France Vs. Germany, A Repeat Of Historic 1982 Semifinal Clash, The Beginning Of A Rivalry

When France vs. Germany meet on Friday in the first quarterfinal of the 2014 World Cup, they will be repeating the historic match of the 1982 World Cup, the first to end in penalty kicks. That year, Spain hosted the tournament and France, led by Michel Platini, was a favorite to take it all, but West Germany, had other ideas.

The 1982 France vs. Germany match is one of the greatest and most memorable games in World Cup history. For the first time, penalty kicks defined the hard fought semifinal between the European countries, but what happened before that is what made this one, a match to remember.

As always, West Germany was the heavy favorite, however, France had shown they could compete with the best of the best that year. Platini and Les Bleus were the Cinderella team of the tournament and reached the semifinal of the 1982 World Cup having won millions of hearts with their fun style of play.

This was the first of the two semis that year and what marked this game as one of the most memorable ones, was an incident between German goalie Harald Schumacher and France defender, Patrick Battiston. As the French player ran towards the German net, Schumacher charged him, throwing him to the ground and knocking him unconscious, while the football was nowhere to be seen.

http://t.co/TDTeJW5Gmv #FRAGER pic.twitter.com/pQrubdJZgl

— MailOnline Sport (@MailSport) July 3, 2014

Battiston laid immobile and was eventually carried off the field on a stretcher and required oxygen. Proving just how vicious Schumacher’s hit was he suffered from two cracked teeth, three cracked ribs, and a damaged vertebrae. Battiston was unconscious for 30 minutes and slipped into a coma.

But that was not the worst part of the France vs. Germany dramatic game. In what many saw as favoritism towards the legendary German squad, Schumacher didn’t even get a foul or a yellow card, much less the red that he deserved and seemed cool and distant as Battiston lay injured by his net with his concerned teammates huddled around him.

Fans were enraged at the injustice, as France vs. Germany carried on, the French players not knowing how Battiston fared. Captain Michel Platini later said he thought his teammate was dead, ‘He had no pulse. He looked so pale.’

In a scene that moved the millions watching on television and the stunned crowd present at the Estadio Ramón Sánchez-Pizjuán, Platini walked with the stretcher, as medics took Battiston off the field. The player’s arm flopped heavily to the side and Platini took his hand and brought it to his lips for a kiss, while talking to Battiston softly.

#CDM", souvenirs du médecin des Bleus http://t.co/enBxHnrKDl pic.twitter.com/KKRtjQU66t

— Marc Mechenoua (@LeMechenoua) July 3, 2014

Schumacher eventually apologized to Battiston for his actions during the France vs. Germany match in 1982 and the French player, while saying he forgives the German, has not particular interest in a face to face meeting:

“I have forgiven (him). But I don’t want to speak about it in these circumstances.”

“I do not particularly want to meet him. Over time, I realize that people have forever marked him with this. But now it’s finished.”

“It was (an incident) on the field of play; we’ll never know if it was deliberate or not.”

Thankfully in the 32-years since the horrendous incident, a lot of things have changed in football and today, if a goalie charged a defender like Schumacher did on Battiston, he would surely get the red and his team will lose their starting player. At the time the outrage towards the West German player and the ref reached countries all over the world and Schumacher became more unpopular than Hitler in France.

France vs. Germany ended with the extra time tied at 3-3 in 1982 and then the penalty shootout had West Germany come out victorious. In what some believed was divine justice, West Germany lost the final to Italy in 1982, but the scars left from the Schumacher/Battiston clash is one nobody that was watching that day will ever forget.

[Image via Twitter]