German footballer Andreas Brehme, scorer of the decisive goal at the 1990 World Cup, has died
German footballer Andreas Brehme, who scored the winning goal against Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final in Italy (1-0) from the penalty spot, died in the early hours of Tuesday morning at the age of 63, his former club Bayern Munich said.
"FC Bayern is deeply shocked by the sudden death of Andreas Brehme," the club said in a statement.
"We will always carry Andreas Brehme in our hearts. As a world champion and as a very special person," added the Bavarian club, where Brehme played two seasons in the mid-1980s (1986-1988).
The club did not specify the cause of his death. The German press reported that Brehme died of cardiac arrest early Tuesday morning in Munich.
Brehme made German football history by scoring the only goal in the World Cup final against Maradona's Argentina on 8 July 1990 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
A chapter in the history of German football, like Gerd Müller in the final of the 1974 World Cup in Germany (2-1 against the Netherlands) or more recently Mario Götze in Brazil 2014, also against Argentina (1-0).
"No matter where I am, at an airport or out shopping, I'm always asked about that," Brehme recalled in an interview with the German agency SID, a subsidiary of AFP.
Germany's last title
The 1990 World Cup also had another significance, as it was the last title for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) before the reunification of the country.
An attacking left-back, Brehme scored eight goals in 86 international appearances for the Mannschaft between 1984 and 1994. Another of his memorable goals was a direct free-kick against Michel Platini's France in the semi-finals of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico (2-0 German victory).
Trained at HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, a club in the city of Hamburg, he spent most of his career with Kaiserslautern in two spells (1981-1986, then 1993-1998), winning the German Cup in 1996 and the Bundesliga in 1998, in a season in which the club had returned to the top flight of German football.
His two biggest clubs were Bayern Munich (1986-88), with whom he won the Bundesliga in 1987, and Inter Milan (1988-92), where he won the Serie A in 1989 and the UEFA Cup in 1991.
"Ciao Andy, eternal legend. A magnificent player and a true Interista," wrote Inter, where he played alongside compatriots Jürgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthaeus, at a time when the Lombardy city's other great team, AC Milan, had Dutch stars such as Ruud Gullit, Marco Van Basten and Frank Rijkaard.
The Nerazzurri club announced that its players will wear a black armband as a sign of mourning for Inter's Champions League last-16 first leg against Atletico Madrid at the Giuseppe Meazza on Tuesday (20H00 GMT).
After leaving Italy, Brehme even played in Spain, one season (1992-1993) for Real Zaragoza, but without much luck and returned to his country.
Shortly after Beckenbauer's death
After hanging up his boots in 1998, he had a short coaching career with Kaiserslautern (2000-2002) and Unterhaching (Munich suburb).
German football is having a sad start to 2024, following the death in January of another legendary former player, Franz Beckenbauer, who coached the Mannschaft to the 1990 World Cup title.
"Unfortunately, the bad news just keeps on coming," Pierre Littbarski, another member of that team, told SID.
"It's all very, very sad for German football and especially for us, the 1990 champions," he added.
Another player from that generation, defender Guido Buchwald, recalled to SID that "Andi was always very positive and radiated pure life. He was a great person, a great friend.
"Andi was our World Cup hero, but for me he was much more, a very close friend and team-mate," recalled another Italy winner, Rudi Völler in a statement released by the German Football Association (DFB).
"Brehme is one of the greatest footballers in German history," DFB president Bernd Neuendorf recalled.
