German World Cup winner ‘iron foot’ Höttges dies at 79

 

BREMEN – World Cup-winning Germany defender Horst-Dieter Höttges, who spent almost his entire playing career at Werder Bremen, has died at age 79, the Bundesliga club said on Monday.

Citing his family, Bremen said that Höttges died on June 22.He had been suffering from dementia and living in a retirement home together with his wife in the past years.

“We are deeply saddened by the death of Horst Dieter Höttges. Our condolences and sympathy go to his family,” Bremen president Hubertus Hess-Grunewald said in a club statement.

“With Horst Dieter Höttges, we have lost one of the greatest Werder personalities of all time and one of the best footballers ever to have played in Germany. Horst Dieter Höttges is a Werder legend and has earned outstanding merits as the most successful German international player we have ever had in our ranks and with his loyalty to the club. Even after his career, he maintained intensive contact with many at Werder.”

Named “iron foot” for his fierce defensive style, Höttges came to Bremen in 1964 from Borussia Mönchengladbach and played 420 Bundesliga games for them until 1978, scoring 55 goals.

He won the Bundesliga title with Bremen in 1965 and was runner-up three years later.
Bremen later struggled but Höttges once famously said that “as long as I play for Werder the club will not be relegated.”

Bremen eventually dropped into the second tier in 1980, two years after his retirement.
Höttges won 66 caps for West Germany and played at three World Cups, finishing second in 1966, third in 1970 and lifting the trophy in 1974 in his home country. He also was a Euro 1972 winner.

“Horst Dieter Höttges helped shape a successful era and won the biggest titles with the German selection,” German Football Federation president Bernd Neuendorf said.

“In teams that are praised in retrospect primarily for their skills, he was the hard worker for whom no path was too far, no task too difficult – and who thus allowed his colleagues to shine. Without players like him, no team can be successful. His commitment was exemplary, as was his passion and dedication.”