BERLIN —
Andreas Brehme, the scorer of the penalty goal that gave West Germany the title in the 1990 World Cup by beating Diego Maradona’s Argentina in the final, has died. He was 63 years old.
“One of the greatest footballers in German history. German football owes him a lot,” said German Football Federation President Bernd Neuendorf.
Several former teammates and other personalities paid tribute to the player who was affectionately known as “Andi” Brehme, who stood out in the 1980s and 1990s.
“I can’t believe it. The news of Andre’s sudden death makes me very sad,” said Rudi Völler, his teammate. “Andi was our World Cup hero, but for me he was much more. He was a very close friend and companion to this day. I will miss the wonderful way he enjoyed living.”
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge played with Brehme in the 1986 World Cup in Mexico.
“Andi was a supportive player, very loyal and reliable. His love for his life was contagious and it makes me very sad that he left us at 63,” Rummenigge noted.
Kaiserslautern, the club that won its last Bundesliga title in Brehme’s final season before his retirement in 1998, said it was “very sad” about his unexpected death. Brehme played with the Red Devils for 10 seasons in two stages. Consecration in the Bundesliga came after promotion as champions of the second division, and Brehme also won the German Cup with Kaiserslautern in 1996.
Born in Hamburg, Brehme played as a left winger. He will always be remembered for the German victory in Italy 1990.
He also scored in the semi-final against England, which West Germany won in a penalty shootout. His final penalty sealed the 1-0 victory against Argentina in the final. The achievement of that title sparked celebrations throughout Germany, which was in the middle of the reunification process after the fall of the Berlin Wall a year earlier.
Brehme’s decisive goal at the Olympic Stadium in Rome was celebrated by Inter Milan, the Italian club where he played as part of a formidable German trident that included his teammates Jürgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthäus.
As captain, Matthäus was the one to take West Germany’s penalty in the final, but the midfielder had damaged his boots in the first half and did not feel very confident because his replacement ones were too big.
“It was a very smart decision to let Andreas Brehme take the penalty,” Matthäus said afterwards.
“Someone had to step forward. And in our case it had to be someone who felt confident,” Brehme said in a FIFA interview in 2017. “It was about scoring that penalty to become world champions.”
Brehme acknowledged that the decision to take the penalty was “strange” but that did not prevent him from beating Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Goycochea in the 85th minute. West Germany had dominated the match, but Goycochea was inspired and covered everything.
“That night at the Olympic Stadium, against Sergio Goycochea, a fearsome goalkeeper who had already stopped shots by (Roberto) Donadoni and Aldo Serena at the San Paolo, Brehme chose to shoot with his right foot. A placed shot, like a caress to the net: he sent it low, straight to the bottom left corner, unstoppable,” Inter wrote on their website.