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German football is mourning the loss of striker Bernd Hölzenbein, who earned the penalty which set West Germany on the way to victory over the Netherlands in the 1974 FIFA World Cup final.
Hölzenbein, who succumbed to serious illness on Monday aged 78, is the third German world champion to pass away this year after Franz Beckenbauer (1974) and Andreas Brehme (1990).
Hölzenbein was also a member of the German side that finished runners-up at the 1976 UEFA European Championships. He played 40 times for his national team, scoring five goals.
Playing as either a striker or a winger, Hölzenbein spent his entire Bundesliga club career at Eintracht Frankfurt, winning the 1980 UEFA Cup as well as three DFB trophies. He remains Frankfurt’s record goalscorer with 160 goals in 420 appearances from 1967 to 1981.
DFB President Bernd Neuendorf said, “Bernd Hölzenbein was an outstanding footballer and a wonderful guy. Everything in his life revolved around football. His death leaves a huge gap at Eintracht and the DFB. We are deeply indebted to him and will miss him very much.”
Rudi Völler, director of the Germany’s national team, added: “Bernd Hölzenbein was a great footballer and a wonderful person who won many titles and even more hearts. There was little he couldn’t do as a footballer. My deepest sympathy goes out to his family and loved ones.”
After finishing his playing career in the United States, Hölzenbein returned to Germany to take up several positions at his former club Frankfurt, including Vice-President (1988-94), sports manager (1994-96) and, in 2004, sporting advisor and chief scout.
