KEIR RADNEDGE COMMENTARY —- Uwe Seeler, one of the great heroes of modern German football, has died at 85.

‘Uns Uwe’ – ‘Our Uwe’ – scored 43 goals in 72 appearances for West Germany between late 1954 and 1970. He was later appointed an honorary national team captain though never a World Cup winner: ‘his’ West Germany were fourth in 1958, runners-up in 1966 and third in 1970.

In 1966 Seeler captained the West German team who lost 4-2 after extra-time against England at Wembley; four years later he took revenge with a remarkable back-headed goal in a quarter-final victory which wrecked England’s title defence.

A powerful, tireless centre-forward, Seeler was a one-club man who played all his professional career with Hamburg, like his father and his elder brother Dieter.

Seeler’s Hamburg SV were German champions in 1960 and reached the semi-finals of the Champions Cup the following season, only to lose a playoff against Barcelona. They lost the 1968 Cup-winners Cup final to Milan.

An honorary citizen of Hamburg, Seeler turned down several lucrative offers to play in Italy and Spain at a time when moving abroad ruled players out of playing for their country. Years after retiring from playing he was president of the club.

German Chancellor Olaf Schulz, a former mayor of the city, tweeted: “Germany mourns the loss of ‘Uns Uwe’. He was a role model for many, a football legend and of course an honorary citizen of Hamburg. On his 80th birthday I was invited to give the after-dinner speech. I said: ‘We all really want to be like UnsUwe: self-confident and modest.’ He will be missed.”

Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, in a message to Seeler’s widow Ilka, wrote: “Your husband gave us many unforgettable games and scored inimitable goals. I hope that you and your family can find comfort in the thought of the time you spent together and the happiness you experienced together.

“We will not forget Uwe Seeler and will honour his memory.”

Club tributes

Hamburg SV changed the black-white-blue club crest to black-and-white on its Twitter account and flew the flags at half-mast in front of the Volksparkstadion. Fans laid flowers at the oversized bronze sculpture of Seeler’s right foot which had been set in place in in August 2005.

Seeler suffered from repeated health setbacks in recent years. He lost hearing in his right ear and had problems with balance after a car accident in 2010. He also had a pacemaker fitted, had a tumour removed from a shoulder and suffered a broken hip after a bad fall at home.

Seeler was married to his wife, Ilka, for more than 60 years. They had three daughters. His grandson, Levin Oztunali, plays for Bundesliga club Union Berlin.

A one-minute silence was staged before the UEFA Women’s Euro quarter-final between Germany and Austria in London.

** Uwe Seeler: born November 5, 1936, died July 21, 2022.

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