Bernd Hölzenbein (9 March 1946 – 15 April 2024) was a German professional

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 lea ...

who played as a striker or winger. He played for

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

from 1967 to 1981 and is the club's all-time

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

top scorer, having tallied 160 goals in 420 league matches. At the international level, Hölzenbein was a member of the West German team that won the World Cup in 1974. He was fouled in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

against the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, which led to the Germans' equalizing penalty.

Playing career

A qualified merchant, Hölzenbein debuted for

in the

in 1967 to serve for this club until his departure in 1981. A three times

German Cup The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...

winner with them in 1974, 1975 and 1981, Hölzenbein also won the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

with Frankfurt in 1980. His output of 160 goals in his 420 Bundesliga matches is still club record achievement for Frankfurt. Hölzenbein joined

Fort Lauderdale Strikers Fort Lauderdale Strikers may refer to: *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983), member of North American Soccer League from 1977 to 1983 *Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1988–1994) The Fort Lauderdale Strikers were an American soccer team establishe ...

in the United States in 1981. He later played for Memphis Americans and

Baltimore Blast The Baltimore Blast are an American professional indoor soccer team based in Baltimore, Maryland, that competes in the Major Arena Soccer League (MASL). Including one championship victory as the original Baltimore Blast, the team has won 10 c ...

in the Major Indoor Soccer League. In his international career, Hölzenbein scored five goals in forty appearances for

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

between 1973 and 1978. He made six appearances at the 1974 World Cup finals, including the final. He also played in the UEFA Euro 1976 Final where he scored the equalizing goal in a 2–2 draw against

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

, which West Germany lost on penalties. However, he was the oldest player to score in a Euro final, aged 30 years and 103 days.

Death

Hölzenbein died from complications of dementia on 15 April 2024, at the age of 78.

Honours

Eintracht Frankfurt *

: 1979–80 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

: 1973–74, 1974–75, 1980–81 West Germany *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

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; ...

Individual * ''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

Team of the Season: 1976

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzenbein, Bernd 1946 births 2024 deaths German men's footballers Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers Germany men's international footballers 1974 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1976 players 1978 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup–winning players UEFA Europa League–winning players Bundesliga players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players Eintracht Frankfurt players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Memphis Americans players Baltimore Blast (1980–1992) players FSV Salmrohr players West German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States People from Limburg-Weilburg Footballers from Giessen (region) West German men's footballers West German expatriate sportspeople in the United States