KARL-HEINZ SCHNELLINGER RATING

Schnellinger was the first great German full-back and started the trend in Germany of right-footed left backs, being the forefather to the likes of Breitner, Briegel, Brehme and Lahm. Schnellinger was renowned as a versatile and rock-solid defender, who could also feature in defensive midfield and as a sweeper. Our analysis confirms that this is the case, giving 'Volkswagen' high scores across the board with regards to defensive attributes. He scores higher than Maldini in 'Intelligence' because he was a very cerebral player both off the ball and on it. He was excellent at anticipating defensive scenarios, capable of man-marking tightly (see his performance vs the tricky Chislenko of Russia in 1966) but what made him unique was his composed ball-playing out from the back. He was fearless and would drop the shoulder even in the defensive third, to create space for himself to slide clever passes through high lines of pressure - reliably turning defence into attack by feeding the midfield.

From an attacking perspective, Schnellinger wasn't much of a threat both in terms of goals or assists. A key reason for this was that whilst he was technically gifted and adept at bringing the ball out from the back, he rarely ventured into opposition territory and as for overlaps, he was non-existent - preferring to underlap, cutting in and driving into the centre of midfield, rather than attacking the space out wide. By not operating in wide areas, he rarely put in any crosses and thus he was not a defender who had a significant influence on his side's ability to score goals.

Schnellinger was a pivotal figure for club and country, winning the European Cup as well as Serie A and the cup winners cup. He was a defensive stalwart for Germany, in an historic period for the German national team in which they continuously knocked on the door at major international tournaments but kept falling at the final hurdle. For this reason, Schnellinger's big match prowess takes a slight hit as in 1958 - Germany conceded 3 goals in the semi final (they finished fourth place overall), 4 goals against England in the controversial 1966 Final and another 4 goals in the titanic 1970 World Cup semi-final against Italy. Whilst it would be foolish to lay the blame on Schnellinger, one must recall that a similar defensive powerhouse in Maldini was capable of shoring up weakened defences and leading them to clean sheets against very difficult opponents.

In summary, Schnellinger was an imperious full-back who was one of the great lateral defenders, someone you could trust against wingers with high agility and reactions. His ideal position tactically was that of a left-centre back, but used in a back four if paired with an out and out left-footed winger, he would also have thrived. He was elegant and skilful in possession, contributing well to the build up but found wanting in the final third, preferring to operate deeper and focus on his defensive duties.