2006 FIFA World Cup
On the 7th of July 2000, a small room in Zürich held the fate of the world's biggest football tournament. Germany won the bid to host the event after three rounds of voting eliminated South Africa and England. The final tally showed twelve votes for Germany against eleven for South Africa. This narrow margin would later cast a long shadow over the entire project.
Just hours before the decision, German satirical magazine Titanic sent letters to FIFA representatives offering joke gifts like cuckoo clocks and Black Forest ham. These items were meant as humorous bribes for the vote. The gesture highlighted the tension surrounding the selection process from the very start.
Oceania delegate Charlie Dempsey abstained during the final round citing intolerable pressure on the eve of the vote. Had he voted as originally instructed, the result would have been a 12, 12 tie. FIFA president Sepp Blatter would then have had to cast the deciding vote for the South African bid.
Accusations of bribery marred Germany's successful bid from the beginning. On the day of the vote, a hoax bribery affair was made public leading to calls for a re-vote. More irregularities surfaced soon after including sudden interest by German politicians in four Asian countries whose delegates were decisive for the vote.
The German government under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lifted their arms embargo on Saudi Arabia just one week before the vote. DaimlerChrysler invested several hundred million euros in Hyundai where one of the company's founders' sons served on FIFA's executive committee. Both Volkswagen and Bayer announced investments in Thailand and South Korea.
On the 16th of October 2015 German news magazine Der Spiegel alleged that a slush fund with money from Adidas CEO Robert Louis-Dreyfus influenced the vote. The sum of €6.7 million was later demanded back by Dreyfus. Wolfgang Niersbach president of the German Football Association denied the allegations stating the World Cup was not bought.
Nineteen-eight teams attempted to qualify for the tournament starting in September 2003. Thirty-one teams qualified alongside host nation Germany for the finals. Eight nations qualified for the first time including Angola Czech Republic Ghana Ivory Coast Togo Trinidad and Tobago Ukraine and Serbia and Montenegro.
Togo ranked 61st became the lowest ranked team to ever qualify. The State Union of Serbia and Montenegro dissolved prior to the start of the World Cup on the 3rd of June 2006. Their team competed at the tournament unaffected despite becoming independent countries.
Brazil had to play in the qualifiers for the first time since 1934 as defending champions no longer received automatic qualification. Australia qualified for the first time since 1974 marking their return after decades away from the global stage.
Germany selected twelve stadia to host matches across the country during the summer of 2006. Berlin Munich Dortmund and Stuttgart each hosted six matches while the other eight venues hosted five matches each. The Allianz Arena in Munich was known during the competition simply as FIFA World Cup Stadium Munich.
FIFA regulations prohibited sponsorship of stadia unless stadium sponsors were also official FIFA partners. Letters of the company Allianz were removed or covered during the event. Some stadiums had lower capacity due to bans on standing room yet several held UEFA five-star rankings.
Leipzig became the only city located in former East Germany selected to host games. The Olympiastadion in Munich with a capacity of 69,250 seats remained unused despite being the venue for the 1974 final match. Düsseldorf was the only 1974 host city not selected to host any games for the 2006 edition.
Sixty-four games were played across the tournament beginning on the 9th of June. A total of 147 goals were scored by 110 players including four own goals. Miroslav Klose received the Golden Boot for scoring five goals which was the lowest total to win the prize since 1962.
The tournament set a record number of yellow and red cards breaking the previous record from 1998. Players received 345 yellow cards and 28 red cards throughout the competition. Russian referee Valentin Ivanov handed out 16 yellow and 4 red cards in the round of 16 match between Portugal and the Netherlands known as the Battle of Nuremberg.
No player managed to score a hat-trick in this tournament. Italy Germany Argentina Brazil and France were the only teams to score more than one goal in a knockout match. The first and last goals of the tournament were both scored by defenders with Philipp Lahm opening against Costa Rica and Marco Materazzi closing it in the final.
The final started with each side scoring within the first twenty minutes. Zinedine Zidane opened the scoring by converting a controversial seventh-minute penalty kick that glanced off the crossbar before bouncing beyond the line. Marco Materazzi then levelled the scores in the 19th minute following an Andrea Pirlo corner.
At the end of regulation time the score remained level at 1, 1 sending the match into extra time. Further controversy ensued near the end when Zidane head-butted Materazzi in the chest during an off-the-ball incident. He was sent off immediately after the act.
A penalty shootout followed which Italy won 5, 3. David Trezeguet the man who scored the golden goal against Italy in Euro 2000 was the only player not to score his spot kick. His shot hit the crossbar landed on the goal line and went out giving Italy their fourth world title.
Continue Browsing
Common questions
How did Germany win the bid to host the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Germany won the bid to host the event after three rounds of voting eliminated South Africa and England. The final tally showed twelve votes for Germany against eleven for South Africa.
What controversies surrounded the selection process for the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Accusations of bribery marred Germany's successful bid from the beginning with allegations that a slush fund influenced the vote. A hoax bribery affair was made public on the day of the vote leading to calls for a re-vote.
Which teams qualified for the first time in the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Eight nations qualified for the first time including Angola Czech Republic Ghana Ivory Coast Togo Trinidad and Tobago Ukraine and Serbia and Montenegro. Togo ranked 61st became the lowest ranked team to ever qualify.
Where were the matches held during the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Germany selected twelve stadia to host matches across the country during the summer of 2006. Leipzig became the only city located in former East Germany selected to host games while Berlin Munich Dortmund and Stuttgart each hosted six matches.
Who won the Golden Boot award at the 2006 FIFA World Cup?
Miroslav Klose received the Golden Boot for scoring five goals which was the lowest total to win the prize since 1962. No player managed to score a hat-trick in this tournament.