Uwe Seeler, one of the iconic figures of post-war German football and captain of West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final, has died aged 85, officials said Thursday. “Hamburg mourns Uwe Seeler. He was the first top scorer in the Bundesliga. He has now died surrounded by his loved ones,” said a statement from the municipality of Hamburg, the city where he spent his club career. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also responded on Twitter: “He was a role model for many, we will miss him,” he said.
Born in 1936, Seeler made his debut for Hamburg in 1953 and made 476 appearances before retiring in 1972. He later became club president, but resigned in 1998 due to a financial scandal in which he was not involved.
Seeler played a total of 72 games for West Germany between 1954 and 1970, scoring 33 goals, but never winning a World Cup. However, he was the main architect of the reconstruction of German football after World War II, which went hand in hand with the reconstruction of the country.
Fourth in the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, and beaten in the quarter-finals in 1962, Seeler’s finest moment was captaining the West German team that reached the 1966 final at Wembley, though losing 4-2 to host nation England after extra time.
It remains arguably the most famous World Cup final ever due to the controversy still circulating over whether Geoff Hurst’s goal of putting England ahead 3-2 actually crossed the line.
Hurst’s shot defeated goalkeeper Hans Tilkowski, the ball hit the bottom of the crossbar, bounced off the line before being headed away by defender Wolfgang Weber.
1966 and Sun
Seeler always insisted that the goal should not have been awarded.
“I was at the back of the penalty area and saw exactly that the ball didn’t go over the line,” he said in 2016.
“We were all in a state of commotion, none of us knew what was going on.
“Nobody (in the West German team) could understand why the goal was given.”
Seeler, however, made peace with the decision, saying on the 50th anniversary of the final that it was time to end the 1966 controversy.
“I think all the players have handled the events well now,” he said. “Even though it was a defining moment, sport is like that sometimes. You have to absorb it and put it away.”
At the end of the game, Seeler picked up his collapsed teammates one by one and led them on a lap of honor that remains an iconic image in football.
“There are many titles that make a player or a team a legend, but there are few gestures that make them immortal,” wrote Sascha Theisen, the author of the book “Helden” (“Helden”) about German football legends.
“The 1966 German team became immortal by taking that lap of honor at Wembley, at the initiative of Seeler and despite their controversial defeat. The captain found the right gesture at the right time.”
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier paid tribute to one of the country’s best players.
“In Uwe Seeler, we have lost a legend of German football and a unique down-to-earth personality, an honest worker on the pitch and a brilliant goalscorer,” Steinmeier said in a condolence message.
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“(He) gave us many unforgettable matches and scored inimitable goals… Despite all his fame and popularity, he always remained true to himself. He never forgot that you can only reach the top if you do not walk the path alone.”
The German women’s team has announced that it will play the quarterfinals of the European Championship against Austria on Thursday evening with black armbands.
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