Tributes for the 'Hero of Berne'

Fritz Walter, who captained West Germany to their first FIFA World Cup success in 1954, has died aged 81.

High praise
He died peacefully in his sleep at his home in Kaiserslautern on Monday and tributes immediately came from the sporting world and beyond to the legendary playmaker, who spent his entire club career with 1. FC Kaiserslautern. "Fritz Walter is one of the biggest sports personalities in German history," said German chancellor Gerhard Schröder. "He was able to combine his modesty and his abilities perfectly."

Family link
Fritz Walter was born on 31 October 1920 as the oldest of five sons. During his childhood, his father was in charge of the restaurant at the 1. FC Kaiserslautern stadium. This connection led to Walter playing for Kaiserslautern's youth teams from the age of eight.

Early promise
After showing much promise as a teenager, he made his debut for the club's first team when he was just 17. Within four years, he was an international, making his Germany bow against Romania. He was an instant success scoring three goals.

Prisoner in Russia
During World War II, Walter was engaged for the German Wehrmacht, and was taken prisoner in Russia until 1945. After the end of the war, he returned to Kaiserslautern and continued his playing career.

First league title
In 1951, Walter won his first German league title with the 'Red Devils', and also made a return to the German national team but his greatest moment for his country was to come three years later.

'Most important player'
Walter had the honour of captaining the German side that beat a star-studded Hungary 3-2 in the 1954 World Cup final in Switzerland, helping them to battle back from a two-goal deficit. His heroic performance against the much-heralded Hungarians earned him the nickname 'Hero of Berne' which stuck for the rest of his life.

Successful career
He earned the last of his 61 international caps in 1958, having captained the side 30 times and scored 33 goals. Walter retired from the game a year later, having scored 306 goals in 379 games for Kaiserslautern.

Stadium honour
Walter was honoured by the club on his 65th birthday in 1985, when they renamed their stadium the Fritz-Walter-Stadion. In 1995, Walter was also honoured with the Golden Order of Merit by FIFA. According to Franz Beckenbauer, he was "without doubt the most important German football player of the last century".