He scored the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 World Cup final against Argentina – from the penalty spot. The penalty represented the ultimate test in Andreas Brehme’s career.
Andreas Brehme scores 1-0 with a penalty at the 1990 World Cup.
Imago
When it comes to Andreas Brehme, this one scene inevitably comes to mind. Brehme stands concentrated at the penalty spot, he doesn’t look at the goalkeeper or the ball. He trots up and places the ball at the bottom left of the post. Sergio Goicoechea, the Argentine goalkeeper, was on his way to the right corner, but he couldn’t prevent the impact. Diego Maradona cried.
With this kick, Brehme made Germany world champions in Rome. It was 1990, the team had plowed through the tournament with some spectacular performances, and Lothar Matthäus, who should actually have competed, was celebrated as the best man. But Matthäus had broken the sole of his football shoe and he didn’t feel confident enough with the new pair.
Andreas #Brehme shoots Germany to the World Cup title in 1990. Rubenbauer and Rummenigge comment. pic.twitter.com/jZfajbkQ7B
— Baumgart’s football blog (@BallblogFu) February 20, 2024
He was set for coach Beckenbauer
Maybe that was a blessing. Because Brehme, a stoic character, clearly didn’t think about who he was facing at that moment. The goalie Goicoechea was a penalty specialist; he had saved two penalties each against Yugoslavia in the quarter-finals and against Italy in the semi-finals. In this respect, the penalty is much more than a mundane standard situation at a crucial moment. It represents the ultimate test in Andreas Brehme’s career.
Now Brehme has died. At the age of 63, he suffered a heart attack. Not long ago he was one of those who gave Franz Beckenbauer his last funeral at the funeral service in Munich.
Beckenbauer, the head of the German national team at the time, knew what he had in Brehme. An accomplished full-back, two-footed, cold-snout. There was always a place for Brehme in Beckenbauer’s squad.
He became champion with Inter
The Hamburg native found his way to Inter Milan via Kaiserslautern and Bayern Munich, together with national team mates Jürgen Klinsmann and Matthäus. The German “Tanks”, as they were affectionately and martially called, won the Italian championship in 1989 and the UEFA Cup two years later after Inter’s title absence for years. A look at the national competition shows what the championship was worth: AC Milan with Ruud Gullit, Frank Rijkaard and Marco van Basten was the dominant team in Europe at the time.
The Teutonic trio’s career high came during this time, when they also won the world championship title. Their coach was the legendary Giovanni Trapattoni, who valued his Germans so much that a few years later he embarked on the great adventure of Bayern Munich.
In 1993, Brehme returned to the Bundesliga, to 1. FC Kaiserslautern, where he had recommended himself for higher positions. It was a time with ups and downs. In 1996, Kaiserslautern was playing against relegation and was on the verge of relegation when it took a penalty against Schalke goalkeeper Jens Lehmann. But the once so confident shooter failed.
The world champion went into the second division, but under the direction of coach Otto Rehhagel, he immediately rose again and – a novelty not only in German football – won the German championship with the returnees. Brehme only made a handful of appearances. But it was a reconciliatory end to the career of an outstanding footballer. As a coach, however, Brehme did not leave a lasting impression.