His exit from the theater of life happened so suddenly that it was surprising. Without tears, without outcry despite her illness and leaving an indelible mark in the memory of those who learned and understood – seeing her again in the following years – thatItaly-Germany that inspired and still has an impact.
Karl-Heinz Schnellinger he died at the age of 85 near Milan, where he had chosen to live and raise his children when it was time to decide and put down roots in that Italy which offered him the opportunity to tie himself to a shirt, to an idea like that of Milan of the years in which winning was almost ordinary. For him, who was able to score one of the most splendid goals of that unforgettable match of World Mexican.
Schnellinger, an Italian German at Roma and Milan
He was German by birth, and today the Bild celebrates it like and more than the Teutonic media, but he felt Italian: born in Durenin the North Rhineland, and there he started playing, becoming German champion after an adolescence always spent with the ball at his feet.
In A league he arrived the season following the explosion of his talent in Germany: it was 1963, he was 24 years old, up until then he had played in Colony. He bought it there Rome (he had been a companion of Giacomo Losi)who sent him to Mantua and then brought him back to sell him to Milan.
With the Roma shirt
The football explosion: the victories and successes
It was a mistake, because in that unique environment he found the right context to explode. A truly impressive list: nine seasons (1965-1974), 344 games, only 3 goals and all in the Italian Cup, a scudetto (1968), a European Cup (1969), an Intercontinental Cup (1969), two Cup Winners’ Cups (1967 and 1973), three Italian Cups (1967, 1972, 1973). Left back, an authentic one Panzer which had also earned the name of Volkswagen for solidity.
The national team and the goal of Italy-Germany 4-3
And then there is that goal that made him immortal, cinematic and iconic. He played with the German national team four World Cups building a strong and also playful group as demonstrated by the agency photos which portray the former companions together, decades later, with the joy and happiness of meeting again. In the 1966 World Cup the Germany reached the final, but was defeated by the home team of Englandwith an invalid goal by Hurst.
The myth was created four years late, a Mexico 70, when the Germans were eliminated in the semi-finals. His goal seemed like a marvel, an incredible feat generated by a man with a powerful physicality but exemplary technique. His goal is and remains a film library, scored as the best of the attackers in the 95th minute.
The legendary Italy-Germany goal
The choice to live in Italy
The press was looking for new nicknames for him, but ultimately he remained a direct man as emerged from one of his last interviews, during Covid, at the Gazzetta. Italy had chosen for joy and happiness.
He returned to Germany but only for one season, with TeBe Berlin. This city was no place for him. And nostalgia took over. During the pandemic he had withdrawn with his family, his daughter Birgit also, in his Milanese residence. A perfect kingdom, full of love and affection. When she needed to be with friends, during the lockdown months, she turned on the lights Skype and asked to eat the same dish together. She had expressed a wish, a whim.
“My desire is to return to the stadium in Cologne, where I grew up, and stay on that grass for 10 minutes – he admits -. I wish I could touch 1-2 balls…”.
