Andreas Brehme, who scored from the penalty spot to seal victory for West Germany against Argentina in the 1990 World Cup final, died overnight into Tuesday at the age of 63, his former club Bayern Munich said.
“FC Bayern is deeply shocked by the sudden death of Andreas Brehme,” the club said in a statement.
“We will always keep Andreas Brehme in our hearts. As a world champion and as a very special person.”
A versatile left-back, Brehme spent two seasons with Bayern Munich between 1986-1988.
His professional career saw him play for Saarbruecken, Kaiserslautern, Inter Milan and Real Zaragoza, among others.
He played 86 times for his country, scoring eight goals, the most famous of which, an 85th-minute penalty against Argentina at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, brought West Germany their third World Cup title.
Kaiserslautern, where Brehme played for 10 seasons over two stints, winning the Bundesliga and the German Cup, said the club would “honour his memory”.
“A magnificent player, a true Interista,” Brehme’s former club Inter Milan said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Ciao Andy, forever a legend,” said Italian giants, where Brehme played together with his national team colleagues Juergen Klinsmann and Lothar Matthaeus.
The Nerazzurri said their players would wear black armbands in honour of Brehme during their Champions League clash against Atletico Madrid later on Tuesday.
Brehme’s passing comes shortly after the death of another German footballing legend, Franz Beckenbauer.
Beckenbauer, who died in January, was in the dugout for West Germany as manager when the team won the World Cup in 1990.
“Unfortunately, the sad news doesn’t stop,” 1990 World Cup winner Pierre Littbarski told SID, AFP’s sports news subsidiary.
“This is very, very sad for German football and especially for us, the 1990 world champions.”