German club Eintracht mourns Holsenbein

Bernd Holsenbein, who won the FIFA World Cup in 1974 with West Germany, along with Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller, has died at the age of 78, his club Eintracht Frankfurt, where he played for many years, announced on Tuesday.

Holsenbein, who served as a striker and winger, scored five goals in forty matches with West Germany.

In the 1974 World Cup final against the Netherlands in Munich, Holsenbein won the penalty kick scored by his compatriot Paul Breitner, and the score was tied at 1-1.

As a result of that kick, Holsenbein was subjected to violent criticism by the Dutch fans, who considered that he threw himself excessively, but the player insisted throughout his life that it was a “clear penalty kick.”

Gerd Muller scored the decisive winning goal late in the first half, and Germany won its second World Cup title (2-1).

In the 1976 European Cup final, Holsenbein scored a late goal to equalize the score 2-2 against Czechoslovakia, but Germany lost the match on penalties.

At the club level, the deceased spent most of his career in the ranks of Frankfurt, where he remains the all-time top scorer with 160 goals in 420 matches. He won the German Cup three times with him, in addition to the European Union Cup (currently the Europa League) in a career that lasted 14 years.

After his departure from the German team, the player spent several years in the United States with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Memphis Americans and Baltimore Blast, after which he returned to Frankfurt, where he worked with the club as an administrator and scout.

“Brend Holsenbein had a huge impact on Eintracht Frankfurt for almost 60 years,” said club CEO Axel Hellmann. “We have lost not only one of our club’s most distinguished figures, but also a loyal employee and dear friend.”