At 78 years old
World champion from 1974: Bernd Hölzenbein is dead
Bernd Hölzenbein in 2016
© Imago Images
The 1974 soccer world champion, Bernd Hölzenbein, died at the age of 78 after a long illness. The attacker played for Eintracht Frankfurt throughout his life and is still the club’s most successful goalscorer.
Penalty – or not? This question accompanied Bernd Hölzenbein throughout his life. Now the 1974 world champion, who wore the Eintracht Frankfurt jersey with the eagle on the chest in 420 Bundesliga games from 1967 to 1981, died on Monday at the age of 78 after a long, serious illness. The Hessian Bundesliga soccer team confirmed this to the German Press Agency on Tuesday. “Bild” first reported.
Anyone who thinks of Hölzenbein thinks above all of this scene in the World Cup final in Munich against the Netherlands, when he entered the Orange penalty area on the left in the 24th minute, the Dutchman Wim Jansen went for a tackle and Hölzenbein closed case comes. The result: a penalty for Germany, a 1-1 equalizer by Paul Breitner and, after Gerd Müller’s winning goal, the title for the World Cup hosts.
The big question: penalty or swallow?
Was it a penalty or a swallow? “No matter where I am, that’s always the first thing that comes up,” reported Hölzenbein, who was very annoyed by the constant confrontation with this scene for a while. “If this penalty is the only thing I remember, then that’s a shame,” said “Holz”, as he was known in Frankfurt, once.
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Hölzenbein was no longer able to watch his beloved Eintracht’s last title win live. The club veteran was not there for the 2022 Europa League triumph in Seville. It was a quiet farewell in installments – due to a serious illness.
At the beginning of the upswing of his favorite club, Hölzenbein was still in the middle of the cheer and hustle and bustle that began in 2018 with the triumph in the DFB Cup and continued in 2019 with the move into the semi-finals of the Europa League. At that time, much to the delight of Hölzenbein, who had always remained loyal to the club even during the difficult times in the second division.
Bernd Hölzenbein was an institution in Frankfurt
Hölzenbein had not been active in the active professional football business for a long time. The former professional quit as Eintracht’s chief scout after the 2016/17 season and justified this with his old age and stress. During the Corona period, as a high-risk patient, he quickly withdrew and found variety on the treadmill in the living room, with a yoga app or in the garden, as Hölzenbein once told the “Bild-Zeitung”.
Bernd Hölzenbein (i.) sneaks the ball away from Dutchman Arie Haan in the 1974 final
© Imago Images
Hölzenbein was an institution in Frankfurt – like only club legend Jürgen Grabowski, who died in March 2022, and also a world champion from 1974. With him, Hölzenbein, who is Eintracht’s Bundesliga record scorer with 160 goals, shaped an era of success on the Main. The winger has three DFB Cup victories in 1975, 1976 and 1981 as well as the UEFA Cup victory in 1980 against Borussia Mönchengladbach. By the way, he made the trophy disappear for one night because he was annoyed about his planned substitution in the second leg of the final.
At some point, Hölzenbein became more relaxed about the ongoing topic of the 1974 World Cup final. “It was definitely a penalty, the referee blew the whistle.” But was British referee Jack Taylor right with his decision? Hölzenbein’s answer: “Let’s put it this way: It was a foul, but not one that still has a major impact on me today.”
The discussion about the penalty came later
Whenever Germany and the Netherlands play against each other, the topic is reheated in the neighboring country. Once a Dutch TV station even offered Hölzenbein money to say: “I let myself go.” Hölzenbein refused because he was not aware of any guilt. By the way, it’s interesting that the penalty was not discussed at all in the Netherlands immediately after the game. “That didn’t come up until much later,” reported the native of Central Hesse.
Regardless of the discussions about the famous scene, the 1974 World Cup title was the greatest experience of his career for Hölzenbein. After his active career, he stayed with Eintracht as vice president and manager and experienced ups and downs with the moody diva from Main. Hölzenbein enjoyed the magical triangle around Uwe Bein, Andreas Möller and Anthony Yeboah, suffered with the team when they missed the 1992 championship in Rostock and got into serious trouble in the tax case surrounding Yeboah. But just as “Holz” was always there for Eintracht, the club was also there for him, with a few exceptions. Hölzenbein and Eintracht – that was a connection for life.