SV Werder Bremen mourns the loss of one of the club’s greatest football legends. As the association announced on July 3, citing his family, Horst-Dieter Höttges (1943-2023) died on June 22 at the age of 79. The honorary captain of SV Werder Bremen and former national player was also called “Eisenfuss” because of his playing style.
With the defender, the club loses “one of the greatest Werder players of all time and one of the best footballers that there has ever been in Germany,” explains Dr. Hubertus Hess-Grunewald, President and Chairman of the Board of Werder, in a statement on the club’s website. The death of the Werder legend “makes us very sad and sad,” it said.
Höttges “acquired outstanding merit as the most successful German national player we have ever had in our ranks and with his loyalty to the club”. The deceased joined Werder in 1964 and won the German championship with the club in his first season. Overall, he played for Bremen in 420 Bundesliga games. He played 66 international matches for Germany, became European champion in 1972 and world champion in 1974.
The club now wants to “appropriately accompany Horst-Dieter Höttges’ last journey in order to honor his sporting work appropriately” – in coordination with the family of the deceased.
