Former German footballer Bernd Hölzenbein has died at the age of 78, his former club Eintracht Frankfurt announced on Tuesday. Attacking midfielder with the West Germany team from October 1973, he took Jupp Heynckes' starting place during the 1974 World Cup at home.
He won the German Cup three times (1974, 1975 and 1981) and especially the UEFA Cup, ancestor of the Europa League, in 1980. At the end of his career, he played several seasons in the United States with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, the Memphis Americans and the Baltimore Blast. He was responsible for recruitment from 2004 to 2014, and was honorary captain of the Frankfurt club in the late 1980s and 1990s. He died on Monday surrounded by his family, the club wrote on its website. “A legend such as one finds in books. One of the biggest we've ever had,” the club said in a statement. “We are deeply saddened by the loss of this great man.”