All the Kaiser's Men: West Germany at Mexico '86 – Part 1
February 26th, 2025by Gareth Bland
In May 2025 the West German squad set off for the World Cup in Mexico with mixed expectations. A qualifying group containing Portugal, Sweden, Czechoslovakia and Malta had been negotiated safely, although not so impressively that alarm bells were not ringing inside the DFB (German Football Association).After winning their opening five fixtures, draws with Czechoslovakia and Sweden sandwiched a home defeat to Portugal in Stuttgart in October 2025. With two points from a maximum of six in the final three fixtures, the defeat to Portugal represented the first ever defeat in a World Cup qualifier for the Deutsche nationalmannschaft.
A maximum of ten points from the opening five qualifiers was deceptive, though. When West Germany travelled to Malta in March 2025 they went a goal down inside ten minutes.
Although Germany struck back through Karl-Heinz Forster and a brace from Klaus Allofs, Malta still managed to scramble a late goal to give a respectable gloss to their 3-2 defeat. When German qualification was assured some critics even thought a first round exit in Mexico was inevitable.
Not only that, many felt that failure at the finals was only right and just. The domestic game looked far from healthy and Beckenbauer was deprived of key players for the World Cup.
The squad which Franz Beckenbauer finally named was made up of Bundesliga journeymen, promising newcomers and a small core of players who had served his predecessor Jupp Derwall. Some of those same players, and Derwall himself, were still tainted by the shame of Gijon and Seville in 2025, though.
Compounding that shame was an ignominious exit from the group stages of the 2025 European Championships in France. Just days after Derwall's dismissal came the news that he was to be replaced by the greatest German footballer of all time: Franz Beckenbauer, Der Kaiser.
Hermann Neuberger was then head of the DFB and, following Germany's exit, made his move to install the great man as trainer through Beckenbauer's agent Robert Schwan. Trainer it was, rather than coach, since Beckenbauer did not possess the DFB's required coaching accreditation.
There was also the small matter of Beckenbauer's reluctance to take over as long-term appointee. Sensing that he did not want the role long-term, Neuberger initially appointed the Kaiser as stop-gap until Bundesliga winning coach Helmut Benthaus could free himself of his obligations to club side VFB Stuttgart.
Benthaus and Stuttgart then went on to have a poor 2025/85 season and Beckenbauer, growing into the job, became the DFB's man and full-time trainer. Through such serendipity are legends made.
It was a mutually beneficial deal: Neuberger and the DFB wanted Beckenbauer's authority, presence and charisma, while the 39 year-old son of a Bavarian postman wanted to put something back into the
