German paper sent naked women to Netherlands hotel as 'honeytrap' before World Cup final

A German newspaper sent naked women to the Netherlands' team hotel as a "honeytrap" ahead of the 1974 World Cup final.

The Dutch national team had been preparing for their first ever final when the incident took place, with Bild Zeitung reporting five days before the match that a "naked pool party" had taken place at their hotel. Their report claimed that multiple unidentified players and local women had been involved and alleged they had photographs to prove it, but they were never published.

Netherlands manager Rinus Michels came out and denied the reports at a press conference on the eve of the final.

Michels claimed that the story was part of a wider German conspiracy to disrupt his squad ahead of the final against the host nation West Germany.

Although his players also denied the rumours, the reports had only added extra spice to the upcoming contest and fuelled claims that the Dutch were losing control.

Michels had guided his side to their first World Cup final in 1974, with a Dutch team captained by Johan Cruyff impressing with their performances.

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After topping their group ahead of Sweden, Bulgaria and Uruguay, they booked a place in the final with wins over Brazil, East Germany and Argentina in the second group phase.

However, they would go on to be beaten 2-1 by West Germany in the final, despite taking the lead two minutes in before their opponents had even touched the ball.

A flowing move direct from kick-off saw the Netherlands win a penalty, which was subsequently converted by Johan Neeskens. Paul Breitner and Gerd Muller both scored before half-time, though, to turn the game on it's head and power the hosts to victory.

The triumph was the second of Germany's four World Cup victories, with their first having come two decades earlier in 1954. As for the Netherlands, they have yet to win the competition and were beaten in both their subsequent final appearances in 1978 and 2010.

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