1974 was the year of the Netherlands, led by the great Johan Cruyff. Facing host country West Germany in the championship game, the Netherlands took a 1-0 lead in the very first minute. Johan Cruyff had been brought down in the penalty area, and Johan Neeskens executing the penalty kick left German's goal keeper Sepp Meier without any chance. The Germans, led by Franz Beckenbauer, fought back to equalize in the 25th minute - again with a penalty kick.

The winning goal was marked two minutes before half time by Gerd Mueller, who turned on a ball in the penalty area and fired a low shot into the net.

• Championship game: West Germany vs. Holland 2-1
• Number of teams participating: 16
• Venue sites: Dortmund, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Hanover, Munich, Stuttgart, West Berlin,