Andreas "Andi" Brehme (; 9 November 1960 – 20 February 2024) was a German professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and coach. At international level, he is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup final against

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

from an 85th-minute penalty kick. At club level, Brehme played for several teams in Germany and also had spells in Italy and Spain. A versatile attacking full-back with an eye for goal, Brehme was capable of playing anywhere along the flank on either side of the pitch, and was known for his crossing ability, ambidexterity, and his accuracy from free-kicks and penalties, possessing a powerful shot.

Club career

Andreas Brehme was born in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and started his career with the city's local side HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst. Brehme played for

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

from 1981 to 1986, before moving to Bayern Munich, where he played from 1986 to 1988, winning the

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 ...

in 1987. After that, he joined Italian side

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

, playing there from 1988 to 1992, alongside compatriots

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German association football, football pundit and former professional player and manager. He captained Germany national football team, West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and was ...

and Jürgen Klinsmann, and winning the

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

in 1989 – also being named player of the year – and 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 ...

in 1991. Brehme played the 1992–93 season at

Real Zaragoza Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system. Zarag ...

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

, before returning to Germany once again in 1993 to play for Kaiserslautern once again. He won the

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 ...

with the club in 1996, although they suffered relegation during the same season; nevertheless, Brehme remained with the team even when they were relegated, playing a key role in the side's immediate promotion the following season. After subsequently winning the Bundesliga with the club in 1998, Brehme ended his playing career as a footballer after having played 301 matches.

International career

As a member of the (West) Germany national team, Brehme took part at

UEFA Euro 1984 The 1984 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in France from 12 to 27 June 1984. It was the seventh UEFA European Championship, a competition held every four years and endorsed by UEFA. At the time, only eight countries ...

, the

1984 Summer Olympics The 1984 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXIII Olympiad and commonly known as Los Angeles 1984) were an international multi-sport event held from July 28 to August 12, 1984, in Los Angeles, California, United States. It marked the ...

, the

1986 FIFA World Cup The 1986 FIFA World Cup was the 13th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Mexico from 31 May to 29 June 1986. The tournament was the second to feature a 24-tea ...

UEFA Euro 1988 The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. France national football team, Fr ...

, the

1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second ...

UEFA Euro 1992 The 1992 UEFA European Football Championship was hosted by Sweden between 10 and 26 June 1992. It was the ninth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA. Denmark won the 1992 championship, having been inv ...

, and the 1994 World Cup; he was named in the team of the tournament at Euro 84, and helped Germany to the semi-finals of Euro 88, on home soil, scoring a goal in the nation's 1–1 opening draw against

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

. At Euro 1992, he won a runners-up medal, as Germany lost out 2–0 to

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

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 ...

; he was once again named to the team of the tournament. Brehme won a runners-up medal at the

, as Germany lost the

, yet he won the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

1990 Important events of 1990 include the Reunification of Germany and the unification of Yemen, the formal beginning of the Human Genome Project (finished in 2003), the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the separation of Namibia from South ...

against the same opponents, later being named to the competition's All-star team. In the 1986 World Cup semi-final he scored a deflected free-kick against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, and in the 1990 semi-final he also scored a free-kick goal against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, which also took a deflection off of English defender Paul Parker, however. In the 1990 edition of the tournament, en route to the final, he also previously set up Klinsmann's headed goal in Germany's opening 4–1 against

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, and scored the second goal 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 ...

with a right-footed curler in the second round. In the 1990 World Cup final, a 1–0 victory over Argentina, he scored the goal, a penalty kick with his right foot. The only other penalty kick, taken in open play for Germany, was against England in a 1986 World Cup warm-up match in Mexico. Brehme scored in the victorious penalty-shootout against

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the 1986 World Cup quarter-finals with his left foot, while he scored his nation's first spot-kick in the penalty shoot-out victory against England in the 1990 World Cup semi-finals with his right foot. Brehme's last of his 86 caps for the national team came during the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the country. The United States w ...

, which ended with a disappointing quarter-final exit for his team after a loss against Bulgaria.

Managerial career

After retiring from football, Brehme went on to become a coach. He managed his former club 1. FC Kaiserslautern from 2000 to 2002. He then managed 2. Bundesliga side

SpVgg Unterhaching Spielvereinigung Unterhaching () is a German sports club in Unterhaching, a semi-rural municipality on the southern outskirts of the Bavarian capital Munich. The club is widely known for playing in the first-division association football league ...

. He was then assistant coach alongside

Giovanni Trapattoni Giovanni Trapattoni (; born 17 March 1939), popularly nicknamed "Trap" or "Il Trap", is an Italian former Association football, football manager and former player, considered the most successful club coach of Football in Italy, Italian football ...

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

, but both were sacked after only a few months at the club.

Style of play

An efficient attacking full-back or wing-back, Brehme was regarded as one of the best left-backs of his generation; although he was usually deployed on the left side of his team's defensive line, he was a highly versatile player, who was capable of playing anywhere along the flank, on either side of the pitch, and could also play in a more offensive role. He was also used in the centre of the pitch on occasion, as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. Although he was not particularly quick, he was known for his excellent technical ability, stamina, defensive skills, anticipation, and tactical intelligence, as well as his ability to make attacking runs, which enabled him to cover the flank effectively and contribute at both ends of the pitch. A set-piece specialist, Brehme is considered to be one of the greatest free-kick takers and crossers of all time, and was known for his ability to strike the ball with power and swerve. However, Brehme's most distinctive skill was that he was one of the few players in the world who was genuinely

ambidextrous Ambidexterity is the ability to use both the right and left hand equally well. When referring to objects, the term indicates that the object is equally suitable for right-handed and left-handed people. When referring to humans, it indicates that ...

, and could play with both feet equally well, making him very valuable as an outfield player; his ability with either foot led his national team manager

Franz Beckenbauer Franz Anton Beckenbauer (; 11 September 1945 – 7 January 2024) was a German professional football player, manager, and official. Nicknamed ("the Emperor"), he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, and is one of nine p ...

to state: "I have known Andy for 20 years and I still don't know if he is right or left-footed". He was well known for taking penalties (although not exclusively) with his right foot and taking free kicks and corners with his left foot; this made him quite an unpredictable player to read during matches. Although he was reportedly naturally left-footed, it is believed that Brehme felt that his right foot was actually more accurate than his left, but that he had a more powerful shot with his "weaker" left foot. This was shown when, in the 1990 World Cup final, Brehme took the spot kick that won West Germany the trophy, with his right foot, but four years earlier, Brehme scored in the 1986 World Cup quarter-final penalty shootout against Mexico with a left foot piledriver. In addition to his abilities as a footballer, Brehme was highly regarded for his strength of character and composure under pressure, as well as for having the tendency to score "clutch" goals for his team in important games, as demonstrated by his ability to score decisive penalties in World Cup knockout matches, which led him to be considered a "big game player" in the media. Although he was known to be tenacious player, he also stood out for his professionalism throughout his career, both on and off the pitch. Lothar Matthäus described Brehme as the best player he played with.

Death

Brehme died from a cardiac arrest on 20 February 2024 at the age of 63.

Career statistics

Source:

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Brehme goal.''

Coaching record

Honours

1. FC Kaiserslautern *

: 1997–98 * 2. Bundesliga: 1996–97 *

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 ...

: 1995–96 *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

: runner-up 1996 Bayern Munich *

: 1986–87 *

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

: runner-up 1986–87 *

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

Inter Milan *

: 1988–89 *

Supercoppa Italiana The Supercoppa Italiana, also known as the Italian Super Cup, is an annual super cup tournament in Italian football. Founded in 1988 as a two-team competition, it has featured four teams since 2023 (the winners and runners-up of the previous ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

: 1990–91 Real Zaragoza *

Copa del Rey The , commonly known as , or (in English) the Spanish Cup or King's Cup, and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–1936) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–1976), is an annual knockout football competition in Spanis ...

: runner-up 1992–93 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 ...

; runner-up 1986 * UEFA Euro: runner-up

1992 1992 was designated as International Space Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 – Boutros Boutros-Ghali of Egypt replaces Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru as United Nations Secretary-General. * January 6 ** The Republ ...

Individual * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team:

* UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament:

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

* '' kicker''

Team of the Season: 1985–86 *

Onze Mondial ''Onze Mondial'' is a French language quarterly football magazine published in Paris, France. History and profile The magazine was established with name ''Onze'' in 1976. In 1989 the magazine merged with another sports magazine, ''Mondial'', an ...

: 1987, 1990 * Guerin d'Oro (Serie A Footballer of the Year): 1989 * Pirata d'Oro (Internazionale Player of the Year): 1989 *

Ballon d'Or The Ballon d'Or (; ) is an annual association football, football award presented by French magazine ''France Football'' since 1956 Ballon d'Or, 1956 to honour the player deemed to have performed the best over the previous season. Conceived ...

– Third place: 1990

References

External links

* * *
FIFA Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brehme, Andreas 1960 births 2024 deaths German men's footballers Footballers from Hamburg Men's association football fullbacks Germany men's international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers UEFA Europa League–winning players Olympic footballers for West Germany Footballers at the 1984 Summer Olympics 1986 FIFA World Cup players 1990 FIFA World Cup players 1994 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 1984 players UEFA Euro 1988 players UEFA Euro 1992 players FIFA World Cup–winning players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Serie A players La Liga players 1. FC Saarbrücken players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players FC Bayern Munich footballers Inter Milan players Real Zaragoza players German football managers 1. FC Kaiserslautern managers SpVgg Unterhaching managers German expatriate men's footballers West German men's footballers West German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Italy West German expatriate sportspeople in Italy Expatriate men's footballers in Italy German expatriate sportspeople in Spain Expatriate men's footballers in Spain