He was 79 years old
Dieter Herzog: 1974 world champion is dead
Updated 11/20/2025 – 7:21 p.mReading time: 1 min.
With the DFB team he won the world championship title in his own country in 1974. Dieter Herzog has now died at the age of 79.
German football mourns the loss of former world champion Dieter Herzog. According to his former club Bayer Leverkusen, the former winger died last week at the age of 79. As of Thursday evening, no information was available about the circumstances of his death.
Herzog was part of the squad for eventual title winners Germany at the 1974 home World Cup in Germany. The former Düsseldorfer was used in national coach Helmut Schön’s team during the World Cup tournament in the second round matches with the former Yugoslavia (2:0) and Sweden (4:2).
After a total of only five international matches, the Oberhausen native’s career with the national team ended in the same year. For the World Cup triumph, Herzog received the Silver Laurel Leaf together with his colleagues from the German Football Association (DFB) selection.
As a club player, Herzog achieved promotion to the Bundesliga with Fortuna Düsseldorf in 1971 and eight years later with Bayer Leverkusen. Three years before the success with the “Werkself”, his move as world champion from Düsseldorf to their then second-class neighbors Leverkusen caused a stir. Herzog ended his professional career under the Bayer Cross in 1983 after a total of 394 appearances (201 for Düsseldorf and 193 for Leverkusen).