Andreas Brehme, the scorer of the goal that won West Germany the 1990 World Cup, has died at the age of 63.
Brehme’s partner Susanne Schaefer confirmed the news in a statement, saying he died “suddenly and unexpectedly” in the night from a cardiac arrest.
Brehme played for clubs including Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich and Inter, and won 86 caps for West Germany and Germany. He went into coaching, notably with Kaiserslautern, from 2000-06.
The defender was part of the West Germany team that lost the 1986 World Cup final against Argentina and scored the 85th-minute penalty that decided the final when the teams met again four years later in the final in Italy.
His death comes less than two months after that of Franz Beckenbauer, who coached West Germany to that 1990 triumph and also won the tournament as a player.
Bayern tweeted: “FC Bayern are extremely saddened by the sudden passing of Andreas Brehme. We extend our deepest sympathies to his family and friends. Andreas Brehme will forever be in our hearts, as a World Cup winner and, more importantly, as a very special person. He will forever be part of the FC Bayern family. Rest in peace, Andi!”
Kaiserslautern also paid tribute to the former left-back, saying: “He wore the Red Devils’ shirt for a total of 10 years and became German champion and German Cup winner with FCK. In 1990 he fired the German national team to the World Cup title with his penalty and became a football legend. The FCK family is in deep mourning.”
