Jürgen Grabowski

• 1. Introduction

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  Jürgen Grabowski turned 30 on the 7th of July 1974. That same day, in Munich's Olympic Stadium, he and his Eintracht Frankfurt teammate Bernd Hölzenbein became world champions with West Germany. It was the high point of a career that started on lower league pitches in his home city of Wiesbaden. What reputation did Grabowski build years earlier that made him so valuable coming off the bench? What happened in a World Cup semi-final that ended in a narrow, bitter defeat? And what title did Eintracht Frankfurt eventually give him? Only a handful of players in the club's history have held it.

• 2. A Reputation Off The Bench

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  The 1966 World Cup ended with West Germany as runners-up, a squad that included Grabowski, though he did not play in the tournament. Four years later, at the 1970 World Cup in Mexico, he was called the best substitute in the world. In the semi-final against Italy, Grabowski sent in the cross that reached defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger. Schnellinger, a German professional then playing for an Italian club, scored the equalizing goal in the last second. The match went to extra time, and West Germany lost 4-3. One World Cup ending for Grabowski still left major tournaments ahead of him with West Germany.

• 3. European Champion

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  In 1972, Grabowski became European champion with West Germany. Two years later, at the 1974 FIFA World Cup in Germany, he featured as a squad participant. In the tournament's second round, Grabowski scored in West Germany's 4-2 win over Sweden. Across his full run with the national team, he earned 44 caps and scored five goals. That international record sat alongside a separate set of achievements built entirely at club level with Eintracht Frankfurt.

• 4. Eintracht Legacy

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  With Eintracht Frankfurt, Grabowski won the German Cup in 1974 and 1975, then added the UEFA Cup in 1979-80. An injury stopped him from playing in the 1980 UEFA Cup finals, even though Eintracht won the competition that season. In European Cup competitions overall, he made 40 appearances and scored nine goals for the club.

  That same year, 1980, a challenge from Lothar Matthäus left Grabowski with an injury that ended his playing career. He then had a brief spell as Eintracht Frankfurt's manager. The club later named him honorary captain, and he is still regarded as the greatest player in Eintracht Frankfurt's history.

• 5. Recognition And Final Years

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  Eight times, kicker magazine named Grabowski to its Bundesliga Team of the Season, starting with 1966-67 and running through 1977-78. On the 3rd of December 2014, he received the Hessian Order of Merit. By then, Grabowski was living in Taunusstein, in the German state of Hesse. In his last years, he became a dialysis patient. Grabowski died in Wiesbaden, the city of his birth, on the 10th of March 2022, at the age of 77.