On This Day In 2001: England Thump Germany 5-1 At The Olympiastadion

Martin Cloake

1st, September 2015

6 Comments

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When Carsten Jancker put Germany ahead in Munich’s Olympic Stadium after just six minutes in 2001, it looked like it could be a repeat of what was becoming an all-too-familiar story.

However England, and particularly the Liverpool contingent thereof, were having none of it.

Six minutes after Jancker’s goal, Michael Owen equalised by giving Nick Barmby’s exquisite flick-on the finish it so richly deserved. Then, in first-half injury time, Steven Gerrard put England ahead with a trademark 25-yarder into the bottom corner.

Soon after the restart, Emile Heskey set Owen up for his second goal and England’s third. Then, just after the hour, Owen added another – his 13th goal in 31 games for England.

16 minutes from time, the unthinkable happened when Heskey himself completed the rout after being played through by Paul Scholes.

England coach Sven-Goran Erikson said afterwards: “I couldn’t believe 5-1. It was too much, the difference between the teams was maybe not so great but we played very, very well.”

England and their fans were delighted and made much of a famous victory. In the aftermath, the Germans went away, immediately put the result behind them and set about thoroughly overhauling their youth and training systems, subsequently spawning considerable strength in depth and eventually producing an exciting side that won the World Cup some 13 years down the line.

England, well…didn’t.

Still we’ll always have the memories…

Posted in International football

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6 Comments

  1. Read says:

    I’m a 21 year old Australian- with an English dad, and this match is probably the first footballing memory I have. I remember not fully grasping the importance of the result- but still understanding that it was something special. It’s such a nostalgic match for me, and probably one of the reasons I became absolutely enthralled with the game.

  2. Chris says:

    Its deadset Liverpool 5-1 Germany

  3. ande says:

    German here. The important of the result? Really? Well, we have our world cup winning memory from last year to think about, so maybe this is probably why I totally forgot about this match. But boy oh boy were we shit back then (1998-2004 – 2002 was a fluke).

  4. pedja says:

    and even heskey scored, even heskey scored….

  5. Chris says:

    i have this match recorded. the score doesnt really highlight how bad England were too. it was one of those nights where everything went in. but the passing and movement was fucking shocking. Terrible game but a superb dreamlike result.

  6. Hutchy says:

    A worked at the Walkabout in Leeds on that night. It was one of the wildest nights in the pub I can remember.

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