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Horst Eckel was 89 years old
Photo: Bernd Thissen / dpa
Horst Eckel died at the age of 89 - as the last member of the legendary national team that won the world championship title in 1954 in Bern in the final against Hungary.
German football mourns the loss of the club icon of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
Here's how sports celebrities reacted to the news:
National coach Hansi Flick
particularly emphasized Eckel's qualities away from the pitch: “Unfortunately, I never saw the footballer Horst Eckel play live, the person Horst Eckel was a role model for me in every respect. His warmth was infectious, his social commitment extraordinary. I will miss him personally and all German football. The news of his death makes me very sad. "
Also
DFB director Oliver Bierhoff
emphasized the values that stand for Eckel, "The World Champion from 1954 are sporty, not least because of the historical circumstances in the history of the national team of paramount importance. The attention and enthusiasm that prevails around our team's games today would be unthinkable without them. Horst Eckel symbolized the values of the heroes of Bern: modest, warm, down-to-earth, without airs. The personal conversations with him were always extremely enriching. To know that Horst Eckel and therefore none of the 54ers is alive anymore, griefs me and all of us in the national team with great sadness. "
Eckel's long-standing club,
1. FC Kaiserslautern
, sent the "greyhound" a message: "You are and will always be an FCK legend."
Dortmund's managing director Hans-Joachim Watzke
said: “Horst Eckel was one of the greats in German football.
That was not only because he became world champion in 1954, but also because he has always remained a very humble and warm-hearted person.
Every conversation I have had with him over the past few years has been an enormous enrichment for me. "
The
1. FC Nuremberg
condolences and let's Greetings to died in 1994 Max Morlock align: "Rest in peace, Horst Eckel! Greetings to our Maxl and all the other world champions from 1954. Without you, football here in Germany would never have become what it is for many people today. "
The
Lauterer club legend Hans-Peter Briegel
wrote on »t-online«: »The loss of Horst Eckel is incredibly sad - for all football fans in Germany, but especially for the Lauter supporters and football community. In February of next year he wanted to celebrate his 90th birthday, his daughter had already sent out a ›Save the Date‹, also to me. It is very sad that this will not happen again. I often discussed with Horst Eckel in Kaiserslautern and appreciated him very much for his pleasant calm and restraint. He was a critical observer of today's football. "
DFB Vice President Rainer Koch
said: »I got to know and experienced Horst Eckel as a wonderful person who, out of deep conviction, always sided with the weaker and was a real role model for them. He knew how to show people in seemingly hopeless situations the way to light, and the hero of Bern always combined this with his very personal football fairy tale. Willpower and ambition, determination and humility have shaped his life and made him a personality that we all sorely miss. Not only for me a personality will be lost with his death, we will also miss Horst Eckel in the DFB with our social institutions for which he worked tirelessly. "
The
FC Schalke 04
took briefly: "A really big one of German football has gone from us: Rest in peace, Horst Eckel '!
DFB honorary captain Uwe Seeler
told the sports information service
:
“I'm really sorry about that.
Until recently, we often spent time together at events, unfortunately not in the past two years due to the pandemic.
He was always very comradely and human just a really good guy with a heart.
He was always a good colleague.
We were united by the down-to-earth.
He was a very offensive player and it was always very pleasant to play with him.
We did a lot together, also outside of the courses, privately. "
cev / dpa / sid
