Italy will have another chance to become undisputed official and unofficial champions on 14 November when they take on current title holders the Netherlands. Ahead of that match we look at the first time Italy were crowned undisputed champions.

ITALY 3-1 WEST GERMANY, 11 July 1982
World Cup final, Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Madrid, Spain
Scorers: Rossi, Tardelli, Altobelli (Italy); Breitner (West Germany)

Spain 82 saw a UFWC / World Cup final double-header. The title had been taken into the 1982 tournament by Peru, then snatched by Poland, and then won by Italy at the semi-final stage.

West Germany saw off France on penalties in their semi – an epic match overshadowed by a brutal foul by German keeper Harald Schumacher on French defender Patrick Battison. That controversy, coupled with grumbles over an alleged fixed first round match between West Germany and Austria that saw both sides cruise through to the next round, meant that few neutrals were cheering on the Germans.

Italy had beaten Brazil and Argentina in the second round, and boasted the likes of Dino Zoff, Guiseppe Bergomi, Marco Tardelli, and Paolo Rossi in their side.

But the Germans had held England to a draw and beaten Spain in their second round games, and also had an impressive line-up including Schumacher, Paul Breitner, Pierre Littbarski, and Karl-Heinz Rummenigge.

Few would have argued against the fact that Italy and West Germany were the best teams in the tournament. But which would come out on top in front of 90,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers?

West Germany enjoyed the best of the opening exchanges, but an Italian defence marshalled by Zoff and Bergomi held firm. And, after successfully soaking up the German pressure, Italy broke upfield and won a penalty. Antonio Cabrini stepped up to take the kick – but blasted the ball wide of Schumacher’s right-hand post.

In the second half, Italy began to show their superior technical ability and, in the 57th minute, Claudio Gentile’s curling cross eluded everyone but Rossi, whose stopping header shot past Schumacher to make the score 1-0.

With the Germans now forced to push forward in search of an equaliser, Italy exploited gaps at the back. First Rossi and Gaetano Scirea combined brilliantly to set up Tardelli, who scored with a low drive.

Then a surging run from Conti set up Alessandro Altobelli, who sidestepped Schumacher and scored a third.

Breitner pulled one back for West Germany with a drive from the edge of the area with seven minutes left to play, but his muted celebration suggested that the Germans knew it was nothing more than a consolation.

Italy were champions, officially, unofficially, and indisputably.

Classic Matches Germany, Italy

Ahead of the Netherlands vs England game, we look at the last time England won the UFWC title.

England 1-0 Germany, 17 June 2000
European Championships, Stad du Pays, Charleroi, Belgium
Scorer: Shearer (England)

How the mighty had fallen. Previously regarded as the greatest team in the world, by 2000 England had not held the UFWC title for a full quarter of a century. England’s 1975 title victory came, like the one in 1966, against Germany. It seemed that the two sides were indelibly linked as ultimate UFWC rivals.

In June 2000 Germany were the reigning UFWC champions, having taken the title from the Czech Republic earlier in the month. And struggling England were unfavoured in the Euro group match, having lost their opening match of the tournament to Portugal, with skipper Alan Shearer in particular taking a barracking from the press.

‘Fans want Owen not Shearer,’ read one headline, with the article stating, ‘Most England fans believe captain Alan Shearer should be left out of Kevin Keegan’s starting line-up for Euro 2000, according to a new poll.’ In the event, Keegan selected both Shearer and Michael Owen, alongside the likes of David Seaman, David Beckham, and Paul Scholes.

Meanwhile, things were less than rosy in the German camp, with some pundits calling the side the worst in living memory. Coach Erich Ribbeck had been recalled from retirement on the golf courses of Tenerife just before the tournament began. Having stashed away his irons, he was able to call up stars like Oliver Kahn, Michael Ballack, and Carsten Jancker, but record goalscorer Oliver Bierhoff was unavailable, and in Lothar Mattaus, Germany had a sweeper old enough to be Michael Owen’s father.

The match was one of few chances, although England edged things through the build-up play of Scholes and Beckham. The goal that settled matters came 53 minutes in. Beckham’s free kick from the right was flicked on at the near post by a combination of Owen and a German defender. Shearer launched himself at the deflection and expertly headed home.

Keegan said afterwards of his goalscorer and man of the match, ‘He’s answered his critics again. I just think he’s the best at what he does and he’s done it again tonight.’ England won the group match and, even more excitingly, the Unofficial Football World Championships. Unfortunately, as is the case with a title that exists only on paper, there was no trophy for Shearer to hold aloft in Bobby Moore-style.

‘England’s ageing hero feasted mightily on his moment of glory by devouring his doubters,’ reported The Times, calling the result, ‘a famous victory secured by a leader who has had more stick than the PM at Question Time.’

Thousands of jubilant England fans sang and danced and jumped into Charleroi’s classical fountains, while others, regrettably, fought running battles with police.

England surrendered the UFWC title to Romania three days later in a 3-2 defeat. Sick of his critics, Shearer quit international football following the Euro tournament. Keegan followed Shearer out of the door two games later following a World Cup qualifier defeat to, inevitably, Germany.

Classic Matches England, Germany

West Germany 2-1 Netherlands, 7 July 1974
World Cup final, Olympiastadion, Munich
Scorers: Breitner (pen), Muller (West Germany), Neeskens (pen) (Netherlands)

Euro champions West Germany took on UFWC champions the Netherlands in this World Cup final. While the brilliant Dutch practised free-flowing total football, the formidable Germans favoured a more guarded mobile sweeper system. Hosts West Germany also had the crowd on their side, not to mention the likes of Franz Beckenbauer, Sepp Maier, Paul Breitner, and the free-scoring Gerd Muller.

Kick-off in soccer’s showpiece final was delayed for several minutes as groundstaff in the Olympiastadion had neglected to set up corner flags. But when play finally got underway, West Germany didn’t seem ready. Indeed, the Netherlands took the lead before a German player touched the ball. Johan Cruyff strolled from his own half through the German defence and into the penalty area, only to be scythed down by Uli Hoeness. Ref Jack Taylor awarded a penalty, causing German libero Beckenbauer to point out, quite accurately, ‘You’re an Englishman!’ The Dutch penalty-taker was the deadly Johan Neeskens, who dispatched the ball into the centre of the goal with minimum fuss.

It was a very early kick in the teeth for the Germans, but they stuck to their patient gameplan – and it paid off 25 minutes later. Bernd Holzenbein squeezed into the Dutch penalty area and was challenged rather innocuously by Wim Jansen. Holzenbein went down like a sniper had taken him out. Jack Taylor again pointed to the spot. Had Beckenbauer’s earlier comment persuaded Taylor to ‘even the score’? Regardless, Paul Breitner buried the penalty – after Cruyff instructed keeper Jan Jongbloed to dive in the wrong direction. West Germany had the initiative, and just before half-time they had the lead. Muller turned in the box, and knocked the ball past the static Jongbloed. It was Muller’s 14th World Cup goal, making him the tournament’s all-time top goalscorer. The Dutch were rattled – as the half-time whistle blew Cruyff took his turn at berating ref Taylor, and was booked for his indiscretion.

The Netherlands regrouped after the break and piled pressure on the German goal, but to no avail. The final whistle was greeted with delirium from the home fans. West Germany reclaimed the UFWC and, for the second time, won the World Cup. They were presented with the brand new FIFA World Cup trophy, the earlier Jules Rimet trophy having been handed permanently to three-time winners Brazil.

Classic Matches Germany, Netherlands

England 4-2 West Germany AET 30 July 1966
World Cup final, Wembley Stadium, England
Scorers: Hurst (3), Peters (England), Haller, Weber (Germany)

1966 and all that was the scene of England’s greatest football achievement. The USSR took the UFWC title into the 1966 World Cup tournament, but West Germany beat them 2-1 at the semi-final stage. England then saw off Portugal by the same scoreline to set up an epic encounter. For the final, 93,000 spectators crammed into Wembley Stadium, and an estimated 400 million people tuned in on TV. Then it was game on as England and West Germany contested both the World Cup and the Unofficial Football World Championships.

The Germans took the lead through Helmut Haller after just 16 minutes, but England quickly struck back with a header from Geoff Hurst. Martin Peters gave England the lead in the second half, but an 89th-minute Wolfgang Weber equaliser saw the match go into extra-time. ‘You’ve won it once, now win it again,’ England manager Alf Ramsey told his side. His players didn’t disappoint. Hurst’s controversial crossbar/goal-line strike is still disputed to this day, but his stunning 120th-minute hat-trick goal could not be denied. England won the World Cup and, some might say more importantly, the UFWC to become the undisputed official and unofficial football world champions.

TV viewers were treated to commentator Kenneth Wolstenholme’s legendary proclamation, ‘Some people are on the pitch. They think it’s all over… It is now!’ and then, as Bobby Moore lifted the Jules Rimet trophy, ‘It is only 12 inches high… It is solid gold… And it undeniably means England are the champions of the world!’ The victorious players were whisked off to a boozy reception at the Royal Garden Hotel in Kensington. PM Harold Wilson was in attendance wearing a World Cup tie, but the guest of honour was Pickles, the two-year-old mongrel who found the trophy under a hedge after it was stolen by mysterious thief ‘The Pole’.

Amid the post match celebrations, German goalscorer Haller nicked the match ball, but kindly returned it to hat-trick hero Hurst a full 30 years later – after The Mirror newspaper coughed up £80,000. But let it be noted that not all Germans were ungracious in defeat. The Bild am Sontag reported, ‘England are 1966 world champions. Bravo. The players from the Motherland have done it for the first time.’ Many years after the event a group of boffins at Oxford University used computers to prove that Hurst’s second goal had not, in fact, crossed the line. No one in England cared one jot.

This is an edited extract from the official UFWC book The Unofficial Football World Championships by Paul Brown.

Classic Matches England, Germany