Andreas Brehme, who scored Germany's winning goal in the 1990 World Cup final, has died at age 63 of cardiac arrest, his partner Susanne Schaefer confirmed to dpa on Tuesday on behalf of the family.
"It is with deep sadness that I announce on behalf of the family that my partner Andreas Brehme passed away suddenly and unexpectedly overnight following a cardiac arrest. We ask that you respect our privacy at this difficult time and refrain from asking questions," Schaefer's statement read.
Full back Brehme won 86 Germany caps between 1984 and 1994, and his successful late penalty in the 1990 final in Rome against Diego Maradona's Argentina gave Germany a then third World Cup title.
"It was clear to me: I'm going to score that penalty," he recalled in later years.
"When you stand there, the goal gets smaller and smaller and the goalkeeper gets bigger and bigger. You have to be convinced, otherwise I wouldn't have gone for the penalty."
The 1990 Germany team captain Lothar Matthäus said he was "shocked" when he received the news.
"Andi was part of our family. We had known each other for 45 years and shared many stories together," he told the Augsburger Allgemeine newspaper.
"We were room-mates at the Germany team and at Inter Milan. We often spent 100 nights a year together. This friendship was not over after our careers. It really is like a family member has died," Matthäus added.
German Football Federation (DFB) president Bernd Neundorf said in a statement: "I am shocked, very moved and infinitely sad. My sympathy go out to his family and friends, whom I wish much strength in these difficult hours."
"Andreas Brehme is one of the greatest and best footballers in German history. German football owes him an infinite amount. Alongside Mario Götze, Gerd Müller and Helmut Rahn, he was one of the four German players who scored our national team to the World Cup title.
"We will never forget Andreas Brehme the footballer and the person - we will miss him very much."
Hamburg born Brehme played at three World Cups, losing the 1986 final in Mexico City against Argentina.
Rudi Völler, who also played on the 1986 and 1990 teams and is now national team sporting director, said: "I can't believe it at all. The news of Andreas' sudden death makes me incredibly sad.
"Andy was our World Cup hero, but for me he was much more than that - he was my close friend and companion to this day. I will miss his wonderful zest for life. My thoughts are now with his bereaved family, his friends and especially his two sons."
Klaus Augenthaler, also a world champion in 1990, told the news portal ran.de that he hasn't digested the news yet. "We saw each other recently and had lunch together. When you hear something like that, of course it's difficult."
Brehme's best time as a club player came at Inter Milan 1988-1992 where he won the Serie A in 1989 and the UEFA Cup in 1991. Brehme won the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, where he played 1986-1988, and with Kaiserslautern, where he spent two terms 1981-1986 and 1993-1998. He also played at Spain's Zaragoza 1992-93.
Brehme later became a coach, with lesser success, at clubs including Kaiserslautern and Unterhaching.
"The FCK family is in deep mourning and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Andi Brehme. We will honour his memory," Kaiserslautern said on X.
Brehme was relegated with Kaiserslautern in 1996 but stayed and then helped them become the so far only team to win the Bundesliga title in the first season after promotion, in 1998.
Former Bayern CEO Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was part of the 1986 team, said in a club statement: "I'm deeply saddened and shocked by the news of Andi Brehme's death. Andi was a great team player, who was extremely loyal and reliable. His love of life was infectious."
Bayern president Herbert Hainer added: "The news of the death of Andreas Brehme is a shock for FC Bayern and all German football fans. Andreas Brehme made history and will always be our 1990 World Cup winner. He was a down-to-earth person and someone you could always depend on. He'll forever be part of the FC Bayern family."
Inter said on X: "A magnificent player, a true Interista. Ciao Andy, forever a legend." The club also announced that the players will wear black armbands in Tuesday night's Champions League match against Atletico Madrid "in honour of the German great." A minute's silence will also be held before the match.
German interior minister Nancy Faeser, who also oversees sport, named Brehme an "icon of German football" and his 1990 feat "a goal for eternity."
Brehme's death comes a few weeks after that of German football icon Franz Beckenbauer, who coached the team at the 1986 and 1990 World Cups after winning it as a player in 1974.
"It was only last month that we both were in Munich to honour the life of the great Franz Beckenbauer. It is tragic that we are now mourning Andy's death," FIFA president Gianni Infantino said in his Instagram story.
"He is an icon of world football and one of my idols," Infantino added. "He was popular among football fans in the whole world."
