THE MIRACLE OF BERN
Ruhr region, spring 1954
Alemannia Aachen one, Rot-Weiss Essen...
nil.
Man!
Come, Lord Jesus, be our guest... - Amen.
What about your job?
I didn't go. - What?
What d'you mean? - I didn't go.
For weeks I've been telling Hartwig to hire you,
and you don't even show up. - I won't work for an ex-Nazi!
Weekends you'll help me at the bar. - No way. Gotta practice Negro music.
Forget it! You're going to work, and that's it!
Stop treating me like a kid. - What's wrong, Mattes?
Eat something. - I'm not hungry.
That's all you're getting.
Rot-Weiss Essen lost, Mom. - They always lose. - Rubbish!
Mattes... - It's not so bad! - Oh, Mom!
One-nil...
Damn it!
To Aachen, of all teams!
What's wrong, Atze?
Come here. Tastes good. See? Blacky likes it, too.
We'll never be German champions.
Hi guys!
Hello!
Hey, that looks good. I need some supplies.
Smells good. - You still owe me from last time.
You'll get your money. The band's paying me tomorrow.
Band? - It's another name for a music group. Sounds better.
Mom says not to forget your homework. - I did it already.
So... did you get over it? - Yeah... - Christa...
Pour me another... - Haven't you had enough?
Always room for one more. Say a sentence with "dididid."
You got money? - Dididid a bike trip. Dididid it rain.
My mother wants to know when you're gonna pay your bill.
You're worse than your old man. - Watch it, buddy!
My old man's been in Russia for 11 years, so I'm in charge now.
So, when's it gonna be?
As soon as I find work. No sweat.
I'll hold you to it.
Alright...
I gotta go to practice.
Handball?
Very funny.
Ouch! Damn it!
Trying to kill me, fart face?
Sorry, but we're late.
Late for what?
For practice. - What's today anyway?
Tuesday. - What's the time?
4:30.
Okay, 15 minutes.
Jesus, Boss, you look awful!
Yeah, it was a long night.
We had a meeting.
A meeting? What about?
I forgot.
We're really in a hurry. - Mattes, you sure are a pest.
First you almost stone me, and then you rush me.
Can't you just ring the bell? Your predecessor Mischa was good.
He'd be waiting with two ice-cold beers after every game.
Hey, Köttel! You're not offended, are you?
No, but...
If I'm not good enough, you might find another bag boy.
Nonsense, Mattes! You're my mascot.
I only win when you're there. You saw what happened in Aachen.
You don't think so? It's true!
I always win those close games when you're there.
Come on.
Hurry, or I get charged for coming late.
That's what I said.
Man oh man!
Look at Boss crawl across the field. - Old men can't run, Willi.
No wonder they lose in Aachen.
Man! - My grandma could've done that, too.
Helmut, you couldn't even hit a truck from 3 meters!
I heard that, Willi!
Where've you been? - What's wrong?
She didn't want to open it until everybody was here.
What if he's dead?
We're gonna be a real family again.
Hey...
Aren't you happy?
Sure.
Munich
Wewetzer through the middle, passes to Paetz who passes to Kruhl,
Kruhl shoots... It's a goal!
Kruhl scores in the 81st minute.
That was the decisive goal in Hamburg Stadium.
Stay seated. - 4-1. - Not bad.
For Hanover. - What?
Honest. - Hanover's leading Kaiserslautern four to one?
Yeah. - Unbelievable! - It's true.
A remarkable final game for the German championship. The crowd is mocking
Coach Herberger.
Kaiserslautern, the team that's losing here,
is the backbone of the German team.
What a dark hour for the German team coach.
A dark hour too for Annette Ackermann, maiden name von Hadding.
Annette! - Hello, gentlemen!
Off work already? - No, of course not. Sorry.
Sorry.
Hey, what's wrong with soccer? I mean, I'm a sports reporter.
You have your good sides, too.
Come to a game with me sometime... - Just what I needed.
Hey, I've been looking for this everywhere.
What is it? - Morocco.
Dad gave us the house and a wedding trip. Perhaps you'd like to join me.
If you can find time between soccer matches. - A honeymoon?
You proposed, I accepted, and we got married. - Right.
We could go to Egypt afterwards, too, to see the pyramids.
It sounds more like a crusade. - I knew you'd love the idea.
What if he doesn't show up again? - Stop it. I'm nervous enough.
I just hope he's okay. Who knows what the Russians did to him.
The Russians! The Russians! The Russians kicked the Germans' ass,
'cause the Germans attacked them for no reason.
Christa!
I'm... I'm Ingrid.
And who's he?
I wrote you about him.
I never got a letter.
I'm sorry...
Matthias arrived after you were sent back to the front.
9 months after you were sent back. - You'll speak when you're asked to.
You named him after my father?
Well... this is it.
We're closed today, in your honor.
It's just a 5-minute bike ride to the coal mine.
You work behind the counter? - Yes, and Ingrid is a waitress.
What about Bruno? - Not me. I'm a musician.
A musician, huh? - Yeah.
And who's this? - The Boss.
So they call him. Actually, his name's
Helmut Rahn. - He plays for Rot-Weiss Essen,
and he's on the national team. And he's my best friend.
The World Cup's in Switzerland... - Your best friend!
I carry his bag and get to see the games for free.
He's sort of his father figure.
The kids are completely... It's time they got some discipline.
I had so little time for them, with the bar and all...
Things will change when I get my compensation.
I'll work in Shaft No. 4 again, so I can feed my family myself.
Then we can sell the bar.
Just give me some time, Christa.
Morning, Ackermann. - Morning, Mr. Ahrens. - Congratulations.
Thanks. - Is your wife expecting? - No, but we're working on it.
Good. But be careful. Women are the natural enemy of soccer.
Eventually the nagging subsides. - Whatever you say.
Listen, Ackermann, I have a problem. - Yes?
I need a good man to go to Switzerland.
What? To the World Cup? - Exactly.
I thought Schwerdtfeger was doing that.
I took him off it. Herberger was so annoyed by his last commentary.
I need somebody with a clean slate down there, a guy with talent!
You mean... me?
A guy who grasps things at once.
Nothing... as far as the eye can see.
Honey, help me choose a dress.
Annette, I got to tell you something. - Huh?
We have to cancel our honeymoon.
Ahrens is sending me to the World Cup.
No!
The chance of a lifetime. I can't say no.
Are you trying to tell me that soccer is more important than our honeymoon?
24 guys running after a single ball?
22.
Fine, 22, for all I care.
It'd be boring if everyone had a ball.
Okay, Ackermann!
What d'you mean by "okay"? - You can go.
I can? - Under one condition.
Which is?
I'm going with you.
Don't be sad, Köttel. I'll be back soon. - Can't I go, too?
How? You wanna sleep under my bed? - Why not?
'Cause I share with Fritz Walter, and he can't sleep when you snore.
And if he can't sleep, he won't play well,
and we'll lose and be eliminated. You want that? - No. - You see.
But you said you couldn't win the big games without me.
You're right. But it won't work. What would your father say?
I wish you were my father.
Don't ever say that, Mattes. Your father went through a lot.
And he needs you here. Things will get better soon.
Yeah. - Okay.
Now read it again, but slowly, so I can enjoy it.
"Dear sports fans, We are glad to inform you
that we are expecting you on Wednesday,
May 26, 1954
at the Sports Academy in Munich-Grünwald.
We wish to point out that all players receive compensation for missing work
while the team is participating in the competition. Regards, Passler."
They better have enough cash.
Time to go.
Come on!
Good luck, Boss!
You too, fart face!
Careful!
Please welcome our national goalkeeper, Anton Turek.
Of course we all call him Toni. He brought something
for our campaign in support of soldiers returning from Russia.
Yes,
I have an original World Cup soccer ball...
signed by all the players from Fortuna Düsseldorf.
We hope you raise lots of money for the returning soldiers,
and wish good luck to all the participants.
I would be happy if, with your support,
some of the returning soldiers were able
to live normal lives again.
Yes. - Thank you.
Yes.
This darned thing! Reception's lousy!
Take the expensive thing back while you still can.
If you want to compete with Kessler, then you'd better keep it.
You know how men are crazy about soccer.
Like your nutty son.
He actually believes Rahn can't win without him.
The big games. He said so himself.
...for the final training before the World Cup in Switzerland.
Leading the attack and the first to leave the bus,
Max Morlock from Nuremberg, followed by Helmut Rahn from Essen
and Berni Klodt from Schalke 04.
Toni Turek from Düsseldorf flanked by Pirmasens' Heinz Kubsch
and Heinrich Kwiatkowski from Dortmund.
Assistant Coach Albert Sing has Otmar Walter from Kaiserslautern
and Herbert Erhardt from Fürth run the course.
These two will go to bed with a headache.
Karl-Heinz Metzner from Hessen-Kassel and Uli Biesinger from BC Augsburg.
Rivals at home, here they work together to crush their opponents.
Alfred Pfaff from Eintracht Frankfurt and Richard Herrmann, FSV Frankfurt.
This will certainly command our opponents' respect.
Paul Mebus from Cologne demonstrates his footwork,
while his teammate Hans Schäfer is no less nimble.
Recovering from practice with a friendly card game
are Werner Liebrich, Horst Eckel and Werner Kohlmeyer from Kaiserslautern.
The Bavarians are more relaxed.
Karl Mai from Fürth and Hans Bauer from Bavaria Munich.
Fritz Laband and Jupp Posipal from Hamburg
carry out the most pleasant exercise: Signing autographs.
But isn't someone missing? Of course,
the captain. And there he is. Fritz Walter from Kaiserslautern.
Bravo, Fritz Walter. Smile, please.
And here's the whole team.
Good luck, guys. Your country's rooting for you.
Welcome home, Richard.
Thanks. - Nice to have you back. - Things have changed down here.
Good luck. - Good luck.
Sports Academy Grünwald
Men, it starts in two weeks.
We're playing in Switzerland, and we want to look good.
But I'm afraid I see major problems in your physical fitness.
So we'll be doing more gymnastics. We'll start with pushups.
You gotta work hard. Make these training sessions pay off.
Work on your weaknesses, but also train what you do well.
What's the saying? Looks and fitness are gone before the break of dawn.
You've already lost your looks, so try to stay fit.
By the way, Metzner, you're a terrific soccer player.
But you smoke on the sly.
You're cheating your teammates. You could play a lot better.
So I want you to pack your bags and head home.
Wasn't that a bit strict? - Sure. He can stay.
But the guys gotta realize that I mean business. Let's see, Adi.
It's lighter than the previous one. - Right, but that's not what I mean.
Don't keep me in suspense.
They're screwed on. - Exactly.
Screw-on cleats.
Screwed on.
Brilliant!
For every type of weather
the proper length.
Yeah, they fit perfectly. Of course, they're screwed on.
Well?
What do you think, I want two sets for the championship.
Listen, Ingrid, you are not to have any contact with soldiers.
But I didn't do anything... - And don't get all dolled up!
That's not true. I just wanted to...
As long as you live in my house there are certain rules
that you have to obey. Is that clear?
Tip. - Top.
Tip. - Top. - Tip...
Okay, I'll take Lang. - Akki and Nolden are on my team.
We'll take Mischa and Buri.
I'll take Rainer and Carola.
And you get Lubanski. - No, we get Carola, you get Mattes.
Okay, but next time you get him.
Hey, you're on our team, man!
Shoot!
Goal!
A sentence with x. - I'm in a fix.
Mom said you used to play soccer. - Nope.
They only let me play when we're an odd number.
That girl wasn't bad.
Carola's good. I can't get past her. Not even when I use Boss's tricks.
'Cause you're doing what you can't.
You copy his style, but it isn't your own.
So what is my style? - You're tough and fast.
You run more than the others. You're a defensive player.
If you want the others' respect, don't do a bad job of copying a star.
Werner Liebrich,
Werner Liebrich, are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Morning bells are ringing. Morning bells are ringing...
Are you sleeping? Are you sleeping?
Training Camp Spiez
What a lovely breeze. You ought to bottle it.
Just right for when you run out of breath.
Hey, look out! - Look at the boaties! We can paddle around the lake!
Those are pedalos, not boaties. You only get boaties in Kaiserslautern.
Heard the news, Berni? The Urus share our practice field.
Incredible! We're together with the defending champs.
I don't know about you guys, but I'm getting nervous.
Hey, Helmut. Your wife folded it all so nicely, and you just stuff it in.
How d'you know what's clean or dirty? - I smell it. How do you do it?
Hey, the Swiss aren't only good at making clocks.
I keep wondering why coach punished me by putting me in a room with you.
You think he'll put me in against the Turks? I'm in great shape.
Are you starting that again? Okay, yes, he's putting you in.
But Berni Klodt's in great shape too. Maybe he'll pick him.
You're right. He'll pick Berni.
Come on, Friedrich. You're kidding. - Know what?
I'm gonna take a shower.
Strange guy.
Let me guess. You don't like it. - Well, I always imagined...
soccer reporters living in... squalor.
Well, this suite was booked for Schwerdtfeger.
I'm sure they would've put me up under a bridge.
Now, isn't the opening game between Yugoslavia and France?
Right. - Who are we for?
For nobody. We're reporters. We have to remain neutral.
And when Germany plays Turkey?
We're for Germany, of course. - We aren't reporters then?
Yes, we are.
Isn't that a bit irrational?
Maybe. - Like me sometimes?
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Hail Mary...
Opening Round Germany vs. Turkey
Gentlemen, this is it. We're playing against Turkey.
The Turks eliminated Spain, so we can't take it easy.
This is the lineup: Toni, you're in goal.
On defense: Laband, Posipal, Kohlmeyer.
Eckel and Mai in running position.
As halfbacks, Morlock and Fritz.
Left forward is Hans Schäfer, in the middle Otmar,
and right forward
is Berni Klodt.
We leave in two hours. I expect you to be on time.