Wolfgang Overath

• 1. Introduction

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  Wolfgang Overath was on the pitch in 1974 when West Germany beat the Netherlands 2-1 on home soil and claimed the World Cup. Two other medals already accompanied that one in his collection: a runner-up medal from 1966 and a third-place medal from 1970. He became one of only seven players in the tournament's history to collect all three. He achieved this while never once representing any club other than 1. FC Köln. What drew a player of that quality to stay in one city for fifteen years? And who was the gifted rival who forced West Germany's selectors into one of the most debated choices in German football?

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• 2. A Life in Cologne

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  Overath began his career at SSV Siegburg, and 1. FC Köln came calling not long after. He made his first professional appearances for the Cologne club in 1962. Over fifteen seasons, he played 765 times for Köln and scored 287 goals. His first full league campaign, in 1963-64, ended with the club winning the inaugural Bundesliga title. He went on to win the German Cup twice: once in 1968 and again in 1977.

  In European competition, Overath made 71 appearances for Köln and scored 11 goals. He holds the club's all-time record for official matches, with 549. In the 1971-72 season, he finished as the DFB-Pokal's top scorer. The kicker magazine's Bundesliga Team of the Season selected him four times: in 1965-66, 1967-68, 1969-70, and 1973-74. After football, he returned to Köln as club president in 2004. He held the position until his resignation on the 13th of November 2011. In 1968, a place in the FIFA XI extended his reputation to the international level.

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• 3. Three Tournaments

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  At the 1966 World Cup, Overath was at the heart of the West German midfield. In 1970, in Mexico, he scored the only goal in the third-place match to secure West Germany's bronze medal. Many foreign journalists covering the tournament voted him Germany's best player.

  He earned 81 international caps between 1963 and 1974, scoring 17 goals. Four of his teammates also hold medals for all three positions: Franz Beckenbauer, Jürgen Grabowski, Horst-Dieter Höttges, and goalkeeper Sepp Maier. Two others have since joined that group: the German striker Miroslav Klose and the Italian defender Franco Baresi. The FUWO European Team of the Season named him in 1970. The FIFA World Cup All-Star Team then selected him in 1974. Throughout those years, the competition for his midfield place centered on a single rival: Günter Netzer.

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• 4. Overath and Netzer

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  Günter Netzer played for Borussia Mönchengladbach and won the award for German Player of the Year in both 1972 and 1973. The national coach, Helmut Schön, had to choose between Netzer's individual brilliance and Overath's more measured game. Schön preferred Overath.

  The left-footed Overath was known for excellent technique, a powerful shot, and reliable defensive workrate. These were qualities that Netzer, for all his brilliance, offered in different proportions. An injury to Overath forced him out of the squad before the quarterfinals of the 1972 European Championship. Netzer stepped in alongside Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller and led West Germany to victory in the final over the Soviet Union. That 1972 side is still considered by many to be Germany's finest ever. When Netzer was himself injured soon after, Overath reclaimed his starting place. Netzer, who had been his direct rival for years, later said that Overath was "born to play for Germany." The man Netzer praised had been born on the 29th of September 1943 in Siegburg.

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• 5. The Man Off the Pitch

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  In 2003, Overath was named an honorary citizen of Siegburg. He has been married to Karin for 57 years and has three children: two sons and one adopted daughter. A devout Roman Catholic, he prays daily. The Egidius-Braun-Preis, awarded for charitable work, is the one honor in his record with no connection to football whatsoever.

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