From Pelé, Maradona to Messi. German journalist boasts 17 World Cup appearances

At 88 years old, Hartmut Scherzer is a living chronicle of global football. As an accredited reporter, this German journalist has covered 17 World Cups, witnessing firsthand the eras of legends from Pelé to Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi.

When he calmly raised his hand on Sunday in the frigid press room of the Houston stadium, where the air conditioning relentlessly maintained near-arctic conditions, and requested to ask German coach Julian Nagelsmann a question, spontaneous applause erupted. Everyone clapped – from the German national team coach to journalists and even the organizers backstage.

Scherzer hasn't missed a single tournament since the 1962 World Cup in Chile. For over six decades, he has traveled the world with the German national team – Mexico, England, Brazil, Russia, and Italy. He repeatedly claimed, "this is his last championship," yet he always returned.

Before Germany's match against Curaçao (7-1), in the era following the disappointments of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, he posed the first question of the press conference to coach Nagelsmann. He inquired about the team's morale heading into the tournament. Nagelsmann replied: "I'm not thinking about the past, only about winning. We are focused on the players' performances and our identity. I want this to be a brilliant team."

Scherzer witnessed three German triumphs at the World Championships. Born in 1938, he watched the 1954 title at sixteen, but was personally present for the victories in 1974, 1990, and 2014. His name is well-known in Germany, and beyond football, it's said he also covered 21 Olympic Games since 1964 and a total of 33 editions of the Tour de France.

When asked what still drives him to endure 12-hour flights to America, he responded, according to the Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport: "Passion. Pure and simple passion."

When the traditional questions about the best championship arose, he answered without hesitation: "I'd say Germany 1974 and Mexico 1986. Diego's slalom, that was truly art." And the worst tournament? "Korea - Japan 2002. It was a logistical nightmare." And the best player of all time? "Pelé."

When Italian journalists asked him about the best Italian player, he paused, as if sifting through names like Paolo Maldini, Francesco Totti, Gianni Rivera, Paolo Rossi, Alessandro Del Piero, Fabio Cannavaro, Marco Tardelli, or Roberto Baggio. Then he smiled and replied: "Roby is Roby. I choose him."