Presentation of the Hall of Fame Awards at the German Football Museum

Udo Lattek, Joachim Streich and Horst Eckel were inducted posthumously. The induction ceremony into the German Football Hall of Fame, hosted by presenter Laura Papendick and DFB sporting director Rudi Völler, took place at the German Football Museum as part of an RTL television programme, which will be broadcast on Saturday (18 November) from around 10.45 pm, following the international match between Germany and Turkey, under the title ‘The German Football Hall of Fame’.

The German Football Hall of Fame comprises 47 figures from German women’s and men’s football. The jury is made up of the sports editors-in-chief from Germany’s leading football media outlets. Museum director and jury chairman Manuel Neukirchner said: “With Karl-Heinz Rummenigge and Bernd Schuster, we are honouring two outstanding world-class footballers from the 1980s. Jürgen Kohler, Philipp Lahm and Miro Klose also deserve the title of ‘world-class’; they set new standards in their respective eras during the 1990s and after the turn of the millennium. All of them, as well as Udo Lattek, Horst Eckel and Joachim Streich – who have been posthumously inducted into the HALL OF FAME – are a mark of excellence for German football and have shaped Germany as a footballing nation through their achievements both on and off the pitch.”

Karl-Heinz Rummenigge: “This is a wonderful honour. I feel very honoured to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame in Germany, following my induction into the Italian Hall of Fame last year. Thank you very much for this; it makes me proud. With the Hall of Fame, the German Football Museum has created a place for personalities whose names are inextricably linked to unforgettable moments. Reading the names of the members naturally brings back a great many memories. Franz Beckenbauer, one of my first mentors, with whom I spent decades at FC Bayern, as well as Gerd Müller, from whom I was able to learn so much, Paul Breitner, my wonderful partner during the ‘Breitnigge’ days, and Udo Lattek, my first manager, who, back then at FC Bayern, had a unique knack for moulding a group of outstanding individuals into a great team.”
After joining Bayern Munich in 1974, Rummenigge developed into one of the world’s best strikers. The three-time Bundesliga top scorer was voted ‘European Footballer of the Year’ twice in a row. After winning the European Championship in 1980, Rummenigge captained the German national team to the World Cup final in both 1982 and 1986.

Bernd Schuster: “I’m absolutely delighted to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. This award is the highest honour I’ve ever received. When I first heard the news, I couldn’t quite believe it, especially as I spent so long playing abroad. You run the risk of being forgotten when you do that. After all these years as a player and later as a manager, you do, to some extent, live on the past and the memories associated with this honour.”
Schuster played abroad for 13 years, making a total of 316 appearances in Spain’s Primera División for top clubs FC Barcelona, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid. He won at least one title at each of these three clubs. At the age of 19, the playmaker made his debut for the German national team, which he led to the European Championship title a year later. He was voted the best player at the tournament in Italy.

Philipp Lahm: “Being named in the same squad as German football legends is an incredible honour. My congratulations therefore also go to all the other recipients who have likewise been inducted into the Hall of Fame. I am grateful to my team-mates, coaches and everyone who has helped make it possible for me to receive this extraordinary honour.”
Lahm developed into one of the world’s best full-backs whilst at FC Bayern Munich and in the German national team. In the opening match of the 2006 World Cup on home soil against Costa Rica, he sparked the so-called ‘Summer Fairy Tale’ by scoring the tournament’s first goal. In 2010, at the World Cup in South Africa, he was appointed captain of the national team in the absence of the injured Michael Ballack and, in that role, four years later completed the ‘Golden Generation’s’ legacy by winning the World Cup title in Brazil alongside long-standing teammates such as Bastian Schweinsteiger, Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose, the “Golden Generation”’s legacy by winning the World Cup title in Brazil. Philipp Lahm was in the starting line-up for each of his 113 international matches. Following his retirement, he was appointed honorary captain of the national team by the DFB.

Jürgen Kohler: “I’m delighted to have been chosen this time. For me, induction into the Hall of Fame is one of the highest honours an athlete can receive and a wonderful recognition of the high-calibre performances I’ve delivered over many years. My passion for defending was probably instilled in me from birth. I always wanted to keep improving; for me, there was no such thing as a break. If you want to be exceptional, you have to achieve exceptional things. And that’s only possible through hard work. I’m proud to have won an impressive number of titles with various teams. Of course, that also goes hand in hand with a big thank you to many great teammates.”
Kohler is one of the most successful German footballers of all time. After spells at Waldhof Mannheim and 1. FC Köln, the defensive specialist won his first title in 1990 whilst playing for Bayern Munich. In the same year, he became World Champion with the German national team. Kohler then continued his run of success at Juventus Turin, initially at international level by winning the UEFA Cup. Later, he also secured the league and cup titles in Italy’s domestic competitions. After returning to the Bundesliga, he ultimately helped shape the most successful era in Borussia Dortmund’s history, which culminated in victory in the Champions League and the Intercontinental Cup in 1997.

Miroslav Klose: “This award is a great honour for me. You only have to look around to see who has already been inducted into the Hall of Fame. To now be part of this circle of fantastic players and idols myself is brilliant. I’m also delighted that Philipp Lahm has been selected. For years, he was a brilliant team-mate who brought out the best in those around him, and also an important voice in the dressing room – someone I always enjoyed having a chat with.”
Klose finished third twice, second once and finally became World Champion during his four World Cup appearances. During the 2014 title-winning campaign, he scored his 16th World Cup goal and has been the tournament’s all-time leading goalscorer ever since. In 137 international appearances – the second-highest tally after Lothar Matthäus – he scored 71 goals. This also makes Klose the German national team’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Rudi Völler, himself a Hall of Famer, was the first to congratulate the new inductees in the Hall of Fame: “I had the honour of being inducted into the Hall of Fame two years ago, and I know from all my colleagues who have won so many titles and trophies that this is yet another very special honour, particularly in a country with such a rich footballing tradition and so many successes. Bernd Schuster, as a brilliant player, should actually have been part of our 1990 World Cup-winning squad; unfortunately, there were a few disagreements with the DFB at the time. Nevertheless, he went on to have an incredible career. Jürgen Kohler was a rock-solid centre-back, strong in the air and incredibly fast. I was always glad to have him in my team, even in training matches. I came across Horst Eckel at many traditional matches; even in his later years, he was still involved with great enthusiasm. Joachim Streich’s exceptional qualities as a striker did not go unnoticed by us in the West either. I’m delighted that, back then as team manager, I was able to support Miro Klose and Philipp Lahm and pave the way for them to join the national team. Udo Lattek was a shrewd coach of the old school; his numerous successes speak for themselves.”

The Hall of Fame Awards ceremony, hosted by Laura Papendick, will be broadcast on RTL on Saturday (18 November) following the German national team’s international match against Turkey in Berlin (kick-off 8.45 pm).

The following have been inducted into the HALL OF FAME to date:
Men, 2018 class (founding eleven): Sepp Maier; Franz Beckenbauer, Paul Breitner, Andreas Brehme; Günter Netzer, Lothar Matthäus, Fritz Walter, Matthias Sammer; Uwe Seeler, Gerd Müller, Helmut Rahn; Sepp Herberger
Women, 2019 inductees (founding eleven): Silke Rottenberg; Steffi Jones, Doris Fitschen, Nia Künzer; Renate Lingor, Silvia Neid, Martina Voss-Tecklenburg, Bettina Wiegmann; Inka Grings, Birgit Prinz, Heidi Mohr; Tina Theune
Men, born in 2019: Oliver Kahn, Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Wolfgang Overath, Jürgen Klinsmann, Helmut Schön
Men, born in 2020: Berti Vogts, Michael Ballack, Andreas Möller, Klaus Fischer, Rudi Völler
Men, born in 2021: Jürgen Kohler, Horst Eckel, Joachim Streich, Miroslav Klose, Udo Lattek
Women, born in 2022: Nadine Angerer, Ariane Hingst, Anne Trabant-Haarbach, Bärbel Wohlleben, Christa Kleinhans
Men, Class of 2022: Philipp Lahm, Bernd Schuster, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge

The jury for the German Football Hall of Fame comprises: Dirk Adam (Sports Illustrated Germany), Frederik Ahrens (Hamburger Morgenpost), Gernot Bauer (ProSiebenSat.1), Michael Bracher (DAZN), Gianni Costa (Rheinische Post), Alfred Draxler (BILD), Ralph Durry (SID), Stefan Frommann (WELT/WELT am SONNTAG), Thomas Fuhrmann (ZDF), Pit Gottschalk (Fever Pit‘ch), Anno Hecker (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung), Christian Hollmann (dpa), Jörg Jakob (kicker), André Keil (VDS), Erich Laaser (VDS), Alexander Laux (Hamburger Abendblatt), Christian Löer (Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger), Tino Meyer (Sächsische Zeitung), Peter Müller (journalist), Mario Nauen (Sky), Manuel Neukirchner (German Football Museum), Heiko Ostendorp (RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland), Karsten Prehn (Amazon Prime), Dirk Preiß (Stuttgarter Zeitung/Stuttgarter Nachrichten), Astrid Rawohl (Deutschlandfunk), Thomas Schulzke (Ruhr Nachrichten), Dirc Seemann (Sport1), Steffen Simon (DFB), Karl Valks (WDR), Claus Vetter (Der Tagesspiegel), Martin Volkmar (ran), Andreas von Thien (RTL), Mark Weishaupt (Saarbrücker Zeitung), Sebastian Weßling (Funke Medien)