Frank Mill, who was part of West Germany’s 1990 World Cup winning squad and won an Olympic bronze in 1988, has died at age 67. His former club Rot-Weiss Essen said on Tuesday, citing his family.
Essen confirmed a report from the Bild paper, which said that Mill never recovered from a stroke he suffered in May in Italy.
Striker Mill started his professional career in 1981 in his birth town of Essen at Rot-Weiss, and spent five years at Borussia Mönchengladbach from 1981 to 86.
He also spent eight years at Borussia Dortmund until 1994 before ending his career with two seasons at Fortuna Düsseldorf.
Mill scored 123 goals in 387 Bundesliga matches and won the German Cup with Dortmund in 1989.
He is, however, also remembered for one of the embarrassing misses in Bundesliga history when, in 1986, against Bayern Munich, he rounded goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff but then hit the post instead of the empty net.
“Mill was not only one of the greatest footballers Rot-Weiss Essen has ever produced, he was also a fine person: down-to-earth, authentic and full of positive energy,” Essen board member Alexander Rang said.
He added that Mill “not only characterised our club and the Ruhr area with his manner, but he was also an ambassador for football throughout Germany.”
Mill earned 17 West Germany caps and was a non-playing member of Franz Beckenbauer’s World Cup squad that won the 1990 title in Italy.
Two years earlier, he helped West Germany to an Olympic bronze in Seoul.
Mill also admitted a few years ago that he once took a doping tablet before a Bundesliga match.
After his career, he set up a football school focusing on children, young people, and integration.
He also featured regularly for Dortmund’s veterans team.