At 75 years, Der Bomber der Nation, one of the very few strikers to actually win everything - often multiple times to boot, dies peacefully in his home. With all the ballyhoo about modern football heroes, his story is too-rarely mentioned internationally. But give me a player who won more, or has more impressive statistics overall. His 40 goal season of 1971 was only this years surpassed by Robert Lewandowski, again for Bayern. Far down the dark road of dementia, he wasn't able to acknowledge the feat.
His famous saying, "Wenn'st denkst, is eh zu spät" (If you start thinking, it's too late anyway), captures the essence of being a striker.
(For his 75th birthday this year. English subtitles, and you may like to hear a variety of German local dialects, including a Polish and a Croatian accent).
Watch on youtube.com
