The 1954 FIFA World Cup Final is often listed as one of the greatest matches in World Cup history, and also one of its most unexpected upsets. In Germany, it has become known as "Das Wunder von Bern" (The Miracle of Bern).
The game was played at the Wankdorf Stadium in Bern, Switzerland, on 4 July 1954, and saw West Germany beat the heavily favoured Golden Team of Hungary - also known as the "Mighty Magyars" - 3–2.
The unexpected win evoked a wave of euphoria throughout Germany, which suffered from a lack of international recognition in the aftermath of World War II. It was the first time since the Second World War that the German national anthem was played at a global sporting event.
To watch cuts from the real television broadcast, click here
I was there, an eight-year-old boy in a huge crowd, watching it on a small black-and-white television set left running for the occasion - but without sound - behind the window of a radio and television shop (it was a Sunday and all the shops were supposed to be closed). When the final whistle blew, we all hugged each other with tears in our eyes.
Some publicists described the 1954 victory as a turning point in post-war German history, notably Arthur Heinrich and Joachim Fest. In Fest's words: "It was a kind of liberation for the Germans from all the things that weighed down upon them after the Second World War ... July 4, 1954 is in certain aspects the founding day of the German Republic."
Something to remember on this day a whole sixty-eight years ago.
P.S. ... and for those of you who can read German, here's the book "Sepp Herberger und das Wunder von Bern".
