Hamburger SV is deeply saddened by the death of Uwe Seeler.
“Uwe Seeler stands for everything that characterizes a good person: down-to-earth, loyalty, joie de vivre, and he was always approachable. He is the epitome of HSV,” wrote sports director Jonas Boldt.
Seeler had remained true to his hometown club for a lifetime and had even turned down an offer from Inter Milan amounting to an enormous 1.2 million marks at the time.
“Personally, I have special memories of being together on his last birthday. He talked shop, asked about his HSV, gave me tips and a few jokes. We will never forget him and will always honor him. Now our thoughts and our condolences to Uwe’s family, to whom we express our heartfelt condolences,” said Boldt.
“Greatest athlete in club history”
The second division soccer team praised Seeler, who died at the age of 85, as “the greatest athlete in his club’s history”. The football icon was registered with HSV on April 1, 1946 by his father Erwin with membership number 1725, the club informed and proudly emphasized: After that he had become “one of the best center forwards in the world”.
With 507 goals, he is still the undisputed record goalscorer for HSV. The longtime captain was champion of the Oberliga-Nord nine times in a row (1955 to 1963) as well as one German champion (1960) and one DFB Cup winner (1963).
“Uwe Seeler will always have a firm place in our hearts. With his likeable and warm manner, he is and will remain a role model for many people – at HSV and beyond. We wish Uwe’s family and friends a lot of strength and are in our thoughts with them,” said the president of the Hamburger SV eV sports club, Marcell Jansen.