With Uwe Seeler, one of the best and most popular German soccer players died at the age of 85. Here are the most important milestones in his life and career:
November 5, 1936: Born in Hamburg
1948: Admission to the boys’ team of Hamburger SV
1953: First international appointment to the youth national team at the Uefa tournament in Belgium
August 29, 1953: Debut in the HSV Oberliga team against VfB Oldenburg. First league goal
1954: At the Uefa youth tournament in Germany, he scored 13 of the 20 German goals
October 16, 1954: First international match against France
1958: World Cup participation in Sweden: First international goal against Argentina
February 18, 1959: Marriage to Ilka Buck
1960: Birth of daughter Kerstin, Helle (1963) and Frauke (1966)
June 25, 1960: Only German championship title by beating 1. FC Köln in the final 3:2 in Frankfurt. Two-time scorer: Seeler
September 20, 1961: Against Denmark (5:1) for the first time captain of the German national team. Triple scorer: Seeler
1961: Offer from Inter Milan: 900,000 mark earnest money, 1.5 million mark fee – Seeler rejects!
1962: Top scorer in the Oberliga Nord for the seventh time with 28 goals. Second World Cup participation
August 14, 1963: HSV beat Borussia Dortmund 3-0 in the DFB Cup final in Hanover. Triple scorer: Seeler
1964: Top scorer in the newly founded Bundesliga with 30 goals
February 20, 1965: Achilles tendon rupture in the game against Eintracht Frankfurt. Doctors prognosis: end of career probable
September 26, 1965: Return to the national team. With the goal to 2:1 against Sweden, Seeler shoots Germany to the 1966 World Cup
1966: World Cup participation in England. After England’s Wembley goal, Captain Seeler’s team “only” became vice world champions
May 23, 1968: HSV is in the final of the European Cup Winners’ Cup and lost 2-0 to AC Milan in Rotterdam
May 31, 1968: Seeler announces his resignation from the DFB selection
September 21, 1969: Return to the national team after a 1-1 draw against Austria in Vienna
1970: Fourth and last World Cup: Third place in Mexico
1970: “Footballer of the Year” for the third time after 1960 and 1964
September 9, 1970: 72nd and last international match in Nuremberg against Hungary (3:1)
May 1, 1972: Farewell to professional football at the HSV game against a world selection in front of 70,000 fans in the Volksparkstadion
1972: Great Federal Cross of Merit, appointment as honorary captain of the German national team
1986: Owner of the sportswear company “Uwe-Seeler-Moden”
October 5, 1995: President of HSV
1996: Founding of the Uwe-Seeler-Foundation for people in need through no fault of their own
June 10, 1998: Admission to the “Hall of Fame of German Football”
June 30, 1998: Resignation as HSV President
May 10, 2002: Presentation of the “Golden Sports Pyramid” from the German Sports Aid Foundation
November 2003: Appointment as the 30th honorary citizen of the city of Hamburg
April 2005: Erection of the Uwe-Seeler monument, a 2.5-ton oversized bronze sculpture of his right foot, in front of the arena at the Volkspark
July 2010: Innocently, Seeler is involved in a serious car accident in front of the Elbe tunnel. Result: Injuries to the spine, one ear goes deaf
December 31, 2011: After more than 50 years, Seeler ends his activity as a representative for Adidas
May 12, 2018: Seeler experiences the first descent of his HSV
2018: Inclusion in the first eleven of the “Hall of Fame of German Football”
July 21, 2022: Uwe Seeler dies at the age of 85