Horst Eckel

Horst Eckel (8 February 1932 – 3 December 2021) was a German footballer. He was part of the West Germany national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup. He was the last surviving player of the 1954 World Cup-winning West German team.

Horst Eckel
Eckel in 2014
Personal information
Full name Horst Eckel
Date of birth (1932-02-08)8 February 1932
Place of birth Vogelbach, Bavaria, Germany
Date of death 3 December 2021(2021-12-03) (aged 89)
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Wing half
Youth career
SC Vogelbach
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1949–1960 1. FC Kaiserslautern 214 (34)
1960–1966 SV Röchling Völklingen
National team
1952–1958 West Germany 32 (0)
Honours
Representing  West Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner1954 Switzerland
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Eckel debuted in 1. FC Kaiserslautern's first team in 1947 at the age of 15.[1] He won the German football championship with Kaiserslautern in 1951 and 1953. Eckel was playing as a right half back. As a player, Eckel was assiduous and adroit.[1] Because of his rapid way of playing, he got the nickname Windhund (sighthound). He later played for SV Röchling Völklingen.

International career

Eckel was part of the West German team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup and achieved the "Miracle of Bern".[2] During that tournament, Eckel became an important pillar of the successful West Germany national team. The strength of the right side of Sepp Herberger's team was made possible due to Eckel's high defensive workrate and his passes, from which outside right Helmut Rahn and inside right Max Morlock benefitted enormously.[1]

He also participated in the 1958 FIFA World Cup.[3] In total he earned 32 caps.

Later life

After his career, he retrained from toolmaker to teacher, a profession he practised until his retirement in 1997.[4]

He was an advisor for The Miracle of Bern, Sönke Wortmann's movie about the 1954 FIFA World Cup.[5]

Eckel died on 3 December 2021, at the age of 89.[6][7]

References
  1. Bitter, Jürgen (1997). Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler (in German). Sportverlag. p. 96.
  2. "Horst Eckel Statistics". FIFA. Archived from the original on 15 June 2008. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  3. "1958 FIFA World Cup: Germany FR Squad". FIFA. Archived from the original on 4 November 2007. Retrieved 22 January 2010.
  4. "Außenläufer, Lehrer, Legende". HNA (in German). 7 February 2017. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  5. Topp, Sebastian (8 February 2017). ""Hätte Geld bezahlt, um spielen zu dürfen"". 11Freunde (in German). Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  6. "Horst Eckel, last of the 1954 World Cup winners, dies at 89". Associated Press. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. "Horst Eckel, last of Germany's 1954 world champions, dies at 89 - DFB". Reuters. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 3 December 2021.
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