Soccer legend Jürgen Grabowski died
Jürgen Grabowski, here in 2019 in the Eintracht Frankfurt Museum in front of a poster of his farewell game, was 77 years old
Quelle: pa/dpa/Andreas Arnold
Eintracht Frankfurt and German football are mourning the loss of a 1974 world champion. Football legend Jürgen Grabowski is dead. He died in Wiesbaden on Thursday at the age of 77. He owed everything to one game.
Jürgen Grabowski died on Thursday evening at the age of 77 in a hospital in Wiesbaden. This was confirmed by his wife on Friday of the German Press Agency. The media group VRM reported first.
Grabowski played 44 international matches for the DFB and 441 matches in the Bundesliga for Eintracht, was world and European champion, Uefa Cup winner in 1980 and 1974 and 1975 DFB Cup winner.
Jürgen Grabowski does a lap of honor with the 1974 World Cup
Source: pa/dpa/Hartmut Reeh
In Frankfurt Grabowski was the playmaker, in the national team he mostly acted as a right winger – because of his competitors Wolfgang Overath and Günter Netzer. “For me, he was one of the greatest artists we had at Eintracht – if not the greatest,” said Bundesliga record player Karl-Heinz Körbel once. For Overath he was “a very fine person, a super boy. He could do everything with the ball.” Together with his teammate Bernd Hölzenbein, Grabowski was part of the 1974 world champion team.
“I owe everything to this game”
On his 30th birthday, Grabowski initiated the 2-1 victory in the World Cup final in Munich: pass to Rainer Bonhof, cross, goal and Gerd Müller’s jump. On that July 7, 1974, Grabowski thought: “The world is yours.” He was kicked out of the team after the embarrassing 1-0 draw against East Germany, which hit him deeply. As a substitute, however, he then managed the decisive 3:2 against Sweden – and he was back in the first eleven. “I owe everything to this game,” he kept saying.
Jürgen Grabowski (from left), Franz Beckenbauer and Gerd Müller during the international match between Germany and Turkey (1:1) on October 17, 1970 in Cologne
Which: pa/SvenSimon/Sven Simon
After winning the World Cup, Grabowski resigned from the national team, but he continued to trump at Eintracht. From 1965 to 1980 he played for Hessen, previously only in Biebrich.
When he won the Uefa Cup in 1980, Grabowski raised the heavy cup in civilian clothes. Klaus Hölzenbein was the first to present it to his fellow world champion and friend. A foul by Lothar Matthäus and a serious foot injury had just ended Grabowski’s splendid career. More than 40,000 fans came to his farewell game between Eintracht and the 1974 World Cup team in what was then the Waldstadion.
After a 1-0 win in the second leg against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt won the Uefa Cup in 1980. Fred Schaub (left) and Klaus Funk (right) leave the injured Jürgen Grabowsk…I cheer
Source: pa / dpa / Jörg Schmitt
