He himself could not come to Hamburg for health reasons. The “Kaiser” watched the funeral service in the Volksparkstadion on the TV screen. Nevertheless, Franz Beckenbauer said goodbye to Hamburg football legend Uwe Seeler, who died in July, with emotional words.
“Being able to play with you, my friend, in the German national team was a great honor for me, who is nine years younger,” wrote the 76-year-old world champion from 1974 in the letter published by the “Hamburger Abendblatt”.
“I respectfully admired you from a distance when you were changing in the dressing room,” Beckenbauer wrote. “Your thoughts seemed to be on the pitch even before the national coach’s last motivational speech.” Seeler hardly took in the words of the then national coach Helmut Schön. “And woe betide if a comrade allows himself to play alibi football after the kick-off. That’s when Hanseat Seeler got really loud.” Calling “Uwe, Uwe” was the best way to call “Germany, Germany”.
“Dear Uwe, you will not be forgotten”
“On Wednesday, the Volkspark is all yours,” continues Beckenbauer. “Football Hamburg honors a great German and people with a funeral service.” The longtime captain and president of FC Bayern Munich and Seeler played together at the 1966 World Cup in England and 1970 in Mexico. He felt “a very special affection” even then.
The letter ends with the words: “Dear Uwe, this last greeting comes from the bottom of my heart: You will never be forgotten. Servus and bye.”