It was the emotional highlight of this celebratory evening. When Bastian Schweinsteiger came onto the stage after the tribute from his long-time team-mate Philipp Lahm, he was fighting back the tears. It was clear to see how much this honour meant to the Bayern legend. Together with five other sporting icons, Schweinsteiger was admitted into the German football Hall of Fame on Monday night. The attendees at the ceremony at the German Football Museum in Dortmund celebrated not only Schweinsteiger but also Jupp Heynckes, Otto Rehhagel, Horst Hrubesch, Guido Buchwald and Bert Trautmann.
“You were a tower of strength,” praised Lahm, who’s already a member of the Hall of Fame himself. “You were a player in which Germany recognised itself and who it will always remember. We were bound by a shared destiny. In 2012, we were regarded as unfinished. Rio was then the crowning moment of your and my career.” For Schweinsteiger, the accoldate was “something very special. When you come from a small town like me and then stand here and are inducted into the Hall of Fame, it means a lot to me.”
Hoeneß: ‘Heynckes a cornerstone of this club’
FCB honorary president Uli Hoeneß honoured his old friend Heynckes, who couldn’t be there in person for health reasons, in a video message: “Jupp Heynckes was a cornerstone of this club for many years. I always knew, no matter what happened, that I could rely on Jupp. There aren’t many in this business who have done their job so honestly and straightforwardly,” Hoeneß said of Heynckes, who became the first German coach to win the treble with Bayern in 2013.
Also recognised was Rehhagel, whose achievements include leading Greece to the European Championship title in 2004 and winning the Bundesliga with 1. FC Kaiserslautern in 1998 as the first promoted team to do so. Rehhagel coached Bayern in the 1995/96 season, which ended with victory in the UEFA Cup.
The Hall of Fame, decided by a panel of journalists, recognises the outstanding achievements and successes that the nominees have accomplished as players or coaches. A total of 53 men and women are now part of the German football Hall of Fame.
More information on the German football Hall of Fame:
The FC Bayern Hall of Fame:
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