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Obituary for Horst Eckel: The last world champion from Bern

2021-12-03T14:33:19.728Z


At the age of 22 Horst Eckel was part of the "Miracle of Bern" in 1954. He celebrated national success with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He remained connected to the myth of Betzenberg until the very end.


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Horst Eckel and his trophies

Photo: Uwe Anspach / dpa

If you want to describe the most important game in Horst Eckel's career, then it's best to let him have his say:

“I looked briefly at the clock tower of the Wankdorf Stadium.

“Hungary – Germany” was posted on two large tablets.

What would happen in the next few minutes?

What would it say after 90 minutes?

'It starts,' said Fritz suddenly, 'We have a problem.' "

3: 2 for Germany was at the end of the clock tower of Bern's Wankdorf Stadium.

Eckel often remembered this moment, the 1954 World Cup final, including in his autobiography "The 84th Minute".

The game, which ended with Germany's first world championship title, was not only defining for Eckel, but for all of Germany.

Almost missed the winning goal

But the then 22-year-old almost missed the decisive moment of this game: the goal to make it 3-2 by Helmut Rahn.

The Hungarian center forward Nándor Hidegkuti repeatedly crossed Eckel's path, only a small lunge to the left gave him a clear field of vision of the ball, which, in his view, hit the bottom left behind the Hungarian goalkeeper Gyula Grosics.

»Rahn should shoot from the background - Rahn shoots - Tooooor!

Tooooor!

Tooooor!

Tooooor, ”shouted radio reporter Herbert Zimmermann into the microphone at the time - and a country cheered its new hero.

Right in the middle: Horst Eckel, the youngest in the German team.

This 84th minute in Bern, this first world championship title for a German national soccer team, was to determine Eckel's life forever - and at the same time be the highlight of his career as an athlete.

He began his career at SC Vogelbach, where, unlike later in the national team, he came up as a striker and stood out for his enormous accuracy.

50 goals in one season were not uncommon, and so it happened that 1. FC Kaiserslautern became aware of the young Eckel.

Fritz Walter was his idol

He worked his way up to the first team via the youth and amateur team - getting closer and closer to his great football idol and later friend Fritz Walter, with whom he soon harmonized on the pitch.

"Fritz was the leader in training, in the game and off the field," Eckel said of him.

It was Walter who pushed Eckel's retraining as a runner (defensive midfielder) together with his coach Richard Schneider and national coach Sepp Herberger - so that Eckel could find a place in the national team.

Herberger, the boss, was enthusiastic about Eckel's enormous diligence, his playful dexterity and the cleverness of his game.

The "greyhound of the world champion"

No matter whether in Vogelbach, Kaiserslautern, or in Bern: Eckel was always one of the youngest - but according to his own statement, he was almost never fearful.

Only in the seemingly endless six minutes until the final whistle in Bern after the 3-2: "I felt a terrible fear that something could go wrong now," wrote Eckel in his autobiography.

He celebrated two championships with 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1951, 1953) and made it to the final four times.

Back then, Kaiserslautern was a big address in German football, and Eckel's recognition as part of the Betzenberg myth in the Palatinate continues unabated today.

»Eckel embodied the tradition and the history of the association.

Conversations with him often served as orientation or decision-making aid, «said the former chairman of 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Stefan Kuntz, who is now Turkey’s national coach, once about him.

"His name stands for values ​​such as respect, decency and camaraderie."

Eckel grew up in a troubled time.

He experienced the Second World War as a child; at the time of the economic miracle he was only in his mid-twenties.

These impressions and experiences left a lasting mark on him, which is why sentences like: "One for all, all for one" were not just phrases for him.

Again and again he emphasized this feeling of togetherness in the World Cup troops in 1954 and at 1. FCK.

An offer from the English First Division Club Bristol for 150,000 marks and a monthly salary of 5000 marks for Eckel was out of the question: “As a young player, it never occurred to me to go anywhere and abandon my team. «

After finishing his career, the trained toolmaker continued to work in his profession, which he had continued to practice during his football career.

Like many of his teammates, he was forced to do so because the footballer's salary alone was not enough.

From 1970 he worked as a teacher for sports, art and handicrafts at a secondary school.

The "greyhound of the world champion", as he was called because of his speed, was also socially committed.

In 1997 he succeeded his friend Fritz Walter as a representative of the Sepp Herberger Foundation, as he was no longer able to exercise the office for health reasons.

Eckel visited prisoners, talked to them and encouraged them.

He wanted to bring her back into society.

Horst Eckel died today at the age of 89 in his hometown Vogelbach.

He left behind his wife Hannelore, to whom he had been married since 1957, and two daughters.

The last survivor of the 54 team is dead.

Source: spiegel

All sports articles on 2021-12-03

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