Labor Day: The most beautiful slide tackles
Football is work. Especially when you have to get your knees dirty. These guys love to do it, which is why we present you the best sliding tackles in football history.
Gerd Müller It's wonderful how, in this scene from the European Cup final between Atletico Madrid and Bayern Munich, Gerd Müller's (right) mustache bends symmetrically into a sliding tackle.
A flying tackle by Erich Obermayer (Austria, right) against the unfortunate Rene van de Kerkhof (Netherlands).
Hans-Heinrich Pahl (Braunschweig) executes a magnificent leg scissors shot against Klaus Allofs (Cologne). Top marks for the elegant arm position. Impressive.
The double slide tackle, sitting down, perfectly executed by Johan Neeskens (Holland) in the 1974 World Cup final. Brought down: Rainer Bonhof.
Fred Hesse (Düsseldorf, left) tackles Wolfgang Seel of Lautern. Anatomy enthusiasts will be thrilled by the wonderful shot of all the thigh muscles.
Welcome back, Kaiser! Jürgens Gelsdorf (left, Leverkusen) and Jürgen Glowacz give Franz Beckenbauer a friendly once-over after his return to the Bundesliga.
Ruud Krol (Holland, left) isn't above digging his studs into Horst Hrubesch's shin. He takes it in stride.
Already cut in half: Tony Woodcock (England). The butcher-faced divider: Romeo Benetti from Italy.
A wonderful shot in the Waldstadion in 1982. Charly Körbel (back, Frankfurt) just manages to catch the ankles of Dieter Hoeneß (Bayern) and is able to settle the matter with a diplomatic tackle.
Two is better than one, Hermann Erlhoff (far right) and Peter Czernotzky (middle) from Essen must have thought in this scene when they showed Wolfgang Sühnholz from Oberhausen the limits.
Dutchman Michel Valke (inset) is being ruthlessly tackled by Italian Giampiero Marini (below). Today, you'd probably get arrested for such a tackle.
God help him! Miroslav Gajdusek (Czech Republic) has to pass the ultimate endurance test in the football world. Wedged on the ground in a ball of thigh flesh: Karl Heinz Försten (front) and Hans-Peter Briegel. It couldn't be worse.
A wonderful move by Udo Horsmann (Bayern) against Duisburg's Rudolf Seliger (right). Impressive timing, superb posture: a sensational sliding tackle!
Rainer Stiller (Hannover, right) tackles Ulrik Le Fevre (Gladbach, left) with a sliding tackle from the side, neatly separating the attacker from the ball and from the ground. Textbook readiness.
It's all about the atmosphere. Hannes Löhr (right, Cologne) wants to pull away, but a timely defensive action by Wolfgang Rausch (Essen) thwarts his plans.
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