They were kissed by sporting talent and success, and they are all united by their year of death: 2025. Blue Sport names athletes who died in the past year - some of them far too young.
Denis Law - February 24, 1940 to January 17, 2025
Denis Law is part of the sacred United Trinity, a statue that immortalizes him with his long-dead former teammates in front of Old Trafford stadium: George Best and Bobby Charlton. The three of them were on the plane that crashed on the return flight from a European Cup match in Munich in 1958, killing eight United players. And ten years later, Law, Best and Charlton were part of the Lisbon Lions, who won the European Cup of Nations - the first international title in United's glorious history.
Law, who always stretched out his right arm to cheer and pointed his index finger to the sky, is one of the unforgotten Red Devils. This is surprising given that he also played twice for local rivals Manchester City. In 1974, he even sealed United's relegation to the second division with a derby hat-trick on the final matchday. If anyone was forgiven, it was him. Law died of dementia earlier this year.
Greg Bell - November 7, 1930 to January 25, 2025
He was living proof that sportsmen and women can also have a career after their playing days: Greg Bell, track and field athlete from Indiana, USA. In 1956, he set the then Olympic record in the long jump at the Olympic Games in Melbourne: 7.83 meters. It goes without saying that this earned him gold. His services were obviously also worth their weight in gold afterwards. Bell was a dentist for 50 years before he retired in 2020 - at the age of 90. He died in January 2025.
Tobias Eder - March 4, 1998 to January 29, 2025
He was a professional ice hockey player and played for the traditional German clubs Düsseldorfer EG and Eisbären Berlin. In the summer of 2024, he seemed to be at his peak: he was German champion for the first time in his career after a thrilling series of finals. And he was part of the German World Championship squad for the first time; Harold Kreis, coach in Lugano, Zurich and Zug, saw him as a reliable man for the future. But this was no longer granted to him. In August of the same year, the devastating diagnosis was made during a routine check-up: Esophageal cancer. Eder succumbed to his illness in January 2025, aged just 26.
Doris Fitschen - October 2, 1968 to March 15, 2025
She was one of the pioneers of women's football and was considered one of the best defenders in the world. So it's no wonder that Doris Fitschen was dubbed the "pelvic bender" by the media. She played for the flagship club Turbine Potsdam, was champion, cup winner, and when she spent six months in Philadelphia at the end of her career in 2001, she was also successful there: Fitschen was voted player of the season at the end of the season. After that, Fitschen continued to be in demand as manager of the women's national team.
In 2019, she fell ill with bone cancer - she had gone to the doctor because of arm pain. In March of this year, Fitschen, who was even able to play golf again in between, succumbed to her insidious disease.
Leo Beenhakker - August 2, 1942 to April 10, 2025
Imagine if Carlo Ancelotti had taken over a Swiss club this fall! It was 1992 when Grasshoppers reached for the top shelf of coaches. Leo Beenhakker, coach at Real Madrid until the summer of the same year, took over a team at the Hardturm in early fall that was almost overflowing with stars. Giovane Elber, Ciriaco Sforza, Alain Sutter, Murat Yakin, Heinz Hermann and, and, and.
The only question seemed to be with how many points GC would become champions. But the Zurich team suffered a national embarrassment: they fell into the relegation round. This was also a disgrace for Beenhakker, who had won the championship three times in Holland and Spain. Nevertheless, he led GC to the cup final and in the promotion/relegation round to an effortless relegation. The manager at the time, Erich Vogel, still speaks of "my biggest mistake" to this day. Meanwhile, his ex-players rave about the Dutchman. Alain Sutter said: "I loved Beenhakker". "Don Leo" died in April at the age of 83.
Werner Lorant - November 21, 1948 to April 20, 2025
"I only make substitutions when someone breaks a leg." Or: "The players should run and shut up." And another one: "What am I supposed to talk to the players for, I'm not a priest!" - Werner Lorant did everything he could to live up to his reputation and earn his nickname: Werner "Beinhart".
It was with this style and his sharp wit that he led 1860 Munich to its final heights in the 90s. He led the Lions from the regional league to Champions League qualification before being fired after nine years in 2001 following a dispute with club boss Karl-Heinz Wildmoser, a Bavarian-baroque Oktoberfest landlord. He later became a globetrotter: Turkey, Iran, South Korea, China, Slovakia - Lorant coached (almost) everywhere. But he never repeated the success of his time with the Munich Lions. On Easter weekend 2025, he died of dementia at the age of 77.
Diogo Jota - December 4, 1996 to July 3, 2025
Her death shook up the football world. It was unfair, senseless, brutal. Diogo Joga and his brother André Silva died in an accident on the highway from Porto to Santander, Spain, at the beginning of July. From there, Liverpool star Jota wanted to take the ferry to England. He was not flying because he had recently undergone a lung operation. The car carrying Silva and Jota left the road - and burned.
The two footballers had no chance of escaping the flames. Diogo Jota, father of three young children, was 28 years old, his brother André Silva 25. Anfield Road bid farewell to its hero and his brother with deep sadness but remarkable dignity. Before a home game, the stadium sang "You'll never walk alone" - even more emphatically, even more emotionally than usual. There was hardly a dry eye in the house.
Audun Grönvold - February 28, 1976 to July 16, 2025
He was an all-rounder on skis, without making the breakthrough. The Norwegian Audun Grönvold initially skied in the alpine speed disciplines - and made the podium there once: in the downhill in the Sierra Nevada in 1999. In 2004, he switched to ski cross, and from then on, podium finishes and medals were a certainty for him.
His highlights? He won bronze in freestyle at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver and at the 2005 World Championships, and then won the Ski Cross World Cup in 2007. In mid-July of the past year, he went hiking - and never returned. Audun Grönvold was struck dead by lightning at the age of 49.
Felix Baumgartner - April 20, 1969 to July 17, 2025
His credo? No limits, no boundaries! In 2012, he jumped from a height of 39 kilometers and broke the sound barrier in free fall. No one had ever achieved this before. Felix Baumgartner, a 56-year-old extreme sportsman from Salzburg, who has also competed in the 24-hour race in Le Mans, had a fatal accident this summer. He crashed a motorized paraglider into the wooden house next to the pool of a hotel complex in Porto Sant'Elpidio, Italy. Baumgartner was killed instantly. The public prosecutor's office investigated and stated that "human error" had led to the death of the border crosser.
Laura Dahlmeier - August 22, 1993 to July 28, 2025
Few deaths this year, especially in Germany, have shocked people as much as that of Laura Dahlmeier. The German biathlete was doing what she loved at the end of July - and never returned home: she was in the mountains, more precisely in the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan, when a storm struck her and a friend. The two abandoned the ascent, but on the way back down to the valley, disaster struck: a rock hit Dahlmeier on the head; at an altitude of 5700 meters.
The seven-time world champion and two-time Olympic champion succumbed to her injuries on site. Dahlmeier had instructed that her body should be left in the mountains in the event of an accident - also to protect those who would risk their own lives to rescue her. Nevertheless, her family did everything they could to find her body. Two attempts were made. But both were in vain.
Frank Mill - July 23, 1958 to August 5, 2025
When he gave an interview, the first thing he was asked after this one scene was: "Mr. Mill, shall we get this over with straight away?" Frank Mill was one of the best strikers of his time, for Dortmund, Gladbach or Düsseldorf. He was world champion in 1990, without playing, but still. Nevertheless, he is only associated with one action, "that very scene", for which every granny knows him, as he once said himself.
It was in 1986, when he was in the service of BVB in Munich's Olympic Stadium and went in alone on goal, as quick as an arrow and unstoppable for his opponents. He effortlessly curved around Bayern goalkeeper Jean-Marie Pfaff, but not the post - although he was alone in front of goal, he only hit it a few meters away. Mill achieved dubious fame, but was able to laugh the loudest about his mishap. In August of that year, he succumbed to a heart attack that he had suffered a few weeks earlier on a cab ride in Milan - he was on his way to a TV production about the World Cup 90 in Italy. Mill was 67 years old.
Matteo Franzoso - September 16, 1999 to September 15, 2025
His death also plunged the world of sport into deep bewilderment. Matteo Franzoso, a ski racer from Italy, had such a serious accident during a training run in Chile that he succumbed to a traumatic brain injury shortly afterwards, one day before his 26th birthday. A B-net had not been able to catch Franzoso's fall - he hit his head on a wooden device.
The grief was mixed with anger at the lack of safety precautions. A debate that will probably never completely die out in the speed sport of alpine skiing.
Sven Hotz - October 12, 1929 to December 7, 2025
Sven Hotz, the former president of FC Zurich, passed away at the beginning of December at the age of 96. Hotz was elected president of FCZ in 1986 and stepped down 20 years later. During his time in office, he celebrated two cup wins and one league title with the club. The former FCZ junior had previously served as vice president, board member and secretary. In addition to his work in football, the trained bricklayer Hotz was also a real estate developer. Years ago, he fell ill with dementia.
They also died in 2025
Werner Leimgruber, Swiss footballer, January 2, 90
Fabio Cudicini, Italian footballer, January 8, 89
Bernd Cullmann, German track and field athlete, January 13, 85
Lázaro Aristides Betancourt, Cuban track and field athlete, January 19, 88
Marcel Bonin, Canadian ice hockey player, January 19, 93
Dimitrios Domazos, Greek footballer, January 24, 83
Rudi Balsam, German footballer, January 31, 89
Walter Bucher, Swiss racing cyclist, March 6, 98
Jair da Costa, Brazilian footballer, April 26, 84
Ernesto Pellegrini, Italian football official, May 31, 84
Egon Coordes, German football coach, June 17, 80
Peter Rufai, Nigerian footballer, July 3, 61
Hulk Hogan, American wrestler, July 24, 71
Josef Cerny, Czech ice hockey player and coach, July 24, 85
Jean-Pierre Egger, Swiss track and field athlete, July 29, 81
Andy Lander, Swiss footballer and coach, July 29, 63
Urs Bärtschi, Swiss ice hockey player, August 6, 68
Jorge Costa, Portuguese footballer, August 5, 53
Razak Omotoyossi, Nigerian footballer, August 19, 39
Nikola Pilic, Croatian tennis player and coach, September 22, 86
Max Lorenz, German footballer, October 24, 86
Mladen Zizovic, Bosnian footballer and coach, November 3, 44
Dieter Herzog, German soccer player, November 20, 79
Rodney Rodgers, American basketball player, November 21, 53
Billy Bonds, English football legend, November 30, 79
