Josef Maier

Whoever thought that goalkeepers don’t win games on their own, never saw Josef Maier in action. Indeed, Josef-Dieter “Sepp” Maier is one of the few players who can actually claim this statement to be true, and without a doubt, one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. His tenure with Germany’s National Team is the stuff of legend, and some thirty odd years later, the mythic aura that surrounds his name remains intact, as well as many of the records he set.

Born on February 28, 1944 in Metten, Germany, Sepp played soccer from an early age, joining the local TSV Haar soccer club and later moving to the Bayern Munich, where he would remain for 19 years, only rarely missing a game, playing a grand total of 422 matches, a German national record still to this day. With that team he won the German Championship on four occasions, as well as the UEFA Champions League three times in a row between 1973 and 1977. His quick reflexes earned him the nickname of “The Cat from Anzing”.

Sepp Maier was selected for the German National Squad that disputed World Cups four successive times, starting with the 1966 tournament in England, where he did not see any action. Next was the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, where the team lost the third place to Italy. Finally, Maier’s (and Germany’s) time to shine finally came when his country hosted the World Cup four years later, when the team won the Cup for the second time after defeating the Netherlands. His last participation in a World Cup was at the 1978 tournament in Argentina. Additionally, Maier contributed to Germany’s victory against the USSR at the Euro 1972 in Belgium, and led the team to the runner-up position four years later in Yugoslavia.