Andreas Brehme, the scorer of the winning goal in the 1990 World Cup Final, has passed away at the age of 63. Brehme died “suddenly and unexpectedly” in the night from a heart attack, his widow Susanne confirmed.
Brehme rose to prominence with Kaiserslautern in the early 1980s, before representing Bayern Munich and Inter Milan. He earned 86 caps for West Germany and captained a reunified Germany at Euro 92. After hanging up his boots, he coached Kaiserslautern from 2000-06.
The defender was part of the West Germany team that had lost the final of Mexico 86, that showpiece also coming against Diego Maradona’s Argentina. His 85th-minute penalty four years later sealed victory for his nation following back-to-back World Cup Final defeats.
Brehme won league titles with Kaiserslautern, Bayern Munich and Inter, as well as the UEFA Cup, with the latter, in 1991.
FFT's Ed McCambridge: When I met Andy Brehme
I had the pleasure of interviewing Andy Brehme twice for FourFourTwo in the couple of years before he passed away.
Usually, writing interview questions for former footballers is a straight-forward task, but Andy’s career was so storied, it was a job in itself just choosing what to ask given time restrictions.
I could have spent an hour alone on Kaiserslautern, where he made a name for himself as a youngster before returning at the end of his career to be relegated from the Bundesliga, promoted, and then crowned a German champion in three seasons between 1996 and 1998.
Or the same length of time on Bayern Munich, with whom he won a Meisterschale alongside the likes of Lothar Matthäus and Hansi Flick, before losing the 1987 European Cup Final in agonising circumstances – Porto scoring twice late on to snatch victory in Vienna.
His time in Italy, during Serie A’s golden age, was equally fascinating. Brehme described to me how Inter’s fans came to love the three West Germans who played for the club in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s – Brehme, Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann.
The three were all plying their trade in Italy at the time of Italia 90. West Germany’s last-16 clash with the Netherlands, in Milan, pitted that trio against AC Milan’s three Dutchmen – Marco Van Basten, Frank Rijkaard and Ruud Gullit – and would prove one of the games of the tournament, Germany triumphing 2-1 and Rudi Völler ending up covered in phlegm. Brehme recalled the ferocity in the stands in a city divided.
It is probably for his goal in the final of that tournament that Brehme will be best remembered – and it was this moment that my interview centred around. Brehme explained how Matthäus was actually due to take that penalty, but changed his mind when Brehme calmly offered to do the honours if required. Matthäus had a feeling Brehme would dispatch the spot-kick without any issues. And so he did.
Brehme was generous with his time and was touched to discover an English football magazine cared enough about him to seek him out for a chat. He was a gentleman, a reluctant raconteur, and one of the best full-backs of his generation.
More Andreas Brehme stories
Andreas Brehme explains why he took his penalty in the World Cup final with his right foot, after scoring in a shootout at Mexico 86 with his left
"There's pressure, sure, but it's a single action" – Andreas Brehme on why Germany are so good at penalties
