Friday, December 03, 2021
Reactions to Horst Eckel’s death
“A really good guy with a heart”
As one of the World Cup heroes of 1954, Horst Eckel is a legend of football. The youngest player in coach Sepp Herberger’s team dies at the age of 89. Companions and greats of German football say goodbye with emotion.
Uwe Seeler: “I’m really sorry about that. We have often spent time together at events until recently, unfortunately not in the past two years due to the pandemic. He was always very comradely and simply a really good guy with a heart. He was always a Good colleague, we were down to earth. He was a very offensive player, it was always very pleasant to play with him. We did a lot together, also outside of the courses, privately. ”
Hansi Flick (national coach): “Unfortunately, I was never allowed to see the footballer Horst Eckel play live, the person Horst Eckel was a role model for me in every respect. His warmth was contagious, his social commitment extraordinary. I will miss him personally and in German football as a whole News of his death makes me very sad. “
Oliver Bierhoff (national team director): “The world champions of 1954 are sporty and, not least because of the historical circumstances, of paramount importance for the history of the national team. 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 thus none of the 54ers is alive anymore, griefs me and all of us in the national team with great sadness. “
Hans-Joachim Watzke (Managing Director Borussia Dortmund): “Horst Eckel was one of the greats of German football – not only because he became world champion in 1954, as the youngest player, but because he was an absolutely shining example of humility and integrity. Every conversation with him was enriching because it was simple It was very pleasant to see such a humble and personable person. “
Rainer Koch (1st DFB Vice President): “I got to know and experienced Horst Eckel as a wonderful person who, out of deepest conviction, always sided with the weaker and was a real role model for them Held von 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 is lost with his death, but also for us Horst Eckel will be absent from the DFB with our social institutions, for which he worked tirelessly. “
Peter Peters (1st DFB Vice President): “The news of Horst Eckel’s death hit me deeply. I not only adored Horst Eckel as one of our soccer heroes, but also valued him personally. He helped me a lot in 1991 after I got into soccer at 1. FC Kaiserslautern to get to know this club and its people. Because they all loved him. Because he was an outstanding footballer, but above all because of his positive and engaging nature, because of his great character. He showed everyone appreciation and respect, he has honesty and I am very proud that I got to know Horst Eckel. He was a great companion. We will all miss him very much. “
Heike Ullrich (Deputy DFB General Secretary): “It makes me deeply sad that we lost the last icon of our 1954 world championship team in Horst Eckel. The heroes of Bern have not only shaped football in Germany, but our entire country. Their significance goes far beyond what is happening on the pitch The following generations have always felt. Horst Eckel, with his positive attitude and his big fighter heart in the face of immense challenges, symbolized the era of rebuilding and new beginnings, in which this first title win of a German national team fell. He was a great footballer and a great one Man. We will miss Horst Eckel very much and our thoughts are with his family. “
Hans-Peter Briegel (former national player, at t-online.de): “The loss of Horst Eckel is incredibly sad – for all football fans in Germany, but especially for the Lauterer supporters and football community. He wanted to celebrate his 90th birthday in February of next year, his daughter had already sent out a save the date, including to me . It is very sad that this will not happen again. ”
1. FC Kaiserslautern: Today we have to say goodbye in deep sorrow and with a heavy heart. Dear Horst, you are and will always be an FCK legend – our thoughts are with your beloved Hannelore, Dagmar, Susanne and your loved ones, who had to let you go today.
1. FC Nürnberg: 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.