<p>Pele had retired aged 31 and Brazil's great team had broken up by the time West Germany hosted the 10th World Cup.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Most of the matches were played in cold, wet conditions. The Jules Rimet trophy was replaced by a new trophy, and there were new teams as well.<br /><br />Netherlands, having shaken off their amateur game in the early 1960s, were back for the first time since 1938 and had developed a new pattern of tactical play under coach Rinus Michels dubbed Total Football. It was a system that demanded every player, bar the goalkeeper, had the ability to play in any position at any time.<br /><br />Johan Cruyff was the focal point of the team, one of the greatest players in history, and he led the Dutch to the final.<br /><br />There they met West Germany, European champions and a side skippered by their own all-time great Franz Beckenbauer.<br /><br />The Germans also had Gerd Mueller, one of the finest goalscorers of all time, and Sepp Maier, an outstanding goalkeeper. All three were Bayern Munich team-mates, who that year assumed Ajax Amsterdam's mantle as European champions.<br /><br />They also triumphed over the Dutch in the World Cup final, winning 2-1 at Munich's futuristic Olympic Stadium after falling behind to a first minute penalty, scored by Johan Neeskens, before a German player had touched the ball.<br /><br />Paul Breitner equalized with a penalty and then Mueller, who had scored 10 goals in 1970, scored his fourth of the tournament to seal victory. It was his 14th goal in the finals, a World Cup scoring record until Brazil's Ronaldo beat it in 2002.<br /></p>
<p>Pele had retired aged 31 and Brazil's great team had broken up by the time West Germany hosted the 10th World Cup.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Most of the matches were played in cold, wet conditions. The Jules Rimet trophy was replaced by a new trophy, and there were new teams as well.<br /><br />Netherlands, having shaken off their amateur game in the early 1960s, were back for the first time since 1938 and had developed a new pattern of tactical play under coach Rinus Michels dubbed Total Football. It was a system that demanded every player, bar the goalkeeper, had the ability to play in any position at any time.<br /><br />Johan Cruyff was the focal point of the team, one of the greatest players in history, and he led the Dutch to the final.<br /><br />There they met West Germany, European champions and a side skippered by their own all-time great Franz Beckenbauer.<br /><br />The Germans also had Gerd Mueller, one of the finest goalscorers of all time, and Sepp Maier, an outstanding goalkeeper. All three were Bayern Munich team-mates, who that year assumed Ajax Amsterdam's mantle as European champions.<br /><br />They also triumphed over the Dutch in the World Cup final, winning 2-1 at Munich's futuristic Olympic Stadium after falling behind to a first minute penalty, scored by Johan Neeskens, before a German player had touched the ball.<br /><br />Paul Breitner equalized with a penalty and then Mueller, who had scored 10 goals in 1970, scored his fourth of the tournament to seal victory. It was his 14th goal in the finals, a World Cup scoring record until Brazil's Ronaldo beat it in 2002.<br /></p>
