German Bernd Hölzenbein, 1974 world champion, dies

Former German international Bernd Hölzenbein, world champion in 1974 with the FRG, died at the age of 78 following a long illness, Eintracht Frankfurt, where he played for fourteen seasons. “A legend such as one finds in books. One of the greatest we have had,” writes his lifelong club.

Bernd Hölzenbein, who became a West German international in 1973, quickly won his place as a winger and played the 1974 World Cup at home as a starter, playing six of the seven matches for Franz Beckenbauer’s Mannschaft. In the final, at the Olympic stadium in Munich, he caused the penalty, converted by Paul Breitner in the 26th minute, which allowed his side to equalize (1-1) against Johan Cruyff’s Netherlands. West Germany ultimately won 2-1 thanks to a goal from Gerd Müller. Bernd Hölzenbein won his final and fortieth selection during the 1978 World Cup during the German defeat against Austria (2-3).

Eintracht Frankfurt top scorer

Bernd Hölzenbein’s club career is linked to Eintracht Frankfurt, where he played from 1967 to 1981. Top scorer in the club’s history (160 goals in 420 matches), he won the German Cup three times ( 1974, 1975, 1981) and the UEFA Cup (ancestor of the Europa League) in 1980 against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

At the age of 35, he finally joined the United States Championship where he played for the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the Memphis Americans and then the Baltimore Blast. He then became manager of Eintracht until 2014.

2024-04-16 10:44:00
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