Patrick Battiston and Toni Schumacher, FIFA World Cup Semi final 8th July 1982. ESPANA 82
Fifa World Cup moments: When Patrick Battiston was knocked out cold by Harald Schumacher in 1982
FRENCHMAN PATRICK BATTISTON’S place in World Cup folklore is not down to a goal or piece of skill but for being knocked unconscious by German goalkeeper Harald Schumacher in the 1982 World Cup semi-final.
West Germany’s semi-final against France in Seville was marred by one of the most horrific injuries suffered on a football field
Espana 1982 and the matches happening in Seville reached boiling point in July, and a 9 pm kick-off did little to ease the humidity punishing the 22 players on the field.
France had managed to level proceedings through captain Michel Platini’s penalty after West Germany’s find of the tournament, Pierre Littbarski, had arrowed a rebound off keeper Jean-Luc Ettori to give his team the lead.
On the 50th-minute mark, Michel Hidalgo was forced to break up Le Carre Magique, the magic square, of Bernard Genghini, Alain Giresse, Jean Tigana and Platini. France’s golden quartet had vowed spectators in a tournament where Socrates and his rebels had captured the imagination.
Off went Genghini to be replaced by future Saint-Etienne teammate Patrick Battiston to try and break the deadlock. Ten minutes later, Wolfgang Dremmler was dispossessed by Maxime Bossis before the French left-back laid it off to Platini.
Platini stopped for a moment, had a look up and pinged the ball perfectly, splitting the West German defence. It was Battiston who strode forward to punish this momentary lapse by Jupp Derwall’s side. In Battiston’s own words, “the pitch was like a corridor and there was nobody in it, like the Champs-Elysees at five o’ clock in the morning.”
In between him and a goal that could potentially decide a World Cup stood FC Koln’s Harald Schumacher. The then 28-year-old was the heir to the legendary Sepp Maier in goal. He had won the European Championships in 1980 and was a losing finalist at the ’82 and ’86 World Cups but the 36 years gone by have always associated Schumacher’s name with one moment of brutality.
Replays confirmed what the French and the crowd had believed. Schumacher had rushed to close down Battiston but after the latter had shot for goal, launched himself into the path of the Frenchman with a force that neither will forget to this day.
As the ball looped wide of the ball, Battiston was knocked out cold, slammed into with ferocity that made Platini believe his team-mate was “dead” because of a lack of pulse and a descending paleness upon his face.
The defender from Amneville lay unconscious for seven minutes as his arms went limp from the collision. Somewhere in the wilderness of the pitch lay two of Battiston’s teeth, with broken vertebrae and three cracked ribs adding to the charges against Schumacher.
Referee Charles Corver was unmoved. He whistled for a goal-kick and produced neither yellow nor red for Schumacher. As the game veered and swayed, the French seemed to thrash out at the winds of injustice and scored two goals in extra time after the game ended 1-1 in 90 minutes. France’s third goal had arrived through a volley by Marius Tresor, followed by Giresse arrowing the ball onto the post and in with his right foot.
Derwall had not risked Karl Heinz-Rummenigge and his hamstring from the start. The West Germany captain and reigning European Player of the Year wanted nothing more than to play the final at the Santiago Bernabeu, but had to be risked as the French went about hunting a fourth.
He promptly sparked West Germany’s comeback as Klaus Fischer ended a memorable game by levelling it up 3-3 with a bicycle kick. Four goals had been shared in extra time as a World Cup match went to a penalty shoot-out for the first time.
With France leading 3-2 in the shootout, Didier Six, who played for Stuttgart in Germany, saw his weak effort saved by Schumacher. As Six passed up a chance to give his team an almost invincible lead, the game rolled onto sudden death where Schumacher came up trumps again. This time, Bossis was denied.
Horst Hrubesch duly sent Ettori the wrong way to send West Germany through. Schumacher had saved two penalties. Battiston’s French artisans were out. There was no god in Seville that night.
Schumacher rather brazenly offered to pay for the crowns when informed about the extent of Battiston’s injuries. Later, he would beat Adolf Hitler in a French newspaper poll about unpopular Germans.
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Extraordinaire B ou j’ai rarement vu un garçon faire un match comme celui qu’il fait ce soir bonne balle de Platini pour btistan à côté aïe aïe AE c’est pas vrai c’est pas vrai et encore une fois et encore une fois chumarer il a pas fait le voyage regardez regardez où il va
Mettre son pied chouarin regardez voilà ah oui alors une fois ça va mais ça échappe chaque fois deessus corner oui il est fou ce chumaren je pense car le geste de Haral Schumer a été un geste tout à fait inadmissible regardez le c’est un récidiviste regarde regardez le
Oui tout à fait monsieur monsieur corvertte une lourde responsabilité il a été impuni pendant 45 minutes il continue ou car la faute du gardien est absolument indiscutable pas vrai qu’on laisse des rdivistes impunis monsieur Corver était était quand même avertiumarer sétait jeté sur Platin en première mitemp il s’était jeté sur six
Il sétait jeté sur et la première occasion en deè mi-temps alors que là regardez Baptiston joue parfaitement le ballon lui avec sa hanche frappe le visage de btiston Ch la siivre est sur le terrain alors que Alain GIR va au [Applaudissements] nouvell que Christian Lopez s’échauffe mais
Av amené beaucoup là peu de temps qu’il était resté ou ouzortezv les Arbites mais SAV que çaanton Pat sur le ou ouais alors que Michel PL on les voit pas bien dans leage Pat alors que chistian LZ va rentrer alors a a [Applaudissements] a it certainly looked a wild
Jump he comes to have a word with Lopez to see whether he’s ready to come on without really having uh limbered up which he is and we’re going to restart with a goal kick
1 Comment
Terrible shock, how was the player afterwards?
By the way, you could upload videos about Paolo Maldini's games, about how he defended, something like duels, tackles, recoveries, aerial duels, clearances and passes, touches.