Former Slovak footballer Adolf Scherer, one of the main architects of Czechoslovakia’s silver medal success at the World Cup in Chile in 1962, has died aged 85. The team’s top scorer in the tournament at the time and a member of the league’s Gunners club, he played 36 games for the Czechoslovak team and scored 22 goals.
#soccer Adolf Scherer, player @nimesolympique between 1969 and 1972, who resided in the Gard in Saint-Gilles, died at the age of 85. With Czechoslovakia, the former striker had played and lost 3-1 a World Cup final against Brazil in 1962, in Chile. pic.twitter.com/BIYKA4gHMN
– Midi Libre Sports (@MidiLibreSports) July 22, 2023
Scherer lived in France from 1973, where he died at his home in St. Gilles in the circle of his relatives. The Slovak Football Association informed about the death of the legendary striker.
“Until this morning he had an exceptional attribute – the only living Slovak footballer who played in the World Cup final,” wrote the Slovak association. “Dolfi was unique, irreplaceable, always his. Vice-world football champion, champion of Czechoslovakia, top scorer, member of the League Gunners Club, he has his place in the Hall of Fame of Slovak football since his birth in 2016 , a good person.”
It was at the World Championship 61 years ago that Scherer, from Priekopy, earned the lion’s share of qualifying for the final against Brazil. The goal then decided the quarter-final against Hungary (1-0) and even scored twice in the semi-final against Yugoslavia (3-1). He was also a member of the bronze medal winning team at the 1960 European Championships in France.
He won the Czechoslovakian title with Červená hvězda Bratislava (1959), in the ten seasons he played in the top national competition, he also played for Slovnaft Bratislava, Lokomotiva and VSS Košice. In France, where he later emigrated, he worked for Nîmes Olympique and Olympique Avignonais.
In the Czechoslovak League, Scherer had a record of 260 games and 128 goals. With a total of 151 league goals in his career, he is among the top twenty for League Gunners Club.
Of Chile’s 22 silver medalists, Jan Lála, Jozef Štibrányi, Josef Jelínek and Václav Mašek are alive. Ballon d’Or winner Josef Masopust, the team’s biggest star at the time, who lost to Brazil 1-3 in the final, died in 2015.
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