Andreas Brehme © Gallo Images
Andreas Brehme, who scored from the penalty spot in the 1990 World Cup final between West Germany and Argentina, sealing West Germany's victory, died overnight on Tuesday at the age of 63, his former club Bayern Munich announced. .
“FC Bayern is deeply shocked by the sudden death of Andreas Brehme,” the club said in a statement.
“We will always hold Andreas Brehme in our hearts, both as a world champion and as a very special person.”
A versatile left-back, Brehme spent two seasons with Bayern Munich from 1986 to 1988.
During his professional career, he played for Saarbrücken, Kaiserslautern, Inter Milan and Real Zaragoza.
He played 86 games for his country and scored 8 goals. The most famous of these was his 85th-minute penalty against Argentina at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, which gave West Germany their third World Cup victory.
Kaiserslautern, where Brehme played for 10 seasons over two seasons and won the Bundesliga and German Cup, said the club would “honor his memory”.
Brehme's former team, Inter Milan, said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), “He is a great player and a true Interista.''
“Ciao Andi, an eternal legend,” said the Italian giants, where Brehme played alongside colleagues Jurgen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthäus in the national team.
The Nerazzurri announced that their players will wear black armbands in Brehme's honor during their Champions League game against Atletico Madrid later on Tuesday.
Brehme's passing comes shortly after that of another German soccer legend, Franz Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer, who passed away in January, was in the dugout as West Germany's manager when they won the World Cup in 1990.
“Unfortunately, the sad news does not stop,” 1990 World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski told AFP sports news subsidiary SID.
“This is very, very sad for German football, especially for us, the 1990 world champions.”
