Uwe Seeler

Uwe Seeler (5 November 1936 – 21 July 2022) was a German footballer and later a football official. A striker known for his scoring ability, he played for Hamburger SV and earned 72 caps for West Germany. Considered one of Germany’s all-time greats, Pelé named him to FIFA’s list of the 100 greatest living players in 2004. He was also the first footballer awarded the Commander’s Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.

Seeler joined Hamburger SV, following his father, and debuted in a DFB-Pokal match in 1954 at age 17, scoring four goals in an 8–2 win over Holstein Kiel. Despite offers from Italian and Spanish clubs, he stayed with Hamburg, working as a merchant alongside football. A powerful and consistent leader, he was known for overhead kicks and aerial play. He scored 137 goals in 239 Bundesliga matches, 43 in 72 internationals, and 21 in 29 European club games.

He captained both club and country for years. With Hamburg, he won the German championship in 1960 and the DFB-Pokal in 1963. He was the Bundesliga’s top scorer in its first season (1963–64) and was named German Footballer of the Year in 1960, 1964, and 1970. In 1960–61, he and his brother helped Hamburg reach the European Cup semi-finals, losing to Barcelona in a play-off. In 1967–68, he led Hamburg to the European Cup Winners’ Cup final, finishing as top scorer, but they lost to AC Milan.

In 1978, Seeler and former teammate Franz-Josef Hönig played a one-off sponsored match for Cork Celtic. Though Seeler had retired in 1972, the match counted as an official League of Ireland fixture, and he scored twice. This brought his total league and championship goals to 446 (444 for Hamburg, 2 for Cork Celtic). His 404 goals in German Oberliga and Bundesliga league games remain a record, and his 406 league goals overall make him the second-highest German scorer behind Gerd Müller.

Seeler played in the same four World Cups as Pelé: 1958, 1962, 1966, and 1970. West Germany reached the 1966 final, losing 4–2 to England in extra time. In 1958, they finished fourth; in 1970, they placed third after a 4–3 extra-time loss to Italy in the semi-finals, known as the "Game of the Century." In the quarter-finals, his backward header against England tied the score 2–2, and West Germany won 3–2.

Though he never won a World Cup, he set several tournament records: first player to appear in 20 World Cup matches (retiring with 21, tied for third all-time), first to score in four World Cups (beating Pelé by minutes), and first to score at least two goals in four World Cups (matched by Miroslav Klose in 2014). He played 1,980 World Cup minutes, scoring nine goals across the four tournaments, plus three in qualifiers. A photo of a dejected Seeler after the 1966 final was voted Photo of the Century by kicker magazine.

After football, Seeler served as president of Hamburger SV from 1995 to 1998, resigning due to a financial scandal for which he took responsibility, though he was not implicated.

Seeler was widely admired for his fairness and modesty, known in Hamburg as "Uns Uwe" (Our Uwe). In 1972, the DFB made him the second honorary captain of the national team, after Fritz Walter. He became an honorary citizen of Hamburg in 2003, the first sportsman to receive the honor, and published his memoir Danke, Fußball that year. In 2005, a giant monument of his right foot was unveiled outside the HSV stadium.

He appeared as himself in the 1972 comedy Willi wird das Kind schon schaukeln. Seeler lived with his wife in Harksheide, Norderstedt, from 1959 until his death. He was Protestant. His grandson, Levin Öztunalı, is also a professional footballer.

Seeler died on 21 July 2022 at age 85 at his home in Norderstedt. Later that day, HSV supporters paid tribute with flowers at his foot monument.