Shortly before his 61st birthday
©IMAGO
Former Bundesliga goalkeeper Wolfgang de Beer has died at the age of just 60. As his long-time club Borussia Dortmund announced on New Year’s Day, de Beer died suddenly and unexpectedly on December 30th. He would have been 61 years old this Thursday.
“His death leaves us all speechless,” said the BVB statement: “The Borussia family is shocked and deeply sad.” De Beer was most recently still employed by Westphalia as a fan representative and he was one of the figureheads of the past decades been BVB.
De Beer moved from MSV Duisburg to Dortmund in the summer of 1986. In 2001 he ended his career, during which he also played one game for the German U21 national team.
De Beer was there for nine of BVB’s great successes, as first or second goalkeeper or as goalkeeping coach, the club explained. “’Teddy’ was one of the good guys. On the pitch, but especially off the green lawn,” the club wrote: “A man you can touch. Deeply grounded. With his pulse, his heart and his full attention, he is always very close to people, a good, positive listener. Someone you always wanted to be around.”