Helmut Rahn, the German footballing legend who scored the winning goal to give Germany the 1954 World Cup title, has died at the age of 73.
Rahn's goal gave Germany an unexpected 3-2 victory over the star-studded Hungary led by Ferenc Puskas in the final in Bern. Germany rallied from a 2-0 deficit, with Rahn scoring the last two. A natural leader on the field, Rahn had earned the nickname ''the Boss''.
''The Boss contributed to the most important success in German soccer history,'' said another German soccer legend, Franz Beckenbauer. ''Germany became someone again. We gave ourselves the feeling of self-respect again.''
Three players from the team are still alive - Horst Eckel, Ottmar Walter, and Hans Schaefer. Rahn, whose death was announced by the German Soccer Federation, would have turned 74 on Saturday. The cause of his death was not given, but the federation said Rahn died after a ''long and serious illness'' in his Essen home, where he had lived reclusively. He is survived by his wife, Gerti, and two sons.
Rahn rarely gave interviews in the past two decades but his description of the winning goal in Bern was well known: ''I
didn't even see where the ball went. But I knew: it's in. It couldn't be more in,'' Rahn said of his left-footed drive from outside the penalty area that beat Hungary's famous goalkeeper Gyula Grosics with six minutes left in the match.
A right-winger with a powerful shot, Rahn played 40 games for Germany and scored 21 goals. With his club, Rot-Weiss Essen, Rahn won the German cup in 1953 and the German championship in 1955.
He also played in the 1958 World Cup, when Germany finished fourth, and scored 10 goals in World Cup matches.
Rahn, who once turned down an offer to play for Racing Club Buenos Aires, ended his career in 1965 because of a knee injury. Germany later won two more World Cup titles, in 1974 with Beckenbauer as captain and in 1990, with Beckenbauer as coach.
Fritz Walter, the captain of the 1954 team, died last year, during the World Cup in Japan and South Korea, where Germany lost 2-0 to Brazil in the final.
Rahn's death was announced just as two of the survivors, Eckel and Walter, began a tour of Switzerland
to visit the place of their success. They were due to
revisit the hotel where the German team, coached by Sepp Herberger, stayed during the World Cup and then view the Bern stadium, which is now being rebuilt. Their tour is part of a TV special for the 50th anniversary of Germany's first World Cup title next year.
Borussia Dortmund also announced the death of its former star Lothar Emmerich, who scored 115 goals in 183 games for Dortmund between 1963 and 1969 and had five caps for Germany. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in January. Emmerich was 61.
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