When the emperor called the referee a "stinker"
Just a few months earlier, team boss Franz Beckenbauer had caused a scandal at the World Cup in Mexico when he threatened a journalist with violence on camera - now he went berserk again after the DFB team's historic defeat in Vienna. In his opinion, the referee was largely to blame for the 4:1 win for Austria!
"The Agnolin, this man is dangerous!" Team boss Franz Beckenbauer could no longer be reassured after the clear defeat in the newly opened Prater Stadium in Vienna on that memorable October 29, 1986. The Austrian national team had devastatingly beaten the German team 4:1 - and for the Kaiser, the referee from Italy alone was to blame for the German debacle.
Toni "Doppelpack" Polster, who himself contributed his customary two goals to his team's triumph that day, was to write in his autobiography years later: "Cordoba, second act, this time in Vienna." Previously, he and his compatriots had hoped for a defeat within reasonable limits - now the Austrians were feasting on the unexpected success over their "big brother".
The frustration on the German side ran deep. Luigi Agnolin, a gymnastics and sports teacher from the idyllic town of Bassano del Grappa in the Veneto region, had whistled two penalties against the DFB team. All observers on site agreed that both penalties were of the "can be given, but don't have to be" variety. Franz Beckenbauer himself had previously said of the man from Italy: "Luigi Agnolin is the best referee in the world."
Matthäus also flips out
But that may have been mainly due to his own positive memories of the man. After all, Agnolin had refereed the German team in the semi-finals of the World Cup in Mexico just a few months earlier. And back then, the DFB team had knocked the French out of the tournament 2:0 in Guadalajara. But Agnolin was also generally regarded as an excellent referee, who spoke fluent French, English and German in addition to his native language. Perhaps that was precisely what proved to be Lothar Matthäus' undoing that evening in Vienna.
Because in addition to the two controversial penalties that made Franz Beckenbauer completely lose his cool, it was above all the red card that his playmaker received in the 64th minute. Despite "Luigi, the playmaker in black" ("Kicker"), the score was still 1:1 after 63 minutes when the Italian whistled for his second strike of the day. The German press agreed afterwards that this second penalty should never have been given, as Toni Polster had previously held the German defender Wolfgang Funkel, but Luigi Agnolin pointed to the spot.
And after Toni Polster had safely converted for the second time ("Calmly, Eike Immel had no chance"), Lothar Matthäus must also have blown a fuse. In any case, the referee held a red card in front of his face immediately after the goal for Austria. Whether or what Matthäus had said could never be clarified exactly, because the midfield strategist was not aware of any guilt after the game: "I just raised my shoulders at the penalty."
"If he has anything in his head at all"
For his coach, however, that was the decisive moment of the match, when the game finally tipped in favor of the footballers from the Alpine republic, and above all solely because of the man in black. Even on the sidelines, Beckenbauer gave free rein to his displeasure and, as observers later said, acted like a "little devil". But Luigi Agnolin only received the full brunt after the match in Vienna's Prater Stadium. In front of the assembled press, the team boss called him a "stinker" who needed to work on his mind, if he had "any mind at all".
A scandal that reverberated for some time, as Beckenbauer had already caused a scandal at the World Cup in Mexico when he threatened a local journalist live on German TV: "He'd be dead by now. I only need to give the little Mexican a quick squeeze and he'll be gone."
"Games like this are not the norm"
While there was much discussion in Germany after the memorable match about the Kaiser's harsh words (Frankfurt's coach at the time, Dietrich Weise, described them succinctly as "disgusting") and the sporting ignominy was somewhat forgotten, in Austria this victory is still celebrated today as a "great moment" (Toni Polster). The legendary 4:1 in the newly renovated and rebuilt Vienna Prater Stadium on October 29, 1986 will certainly be remembered again during the match between the two teams on Tuesday evening.
After all, Toni Polster, who scored the double penalty back then, knows: "Matches like this are not the norm." Nor should they be for Franz Beckenbauer. In the years that followed, the team boss got a better grip on his anger after defeats. Even though, until the end of his professional career, what Paul Breitner once said about him was certainly true: "Franz has never been able to lose."
In light of the controversial penalties and the red card given to Lothar Matthäus, Franz Beckenbauer expressed his discontent towards referee Luigi Agnolin, stating, "If he has anything in his head at all." (The team boss's harsh words)
Franz Beckenbauer, known for his competitive spirit, managed to control his anger after defeats better in the years following the 1986 incident, but as Paul Breitner once said, "Franz has never been able to lose." (Beckenbauer's competitive nature persisted)
Source: www.ntv.de
