Herbert Zimmermann (football commentator)

Not to be confused with Herbert Zimmermann (footballer).

Herbert Zimmermann
Born	(1917-11-29)29 November 1917 Alsdorf, German Empire
Died	16 December 1966(1966-12-16) (aged 49) Bassum, West Germany
Occupation	football commentator
Employer	Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk
Military career
Allegiance	Nazi Germany
Service / branch	Army
Rank	Hauptmann (Captain)
Unit	14th Panzer Division
Battles / wars	World War II
Awards	Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross

Herbert Zimmermann (29 November 1917 – 16 December 1966) was a popular German football commentator.

He did one of the most famous pieces of commentary in German during the World Cup final in 1954 by "recommending" the goal that won "The Miracle of Bern" for West Germany.

Schäfer nach innen geflankt... Kopfball... Abgewehrt. Aus dem Hintergrund müßte Rahn schießen... Rahn schießt! Tor! Tor! Tor! Tor!
(silence)
Tor für Deutschland! Drei zu zwei führt Deutschland. Halten Sie mich für verrückt, halten Sie mich für übergeschnappt!

Schäfer puts in the cross... header... Cleared. Rahn should shoot from deep... Rahn shoots! Goal! Goal! Goal! Goal!
(Zimmermann fell silent for eight seconds before he spoke again)
Goal for Germany! Germany lead 3-2. Call me mad, call me crazy!"

At the end of the match, Zimmermann famously proclaimed, "It's over! Over! Over! Germany are the World Champions" - words which, as one historian has observed, are "as famous in Germany as Kenneth Wolstenholme's "They think it's all over" is in England" (the latter having been spoken in the final moments of England's victory against West Germany in the World Cup final of 1966). After the final Zimermann was criticized for praising the goal keeper Turek by calling him Toni du bist ein Teufelskerl, Toni du bist ein Fußballgott (Toni you are a devil chap. Toni you are a football god.). Zimmermann who had been a major during the war, was also criticized for the somewhat militaristic vocabulary he had used during the match.

Zimmermann also commented the world championships in 1958, 1962 and 1966 over the radio. However, TV was more prominent now as most people had access to TV sets, so fewer and fewer people heard his reports.

On 11 December 1966 Zimmermann, who was known as a notoriously bad driver, had an accident in his car and died from his injuries five days later.

Zimmermann was the uncle of the German Green Party politician Hans-Christian Ströbele. The family holds the rights to his reports which still generates revenue.

Awards

• Wound Badge in Silver (1942)
• Iron Cross 2nd and 1st Class
• Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross on 5 April 1945 as Hauptmann and chief of the 1/Panzer-Regiment 36

References

Bibliography

• Fellgiebel, Walther-Peer [in German] (2000) [1986]. Die Träger des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939–1945 — Die Inhaber der höchsten Auszeichnung des Zweiten Weltkrieges aller Wehrmachtteile [The Bearers of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939–1945 — The Owners of the Highest Award of the Second World War of all Wehrmacht Branches] (in German). Friedberg, Germany: Podzun-Pallas. ISBN 978-3-7909-0284-6.
• Scherzer, Veit (2007). Die Ritterkreuzträger 1939–1945 Die Inhaber des Ritterkreuzes des Eisernen Kreuzes 1939 von Heer, Luftwaffe, Kriegsmarine, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm sowie mit Deutschland verbündeter Streitkräfte nach den Unterlagen des Bundesarchives [The Knight's Cross Bearers 1939–1945 The Holders of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross 1939 by Army, Air Force, Navy, Waffen-SS, Volkssturm and Allied Forces with Germany According to the Documents of the Federal Archives] (in German). Jena, Germany: Scherzers Militaer-Verlag. ISBN 978-3-938845-17-2.

Further reading

(DE) Werner Raupp: Toni Turek – "Fußballgott". Eine Biographie, Hildesheim: Arete 2019 (ISBN 978-3-96423-008-9), p.107–112, 124–128.

External links

• Herbert Zimmermann in the German National Library catalogue
• audio excerpts of Zimmermann's radio commentary from 4 July 1954 (German Historical Museum)