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, rugby lea ...

and football official. As a striker, he was a prolific scorer for

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

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 (; 23 October 1940 – 29 December 2022), better known by his nickname Pelé (), was a Brazilian professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Widely reg ...

in 2004. He was the first football player to be awarded the Commander's Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (, or , BVO) is the highest state decoration, federal decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It may be awarded for any field of endeavor. It was created by the first List of president ...

Playing career

Club career

Seeler followed in his father's footsteps as a player for

, making his first team debut in 1954 in a

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 ...

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 and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

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 * Janu ...

and the

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

. He was top scorer of the first

season in 1963–64 and German Footballer of the Year in 1960, 1964, and 1970. During the 1960–61 season, Seeler, alongside his brother , helped to lead Hamburger SV to the semi-finals of the

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 ...

, where they narrowly missed out on the final against Benfica, losing out to

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 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 ...

, finishing the competition as top scorer, only to lose out to

AC Milan (), commonly referred to as Milan or AC Milan () mainly outside of Italy, is an Italian professional Football club (association football), football club based in Milan, Lombardy. Founded in 1899, the club competes in the Serie A, the top tie ...

. In 1978, he and his former teammate

Franz-Josef Hönig Franz-Josef Hönig (born 10 July 1942) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder or forward (association football), forward. He spent seven seasons in the Bundesliga with Hamburger SV. Honours Ha ...

played for Cork Celtic 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 The League of Ireland is a national association football Sports league, league consisting of professional clubs in the Republic of Ireland and Derry, Derry City in Northern Ireland. It is governed by the Football Association of Ireland. It was ...

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 Gerhard "Gerd" Müller (; 3 November 1945 – 15 August 2021) was a German professional association football, footballer. A prolific Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, especially in and around the six-yard box, he is widely regarde ...

International career

Seeler participated in the same four

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 ...

s as

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 thir ...

1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...

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 ...

, and

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

. Of those

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

World Cup teams, the 1966 side reached 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 ...

, where they lost to host nation

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 ...

4–2 in

extra time Overtime (OT) or extra time (ET) is an additional period of play 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 if the game is required t ...

. 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, 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 ...

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 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

) 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

by only a few minutes), and the first player to score at least two goals in each of four World Cups (matched in

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

by his compatriot

Miroslav Klose Miroslav Josef Klose (, ; born Mirosław Marian Klose; 9 June 1978) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who currently serves as head coach of 1. FC Nürnberg. A Forward (as ...

). He also ranks third in all-time minutes played in World Cups, with 1,980, behind

Paolo Maldini Paolo Cesare Maldini (; born 26 June 1968) is an Italian football executive and former professional footballer who played as a left-back or as a centre-back for AC Milan and the Italy national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greates ...

and

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 ...

. 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 by of a dejected Seeler leaving the field after the 1966 World Cup final is famous in Germany, and 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 () are a group of Low German dialects spoken in parts of the Netherlands, northwestern Germany and southern Denmark (in North Schleswig by parts of the German-speaking minority). It is one of two di ...

: ''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 Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany an ...

). In 2003, he became an honorary citizen 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

stadium depicting his right foot.

Film appearances

Seeler appeared in a cameo role 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 gr ...

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 () is a metropolitan region centred around the city of Hamburg in northern Germany, consisting of eight districts () in the federal state of Lower Saxony, six districts () in the state of Schleswig-Holstein and two ...

. 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 The 2022 UEFA European Women's Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Women's Euro 2022 or simply Euro 2022, was the 13th edition of the UEFA Women's Championship, the quadrennial international Association football, football champio ...

quarter-final between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. The following second matchday of the 2. Bundesliga, where Hamburg played a home match against Hansa Rostock, as well as the first round of the

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

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

Honours

Hamburger SV * German football championship: 1959–60 *

: 1962–63 West Germany *

runner-up:

; third place:

Individual *

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:

* Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1960, 1964, 1970 * FIFA XI (Reserve): 1963 * Bundesliga Top Scorer: 1964 * European Cup Winners Cup Top Scorer: 1967–68 * FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1966 *'' kicker''

Team of the Season: 1969–70 *

FIFA 100 The FIFA 100 is a list compiled by Brazilian professional footballer Pelé featuring his choices of the "greatest living footballers" at the time of its release. The list was unveiled on 4 March 2004 during a gala ceremony at the Natural Histor ...

* Member of Germany's Sports Hall of Fame * Silver Laurel LeafBericht 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, )

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeler, Uwe 1936 births 2022 deaths Footballers from Hamburg Men's association football forwards German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Germany men's B international footballers Germany men's 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 men's association footballers in the Republic of Ireland Commanders Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany West German expatriate sportspeople in Ireland West German expatriate men's footballers West German men's footballers