He left like that day at the Azteca, sneakily, with a slow but definitive step, on the night of the match that lasted a lifetime, without making any noise: thus Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, the Panzer who with his goal raised the curtain on the most iconic match of the last century, that Italy-Germany 4-3 at the Mexican World Cup which – looking at it in the rearview mirror of time – united his destiny as a man and a footballer, one might say his two homelands. He was born in Germany, in Duren, in North Rhineland, in Italy he lived there until the end of his days. Schnellinger scored that goal at the end because he thought the match was over, he looked at the clock above the stands and decided to approach the changing rooms and leave the stage as soon as possible. He didn’t know that his unusual shot – that remains the only goal of his 47 matches for the national team – would provide the password for the most extraordinary extra time of the modern era. In the end he admitted with great honesty that the Azzurri had deserved to win and deep down, he even seemed a little happy.
the arrival in Italy
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Because it was impossible not to love Carletto, as they called him at Milan. When he arrived in Italy it was 1963, he was 24 years old, until that moment he had played for Cologne with whom he had won the championship the year before. Roma bought him, parked him in Mantua for a year and then took him back. At that point Karl moved to Milan, where he wrote legendary pages. Nine seasons (1965-1974), 344 games, only 3 goals and all in the Italian Cup (it wasn’t his job), a scudetto (1968), a European Cup (1969), an Intercontinental Cup (1969), two Cups of the Cups (1967 and 1973), three Italian Cups (1967, 1972, 1973). It was Gipo Viani who wanted him at Milan, he will become one of the faithful of “Paròn” Rocco. He ordered him to stay and guard his area of competence, without moving forward, which was not the case. Left back, big and strong, a tank, a Panzer (another nickname), but also “Volkswagen” for his reliability and robustness, or for some journalists “Carlo Martello”, for how he knew how to use the tackle.
in the national team
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With the German national team he played four World Cups. In 1966 Germany reached the final, but were defeated by hosts England, with an invalid goal from Hurst. Four years later, as mentioned, at Mexico 70, the Germans were eliminated in the semi-finals. In that massive physique of his, he had a rare kindness of heart, which had quickly made him one of the points of reference in the Rossoneri dressing room. He had a ruddy face, two hypertrophic thighs, like a shot putter. He moved like one of those old crawlers, yet he showed off surprising dexterity in his legs. In the photographs that were taken in the summer he was keen to always appear tidy. For this reason, despite the jokes of his classmates, he combed his hair for a long time, so that there wasn’t a hair out of place. A man with a mild character, he knew how to do the locker room, he knew the art of measuring the depth of his teammates with a single glance. Carlo il Biondo once said that in Italy, where he remained to live, he had not only found “the sun, but also the joy of living”. In 1974, having concluded his adventure at Milan (but skipping the last match, the decisive one for the scudetto, Fatal Verona), he returned to Germany, where he played his last season with TeBe Berlin. But the return to Italy immediately followed, the nostalgia for our country was too much. In an era where footballers were position specialists, Karl-Heinz Schnellinger actually knew how to do it all. Full back certainly, but also libero, as well as defensive midfielder. In Germany he had also played as a stopper and at the beginning of his career, he said, the youth coaches took advantage of his physical structure in attack.
with a bad face
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He was the most Italian German in our football: for the way he was able to settle in, for the pleasure of being among the people that has always distinguished him. But at the same time a symbol of Germany, son of a generation of champions, from Beckenbauer to Gabrowski, from Overath to Gerd Müller. That time Italy-Germany 4-3, after the goal in the last minute of regulation time which had momentarily tied Italy to a draw, Schnellinger was approached by his AC Milan teammates, Gianni Rivera and Roberto Rosato. Threateningly, they both glared at him, pointed their fingers at him and glared at him: “Carletto, what have you done?”. There were no answers to give. He sketched what was meant to be a smile, turned his back on his teammates and without saying anything returned to midfield, still unaware of the whirlwind development that that epochal challenge would take. He had done his duty, Carletto, as always in his 85 years of life.
