Contrary to the opinion you may have formed of any German football team being strong, dominant and all-conquering, West Germany's history in the Olympic Games has been a little underwhelming. A single third-place finish in the Olympic soccer tournament of 1988 is all West Germany have to show for their toiling, and even when competing as the United Team of Germany they could only match that bronze-medal accomplishment in 1964.
In 1972, West Germany had the honour of hosting the summer Olympics, and the automatic qualification offered to its soccer team was welcomed. During the qualifying tournament for the 1968 Olympic football finals, West Germany's amateur team had been eliminated by Great Britain, and they in turn had been eliminated by Spain. Four years hence and on home soil, West Germany set out to win gold with a team featuring Uli Hoeness (who would win the World Cup with West Germany's professional squad in 1974) and Ottmar Hitzfeld, coach of the Bayern Munich team that won the UEFA Champions League in 2001.
The kit worn by West Germany in 1972 bore a striking resemblance to that which appeared in the 1970 World Cup two years earlier; white shirt, black v-neck, black shorts and white socks. This being the Olympics, however, there was no allowance of the West German Football Association badge, so the shield of the West German coat of arms appeared in the centre of the shirt. This provided a small but pleasing splash of colour that wouldn't find its way onto the West Germany shirts of the professional team until 1986.
Initially, the kit could be said to have brought the West Germans luck in the 1972 Olympic Games. Three wins in their First Round group (including a 7-0 thumping of the United States) left them finishing top of Group 1. The Second Round, however, brought an eery foretaste of what was to happen in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Drawn in the same group as neighbours East Germany and playing them in the closing match, it was the East Germans that won - and on this occasion, it brought the West German campaign to an end. After a disappointing 1-1 draw with Mexico in Nuremburg and a 4-1 thrashing by eventual runners-up Hungary in Munich, West Germany were edged out 3-2 by East Germany in an exciting game at the same venue.
West Germany failed to qualify for the Olympic soccer tournament in 1976 and boycotted the 1980 games in the Soviet Union, but reappeared in 1984 wearing an Adidas kit that once again featured the yellow shield of the coat of arms. This time, however, it's fair to say that the team's success was less to do with the kit and more to do with an early outing for future stars such as Andreas Brehme and Uwe Rahn.
