The German national football team has a lot of news recently, in addition to the accident of losing to Mexico, in fact, they have a lot of history worth digging, such as the German team was not strong, and their opportunity to change from weak to strong is a final known as the "Bernese miracle". Germany was once a weak team, relying on a pair of special Adidas sneakers, the Jedi counterattack defeated the football overlord Hungary, won the 1954 World Cup championship, and has since become one of the world's strongest teams. And the pair of sneakers that brought luck to the German team was not unintentional, but the product of the feud between Adidas and Puma.
In 1954, less than 10 years after the end of World War II, Europe was in ruins, and life was particularly difficult for a defeated Germany. Germany desperately needs an uplifting message to inspire its depressed countrymen. That year's World Cup was held in Switzerland, and Germany reached the final, but everyone was not optimistic about the prospects of Germany, because their opponent was the world hegemon Hungary. The Hungarian team at the time included Puskas, a terrifying striker nicknamed "The Running Major" who was determined to win the World Cup. Germany has little hope of winning the title.
Pictured on the left is Puskas
After the start of the final, the Hungarian team advanced two goals, but then it rained heavily, and the German team relied on the secret shoes that were not afraid of wet and slippery, and achieved a rebound with three goals in a row, and finally won the world championship, creating a "Bern miracle". The biggest contributor to the German team's victory is the Adidas company that designed and manufactured the secret sneakers, and the Puma company that was stunned on the side.
In the German state of Bavaria, there is a small town called "Herzogen Arlach", which until now has a population of less than 20,000. Although the place is small, it is the headquarters of sporting goods companies Adidas and Puma. Around 1900, Rudolf Dassler (nicknamed Rudi Rudi) and Adolf Dassler (nicknamed Eddie Adi) were born into a family of shoemakers. The younger brother Eddie loved shoemaking and soon inherited his father's workshop, and his older brother Rudy soon joined the family workshop. The two brothers summed up and simply set up the "Dashler Brothers Shoe Factory", with the older brother in charge of sales and the younger brother responsible for shoemaking.
Dassler Brothers Shoe Factory
At first, the shoe factory was doing well. However, due to the impact of World War II and the brothers' business philosophy, in 1948, the "Dasler Brothers Shoe Factory" was divided into two. Rudy took a third of his employees and set up puma 500 meters away, while his brother renamed the company Adidas (abbreviation for Aididas). Since then, the townspeople have been divided into two factions, and there is a local saying that people will first see what you are wearing on your feet before deciding whether to talk to you or not.
Because Rudy controlled the resources of customers, after the separation, Puma developed better than Adidas, until 1954, Adidas ushered in a turnaround in fate. The coach of the German football team, Sepp Herberg, came to the door and told Eddie that he hoped Adidas would provide football shoes for the German team. Hellberg said bluntly that he had come to puma, but the other side would prefer to sponsor a strong team like Hungary or England than an unknown German team.
Perhaps because he wanted to beat his brother, or because Adidas couldn't find another partner, Eddie agreed to Herberg's request and began designing a brand new football shoe for the German team. Eddie was brilliant as a shoemaker, and he changed the bulky style of his previous soccer shoes - the upper should be up to the ankle and the tip of the shoe was very hard. He made a low-top and lightweight soccer shoe and, most importantly, he added a screw-in stud to the shoe. These studs adapt to a variety of conditions in the turf and are especially good on rainy days.
On July 4, 1954, the day of the final, in the german team's locker room, head coach Herberg was cheering on the players when he suddenly rushed into a man whose shirt was soaked. Herberg asked, "Is it raining?" ”
"It's raining." The man wiped his face. The German players instantly ignited their morale, and did not wait for the coach to shout "Change the cleats!" They put on their special sneakers. Then couldn't wait to step into the pitch. Later, the German team scored two goals in the Hungarian team, and the Jedi overturned, reversing the score to 3-2 and winning the world championship that year.
After the game, everyone knew the secret weapon of the German team - Adidas sneakers, this excellent exposure opportunity suddenly made Adidas establish a position in the football circle, almost becoming the originator of modern football shoes. Missed the perfect publicity opportunity for the World Cup, I don't know how Rudy Dashler felt at that time.
What do you think of the story of the German team and Adidas, welcome to like, leave a message, share.