#2 West Germany vs Austria 25/06/1982
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When West Germany took on Austria back in 1982, everyone expected the Germans to get revenge for Cordoba, where the Austrians had beaten them 3-2. But what followed was a match, which has since been dubbed the “Disgrace of Gijon”. A match so controversial that one West Germany supporter burnt his national flag, crowds of Algerian fans were waving banknotes and white handkerchiefs and the Spanish were chanting “Fuera, Fuera” (”Out, Out”).
Both West Germany and Austria went into the game, knowing that since Algeria had attained four points from their three games (W2 L1) and would be guaranteed a place in the next round, provided that West Germany didn’t defeat Austria by one or two goals in the final game. The game started and the Germans launched wave after wave of attacks on the Austrian goal, scoring after 10 minutes of play.
For the next eighty odd minutes, the game was described best by David Goldbat in his book, The Ball is Round, when he wrote: “the next 80 minutes were played out as a grotesque and interminable kickabout.” And although no one till date has managed to prove that some collusion took place between both the teams, neither team really made a proper attempt to score another goal.
Fans around the world were outraged by the game and that display of football turned an entire generation of German fans away from the national team. This has, however, lead to a change in the World Cup, as both the final group stage matches are now played on the same day.
#1 Barcelona vs Chelsea 06/05/2009
Labelled as one of the most eccentric Champions League matches ever and one of the most controversial games of all time, Barcelona managed to somehow qualify for the finals after what can only be called as bad refereeing. Chelsea was within minutes of earning a spot in the Champions League final when Andres Iniesta destroyed their hopes in extra-time and enraged the home supporters who were already suffering, thanks to Tom Henning Ovrebo.
The match saw at least six penalty decisions denied to the Blues, although on replay only four of the six were incorrect decisions. Micheal Essien’s sensational volley gave them the lead before Eric Abidal was sent off and Barcelona were reduced to ten men.
Barcelona charged forward for one final attack, with Lionel Messi at the helm. He passed it to Iniesta – after the Chelsea defence give him no space to take the shot – and the Spaniard scored the away goal that took the Catalans into the final. Both Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack were disgusted as they confronted Ovrebo after the match, with the Ivory Coast international even screaming into the camera.
That simply made matters worse as Drogba was banned for five games while Ovrebo later admitted to the mistakes.
