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Horst Eckel
*8 February 1932, Vogelbach †3
December 2021, Landstuhl
Midfielder
Clubs as a player:
1950–1960 1. FC Kaiserslautern
1960–1965 SV Röchling Völklingen
Club:
213 matches, 64 goals (Oberliga Südwest)
Honours:
German champions: 1951, 1953
; Oberliga Südwest champions: 1950, 1951, 1953,
1954, 1955, 1956, 1957
National team:
32 appearances, 0 goals
World Champion: 1954
At the age of 22, Horst Eckel was the youngest player in the squad of the 1954 World Cup-winning team. The ‘Hero of Bern’ played in all six matches during the tournament in Switzerland. He played as a right-wing half, a position he filled with tremendous running ability and enthusiasm. In the final against a seemingly overwhelming opponent, Eckel neutralised Hungary’s outstanding playmaker, Nándor Hidegkuti. During his dynamic runs forward, this versatile running sensation drew on the attacking qualities he had honed as a former striker. His wiry build earned him the nickname ‘Greyhound’. Eckel was also a regular starter at the 1958 World Cup, playing in four of the six matches and helping the national team to fourth place. With 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Eckel dominated the then Oberliga-Südwest for years and won the German championship twice. In 2017, he was bestowed yet another great honour: following in the footsteps of Fritz Walter and Werner Liebrich, the historic Palatinate club named him only the third player ever to be made an honorary captain. With his modest and disciplined demeanour, Eckel became a role model for young people across generations.
The German Football Hall of Fame was established on the initiative of the German Football Museum. In November 2018 and January 2019, leading sports journalists voted for the inaugural men’s and women’s teams. The jury members were asked to nominate their choice of players and managers from German men’s and women’s football. Players who were eligible to play for German national teams and whose playing careers had ended at least five years previously were eligible for nomination. The HALL OF FAME honours the greatest legends of German football in one central location for the first time. It forms part of the permanent exhibition at the German Football Museum in Dortmund. Opened on 1 April 2019, it has become a permanent place of pilgrimage for all football fans. The jury decides annually on further inductees from men’s and women’s football.
