boot by Herberger and replaced by Fahrian. The strange thing about the whole affair was that Fahrian, who was born on 31 May 1941, only became a goalkeeper in 1960. Fahrian was a good run of the mill outfield player at TSG Ulm 1846 and was even picked for the south German youth team as a defender. In autumn 1960 when Ulm had a goalkeeping emergency, coach Fred Hofmann searched desperately for a man to play between the posts. Paul, Ruff and Kießling had left the club. Hofmann then converted the outfield player Fahrian into a goalkeeper for the match against Schweinfurt 05 on 4 September 1960. Ulm lost 3-2. The experiment seemed to have failed but then Fahrian’s ambition to succeed kicked in. He put in extra practice sessions and gradually climbed up the south German goalkeeping rankings. Whilst Ulm and Fahrian were relegated, Fahrian stepped up to become a member of the German youth team.

Fahrian shone in the 5-0 win against Poland Gelsenkirchen with his unusual style of goalkeeping. He left his goalmouth and showed some magnificent flying saves. Herberger even selected the hothead for the international against Uruguay on 11 April 1962 (3-0). The performance secured Fahrian a ticket to the World Cup and that in spite of a torn ligament.

When Fahrian arrived for the flight even Herberger got a fright at first. “You’re still limping,” said the national coach. In the lead up to the first match Herberger’s assistant, Helmut Schön, was given a special mission which included rehab work with Fahrian, goalkeeping practice and an analysis of the goalkeepers. Then on Fahrian’s 21st birthday, Herberger greeted the goalkeeper by informing him that he was the new No. 1. “It was the best day of the whole stay in Chile,” said Fahrian later. “Especially as everything came so unexpectedly.” Fahrian was only forced to pick the ball out the back of the net twice in the 360 minutes in Chile. Fritz Walter praised him by saying: “I’ve only very rarely seen a goalkeeper make such great saves.” But Fahrian played down his performances: “I did what was expected of me.” Not going overboard was also a mark of respect to Tilkowski.

“Til” wanted to have a go at the “boss”

Til could not understand the world and Herberger any more. In his first book he wrote: “In the eyes of the team officials, I wasn’t old and experienced enough in 1958. My first two internationals in 1957 were too little. I was 22. But then everything was exactly the opposite in 1962.” At the time Tilkowski was 26 and he had 18 caps under his belt. In comparison, Toni Turek had played 19 games when he became the regular keeper at the 1954 World Cup. Tilkowski had played in every single qualifying match. But Fahrian was given the nod. The man from the Ruhr area, who in 1962 was still a Westfalia Herne player before moving a year later to Borussia Dortmund where he made his Bundesliga debut, initially wanted to leave immediately and did not get a wink of sleep after the decision had been made. Schäfer, the captain, later revealed Tilkowski had made no secret of his anger and that he had had all the reserves on his side. In a biography of Herberger, Tilkowski is claimed to have drunk after the game, to have thrown his room’s furniture out into the corridor and that he spoke of betrayal. According to a World Cup reporter, Tilkowski even wanted to have a go at Herberger on the flight back home. Team-mates had to hold him back.

Tilkowski was so aggrieved that he resigned from the national team – for two years. In 1966 he was back between the German posts at the World Cup – in the final against England (2-4) where, after a “Wembley Goal” that never was, he won a runners-up medal. Wolfgang Fahrian won his tenth and final cap on 29 April 1964. Shortly afterwards he moved to Hertha Berlin. An under the table payment led to him being given a two year ban which was later reduced to six months. His good image had been dented and the southerner moved to the Rhineland area where he played at first for Fortuna Düsseldorf and then for a long while at Fortuna Köln until the end of his career. He settled in Rhineland and was one of the first ever players’ agents and advisors. Fahrian works today for the Rogon agency and has, as an agent, considerable influence within the German football world.