FC Bayern and Atletico Madrid faced each other in the 1974 European Cup final at the Heysel Stadium in Brussels. Ajax Amsterdam had won the title three times previously; now a changing of the guard was at hand, and FC Bayern set about becoming the new European dominant force.
But for a long time, nothing suggested it. After 90 minutes, a dull match without highlights stood at 0-0. Little happened in extra time either, until the 114th minute.
Then the Spaniards were awarded a free kick on the left. Captain Luis Aragones, later to become Spain's national coach, placed the ball and curled it over the wall into the net. Nothing Sepp Maier could do — Bayern appeared to have lost.
The Atletico defence, marshalled by Eusebio Bejarano and Ramon Heredia, had conceded just two goals on the way to the final.
They had kept seven clean sheets. Thirty seconds before the end, Munich launched one last attack; Belgian referee Vital Loraux already had the whistle in his mouth. Then a player dared something who normally dared nothing.
Georg Schwarzenbeck — Katsche, the Kaiser's boot-polisher, the Kaiser's adjutant — the man for the dirty work, doing the grunt for Le Kaiser.
Legend has it that he was only permitted to cross the halfway line with Beckenbauer's express permission. Thirty metres from the opposition goal, he received a pass — a sign of desperation at FC Bayern. The Spaniards expected anything, but not a shot from the centre-back.
Yet he dared, not least because nothing better occurred to him.
The ball crashed into the bottom left corner. He had no idea what to do with the ball, so he just smashed it. I was already on my way to the dressing room, just glanced over my shoulder and saw the ball hit the net.
An unbelievable thing, coach Udo Lattek recalled years later. The match ended in a draw.
Since there was no penalty shoot-out in those days, the final had to be replayed. FC Bayern won 4-0 two days later, with Uli Hoeness scoring the decisive goals.
It crowned a super-season in which FC Bayern also completed the championship hat-trick.
