In a solemn ceremony and accompanied by great emotions, six legends have been included in the Hall of Fame of German Football. At the award ceremony in the German Football Museum in Dortmund, Bastian Schweinsteiger, Horst Hrubesch, Otto Rehhagel, Jupp Heynckes, Guido Buchwald and the already deceased Bert Trautmann were honored.
With the admission to the fame hall, a journalist jury paid tribute to the extraordinary achievements and successes that the nominees have achieved as a player or trainer. 53 men and women are now part of the Hall of Fame.
Schweinsteiger moved
Philipp Lahm praised Schweinsteiger, with whom he had become world champion in Brazil in 2014. Lahm once again thought of Schweinsteiger’s performance and resistance in the final against Argentina. “He was the rock in the surf. You have to appreciate that,” said Lahm. “Rio was not only mine, but also your career,” he turned directly to Schweinsteiger.
“That means a lot to me,” said Schweinsteiger to the honor. The 41-year-old wiped tears from the face.
Hrubesch: “I wanted to do a few years”
Like Schweinsteiger, Buchwald, Rehhagel and Hrubesch also personally accepted the award. Hrubesch spoke about his honor in a typical manner. “I’ve heard the word legend many times. I always said that the legends are usually already dead,” said the 74-year-old and added with a smile. “I’m actually doing quite well. I wanted to do a few years.”
Hrubesch was famous for active time as a “header yeast”. The passionate angler was also successful and popular as a trainer. Rehhagel can refer to a great career as a coach, which he crowned with the Sensational European Championship title in 2004 with outsider Greece.
Buchwald became world champion as a player in 1990 and celebrated further titles. 1974 world champion Heynckes celebrated many club titles as a player of Borussia Mönchengladbach and worked as a coach with great success at home and abroad for around 40 years. In 2013 he was the first German trainer to win the triple from the championship, DFB Cup and Champions League with Bayern Munich. “Jupp Heynckes was a cornerstone in this club for years,” said Uli Hoeneß in a video message.
The Bremen, who came from Bremen, became the Icon of Manchester City in England from the hated prisoner of war. The goalkeeper would have turned 101 years old last year. “It is a history of reconciliation,” said DFB President Bernd Neuendorf to Trautmann’s Werdegang in his laudation.