The footballer of the national team Germany Andreas Brehmewho scored the winning goal from a penalty in the World Cup final against Argentina. Italy 90 (1-0), died in the early hours of this Tuesday at the age of 63, reported his former club Bayern Munich.
“FC Bayern is deeply saddened 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 for two seasons (1986-1988) in the mid-1980s.
The club did not provide any information about the cause of death. As the German press reported, Brehme died early Tuesday morning in Munich as a result of a cardiac arrest.
Brehme went down in German football history by scoring the only goal in the World Cup final against Maradona’s Argentina on July 8, 1990 at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.
A chapter in the history of German football, as Gerd Müller already played in the 1974 World Cup final in Germany (2-1 against the Netherlands) and most recently Mario Götze in Brazil in 2014, also against Argentina (1-0).
“No matter where I am, at the airport or shopping, they always ask me about it,” Brehme recalled in an interview with the German agency SID, an AFP affiliate.
– Last title of the Federal Republic of Germany –
The 1990 World Cup had another significance as it was the last title won by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) before the country’s reunification.
Brehme, a left-back with great offensive power, scored eight goals in 86 international matches with the national team between 1984 and 1994. Another memorable goal was a direct free kick against Michel Platini’s France in the semi-final of the 1986 World Cup in Mexico (2-0 German victory).
Formed at HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst, a club from the city of Hamburg, he spent most of his career in Kaiserslautern in two phases (1981-1986 and then 1993-1998), winning the German Cup with this team in 1996 and 1998 In 1998, a season in which the club had returned to the top division of German football.
His two biggest clubs were Bayern Munich (1986–1988), with whom he won the Bundesliga in 1987, and Inter Milan (1988–1992), with whom he won Serie A in 1989 and the UEFA Cup in 1991.
“Ciao Andy, eternal legend. A great player and a true Interista,” wrote Inter in Milan, whose stars included Dutch stars 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 in the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 that Inter will play against Atlético de Madrid at the Giuseppe Meazza Stadium this Tuesday (20:00 GMT). become.
After leaving Italy, Brehme even played one season (1992-1993) in Spain 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 brief coaching career with Kaiserslautern (2000-2002) and Unterhaching (a team from the Munich area).
German football is off to a sad start to 2024 after the death in January of another legendary former player: Franz Beckenbauer, the very team coach that won the 1990 World Cup.
“Unfortunately, the bad news doesn’t stop,” lamented SID, another member of that team, Pierre Littbarski.
“Everything is very, very sad for German football and especially for us, the 1990 champions,” he added.
Another footballer of that generation, defender Guido Buchwald, recalled to SID: “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 teammate,” another Italian champion, Rudi Völler, recalled in a statement from the German Federation (DFB).
“Brehme is one of the greatest footballers in German history,” recalled DFB President Bernd Neuendorf.
Andreas-Brehme-Germany-AFP-Italy-90.jpg
SPRING: AFP