Penalty – or not? This question accompanied Bernd Hölzenbein throughout his life. Now the 1974 world champion, who wore the Eintracht Frankfurt jersey with the eagle on the chest in 420 Bundesliga games from 1967 to 1981, died on Monday at the age of 78 after a long, serious illness. The Hessian Bundesliga football club confirmed this to the FAZ on Tuesday. “Bild” and “Hessenschau” had previously reported.
Anyone who thinks of Hölzenbein thinks above all of this scene in the World Cup final in Munich against the Netherlands, when he entered the Orange penalty area on the left in the 24th minute, the Dutchman Wim Jansen went for a tackle and Hölzenbein closed case comes. The result: a penalty for Germany, a 1-1 equalizer by Paul Breitner and, after Gerd Müller’s winning goal, the title for the World Cup hosts.
Was it a penalty or a swallow? “No matter where I am, that’s always the first thing that comes up,” reported Hölzenbein, who was very annoyed by the constant confrontation with this scene for a while. “If this penalty is the only thing I remember, then that’s a shame,” said “Holz,” as he was known in Frankfurt, once.
Eintracht Frankfurt always remained loyal
Hölzenbein was no longer able to watch his beloved Eintracht’s last title win live. The club veteran was not there for the 2022 Europa League triumph in Seville. It was a quiet farewell in installments due to a serious illness.
“Bernd Hölzenbein has had a significant influence on our Eintracht for almost 60 years. He stands for the ‘Golden 1970s’ as well as for the European Cup victory in 1980 and also the ‘Football 2000’ that our club played in the early 1990s and in which he played a significant role as vice-president,” said Eintracht board spokesman Axel Hellmann loudly a message from the club. “With Bernd Hölzenbein we are not only losing one of the great identification figures of our club, but also a loyal employee and a lovely friend.”
Bernd Hölzenbein, here 2013Picture Alliance
At the beginning of the upswing of his favorite club, Hölzenbein was still in the middle of the cheer and hustle and bustle that began in 2018 with the triumph in the DFB Cup and continued in 2019 with the move into the semi-finals of the Europa League. At that time, much to the delight of Hölzenbein, who had always remained loyal to the club even during the difficult times in the second division.
Hölzenbein had not been active in the active professional football business for a long time. The former professional quit as Eintracht’s chief scout after the 2016/17 season and justified this with his old age and stress. During the Corona period, he quickly withdrew as a high-risk patient.
Hölzenbein was an institution in Frankfurt – like only club legend Jürgen Grabowski, who died in March 2022, and also a world champion from 1974. With him, Hölzenbein, who is Eintracht’s Bundesliga record scorer with 160 goals, shaped an era of success on the Main. The winger’s CV includes three DFB Cup victories in 1975, 1976 and 1981 as well as the UEFA Cup victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1980. By the way, he made the trophy disappear for one night because he was annoyed about his planned substitution in the second leg of the final.
At some point, Hölzenbein became more relaxed about the ongoing topic of the 1974 World Cup final. “It was definitely a penalty, the referee blew his whistle.” But was the British referee Jack Taylor right with his decision? Hölzenbein’s answer: “Let’s put it this way: It was a foul, but not one that still has a major impact on me today.”
Whenever Germany and the Netherlands play against each other, the topic is reheated in the neighboring country. Once a Dutch TV station even offered Hölzenbein money to say: “I let myself go.” Hölzenbein refused because he was not aware of any guilt. By the way, it’s interesting that the penalty was not discussed at all in the Netherlands immediately after the game. “That didn’t come up until much later,” reported the native of Central Hesse.
Regardless of the discussions about the famous scene, the 1974 World Cup title was the greatest experience of his career for Hölzenbein. After his active career, he stayed with Eintracht as vice president and manager after moving to the United States, where he played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Memphis Americans and Baltimore Blasts, and experienced ups and downs with the moody diva from Main. Hölzenbein enjoyed the magical triangle around Uwe Bein, Andreas Möller and Anthony Yeboah, suffered with the team when they missed the 1992 championship in Rostock and got into serious trouble in the tax case surrounding Yeboah. But just as “Holz” was always there for Eintracht, the club was also there for him, with a few exceptions. Hölzenbein and Eintracht – that was a connection for life.
