Schön, who had managed the short-lived Saarland national team from 1952 to 1956, began to establish West Germany as a consistent force in world football. He took the team to the 1966 World Cup final, and despite failing to qualify in West Germany's first entry to the European Championship in 1968, he achieved a third-place finish 1970 World Cup in Mexico. Then came the team's greatest successes – a first European Championship title was won in 1972, which was followed by the 1974 World Cup, where West Germany, as hosts, ran out tournament winners, beating the Netherlands in the final. Schön is one of only two coaches to win both the World Cup and European Championship, the other being Spain's Vicente del Bosque. In 1976, West Germany came within a penalty shoot-out of defending their European crown, losing against Czechoslovakia in the final. Before the 1978 World Cup, Schön announced that this was to be his last tournament, but was unable to go out on a high note, as the team was eliminated by neighbours Austria in Round 2. He retired having managed 25 World Cup games and won 16, both tournament records which remain to this day.