Sports Weekly all-media reporter Huang Sijun
Euro 1972 and 1974 World Cup winner Jürgen Grabowski died Thursday night at the age of 77. Eintracht Frankfurt announced the sad news on Friday. Chairman Peter Fischer said: "Grabowski's death is unbearable for all of us. ”
Frankfurt legend Grabowski died at the age of 77.
Always win Bayern, but not the Bundesliga title
Born in Wiesbaden, Grabowski left his hometown club FV Biebrich 02 at the age of 21 to join Eintracht Frankfurt and played until he hung up his boots. Over the course of 15 seasons, the striker on the right winger represented the Eagles in as many as 555 official matches, scoring 151 goals, including 441 appearances in the Bundesliga, scoring 109 goals and leading the team to two consecutive German Cups in 1973/74 and 1974/75.
After the 1974 German Cup final, Grabowski wore a hamburger shirt and held aloft the trophy.
In fact, to make way for the homegrown World Cup, the final of the DFB-Pokal in 1973/74 was played at the beginning of the 1974/75 season, on 17 August 1974. In other words, Eintracht Frankfurt has lifted 2 German Cups in one season! Equally interesting, before the award ceremony for the 1974 German Cup final, Grabowski, as captain of Frankfurt, exchanged shirts with a Hamburg player. So when he held the cup, he was wearing a hamburger shirt. Later, after being reminded, "Graby" changed back into the Frankfurt shirt and re-posed in front of the camera and camera. Afterwards, the chest advertising sponsor of the hamburger jersey, Campari (Kimbally), sent Grabovsky a case of wine to thank him for advertising for free.
However, in the Bundesliga, Grabowski never tasted the championship, and the best result was only the third place in the 1974/75 season. He said: "We beat Bayern a lot, but to stay at the top of the table all season, we may need more high-level players. In fact, Bayern had issued an invitation to Grabowski in 1969, but Frankfurt's then-president Rudi Gramlich refused to release him. Later, Graby said: "When Gramlich told me at the time that Frankfurt would not let me transfer to Bayern, I put my mind at ease. ”
After the 1980 UEFA Cup final, Grabowski, who was unable to play due to injury, was carried by his teammates to celebrate.
In 1979/80, Eintracht Frankfurt won the UEFA Cup, but Grabowski had been watching from the second leg of the quarter-finals, when he was fouled by the then 18-year-old Mateus in his league with Mönchengladbach in March 1980, causing him to hang up his boots at the end of that season. This led to The Formation of Grabowski's alliance with Mateus, who later grew into a world-class superstar. Coincidentally, in the final of the UEFA Cup that season, Frankfurt beat Borussia Moncheng. After winning the championship, his teammates carried Grabowski, who could not play, on his shoulders and asked him to hold aloft the trophy, but Grabie still deeply regretted that he could not play.
From "The World's Best Substitute" to the World Champion
Compared to his club career, Grabowski's national team career, although relatively short, left no regrets. As early as the 1966 World Cup, he was named in the West German squad but did not get a chance to play. After that, he temporarily left the national team, mainly because of his myocarditis.
In the 1974 World Cup against Sweden, Grabowski (No. 9) scored a crucial goal off the bench.
However, before the 1970 World Cup, Grabowski successfully returned, and then made five appearances as a substitute in the competition, winning the title of "World's Best Substitute". In the "Battle of the Century", which lost 3-4 to Italy in the semi-finals, Grabie got his only chance to start and finally played 120 minutes. Before the end of the 90th minute, it was he who broke through the cross from the left and assisted the undefended Schnelinger's right foot on the line of the small penalty area to draw 1-1, dragging the game into extra time. Two years later, at the inaugural European Championship, Grabie came off the bench in the semi-finals against Belgium 2-1 and did not make a appearance in the 3-0 final against the Soviet Union.
The 1974 World Cup was the pinnacle of Grabowski's, when he made six appearances, five of which played the full 90 minutes, including a 2-1 win over the Netherlands at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. After losing 1-0 to East Germany in the closing match of the first stage group stage, Grabi was hidden in the snow in the ensuing match against Yugoslavia. He then came against Sweden 4-2, coming off the bench in the 66th minute and scoring a 3-2 goal in the 10th minute. Later Graby said: "It was the most important goal of my career. This goal paved the way for me. Being a world champion is the happiest thing for me. ”
Becoming a world champion was the pinnacle of Grabowski's career.
Coincidentally, the day of the final with the Netherlands (July 7) was Grabowski's 30th birthday. After winning the title with club teammate Herzenbein, he decided to quit the national team. Although the then national team manager Schoen re-called the Frankfurt winger before the 1978 World Cup, the latter did not change his mind. In total, Grabowski made 44 appearances for West Germany, scoring five goals.
2 temporary coaches in Eintracht Frankfurt
After hanging up his boots, Grabowski, who loved golf and cars, ran an insurance brokerage firm in Taunusstein while maintaining close ties with Frankfurt and remained a member of the board of trustees until 1992. Watching the Eintracht Frankfurt game on the spot is a big hobby of the Honorary Captain of Frankfurt. In the 1980s and 1990s, when Frankfurt's athletic development was at a low ebb, die-hard fans of the Forest Stadium would boost morale by singing Grabie's songs.
Grabowski is one of the greatest players in Eintracht Frankfurt's history.
Grabowski briefly served as Eintracht Frankfurt's interim manager in October 1983 with youth A coach Klaus Manck. In fact, as early as December 1977, After the departure of Hungarian coach Gyolo Lorente, He led the team to play two games as a player and coach, including beating Bayern 2-1 in the second leg of the 1/8 final of the UEFA Cup, thus advancing 6-1 on aggregate.
In recent years, Due to his poor health and frequent haemodialysis, it has been difficult for Grabowski to watch the Eintracht Frankfurt match in person. But last fall, he returned to Deutsche Bank Park and watched a few games.
Frankfurt director Hermann remembered Grabowski: "Grabowski in the player era is probably the most perfect player in Frankfurt's history. His light is still clearly visible today. Grabie enjoyed watching our Eintracht Frankfurt game live and was a co-idol for generations at the club. ”