Horst Eckel (8 February 1932 – 3 December 2021) 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, rugby ...

. He was part of the West Germany national team that won the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

. He was the last surviving player of the 1954 World Cup Final.

Club career

Eckel debuted in

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern () or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to football, the club also operates in sev ...

's first team in 1947 at the age of 15. He won the

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 **Ger ...

with Kaiserslautern in 1951 and 1953. Eckel was playing as a right half back. As a player, Eckel was assiduous and adroit. Because of his rapid way of playing, he got the nickname ''Windhund'' ( sighthound). He later played for SV Röchling Völklingen in the

Regionalliga Südwest The Regionalliga Südwest ( en, Regional League Southwest) is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together wit ...

International career

Eckel was part of the

West German West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

team that won the

and achieved the " Miracle of Bern". During that tournament, Eckel became an important pillar of the successful West Germany national team. The strength of the right side of

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

's team was made possible due to Eckel's high defensive workrate and his passes, from which

outside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Helmut Rahn Helmut Rahn (16 August 1929 – 14 August 2003), known as ''Der Boss'' (The Boss), was a German footballer who played as a forward. He became a legend for having scored the winning goal in the final of the 1954 FIFA World Cup (West Germany vs. ...

and

inside right Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

Max Morlock Maximilian Morlock (; 11 May 1925–10 September 1994) was a German footballer active in the 1950s and early 1960s. In his time with the West Germany national team, he earned 26 caps and scored 21 goals. His position was that of an inside ri ...

benefitted enormously. He also participated in the 1958 FIFA World Cup. In total he earned 32 caps.

Later life

After his career, he retrained from

toolmaker Tool and die makers are highly skilled crafters working in the manufacturing industries. Variations on the name include tool maker, toolmaker, die maker, diemaker, mold maker, moldmaker or tool jig and die-maker depending on which area of concen ...

to teacher, a profession he practised until his retirement in 1997. He was an advisor for ''

The Miracle of Bern ''The Miracle of Bern'' (german: Das Wunder von Bern) is a 2003 film by Sönke Wortmann, which tells the story of a German family (particularly of a young boy and his depressed ex- POW father) and the unexpected West German ''miracle'' victory ...

'',

Sönke Wortmann Sönke Wortmann (; 25 August 1959 in Marl, North Rhine-Westphalia) is a German film director and producer. Biography Wortmann's father was a miner. After Wortmann's A-Levels he wanted to become a professional football player and started playin ...

's movie about the

. Eckel died on 3 December 2021, at the age of 89. At the time of his death, Horst Eckel was the last surviving footballer who participated in the 1954 World Cup Final.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eckel, Horst 1932 births 2021 deaths German footballers People from Kaiserslautern (district) Association football midfielders Germany international footballers FIFA World Cup-winning players 1954 FIFA World Cup players 1958 FIFA World Cup players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players SV Röchling Völklingen players Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Footballers from Rhineland-Palatinate People from the Palatinate (region) West German footballers