In the 1950s they were a feared strike duo at Hamburger SV – and best friends. Until fate struck.
“He will always be my friend and always in my memory”. Uwe Seeler eight years ago about his long-time companion and best friend Klaus Stürmer, whom he lost early on.
“The Twins”, as they were called, stirred up German football in the 1950s and early 1960s, even before the Bundesliga was founded. They got to know each other in the youth national team and hit it off right away.
Striker learned to play football at TSV Glinde, just outside Hamburg. At 18 he joined HSV in 1953 and from then on he played with his friend Uwe. Together they won the German championship in 1960.
National coach Sepp Herberger did not go unnoticed about their achievements either. The world champion coach helped the HSV duo to make their debut together for Germany. On October 16, 1954 in a 1:3 defeat against France in Hanover. While Seeler was to play 71 more games for the DFB-Elf and became their captain, the striker – despite a goal in his first appearance – only had one more international match. Incomprehensible to many observers at the time because of the undisputed class of the half-forward and the blind understanding with Seeler.
