On April 16, the Bundesliga team Eintracht Frankfurt officially released a sad news that German football legend Bernd Herzenbein died on Monday local time at the age of 78.
Herzenbein spent a long career with Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt, with whom he made 524 appearances between 1969 and 1981, scoring 212 goals and providing 37 assists. Among them, in the Bundesliga, Herzenbein scored 160 goals in 410 games, and is the club's all-time league scorer.
During his time at Eintracht Frankfurt, Herzenbein won three German Cups in 1974, 1975 and 1981, as well as winning the UEFA Cup in 1979-80.
Herzenbein's claim to fame came in the 1974 World Cup final, when Herzenbein, who played as a left winger, broke through in the 25th minute to create a penalty for the team, and Breitner helped West Germany to equalise the spot. After that, the morale of the West German team was boosted by Gerd Muller who scored another goal and finally lifted the World Cup trophy.
Another highlight for Herzenbein came in the 1976 Euro 1976 final, when he equalised for Germany from an 89th-minute corner and sent the game to extra-time. Although Germany lost on penalties and failed to defend their title, Herzenbein became the oldest goalscorer in a European Championship final at the age of 30 years and 103 days, a record that was not broken by Leonardo Bonucci in 2021.
After retiring as a player, Herzenbein briefly worked as assistant coach and from 1988 he became vice president of Eintracht Frankfurt before resigning in 1996 after the team fell to the Bundesliga. Herzenbein returned to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2004 as Frankfurt's sports advisor and chief scout.
Herzenbein is the third member of the German team to win the World Cup this year. Earlier this year, German football emperor Beckenbauer unfortunately passed away at the age of 78. Bremer died unexpectedly in February at the age of 63.