Hans Tilkowski (12 July 1935 – 5 January 2020) was a German

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 manager. A

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

. he played 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 ...

, and was a member of the team that lost the 1966 World Cup final to

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 ...

Career

Born 1935 in Husen,

Dortmund Dortmund (; ; ) is the third-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia, after Cologne and Düsseldorf, and the List of cities in Germany by population, ninth-largest city in Germany. With a population of 614,495 inhabitants, it is the largest city ...

, Tilkowski started football at age 11 with SV Husen 19, originally as a right winger. He switched to the goalkeeper position and joined SuS Kaiserau in 1949. He started his professional career with the team in 1952, then joined Westfalia Herne in 1955. With Herne, he won the Oberliga West in 1959. His next team was

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

. From 1963 to 1967 he played 81 times in the West German Bundesliga for Dortmund. Tilkowski won the

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 ...

with Dortmund in 1965 and the

1965–66 European Cup Winners' Cup The 1965–66 season of the European Cup Winners' Cup club football tournament was won by Borussia Dortmund in an extra-time final victory over Liverpool at Hampden Park in Glasgow. West Ham United were the defending champions, but were eliminat ...

. He was chosen German Footballer of the Year in 1965. Tilkowski was regarded as one of the world's best goalkeepers during the mid-1960s. Tilkowski debuted for the West Germany national team in 1957. He was expected to be the first-choice keeper for the

1962 FIFA World Cup The 1962 FIFA World Cup was the 7th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held from 30 May to 17 June 1962 in Chile. The qualification rounds took place between ...

in Chile, but was demoted by coach

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 Germany national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

the day before the opening match. Tilkowski destroyed his hotel room in anger and did not play for the national team for two years, but was eventually called up again. Under Herberger's successor Helmut Schön, Tilkowski was the first-choice in goal for the

1966 FIFA World Cup The 1966 FIFA World Cup was the eighth FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in England from 11 to 30 July 1966. England defeated West Germany 4–2 in the 1966 FI ...

in England. The team would lose 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 ...

4–2 to the hosts. The final was remembered as English forward

Geoff Hurst Sir Geoffrey Charles Hurst (born 8 December 1941) is an English former professional Association football, footballer. A Striker (association football), striker, he became the first player to score a Hat-trick#Association football, hat-trick in a ...

scored his controversial second goal en route to a hat-trick. In the 101st minute, 11 minutes into the extra time, Hurst's shot hit the crossbar, the ball then bounced on the ground before being cleared by defender Wolfgang Weber. The goal was given by referee

Gottfried Dienst Gottfried Dienst (Basel, 9 September 1919 – Bern, 1 June 1998) was a Swiss association football referee. He was mostly known as the referee of the 1966 FIFA World Cup final. Dienst is one of only four men to have twice refereed a European ...

after consultation with linesman Tofiq Bahramov, giving England a 3–2 lead. Photographic evidence would later show that the ball did not cross the line. Unlike most of his team-mates, Tilkowski never resigned himself to the decision, pointing out whenever he could that it was flawed – though with a sense of humour. In 2009 he agreed to unveil a statue in

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

of Tofiq Bahramov, the linesman who had indicated that the goal should stand. He played for West Germany another year, before being superseded in the national team by Sepp Maier. Tilkowski ended his playing career with

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 ...

. He later took up coaching, taking charge of 1. FC Nürnberg,

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

and

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

, among other clubs.

Personal life

One of three children, Tilkowski was born in

on 12 July 1935. His father, a miner, was descended from the many workers who had left Poland to seek work in the industries of the Ruhr. Tilkowski grew up in straitened circumstances. He enjoyed boxing as a boy, and he initially played football as a winger before finding his calling when his team lacked a goalkeeper. He became an apprentice locksmith, then joined Westfalia Herne in 1955. In June 1959, he married Luise; they had two sons and one daughter. Tilkowski died on 5 January 2020 at age 84 after a long illness.

Honours

Borussia Dortmund *

: 1964–65 *

European Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

: 1965–66 *

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 ...

runner-up: 1965–66 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 ...

runner-up:

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

Individual * Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1965

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tilkowski, Hans 1935 births 2020 deaths Men's association football goalkeepers German men's footballers German people of Polish descent Germany men's international footballers Borussia Dortmund players Eintracht Frankfurt players 1962 FIFA World Cup players 1966 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from Dortmund Bundesliga players German football managers TSV 1860 Munich managers Sportspeople from the Province of Westphalia AEK Athens F.C. managers Expatriate football managers in Greece 1. FC Nürnberg managers SV Werder Bremen managers SC Westfalia Herne players Bundesliga managers Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany West German expatriate football managers West German expatriate sportspeople in Greece West German men's footballers West German football managers