Uwe Seeler (; 5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...
and football official. As a
striker, he was a prolific scorer for
Hamburger SV and also made 72 appearances for the
West Germany national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players in German football history,
Seeler was named one of
FIFA's 100 greatest living players by
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
in 2004. He was the first football player to be awarded the
Great Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Playing career
Club career
Seeler followed in his father's footsteps as a player for
Hamburger SV, making his first team debut in 1954 in a
DFB-Pokal match, aged just under 18, scoring four goals (8–2 vs.
Holstein Kiel). In later years, despite tempting offers from Italian and Spanish clubs, he remained loyal to Hamburg, working on a second career as a merchant besides playing football.
Seeler was a gifted, powerful, and prolific
striker who, among other things, was most of all renowned for his leadership, consistency,
overhead kicks, and aerial ability. He scored 137 times in 239
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
games, 43 times in 72 international games for the
German national team, and 21 times in 29 European club tournament games. He was
captain
Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...
of both his club team and the national team for many years. He and his club won the
German championship in
1960
It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism.
Events
January
* Ja ...
and the
DFB-Pokal in
1963. He was top scorer of the first
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
season in
1963–64 and
German Footballer of the Year
The title Footballer of the Year (German: ''Fußballer des Jahres'') has been awarded in Germany since 1960. Eligible are German players as well as non-German players playing in Germany. In 1996, the title Women's Footballer of the Year (German ...
in 1960, 1964, and 1970. During the 1960–61 season, Seeler, alongside his brother Dieter, helped to lead Hamburger SV to the semi-finals of the
European Cup, where they narrowly missed out on the final against
Benfica, losing out to
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
in a play-off match. During the 1967–68 season, Seeler also helped Hamburg to reach the final of the
European Cup Winners' Cup, finishing the competition as top scorer, only to lose out to
AC Milan.
In 1978, he and his former teammate
Franz-Josef Hönig played for
Cork Celtic F.C. in a one-off sponsored event. Seeler had ended his active playing career in 1972. However, this match turned out to be an official
League of Ireland one and Uwe scored twice. Thus, his overall record of goals scored in league and championship matches adds up to 446 (Hamburger SV 444, Cork Celtic 2).
His 404 goals in German
Oberliga and Bundesliga league games is a record that stands as of today, his 406 goals in league games overall making him the second-best German goalscorer behind
Gerd Müller.
International career
Seeler participated in the same four
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
s as
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
did:
1958
Events
January
* January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being.
* January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
* January 4
** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
,
1962,
1966, and
1970. Of those
West German World Cup teams, the 1966 side reached the
final
Final, Finals or The Final may refer to:
*Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event
** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
, where they lost to host nation
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
4–2 in
extra time
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw where the scores are the same. In some sports, this extra period is played only ...
. In 1958, the German team finished in fourth place; in 1970 the West German team finished in third after being eliminated by European rivals
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
in the semi-finals, following a closely fought 4–3 extra-time loss, a match often referred to as the "
Game of the Century".
In the previous round, a backward second-half header against England tied the score 2–2, a game West Germany went on to win 3–2.
Although Seeler never won a World Cup (his involvement as a player in the tournament started four years after West Germany won their first World Cup (
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
) and ended four years before they won their second (
1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...
)), he had a prolific career in the tournament; he was the first player ever to appear in 20 World Cup matches (he retired with 21 matches played, tied for third all-time); the first ever to score in four World Cups (beating
Pelé
Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
by only a few minutes), and the first player to score at least two goals in each of four World Cups (matched in
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
by his compatriot
Miroslav Klose). He also ranks third in all-time minutes played in World Cups, with 1,980, behind
Paolo Maldini and
Lothar Matthäus. In total, he scored nine goals across the four World Cups in which he played, as well as three goals in World Cup Qualifying matches; he scored 43 times in 72 international appearances between 1954 and 1970.
A photo of a dejected Seeler leaving the field having just been defeated in the
1966 World Cup Final
The 1966 FIFA World Cup Final was a football match played at Wembley Stadium, London, on 30 July 1966 to determine the winner of the 1966 FIFA World Cup, the eighth FIFA World Cup. The match was contested by England and West Germany, with En ...
was voted as ''Photo of the Century'' by ''
kicker'' magazine.
Career after football
He had a two-and-a-half-year tenure as president of Hamburger SV, which began in 1995, and ended in resignation in 1998 due to a financial scandal, for which he took responsibility.
Seeler, however, was not himself implicated in the irregularities.
Recognition
Seeler was a tremendously popular player due to his fairness and modesty and is still widely called ''Uns Uwe'' (
West Low German
Low Saxon, also known as West Low German ( nds, Nedersassisch, Nedersaksies; nl, Nedersaksisch) are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts o ...
: ''Our Uwe'') in Hamburg and the surrounding area. The
DFB (German FA) made him the second honorary captain of the German national team in 1972 (the first being
Fritz Walter). In 2003, he became an
honorary citizen
Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...
of his hometown Hamburg; the first time the honor was bestowed on a sportsman. That year he also published his memoirs ''Danke, Fußball'' ("Thank you, football"). 2005 saw the unveiling of a giant monument in front of the
Hamburger SV stadium depicting his right foot.
Film appearances
Seeler appeared in a
cameo role
A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly ei ...
in the popular 1972
Heinz Erhardt
Heinz Erhardt (; 20 February 1909 – 5 June 1979) was a German comedian, musician, entertainer, actor, and poet.
Life
Heinz Erhardt was born in Riga, the son of Baltic German Kapellmeister Gustav Erhardt. He lived most of his childhood at his g ...
comedy ''
Willi wird das Kind schon schaukeln'' (English title: ''Willi Manages the Whole Thing''), playing himself.
Personal life
From 1959 until his death, Uwe Seeler lived with his wife in Harksheide, today a district of
Norderstedt in the
Hamburg Metropolitan Region
The Hamburg Metropolitan Region (German: Metropolregion Hamburg) is a metropolitan area centred around the city of Hamburg in northern Germany, consisting of eight districts (''Landkreise'') in the federal state of Lower Saxony, six districts (''Kr ...
.
Seeler's grandson,
Levin Öztunalı, is also a professional footballer.
Death
Seeler died on 21 July 2022, aged 85, in his home in
Norderstedt. He was honoured later in the day with a moment of silence before the
UEFA Women's Euro 2022 quarter-final between
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. The following second matchday of the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
, where Hamburg played a home match against
Hansa Rostock
FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the for ...
, as well as the first round of the
DFB-Pokal also began with a minute of silence in Seeler's tribute. The Bundesliga home game of HSV featured supporters dressed in black displaying a banner reading "loyal and modest – the greatest of all time" ("''Loyal und bescheiden - der Größte aller Zeiten'') in honor of Seeler's club career.
Career statistics
Club
International
Honours
Hamburger SV
*
German football championship
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
:
1959–60
*
DFB-Pokal:
1962–63
West Germany
*
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament has ...
runner-up:
1966; third place:
1970
Individual
*
Ballon d'Or
The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual football award presented by French news magazine '' France Football'' since 1956. Between 2010 and 2015, in an agreement with FIFA, the award was temporarily merged with the FIFA World Player of the Year (f ...
third place: 1960
*
Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1960, 1964, 1970
*
FIFA XI (Reserve): 1963
*
Bundesliga Top Scorer: 1964
*
FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966
*''
kicker''
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footb ...
Team of the Season: 1969–70
*
FIFA 100
* Member of
Germany's Sports Hall of Fame
*
Silver Laurel Leaf[Bericht der Bundesregierung an den Bundestag vom 29.September 1973 – Drucksache 7/1040 Anlage 3 Seiten 44 ff]
Literature
* Becker, Robert: ''Uwe Seeler und seine goldenen Tore''. Copress, München 1991,
* Seeler, Uwe: ''Danke, Fußball! – Mein Leben.'' Rowohlt-Verlag, Reinbek 2003, (auch als Hörbuch auf 1 CD, Hörbuch Hamburg, Hamburg 2003, )
See also
*
List of men's footballers with 500 or more goals
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeler, Uwe
1936 births
2022 deaths
Footballers from Hamburg
Association football forwards
German footballers
Germany international footballers
Germany B international footballers
Germany under-21 international footballers
Hamburger SV players
Bundesliga players
German football chairmen and investors
FIFA 100
Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners
Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf
1958 FIFA World Cup players
1962 FIFA World Cup players
1966 FIFA World Cup players
1970 FIFA World Cup players
Cork Celtic F.C. players
League of Ireland players
Expatriate association footballers in the Republic of Ireland
Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
German expatriate sportspeople in Ireland