The scorer of the German victory goal in the final of the World Cup in Italy '90, Andreas Brehme, died this Tuesday, February 20, at the age of 63, as a result of a heart attack. The teams that won fueled by the talent of his double profile remembered him with nostalgia, highlighting the feats achieved thanks to the solidity of his defense.
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Andreas Brehme died this Tuesday, February 20, at the age of 63 due to a heart attack, his family confirmed.
Kaiserslautern, the first and also the last club in his professional career, defined him as “a football legend”, and his teammates at Inter of the records, the team with which he won the “scudetto” after a full campaign of milestones, they remembered him for the generosity of his game, but also for his character.
Brehme wore his country's shirt 86 times, first with West Germany and then with the unified team once the Berlin Wall fell, and despite the fact that his stronghold was defense, he scored 69 goals in his professional career and eight with the German team.
“His contributions to football, both as a player and a coach, have left an indelible mark on the sport.”
FIFA President Gianni Infantino has paid tribute to Andreas Brehme, who has sadly passed away at the age of 63.
— FIFA (@FIFAcom) February 20, 2024
The most remembered of them was the final against Diego Armando Maradona's Argentina at the Olympic Stadium in Rome.. Brehme was not the first nor the second penalty taker of that team, but Lothar Matthäus, his partner at Bayern Munich and then also at Inter, asked coach Franz Beckenbauer (who died last month) not to put him behind the ball when Roberto Sensini brought down in the area to Rudi Völler, and the Uruguayan referee Edgardo Codesal signaled the maximum penalty.
The “Kaiser” also did not want Völler to be in charge of collecting from the 12 steps, so the responsibility fell on Brehme. Without a shadow of a doubt, he shot cross-court with his right, but he could also have done it with his left, because both legs were equally productiveand beat the one who until then had carried Argentina on his shoulders by dint of saves in the penalty shoot-outs, Sergio Goycochea.
But the solvency he showed in stopping rival attacks did not transfer to his personal life. Brehme became bankrupt shortly after his retirement from football, full of debt and without work since in 2006 he was technical assistant to Giovanni Trapattoni, his former Inter coach, at Stuttgart.
In 2014, Beckenbauer promoted a fundraiser to help him get out of the economic trance he was going through, and Brehme managed to stay afloat with advertising contracts and occasional appearances.
The Inter of records never forgot it
Andreas Brehme's best sporting moment was his time at Inter Milanwhere he teamed up with his compatriot Mathäus to win the 1988-1989 season with unthinkable dominance, taking into account that his great rival was Milan with the orange trident, the Dutch Frank Rijkaard, Ruud Gullit and Marco Van Basten.
That year the Nerazzurri reached the top of the table only on the fourth day, and they remained there at the top until the last date, with just two defeats and six draws throughout the season, and a string of eight victories in the second half of the Bell.
Brehme would remain at Inter for four more years, and in the 1989-1990 season another historic partnership was put together, with the addition of Jürgen Klinsmann to respond to Milan's orange trio.
“From a football point of view he has been an incredible player: the only one I have found in my career who I couldn't tell if he was left-handed or right-handed,” defender Ricardo Ferri recalled this Tuesday, with whom he shared the glory campaigns at Inter. “When you were in trouble on the field there was only one thing to do: give the ball to Andy. “It was like keeping it in the bank.”
Giuseppe Bergomi, also part of that historic Inter, defined him as a “defensive director” for his ability to distribute the game, and goalkeeper Walter Zenga recalled how in training he exploited his shooting versatility: “he challenged me by taking 10 penalties, five with the left and five with the right.”
Inter announced that all its players would play in the Champions League round of 16 match against Atlético de Madrid this Tuesday with a black band on their arm, as a sign of mourning for Brehme's departure.
The Nerazzurri squad will attend the match against Atletico Madrid to remember the great Tedesco champions. #FCIM
— Inter (@Inter) February 20, 2024
A miraculous team
Kaiserslautern was the team with which he debuted in the Bundesliga in 1981, and also with which he said goodbye 17 years later with an unforgettable adventure, because the club began the year as newly promoted from the second division and closed it as champion. a feat never seen before in German football.
That motto, which he managed in 2000, was responsible for announcing Brehme's death, through a publication on the social network X in which he reviewed the player's career.
Der FCK trauert um Andreas Brehme.
Er trug insgesamt zehn Jahre das Trikot der Roten Teufel, wurde mit dem FCK Deutscher Meister und Pokalsieger. 1990 schoss er die Deutsche Nationalmannschaft mit seinem Elfmeter zum WM-Titel und wurde endgültig zur Fußball-Legende. pic.twitter.com/bPWzA5pBa4— 1. FC Kaiserslautern (@Rote_Teufel) February 20, 2024
Immediately afterwards, his partner, Susanne Schaeffer, added that the departure had been “sudden and unexpected”, the victim of a heart attack.
FIFA President Gianni Infantino joined in the condolences, recalling that “his contributions to football, both as a player and as a coach, have left an indelible mark on the sport.”
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