Dieter Herzog, the speedster on the left wing, is a Düsseldorf legend because he was there when it mattered. When, for example, FC Bayern had to be dealt a decisive blow in the Bundesliga: that was Dieter Herzog’s moment. January 1974, for example, 4:2 for Fortuna, last goal by Herzog. Or, even more legendary: June 1975, 6:5 for Fortuna, last goal Herzog, an interesting shot on the move, unstoppable for the Munich keeper. “There’s Sepp Maier leaning against the goal post, he can’t understand it,” marveled WDR reporter Dieter Adler. The old video recordings from back then may be blurry, but it is crystal clear how quickly the attacker attacked Herzog.
The status as a personified Bayern hunter also helped him at the DFB. 1974 World Cup, the bright era of light blue tracksuits. But after the 0-1 loss against the GDR, goal Sparwasser, everything was in jeopardy, and the Bayern leader and national team regent Franz Beckenbauer ordered that new players should be rotated into the team to provide fresh impetus. This is how the Duke, respected by the emperor, came to his World Cup appearances against Yugoslavia and Sweden, both at home in Düsseldorf’s Rheinstadion, two victories in the cool, rainy German summer of that year. “Oh, how wet it is,” sang the audience at the game against Sweden, as the DFB squad looked glazed by the rain in their pretty, tree frog green third jerseys. In the end, the supplementary striker Herzog only played in these two games, but collected more World Cup minutes than the stars Netzer or Heynckes.
The fact that Herzog is still one of the more forgotten world champions is due to the fact that he didn’t make a big fuss about himself. Herzog (250 Bundesliga games, 46 goals) had grown into a legend in the promisingly shimmering Düsseldorf and later in the not-so-distinctive Leverkusen. At heart, however, he remained a deeply grounded Ruhrpott footballer, born in Oberhausen in 1946, trained at Sterkrade 06/07, VfB Bottrop, Hamborn 07: old workers’ football nobility. A classic career path in post-war Germany. Little money, a lot of football love. The young footballer Herzog received 50 pfennigs from his father for every goal.
Herzog is the seventh world champion from 1974 who is no longer alive
Later, as a professional, he could have earned a decent salary at Betis Sevilla, but remained rooted in Oberhausen, his hometown. He once said on the Werkself podcast a few years ago: “My whole family is out of the pot. We like being Ruhrpott people.” Other football heroes who were deeply socialized in the West, like Rudi Assauer, lit up a big cigar at some point and celebrated their social advancement while puffing charmingly. Dieter Herzog was not that kind of person.
In the World Cup photos from 1974 he doesn’t have a mustache, but afterwards he maintained and cultivated the beard that was popular in his homeland until old age. He was a teammate from times long past who was valued and respected, not only by his former Düsseldorf and Leverkusen colleagues.
Dieter Herzog died this week, he was 79 years old. The seventh death of the German 74 World Cup squad. The light blue tracksuits, once again decorated with mourning ribbon.