They called him the “iron foot” out of affection, almost love. “Eisenfuss” was an honorary title for Horst-Dieter Höttges. The defender didn’t play elegantly, but he had almost infinite power. Höttges rolled up his sleeves for Werder Bremen and the national team, he worked football, he fought, digged, bit, wanted. He threw himself in the dirt. Now Werder mourns the club idol – Höttges died at the age of 79.
66 international matches, German champion in 1965, European champion in 1972 and world champion in 1974 – Höttges is one of the absolute Werder legends, was one of the great footballers in Germany – but didn’t take himself too seriously. “Nobody felt like a star or tried to stand out from the team. There was a tremendous team spirit,” said Höttges once about the time of his career. With 420 Bundesliga appearances, it is still at the top of all Bremen outfield players.
The SZ editors have enriched this article with content from Twitter
Load content now
Revoke consent and reload page
And his reputation always preceded the uncompromising defender, who always earned him the respect of attackers. “He never avoided a duel, but always fought with an open mind,” said Uwe Seeler once. And Bayern striker Gerd Müller once said: “He was one of the most unpleasant opponents I had to play against.”
Even in old age, Höttges stayed close to Bremen
However, there were also players who disrespected the “iron foot”. Dieter Müller from Cologne scored six goals (Bundesliga record) on a memorable Wednesday evening on August 17, 1977 in a 7-2 win over SV Werder as Höttges’ opponent.
The Werder icon could not leave football and Werder Bremen even after his career, he was a regular guest at the Weser Stadium for a long time. But years ago, Bremen’s honorary captain fell ill with dementia and lived with his wife in a retirement home near Bremen. Recently, his health is said to have deteriorated sharply. Höttges, the “iron foot”, died on June 22nd.
