A former goalkeeper has reportedly passed away at the age of 54 after fighting cancer for two years.
Georg Koch was a member of elite European teams, including Croatian powerhouse Dinamo Zagreb, Austrian Rapid Vienna, and the Netherlands’ PSV Eindhoven.
After beginning his professional career in 1992 with Fortuna Dusseldorf in Germany’s Bundesliga, the goalie had successful stints with Arminia Bielefeld, FC Kaiserslautern, Energie Cottbus, and MSV Duisburg.
However, his top flight career was ruined when a firework detonated close to him while he was playing for Rapid Vienna against fierce derby rivals Austria Wien, forcing him to retire.
In 2009, Georg had to give up his gloves due to hearing damage and balance problems.
Koch Came Out Of Retirement
Born in Bergisch Gladbach, Germany, the shot-stopper came out of retirement in September 2009 to sign with SC Herford, a sixth-tier team.
However, he only featured in one senior game for the team before retiring for the second and final time two months after joining.
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He played in 165 second-division games and 213 top-flight matches overall. Koch won both the Croatian Cup and the league title with Dinamo Zagreb.
He continued his involvement in football after retiring, serving as a goalkeeping coach. According to NeedToKnow, Koch was diagnosed with a pancreatic cancer in May 2024.
Doctors only gave him six months to live. At the time, he said: “The disease is incurable, I will die. But God hasn’t decided when He’ll take me yet.”
He passed away at noon yesterday (March 4), just one month after his 54th birthday. Arsenal legend and former Germany keeper Jens Lehmann said: “It’s a sad day, Georg Koch has died. Far too soon!
“We often played against each other and he was often better than me.”
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