On This Day – 24th June
It was on this day back in 1990 that West Germany and Holland played each other in a bad-tempered match in the Second Round of the World Cup.
Holland’s Frank Rijkaard and Germany’s Rudi Voller were both sent off midway through the first half following an altercation between the pair. Rijkaard was famously caught spitting in Voller’s hair on camera but the incident was missed by the referee.
There was a tense rivalry between the two nations that was at its most intense in the late 80’s and early 90’s. It had begun in the Second World War and on the football field, West Germany’s victory over Holland in the 1974 Final reignited the historic tensions. Two subsequent moments at the European Championships in 1980 and 1988 gave this Second Round match the perfect setting.
This didn’t even stop at international level as three Dutch players played for AC Milan and three Germans played for Inter Milan.
The Second Round match was played at the San Siro in Milan, home of both AC and Inter. This meant Van Basten, Gullit and Rijkaard for Holland and Germans Brehme, Klinsmann and Matthaus of Inter were on familiar ground.
All the goals came in the second half of the match. Jurgen Klinsmann opened the scoring for West Germany six minutes after the restart before Andreas Brehme doubled the German’s lead with five minutes to go.
Marco Van Basten was able to score from the penalty spot after 89 minutes but it was too little, too late for the Dutch.
West Germany went on to win the World Cup, beating Argentina in the Final. This victory in the Final would be the perfect revenge for losing to the Argentinians four years before in Mexico.
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