Six legends for the HALL OF FAME

In doing so, the jury also recognised exceptional achievements and successes attained abroad. Trautmann, who hailed from Bremen and would have turned 100 last year, rose through the ranks in England from prisoner of war to become a goalkeeping icon at Manchester City, Rehhagel capped his outstanding managerial career when he sensationally led the Greek national team to the European Championship title in 2004.
Bastian Schweinsteiger,
the long-serving midfield maestro at FC Bayern Munich, is one of the most successful German footballers of all time. Like the 2014 World Cup winner, Stuttgart’s Guido Buchwald, a 1990 World Cup winner, and HSV’s heading sensation Horst Hrubesch, a 1980 European Championship winner, are not only distinguished international players but also major role models for their respective clubs. Jupp Heynckes enjoyed great success both at home and abroad over a period of more than 40 years. In 2013, he became the first German manager to win the treble – the league title, the DFB Cup and the Champions League – with Bayern Munich.

Manuel Neukirchner, Director of the German Football Museum and Chair of the German Football Hall of Fame jury: “We have found a good mix on the jury. Bert Trautmann is an iconic figure in German football. Without the outstanding Guido Buchwald and his performance against Diego Maradona, we would not have become World Champions in 1990. Bastian Schweinsteiger is the defining figure of the ‘golden generation’ that was crowned World Champions in 2014. Horst Hrubesch is not only a heading machine but, above all, a strong personality. Jupp Heynckes has been one of the most successful managers in club football, at least since his treble triumph with Bayern. And Otto Rehhagel, with his sensational successes, is a one-of-a-kind figure in German football.”
A total
of 22 players and five managers made it onto the shortlist for induction into the German Football Hall of Fame. The selection process covered the years 2023 and 2024. In principle, German figures from men’s and women’s football from 1900 to the present day may be nominated, provided they have retired from the sport for at least five years. Particular consideration is given to outstanding performances for the national team before and after the war, for the former East German national team, and in national and international club football.
The official ceremony to honour and induct the new Hall of Fame members will take place next year at the German Football Museum, as will the selection of the next inductees from women’s football.

Bastian Schweinsteiger: “I would like to thank the jury for inducting me into the Hall of Fame. It is a great honour to be ranked alongside such magnificent footballers. That makes me very proud. I am particularly pleased that two teammates from our 2014 squad, Miro Klose and Philipp Lahm, have already been inducted. I am very surprised to be inducted into the HALL OF FAME so soon after the five-year period following the end of my professional career has elapsed. What we achieved together as a team and for all the fans of German football still makes me very, very proud to this day.”
Guido Buchwald: “I’d like to thank the jury very warmly for electing me into the German Football Hall of Fame. This is a wonderful honour and it makes me proud to be included in such an elite circle alongside figures such as Franz Beckenbauer, Wolfgang Overath, Uwe Seeler and Lothar Matthäus. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone soon at the German Football Museum in Dortmund.”
Horst Hrubesch: “I heard the news from Manuel Neukirchner and was absolutely delighted. After Uwe Seeler, I’m only the second HSV player to have made it. That’s a special honour. Throughout my life, I’ve repeatedly faced challenges that required a great deal of commitment. To be inducted into the HALL OF FAME for that now is a wonderful recognition. You need things like this for yourself every now and then – and they’re an expression of a certain appreciation. With the national team, I played against all the greats: alongside Breitner and Rummenigge against Maradona or Sócrates – that always held a special appeal for me. As a footballer, I was able to see, experience and take part in so much – but the most important thing for me was always that, no matter where I was, people helped me, and that fans and the team accepted me just as I am. Uwe, for example, was one of my first supporters in Hamburg.”
Jupp Heynckes: “It is a great honour for every footballer to be inducted into the German Football Hall of Fame. That is why I, too, am delighted to now belong to this select circle. I see this award as a tribute to my career as a player and manager.”
Otto Rehhagel: “I was 16 years old when Germany became World Champions in 1954. That match against Hungary, that 3–2 victory, made a huge impression on me. Fritz Walter, Helmut Rahn, Sepp Herberger – they were my heroes back then. To stand alongside them today in the German Football Hall of Fame makes me very happy. And proud, too.”

The following have been inducted into the German Football Hall of Fame to date:
Men, Class of 2022: Philipp Lahm, Bernd Schuster, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge
Women, Class of 2022: Nadine Angerer, Ariane Hingst, Anne Trabant-Haarbach, Christa Kleinhans, Bärbel Wohlleben
Men, Class of 2021: Jürgen Kohler, Horst Eckel, Joachim Streich, Miroslav Klose, Udo Lattek
Men, Class of 2020: Berti Vogts, Michael Ballack, Andreas Möller, Klaus Fischer, Rudi Völler
Men, born in 2019: Oliver Kahn, Hans-Jürgen Dörner, Wolfgang Overath, Jürgen Klinsmann, Helmut Schön
Women, born in 2019 (founding squad): 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, 2018 cohort (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