Teutonic_Lorux
Aug 14 2003, 06:19 PM
BERLIN, Aug 14 (Reuters) - German soccer has suffered a double blow with the deaths of Helmut Rahn, one of the select band of men to score the winning goal in a World Cup final, and fellow World Cup player Lothar Emmerich.
Rahn, known in Germany as the 'Hero from Berne', scored West Germany's equaliser and winner in their shock 3-2 win over Hungary in the 1954 World Cup final. He was due to celebrate his 74th birthday on Saturday.
The German Football Association (DFB) said the man who helped Germany win back its pride after World War Two died on Wednesday night at his home in the western city of Essen after a long illness.
Emmerich, who was 61, enjoyed cult status in Dortmund after scoring 115 goals in 183 Bundesliga games for Borussia between 1963 and 1969.
The striker, who died from lung cancer on Wednesday night, will be best remembered for scoring what German fans refer to as the 'Goal of the Century' in the 1966 finals in England.
He cracked a thunderous, long-range drive to give the Germans a 2-1 victory over Spain at Villa Park, Birmingham, in a first round match.
West Germany reached the final in 1966 where they lost 4-2 after extra time to England at Wembley Stadium. That was Emmerich's fifth and last appearance for his country.
THE BOSS
While Emmerich, affectionately known as Emma, will be sorely missed, Rahn was one of German sport's icons.
'He was and will remain one of the last legends of German football,' Germany's World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer said of Rahn.
The 'Boss' scored 21 goals in 40 internationals but the low, angled drive six minutes from time in the Berne final was the one he will be best remembered for.
An awe-inspiring Hungary team, unbeaten in 31 matches going into the final and 8-3 winners over the Germans in a first round match, built a 2-0 lead after only eight minutes of the match.
But Germany fought back and Rahn set up Max Morlock for Germany's first goal before scoring twice himself.
'I just hit the ball as hard as I could,' Rahn said of his famous winning goal. 'I didn't see where the ball was going but I knew it was in the net.'
West Germany also won the World Cup in 1974, with Beckenbauer as captain, and in 1990, with the 'Kaiser' as coach. But the 1954 campaign was the most emotional, giving Germany something to celebrate after the end of World War Two.
'The Boss contributed to the most important success in the history of German football,' Beckenbauer said.
'Our football then was an axis featuring (coach) Sepp Herberger, (captain) Fritz Walter and Helmut Rahn.'
Walter, who captained the 1954 side, died last year. Only three world champions from 1954, Horst Eckel, Fritz Walter's brother Ottmar and Hans Schaefer, are still alive.
The Germany players will wear black armbands in Rahn's memory when they play Italy in a friendly international on Wednesday in Stuttgart. :crying
Rahn, known in Germany as the 'Hero from Berne', scored West Germany's equaliser and winner in their shock 3-2 win over Hungary in the 1954 World Cup final. He was due to celebrate his 74th birthday on Saturday.
The German Football Association (DFB) said the man who helped Germany win back its pride after World War Two died on Wednesday night at his home in the western city of Essen after a long illness.
Emmerich, who was 61, enjoyed cult status in Dortmund after scoring 115 goals in 183 Bundesliga games for Borussia between 1963 and 1969.
The striker, who died from lung cancer on Wednesday night, will be best remembered for scoring what German fans refer to as the 'Goal of the Century' in the 1966 finals in England.
He cracked a thunderous, long-range drive to give the Germans a 2-1 victory over Spain at Villa Park, Birmingham, in a first round match.
West Germany reached the final in 1966 where they lost 4-2 after extra time to England at Wembley Stadium. That was Emmerich's fifth and last appearance for his country.
THE BOSS
While Emmerich, affectionately known as Emma, will be sorely missed, Rahn was one of German sport's icons.
'He was and will remain one of the last legends of German football,' Germany's World Cup-winning captain and coach Franz Beckenbauer said of Rahn.
The 'Boss' scored 21 goals in 40 internationals but the low, angled drive six minutes from time in the Berne final was the one he will be best remembered for.
An awe-inspiring Hungary team, unbeaten in 31 matches going into the final and 8-3 winners over the Germans in a first round match, built a 2-0 lead after only eight minutes of the match.
But Germany fought back and Rahn set up Max Morlock for Germany's first goal before scoring twice himself.
'I just hit the ball as hard as I could,' Rahn said of his famous winning goal. 'I didn't see where the ball was going but I knew it was in the net.'
West Germany also won the World Cup in 1974, with Beckenbauer as captain, and in 1990, with the 'Kaiser' as coach. But the 1954 campaign was the most emotional, giving Germany something to celebrate after the end of World War Two.
'The Boss contributed to the most important success in the history of German football,' Beckenbauer said.
'Our football then was an axis featuring (coach) Sepp Herberger, (captain) Fritz Walter and Helmut Rahn.'
Walter, who captained the 1954 side, died last year. Only three world champions from 1954, Horst Eckel, Fritz Walter's brother Ottmar and Hans Schaefer, are still alive.
The Germany players will wear black armbands in Rahn's memory when they play Italy in a friendly international on Wednesday in Stuttgart. :crying