Following the death of Germany legend Gerd Muller, former Italy goalkeeper Enrico Albertosi describes what it was like to face him in the infamous 4-3 thriller of 1970.
Muller died today at the age of 75 after a long illness which had kept him out of the spotlight since 2008.
He won the 1972 European Championship and 1974 World Cup, along with every conceivable trophy at Bayern Munich and the 1970 Ballon d’Or.
Among the biggest regrets of his career was the 4-3 extra time defeat to Italy at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, known as the Game of the Century.
The Azzurri goalkeeper that day was Ricky Albertosi, who told La Gazzetta dello Sport about facing Muller in his prime.
“His two goals really did put us at crisis point. We’d been leading throughout, then Schnellinger forced us to extra time and Muller’s brace made us fear the worst. Fortunately, we were able to react in an incredible way with Gianni Rivera and won 4-3.
“Muller was a beast. He let nothing go in the box, you couldn’t make even the tiniest error, as he was always ready to turn in. He wasn’t that tall and in fact was quite stocky for a centre-forward, but simply unbeatable in the box.
“That game will always be special and fills us with pride, but one thing’s for sure, that match wouldn’t have been as wonderful without Gerd Muller.”