Modest as he is Bernd Hölzenbein did not want a big reception, speeches or cameras for his big birthday and went on a trip to Miami to celebrate with friends and family.
It was around 50 years ago in 1966 when he joined Eintracht from local club TuS Dehrn and he had his Bundesliga debut during the 1-1 against Hamburger SV in November 1967. Up until retiring as a player in 1981 Bernd Hölzenbein appeared in 420 Bundesliga matches for SGE scoring 160 goals - the most any Eintracht player ever recorded! In his top scoring season 1976/77 he recorded 26 goals.
Alongside his congenial SGE midfield guru Jürgen Grabowski he won the World Cup in 1974 with Germany, lifted the German DFB Cup three times (1974, 1975 and 1981) and the UEFA Cup in 1980 with the Eagles. On the night of Eintrachts biggest success he got upset about hearing the news that manager Friedel Rausch had been just about to substitute him off during the final so he grabbed the trophy in an unwatched moment and took it home. One of the many legendary stories around Holz.
After the cup win in 1981 he made the move to AMerica where he played for the Lauderdale Strikers, the Memphis Americans and the Baltimore Blasts. He later became Vice President at Eintracht and astheir Sporting Director was influential in building the team of the 90ies that played what was branded "Football 2000" back then. These days he is head of the Scouting Department at SGE.
Dear Holz, from everyone at Eintracht a very happy 70th birthday and all the best!
