Emotional farewell to Uwe Seeler in Hamburg
AWhen the fans said goodbye to their idol on Wednesday afternoon, they only slightly changed a well-known and simple stadium anthem: “Uwe Seeler, you were the best man!” had known him for the past few years. After the public ceremony, many made their way to the nearby bronze sculpture of his foot to lay a wreath, a candle or a scarf – since Seeler’s death on July 21 at the age of 85, the statue had become a kind of pilgrimage site .
After the funeral service in the closest family circle on August 4th at the Ohlsdorf cemetery, the Hanseatic city officially paid its last respects to its honorary citizen on Wednesday. All those who wanted were allowed to take part in the moving ceremony; there were thousands – in addition to numerous invited guests from the world of politics, culture and football.
Also Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and the First Mayor of Hamburg Peter Tschentscher (SPD) attended the ceremony. Many of Seeler’s former teammates such as Charly Dörfel, Klaus Neisner and Horst Schnoor and longtime companions such as Horst Hrubesch, Felix Magath and Peter Nogly were among the guests of honour.
“One day it has to be over”
Donata Hopfen, Hansi Flick, Oliver Kahn and Philipp Lahm also made their way to Hamburg did. The farewell was framed by songs that Seeler had wished for: the pianist Joja Wendt framed the program in which the Seemannschor Hamburg performed and songs by Hans Albers (“La Paloma”) and Heidi Kabel (“An de Eck steiht’n Jung mit’m Tüddelband”) sounded.
“One day it has to be over,” he says Albers, and of course that also applied to “Us Uwe”, who had to leave his beloved wife Ilka, his three daughters and grandchildren. Jonas Boldt, the sports director at Hamburger SV, also addressed Ilka Seeler in his speech: “Uwe always said you were the best goal of his life.” Boldt thanked Ilka Seeler for opening the door to the Seeler house for him . He ended his speech with a comprehensive appreciation: “If we should only keep one thing from HSV, it’s you, Uwe.”
Before that, Bernd Neuendorf, President of the German Football Association (DFB) spoken. Neuendorf found appropriate words and was repeatedly interrupted by applause. While previous speaker Tschentscher recalled that Seeler didn’t need a title with the national team to become an idol, Neuendorf said: “Uwe Seeler was rich in affection and contentment. That cannot be weighed with money.”
“United by Football”
With his fair behavior after the Wembley final in 1966, Seeler changed the image of Germans in England and around the world. Germany desperately needs role models like Seeler, said Neuendorf, and promised to host the 2024 European Championship for Seeler as well – under a motto that spoke to his heart: “United through football.” Neuendorf said goodbye to the honorary captain of the DFB : “There are gaps that cannot be closed. Thank you, Uwe.”
At the express wish of the Seeler family, the actor and musician Olli Dittrich addressed the last words of the afternoon to the mourners. Seeler was his great idol, later also his friend, and the last, moving documentary about the already frail Seeler by Reinhold Beckmann from the previous year was also about the meeting of the two. In his very own way, Dittrich told of a dream in 1962, when little Olli became big Uwe at night, including a goal in a Bundesliga game, which was probably also due to the fact that Dittrich was wearing the original “Uwe” football boots from Adidas used to sleep on their feet.
