Frank Mill, 1990 World Champion, has died. © DLife

Germany mourns a football world champion

Former German national soccer player Frank Mill has died. He died on Tuesday at the age of 67. His former club, Rot-Weiss Essen, confirmed a report in the Bild newspaper, citing Mill's family.

August 05, 2025

From: dpa

Mill reportedly suffered a heart attack during a stay in Milan at the end of May 2025 and has now died as a result. This marks the second death of Germany's 1990 World Cup-winning squad, a good year and a half after the death of final goalscorer Andreas Brehme. The striker was part of the team, even though he didn't play in any matches.

Mill was a player with a lot of rough edges – a Ruhrpott native who not only played football, but lived it. Born in Essen in 1958, Mill began his football career at the age of six with BV Eintracht 1916 in Altenessen before moving to Rot-Weiss Essen at the age of 14. At Hafenstrasse, he developed into a goalscorer, scoring 1980 goals in the 81/2 41. Bundesliga. This was followed by spells at Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and Fortuna Düsseldorf. In total, the striker scored 123 goals in 387 Bundesliga matches.

A shot in the foot for the history books

His spectacular shot that hit the post in Dortmund's opening match of the 1986/87 Bundesliga season against FC Bayern Munich remains unforgettable. After a solo run through the entire Munich defense and past goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, Mill found himself alone in front of an empty net – and hit the post in his first game in a BVB jersey.



The scene went down in history as one of the most spectacular failed attempts in Bundesliga history. The press subsequently described it as the "most famous shot hitting the post in the post-war era." Mill himself later recounted: "I once saw a film on US TV about the biggest blunders in sports while on vacation in Los Angeles. My 'goal' was in it."

Commitment after the active career

After retiring, he briefly tried his hand at managing Fortuna Düsseldorf, but his engagement ended after just one year. Later, Mill worked as an entrepreneur, including running a container service in Essen. A project close to his heart was his "Frank Mill Football School," with which he worked for years to support children, young people, and integration. Until recently, he also regularly played for the Borussia Dortmund team.

In his private life, Mill was characterized by openness and down-to-earthness. He lived in Essen and—since his relationship with a Sicilian woman—frequently returned to Sicily. His former wife, Beate, from whom he was separated for a long time, died in 2006. The marriage produced two children.