Andreas Brehme facts for kids
Brehme in 2008
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 9 November 1960 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Hamburg, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 20 February 2024 (aged 63) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Munich, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Left-back, left wing-back, defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1965–1978 | HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 1978–1980 | HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst | 66 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1981 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 36 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1986 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 154 | (34) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Bayern Munich | 59 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1992 | Inter Milan | 116 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1993 | Zaragoza | 24 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1998 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 120 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 509 | (65) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1981 | West Germany U-21 | 3 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1984 | West Germany Olympic | 10 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1994 | Germany | 86 | (8) | ||||||||||||||||
| Teams managed | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | SpVgg Unterhaching | ||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2006 | VfB Stuttgart (assistant) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Andreas "Andi" Brehme (born 9 November 1960 – died 20 February 2024) was a famous German professional football player and coach. He is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final. This important goal came from a penalty kick in the 85th minute against Argentina. During his club career, Brehme played for several teams in Germany, Italy, and Spain.
Brehme was a very flexible player. He could play almost anywhere on the side of the field, both left and right. He was known for his great ability to cross the ball and his powerful shots. What made him special was that he could use both his left and right feet equally well. This made him very unpredictable for opponents. He was also excellent at taking free-kicks and penalties.
Contents
Playing for Clubs
Andreas Brehme was born in Hamburg, Germany. He began his football journey with a local team called HSV Barmbek-Uhlenhorst.
Early Career and Success in Germany
Brehme played for 1. FC Kaiserslautern from 1981 to 1986. After that, he joined Bayern Munich in 1986. With Bayern, he won the Bundesliga (Germany's top football league) in 1987.
Moving to Italy and Spain
In 1988, Brehme moved to Italy to play for Inter Milan. He played alongside his German teammates Lothar Matthäus and Jürgen Klinsmann. Together, they had great success. Inter Milan won the Serie A (Italy's top league) in 1989. Brehme was even named player of the year that season. They also won the UEFA Cup (a big European club competition) in 1991.
After his time in Italy, Brehme played one season for Real Zaragoza in Spain's La Liga in 1992–93.
Return to Kaiserslautern
In 1993, Brehme returned to Germany and rejoined 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He helped the club win the German Cup in 1996. Even though the team was relegated (moved down to a lower league) that same season, Brehme stayed with them. He played a key role in helping them get promoted back to the Bundesliga right away. Then, in 1998, they surprisingly won the Bundesliga title. After this amazing win, Brehme ended his playing career, having played over 300 matches.
Playing for Germany
Andreas Brehme was a very important player for the (West) Germany national team. He played in many major tournaments.
Major Tournaments
He took part in the UEFA Euro 1984 and UEFA Euro 1988 tournaments. At Euro 1984, he was even named in the team of the tournament. In 1988, he helped Germany reach the semi-finals. He also played in the UEFA Euro 1992, where Germany finished as runners-up. He was again named to the team of the tournament.
Brehme played in three FIFA World Cups. He was part of the team that finished second in the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico, losing to Argentina in the final.
World Cup Victory in 1990
His biggest achievement was winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy. Germany faced Argentina again in the final. Brehme scored the only goal of the match from a penalty kick, securing the World Cup title for Germany.
During the 1990 World Cup, he also scored a fantastic free-kick goal against England in the semi-final. He was known for his ability to score important goals in big games. He could take penalties with his right foot and free kicks with his left, making him very hard to predict. His last game for the national team was during the 1994 FIFA World Cup.
Becoming a Coach
After he stopped playing football, Brehme became a coach.
He managed his old club, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, from 2000 to 2002. However, he was dismissed because the team was in danger of being relegated. This was a bit like what happened when he was a player in 1996, but this time he couldn't save the team.
He then managed 2. Bundesliga (Germany's second division) team SpVgg Unterhaching. He left that role in 2005 for similar reasons. He also worked as an assistant coach at VfB Stuttgart for a short time.
How He Played
Andreas Brehme was known for his amazing skills on the field. Even though he was mainly a defender, he often went forward and scored goals. He had a very powerful and accurate shot with both feet. He scored goals for every club he played for, as well as for the German national team.
He was considered one of the best left-backs of his time. A left-back is a defender who plays on the left side of the field. He could also play as a "wing-back," which is a more attacking role on the side. Sometimes, he even played in the middle of the field as a defensive midfielder.
Brehme was not super fast, but he had excellent technical skills, lots of energy, and was very smart about the game. He was great at making runs forward to help the attack.
One of his most special skills was being truly ambidextrous. This means he could use both his left and right feet equally well. His national team coach, Franz Beckenbauer, once said, "I have known Andy for 20 years and I still don't know if he is right or left-footed." He often took penalties with his right foot and free kicks or corners with his left. This made him very tricky for opponents to figure out. He was also known for staying calm under pressure and scoring important goals in big matches.
His Passing
Andreas Brehme sadly passed away from a heart attack on 20 February 2024. He was 63 years old.
Honours
1. FC Kaiserslautern
- Bundesliga: 1997–98
- 2. Bundesliga: 1996–97
- DFB-Pokal: 1995–96
- DFL-Supercup: runner-up 1996
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 1986–87
- European Cup: runner-up 1986–87
- DFL-Supercup: 1987
Inter Milan
- Serie A: 1988–89
- Supercoppa Italiana: 1989
- UEFA Cup: 1990–91
Real Zaragoza
- Copa del Rey: runner-up 1992–93
Germany
- FIFA World Cup: 1990; runner-up 1986
- UEFA Euro: runner-up 1992
Individual Awards
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1984, 1992
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1985–86
- Guerin d'Oro (Serie A Footballer of the Year): 1989
- Pirata d'Oro (Internazionale Player of the Year): 1989
- FIFA World Cup All-Star Team: 1990
- Ballon d'Or – Third place: 1990
See Also
In Spanish: Andreas Brehme para niños
