German football is mourning the passing of one of its former World Cup winners after Bernd Hölzenbein died on 15 April at the age of 78 following illness.

Born 9 March 1946, Hölzenbein came through the youth setup at Eintracht Frankfurt and would go on to make 420 Bundesliga appearances for the Eagles between 1967 and 1981. Only Karl-Heinz Körbel, Jürgen Grabowski and Bernd Nickel have featured more in Eintracht colours.

The striker sits top of the club’s all-time scoring chart, though, having netted 160 goals in the Bundesliga. He also helped Eintracht to DFB Cup glory on three occasions (1974, 1975 and 1981), as well as the 1980 UEFA Cup.

Hölzenbein was part of the Germany squad that lifted the FIFA World Cup on home soil in 1974. He won the penalty that Paul Breitner converted in the final against the Netherlands. Gerd Müller then struck again in the 2-1 victory in Munich.

Upon leaving Eintracht in 1981, Hölzenbein spent a few years in the USA with the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, Memphis Americans and Baltimore Blast. Upon retiring, the Runkel native returned to Frankfurt and would go on to work as general manager and vice-president. The Eagles qualified for Europe six years in a row under his stewardship in the 1990s.

In recent times, illness meant the former striker could only follow his beloved Eintracht on TV, but his name will forever be remembered around the Waldstadion, where his status as the club’s greatest ever goalscorer is set to hold for many more years.

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