Amerikai Magyar Hírlap, 2014 (26. évfolyam, 1-39. szám)
2014-06-13 / 24. szám
12 June - 13 July FIFA World Cup - Brazil The Defining Moment In Football History The Miracle Of Bern: When Germany born again Out of all the World Cups Germany has won, none is more fondly remembered than the 1954 title. And with good reason. When Das Deutschlandied blares in the Arena Fonté Nova in the coastal city of Salvador, Brazil on the afternoon of 16 June, eleven Germans will be standing on the pitch with their right palms across their chests, proudly touching the national team badge, belief coursing through their veins as they battle to win a fourth World Cup trophy for their country. They will be aware of the massive hopes and expectations from the countless supporters of Die Mannschaft, which simply translates to “The Team”. The Germans have performed exceedingly well in the tournament in the past and their self-belief is not misplaced. The German national football team is second in the FIFA rankings ahead of the World Cup in Brazil. They have lifted the World Cup trophy three times, and finished second and third on four occasions each. The record is enviable at the very least and has helped carve the country’s name in the record books as one of the most consistent performers in the World Cup’s history. But if there was one moment that kick-started Germany’s track record at the World Cup, it was the 1954 World Cup Final win in Switzerland. The 1954 World Cup final, better known as the Miracle of Bern, stands today as a point in history, that greatly influenced the footballing futures of two great European footballing institutions, with drastically opposite results. While one team rose to far greater prominence and success on the biggest stage in world football, the other slipped into anonymity. What is far more curious is that the winner of the tournament won it against all odds. Germany was not expected to even be in the finals, let alone defeat the mighty Hungary. The Hungarian team of 1954 was at the peak of its powers. Undefeated for four years, the Magical Magyars were, ironically enough for the Germans, The Team in every sense of the term. This was the Hungary of Ferenc Puskas, Sándor Kocsis, Nándor Hidegkúti, Bozsik and Zoltán Czibor; The Hungary, who had hammered Turkey 7-0, Brazil 4-2, Uruguay 4-2 and even the Germans by a massive 8-3 margin. You had to go all the way back to 14 May 1950 for the last time the Hungarians had lost. Hungary was expected to win the final. Budapest was already half celebrating even before the ball had been kicked in the final. Germany’s story was a stark contrast. They were still suffering from the embarrassment of the sanctions imposed by the Allies after the fall of the Third Reich. Economic growth was at a snail’s pace. The country had been divided into four zones, occupied by the winners of the War. German nationalism, which was at its height during the War, was left shattered and destroyed. The utterance of the word ‘Nazi’ was forbidden, the morale of the country was at a low. In such circumstances, Germany and Hungary met in the final of the 1954 World Cup final in Bern. When German captain Fritz Walter led his team out in the Wankdorf Stadion at 5 pm on 4 July 1954, damage control would’ve been on his mind. The Hungarians had already battered them 8-3 in the group stages. Little did Walter and his teammates know that this match was going to define German football for years to come and that Das Wunder von Bern would go down in football history. And six minutes into the match, the script looked _ . . to have been written for a Hungary win. A cross from German captain Fritz Walter(L) and hi?Hungarian the right wing was deflected onto the path of captain counterpart Ferenc Puskas exchange pleasantries at Ferenc Puskas, who slotted the ball home from inside kick-off the box. Two minutes later, a miscommunication between defender Werner Kohlmeyer and his goalkeeper Toni Turek led to Hungary’s second goal, Zsoltan Czibor pouncing on the loose ball to roll the ball into the back of the net. Instead of being dejected, in a display of German determination characteristic of the team now, Max Morlock and Ottmar Walter rallied his teammates to not give up heart. The effect was immediate. Helmut Rahn attacked the left side and his blocked shot was turned in by the outstretched Max Morlock. It was 2-1. A sense of belief came to the Germans. A fight-back was on with ten minutes gone. Then in the 18th minute, a corner from the skipper Fritz Walter found an unmarked Rahn at the far post, who hammered the ball from the outside of his right foot into the net. The German fans went delirious. The energy percolated on to the pitch and they found new life in the match. Coach Sepp Herberger sent the Germans on to the pitch in the second half ordering his troops not to give the Hungarians an inch. He expected an onslaught from the Magical Magyars and he was proved right. The Hungarians emerged as a deadly force. Wave after wave of Hungarian attack was repelled by the Germans. Twice the Hungarians hit the post, twice the ball was cleared off the line, once by Posipal and a second time by Kohlmeyer. The Germans defended with skill and hard work, getting behind the ball and intercepting passes, blocking shots. Then in the 84th minute, the miracle happened. Germans who were fortunate enough to witness the event still look back fondly at the moment, which was described in a now-legendary commentary bit by Herbert Zimmerman: “Germany, down the left with Schafer,” continued Zimmermann. “Schafer’s ball to Morlock is blocked by the Hungarian defence - Boszik, still Boszik on the ball, the Hungarian right winger. He loses the ball this time to Schafer - Schafer crosses into the middle - header - blocked - Rahn has to shoot from distance - Rahn shoots! Goal! Goal! 3-2 to Germany!” The ground exploded with German fans giddy with joy at the turn of events. In a thrilling end, seconds after the goal, Puskas found the net for a supposed Hungarian equalizer, which was controversially ruled out for offside. The Germans heaved a sigh of relief as millions back home listened intently, on the edge of the seat hung on to every word by Zimmerman, until he said: “Over! Over! Over! The match is over! Germany are world champions, beating Hungary 3-2 in the Final in Bern!” Victory against the legendary Hungarian team is still held close to German hearts. The World Cup glory of ’54 helped instill pride once again in the Germans. The feeling of nationalism and love for the fatherland grew as a result of this historic triumph. To come from 2-0 down to beat the mighty Magical Magyars, the best team in the world gave the Germans confidence in their abilities and brought smiles back upon faces ragged and weary from the post-war trauma. Perhaps what makes the win even more meaningful is the economic strength Germany went through after 1954. In a sense, the Miracle at Bern gave way to Germany strengthening its economy and helped usher in an era of Economic Miracles. People in Germany still see the victory at Bern as the turning point in not only their country’s footballing fortunes, but also in their economic rise to prominence. Since that final, Germany have gone on from strength to strength, winning two more World Cup titles in 1974 and 1990 and the European Cup thrice, while Hungary never made it to a World Cup final again. Ferenc Puskas remained one of the all time great players never to have won the World Cup. Hungary eventually slipped into mediocrity, never a regular at the international stage. Some say that it was Adolf Dassler’s ingenious football cleats that gave the Germans the advantage over the Hungarians on a rain soaked pitch at the Wankdorf Stadion. Whatever be the case, in the sense that it channeled the fates of two great footballing nations, and so inversely proportional to each other’s, the World Cup final of 1954 remains one of the most pivotal junctures in World Cup history, both for its romance and its relevance even today in the footballing histories of the two mighty teams that clashed in the final for the Jules Rimet trophy in the fourth ever edition of Yfwmuilun the world’s most prestigious footballing prize, thehardtackle.com Who may have been smarter than Einstein John von Neumann’s wartime badge photo from Los Alamos. John von Neumann, born in Budapest in 1903 and immigrated to the United States in 1930, was a seminal thinker in mathematics (foundations of mathematics, functional analysis, ergodic theory, geometry, topology, and numerical analysis), physics (quantum mechanics, hydrodynamics, and fluid dynamics), economics (game theory), computing John von Neumann’s wartime <Von Neumann architecture, badge photo from Los Alamos ^near programming, self-replicating machines, stochastic computing), and statistics. Von Neumann’s prodigiousness was apparent from a young age. By 8 years old, he could divide two eight-digit numbers in his head. By 19, he had published two major mathematical papers, and by 22 he had a Ph.D. in mathematics with minors in experimental physics and chemistry. The Hungarian-American joined Princeton University in 1930 and was a professor there until his death in 1957. A loud and sociable character, he sometimes annoyed colleagues, including Einstein, with his habit of blasting German marching music on his office gramophone. During World War II, Von Neumann would join Einstein and other leading scientists in developing the atomic bomb in the Manhattan project. Von Neumann was so bright that Nobel Prize-winning physicist Eugene Wigner would say, “only he was fully awake.” He had “the fastest mind” that economist Paul Samuelson had ever encountered and was “the cleverest man in the world” according to head of Britain’s National Physical Laboratory, as noted by Daniel Yergin in “The Quest.” One of von Neumann’s major accomplishments was his leadership in developing a way to make the enormous amount of calculations that went into making the atomic bomb. The earliest computers had to be “programmed” physically, with different components connected in different ways to solve a given problem. Von Neumann figured out instead how to store programs as software in computer memory, which would become the basic architecture for how modern computers work. He was also a pioneer of game theory, or the formal mathematical analysis of certain types of games, which has numerous applications to ecbnomics and other social sciences. Indeed, von Neumann’s development of the theory of zero-sum games later led to his coming up with the Cold War strategy of Mutually Assured Destruction. Von Neumann also made numerous contributions to pure mathematics and physics. A big part of von Neumann’s work in these areas was in developing the formal mathematical tools that describe quantum mechanics. Many of the strange aspects of quantum mechanics are implied by the mathematical structures used to describe the behavior of the universe on the smallest scales. But how did von Neumann compare to Einstein, the German- American theoretical physicist who developed the theory of relativity and some of the earliest ideas in quantum mechanics? The answer, which as been hotly debated on economics forums, favors von Neumann in some areas and Einstein in others. Certainly, Einstein obtained greater fame, however, and perhaps this is justified. businessinsider. com Highest Quality Care at the Best Price! Elderly Rehabilitating, Children, Newborn Beszélünk magyarul is! Ingyenes konzultáció otthonában. Hívják Piroskát vagy Krisztinát! 24 Hour Immediate Response * Licensed & Insured * Companions * Assistants (CNA, CHHA) * Nurses (RN, LVN) * Newborn Nurses * Nannies & Babysitters * Group Child Care * Live-in or Live-out * Temporary or Permanent * Qualified & Screened * Flexible Payment Plans * Most Insurances Accepted * Worker Comp. & Long Term Care AdvantagePlusAgency.com AMERICAN smau • Hungarian Journal
