It was raining when Uwe Seeler became a legend in April 1961.

Typical Hamburg weather.

So after training, he hurriedly went to his Ford 12 M and drove the few kilometers from Rothenbaum to the Hotel Atlantic, Hamburg's finest address at the time, in his "blue bathtub". 

In a suite on the first floor, with a view of the Alster, Helenio Herrera, then the best coach in the world, was already waiting for Uwe, then one of the best strikers in the world.

Herrera wanted to bring Uwe to Inter Milan.

With all might.

There should be a million marks as a bonus for signing the contract alone - the earnest money was in a briefcase under the table.

In addition, a net annual salary of 500,000 marks, a villa, a car, the German school for the children.

"The offer was sensational," Seeler once told SID, "but Herrera would certainly have gone even higher." He would only have had to scribble his name and would have been a made man at the age of 25.

Negotiations went on for two days - but in the end Uwe shook his head and sent the man with the chic Italian suit and the suitcase of money home. 

Hamburg was upside down, Germany celebrated Seeler.

The star that belonged to everyone.

that you could touch.

Who renounced dreamlike wealth and thus rose to become an idol.

“Us Uwe” was now national property, a role model and a moral compass.

"At HSV I only earned a fraction of what I would have gotten in Milan.

But who knows if I would have been happy," said Seeler.

"You can't eat more than one steak a day.

And when I take stock today, this decision was spot on.” 

There is no story that describes Uwe Seeler better: now the idol has died at the age of 85.

And football bows in deep mourning to a great man.

"Uwe Seeler was an extraordinary footballer, but above all an extraordinary person," said Hans-Joachim Watzke, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the German Football League (DFL): "Without a doubt, he was one of the best strikers that the Federal Republic of Germany has ever produced .

Uwe Seeler was a man deeply rooted in his hometown of Hamburg.

All of this, coupled with a humility that was second to none, has made him an idol and a role model for millions of people.”

Between 1953 and 1972, Seeler's name spread fear and terror among opposing defenders.

He wasn't elegant, but he had infinite power.

Uwe rolled up his sleeves, he worked football, he fought, digged, bit, wanted.

He threw himself in the dirt and embodied the values ​​of the young Federal Republic after the war - commitment, diligence and honest work. 

What “Made in Germany” was for German industry, “Uwe” was for German football.

For this they locked him in their hearts forever.

"Why should I have picked up?

Just because I could kick a bit better?” said Seeler, “I wasn't brought up that way.” Uwe's style was the direct result of his father Erwin's teachings.

He was a barge driver in the port, a backbreaking job, and preached the Trinity in the Seeler household: stay decent, work hard and respect your fellow human beings!

There wasn't a conversation with Uwe in which he didn't talk about it.

"The nicest thing is to be normal," he said.

And he was - refreshingly normal. 

Seeler had been married to his beloved Ilka without scandal since 1959, he never drove the biggest cars and appreciated swede stew, potato soup and kale.

Since 1958, Seeler had lived in the same bungalow in Ochsenzoll.

If he wore a hat, he grabbed the Elbsegler, the proletarian headgear for Hanseatic citizens, less elegant than the Prince Heinrich cap, the choice of the late former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.

Uwe was almost overwhelmed with sympathy.

A small excerpt of his honors and merits: he was the first athlete ever to receive the Federal Cross of Merit, he is an honorary citizen of Hamburg, honorary captain of the national team, was three times footballer of the year and first Bundesliga top scorer, is honorary commissioner of the Hamburg police, golden town hall man of Vienna, honors -Lock keeper in Hamburg, honorary captain of the Rickmer Rickmers.

His right foot is standing in front of the Hamburg stadium, cast in bronze and weighing four tons. 

Despite his countless goals for HSV and the national team, two games in particular will remain with Uwe Seeler forever.

Just six months after tearing his Achilles tendon in February 1965, the "fat" Germany shot against Sweden (2-1) for the World Cup in England.

And at the World Cup in Mexico 1970 he scored his most legendary goal – against England with the back of his head.

However, he did not become world champion, as he did in 1966 when he played in the legendary final against England. 

“Us Uwe” only made an unfortunate decision once when he was elected president of his HSV in 1995.

Financial scandals and sporting failures scratched his previously flawless image.

Disappointed with old companions, he resigned in 1998.

In retrospect, he did not describe his decision as a mistake, nor of course his rejection of Herrera.

On May 1, 1972, the great career of "Us Uwe" ended.

On Labor Day.

He has now passed away, as confirmed by his former club Hamburger SV, citing the Seelers family.

The “Bild” newspaper reported about it first.

Football Germany mourns.