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Sepp
Maier
(West
Germany)
Josef-Dieter
“Sepp” Maier was born in Metten and played for
local club TSV Haar, but moved to Bayern Munich before
he played senior football. He was to stay at Bayern
for nineteen successful years and barely missed a
game. He played almost 400 consecutive matches between
1966 and 1977 without missing a match! In that period
he was ranked as the best goalkeeper in the world
alongside the likes of Gordon Banks and Dino Zoff.
Nicknamed “Die Katze”
(the cat) for his elasticity, Maier was definitely a
crowd favourite and often made some impossible saves
wearing these long black shorts which he always had.
Sepp was substitute goalkeeper for Hans Tilkowski in
the 1966 World Cup without making an appearance, but
he had established himself in the German goal by the
1970 World Cup in Mexico. West Germany reached the
semifinals there, but two years later in the European
Championship, Maier picked up his first winner’s
medal for West Germany.
The summer of 1974 was
the highlight of Maier’s career. West Germany hosted
and won the World Cup, beating Holland in a tight
final where he was outstanding. He kept a clean sheet
in four of his country’s seven matches. The
mid-seventies was a wonderful time for German
football. Bayern Munich ruled in club competitions
winning three straight European Cups plus a World Club
Cup, and West Germany ruled in international
competitions. Both teams had Sepp Maier between the
posts. He was awarded German Player of the Year three
times in the seventies, a rare accomplishment for a
goalkeeper, knowing that strikers or midfielders
usually win these awards.
West Germany were
eliminated already in the second phase despite
Maier’s great goalkeeping at the 1978 World Cup in
Argentina. This was to be his last big tournament as a
car accident in 1979 ended his career at the age of
35. Having won almost a century of caps for his
country and 13 major trophies with Bayern Munich, Sepp
Maier’s vast experience is now used in the coaching
staff both at Bayern and the German national team.
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