Horst Eckel, the last of the 1954 World Cup winners, has died at the age of 89

Horst Eckel, the last surviving member of the team that won the 1954 World Cup in West Germany, has died. He was 89 years old.

The German Football Federation said Eckel had died on Friday. He gave no cause of death.

Eckel was one of only two players in West Germany as the team that played in every match completed the “Miracle of Bern” by defeating the previous Hungarian favorite 3-2 in the final.

Fritz Walter was the new captain of the team. He was a member of Walter Eckel’s Kaiserslautern team and the tutor of the 22-year-old midfielder at the time, the youngest of the West German national team. Winning the World Cup said the country had returned to international football after World War II. German teams were unable to enter the 1950 tournament.

“He was outstanding as a team player,” Kaiserslautern player and former coach Otto Rehhagel said at Eckel’s 85th birthday celebration in 2017.

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Eckel made his first appearance in November 1952 in West Germany after watching Sepp Herberger coach Kaiserslautern play a friendly match against Schalke. Eckel scored two goals and Walter recommended it, taking advantage of his teammate’s relentless run to the right.

“He can run like a greyhound,” he told Walter Herberger.

He stuck to his name and became known as Eckel “Greyhound” for his thin stature and willingness to run, a feature that helped Kaiserslauterni win two league titles in the early 1950s. He usually played on the right back or in the middle of the right field, but he could also have played a more central role.

Eckel played 32 matches with West Germany, and reached the 1954 World Cup final. The German football federation paid tribute to Eckel on Friday for marking Hungarian player Nandor Hidegkuti “out of the game”.

“Herberger told us exactly what we needed to do for each of us, what the team needed to do, and then he said,‘ Go ahead, play your game and win, ’” Eckel recalled 60 years later.

The group was held on their return from Switzerland. It was the first world championship.

“It was only when we got back to Germany on the train and saw the excitement on the way and in the cities that we knew we were world champions,” Eckel said.

The success of the World Cup did not change much for the 22-year-old Eckel. He earned 320 German marks a month from Kaiserslautern ($ 76 at the time) and needed another job to survive.

Bristol City offered Eckel 20 times more than they earned at Kaiserslautern, but there was no way he would leave the club.

“I know no one today will understand why I didn’t move. But I didn’t play football for money. I wanted to be a good player, that was all, ”Eckel told Kicker magazine in 2017. “I would also pay for the Kaiserslauterns.”

Eckel has always been a fan of Kaiserslautern. As a youngster, he rode a 30-mile (19-mile) bike to see the team play. He was looking through a hole in the fence because he had no money for tickets, according to 11 Freunde magazine.

Eckel was already playing for SC Vogelbach in his hometown at the age of 15, gaining attention with his goals as a striker. He signed with Kaiserslautern when he was 17, Walter joining his idol, taking the young Eckel quickly under his wing.

League titles continued in 1951 and 1954. Eckel played 214 games at the Kaiserslautern between 1949-60 before moving to SV Röchling Völklingen.

Eckel was humble and depressed during and after his football career. He loved his kind ways with his teammates, rivals and fans.

“He always stressed the importance of solidarity, humanity and friendship in the team,” said former Kaiserslautern striker Miroslav Klose.

Eckel was always happy to talk about the 1954 World Cup in particular, but especially to those who did not live there at the time.

“Today, when young people come to me, and school children come to me, ‘You know, I’m different.’ It’s a wonderful thing, “Eckel said on his 85th birthday.” It makes me a little proud. “