Frank Mill facts for kids
Mill in 2013
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 23 July 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Essen, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 5 August 2025 (aged 67) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Essen, Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1972 | Eintracht Essen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1976 | Rot-Weiss Essen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–1981 | Rot-Weiss Essen | 120 | (74) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1986 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 153 | (71) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1994 | Borussia Dortmund | 187 | (47) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 55 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 506 | (201) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980 | West Germany U-21 | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1988 | West Germany Olympic | 20 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1990 | West Germany | 17 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Frank Mill (born 23 July 1958, passed away 5 August 2025) was a talented German professional footballer. He was a key part of the West Germany team that won the 1990 FIFA World Cup. Frank also represented his country at the 1984 Summer Olympics and the 1988 Summer Olympics. At the 1988 Olympics, he helped the West German team win a bronze medal.
Contents
Career Highlights
Early Football Days
Frank Mill started playing football very young, at just six years old. He first joined a local team called Eintracht Essen. In 1972, when he was 14, he moved to the youth team of Rot-Weiss Essen, a bigger club in his hometown.
Frank's mother owned a flower shop, and he even started training to become a florist. But his passion was football. In 1976, he signed his first professional contract with Rot-Weiss Essen. In his first season, the team was in the Bundesliga, Germany's top football league. Even though Frank scored three goals in 19 games, his team was relegated. This means they moved down to a lower league, the 2. Bundesliga North.
In the 2. Bundesliga, Frank became a fantastic goal scorer. Over the next four seasons, he scored 71 goals for Rot-Weiss Essen. In the 1979–80 season, he scored an amazing 40 goals in just 38 games. This made him the top scorer in the 2. Bundesliga North. Because of his great performance, many top clubs wanted him. In 1981, he moved back to the Bundesliga, joining Borussia Mönchengladbach.
Success with Borussia Mönchengladbach
Frank continued his excellent goal-scoring at Borussia Mönchengladbach. In his first year, he scored 14 goals. Just eight months after joining, he was called up to play for the West Germany national team. His first international game was a friendly match against Brazil in Rio de Janeiro on 21 March 1982.
Unfortunately, a back injury prevented him from joining the West German squad for the 1982 FIFA World Cup. This injury also affected his performance the following season. However, in the 1983–84 season, Frank returned to his best form. He became Mönchengladbach's top scorer again, scoring 19 goals.
That season was exciting but also tough for his team. They narrowly missed winning the Bundesliga title on the very last day. They lost to VfB Stuttgart only because of goal difference. After this, Mönchengladbach faced another disappointment. They lost the DFB-Pokal final to FC Bayern Munich in a penalty shootout. Frank Mill scored Mönchengladbach's only goal during the regular game time in that final.
Moving to Borussia Dortmund
In the summer of 1984, Frank Mill played in the 1984 Summer Olympics. He was still a top striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach. At the end of the 1985–86 season, another Bundesliga team, Borussia Dortmund, convinced him to join them. Borussia Mönchengladbach received a good transfer fee for him.
The move was a bit uncertain at first. Borussia Dortmund had to win three special play-off games to stay in the Bundesliga. Once they secured their spot, Frank officially joined. He quickly made a big impact. In the 1986–87 season, he scored 17 goals in 31 games. His goals helped Dortmund finish fourth in the league. This earned them a spot in the UEFA Cup for the next season.
Frank became very popular with the fans at Westfalenstadion, Dortmund's home stadium. He even became the team captain. He was also part of the West Germany squad for Euro 1988, which was held in Germany. Frank was seen as a role model. There was a change in the club's management, and the team's manager was replaced. This showed that the club's chairman wanted Frank to remain a key player.
World Cup Winner and Later Career
After the management change, Frank's goal-scoring slowed down a bit. However, he still won a bronze medal with Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He remained a very important player for Borussia Dortmund. In 1989, he helped his team win the DFB-Pokal trophy. They beat Werder Bremen in the final, which was a big achievement.
Even though he was getting older, Frank's hard work paid off. In 1990, the famous coach Franz Beckenbauer selected him for the West German squad for the 1990 FIFA World Cup. This was a huge honor. During the World Cup in Italy, Frank was the fourth-choice striker. This meant he didn't play in any matches, as other great players like Rudi Völler, Jürgen Klinsmann, and Karlheinz Riedle were ahead of him. Despite not playing, he was part of the team that won the World Cup, which is an incredible achievement.
As time went on, Frank's role at Borussia Dortmund changed. He became more of a player who helped set up goals for others, rather than scoring them himself. However, he started to play less often for the first team. In 1991, a new manager, Ottmar Hitzfeld, took over. He preferred other strikers like Stéphane Chapuisat and Flemming Povlsen. Frank often came on as a substitute.
In the 1991–92 season, Dortmund again missed out on the Bundesliga title. It was the second time in Frank's career this happened, and it was again on the last day, losing to VfB Stuttgart on goal difference. The team then played in the UEFA Cup and reached the final in 1993, but they lost to Juventus.
Final Years in Football
Frank Mill remained a popular player with the fans at Dortmund. In 1994, he left the club and joined Fortuna Düsseldorf, a team that had just been promoted to the 2. Bundesliga. He played for two more seasons there. In his first season with Fortuna Düsseldorf, he scored five goals. These goals helped the team get promoted back to the Bundesliga.
His last year as a professional player was the 1995–96 season. He started well, scoring two goals in his first three matches. However, he didn't score any more goals in his next 26 games for Düsseldorf. In total, Frank Mill scored 123 goals in 387 Bundesliga appearances for Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and Fortuna Düsseldorf.
After he stopped playing, Fortuna Düsseldorf offered him a job as a director in their management team. He later left this role.
Passing Away
Frank Mill passed away on 5 August 2025, at the age of 67. He had been hospitalized in May 2025 after a heart attack.
Honours
Borussia Mönchengladbach
- DFB-Pokal: Runner-up 1983–84
Borussia Dortmund
West Germany
See also
In Spanish: Frank Mill para niños
