- Helmut Haller
Helmut Haller (born
July 21 ,1939 inAugsburg ,Germany ) was a footballer who represented West Germany at three World Cups.A playmaker and striker who made his international debut at age 19 in 1958, he played at the
1962 FIFA World Cup inChile , the1966 FIFA World Cup inEngland and the1970 FIFA World Cup inMexico , earning a total of 33 caps and scoring 13 goals.West Germany reached the final of the 1966 competition and Haller scored the opening goal of the game which Germany lost 2–4 to England. Along with his second place medal, Haller also got the match ball, though more than 30 years later he returned to England to present it to
Geoff Hurst , who had scored ahat-trick in the contest and was therefore by tradition considered to be entitled to the ball.In his club career, Haller played for "Augsburg" (1948–1962), before moving to
Italy to join "Bologna F.C. " (1962–1968) and then "Juventus " (1968–1973). In 1973 he returned to his hometown club and retired in 1979.The day after Christmas Day 2006 Haller suffered a serious heart attack and was reported to be recovering well after treatment. [cite web | url = http://www.kicker.de/fussball/bundesliga/startseite/artikel/359530/ |title = Helmut Haller geht es besser | publisher = kicker.de | language = German | accessdate = 2008-05-18 | date =
2006-12-30 ]References
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