Former German defender Karl-Heinz Schnellinger, who represented his country at four World Cups, passed away in Italy on Monday evening at the age of 85, according to his former club Cologne.
Schnellinger, who had stints with AC Milan and AS Roma, was widely regarded as one of the world’s top defenders during his playing career.
Deutsche Welle, a German broadcaster, reported that he was in hospital at the time of his death.
Schnellinger scored a stoppage-time equaliser for West Germany in their 4-3 semi-final loss to Italy in the 1970 World Cup, a match dubbed the Game of the Century due to a record five goals scored during extra time.
It would be Schnellinger’s fourth and last World Cup after 1958, 1962 and 1966. It was also his only goal in 47 international matches.
At a time when international transfers were rare, Schnellinger spent most of his career in Italy, where he was known as Carlo il Biondo (the blond Karl). He won the Serie A title with Milan in 1968 before lifting the European Cup in 1969.
