17 World Cups in one march…the story of a German journalist who lived through the history of the World Cup | sports

While Pele, Maradona and Messi created their glories inside the green rectangle, another man was creating the memory of those moments behind his pen for more than 6 decades. German sports journalist Hartmut Scherzer did not miss the World Cup, moving between the stands and the press rooms, until he became a witness to 17 editions of the World Cup, documenting the joys and failures of the champions, and writing chapters of the history of the game, before he himself became a part of this history.

The beginning of the journey from Chile

His journey began in 1962, when a German newspaper sent him to cover the World Cup finals in Chile. At that time, he did not realize that this mission would be the beginning of an exceptional career spanning more than 6 decades, and that his name would be linked to the history of the tournament as much as the names of its major stars.

When Scherzer began his journey with the World Cup, the press did not know the fast pace we live in today. Stories were written by hand and sent via telegrams and limited telephone communications, while photos and reports made their way to newsrooms within hours, perhaps days.

Between that time and the era of live broadcasting and social media platforms that broadcast the event as it happened, Scherzer experienced the greatest transformation in the history of journalism, without changing his primary passion for the profession.

17 World Cups in 6 decades

In the 2026 World Cup, the honor this time did not go to a player or coach, but rather to a journalist who remained present behind the scenes, documenting those moments.

The International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) honored him with a memorial cup in recognition of his long career, after he became the first journalist to cover 17 editions of the World Cup.

For Scherzer, the honor was not just an award, but rather an acknowledgment of the role of journalism in preserving the memory of sports. While players commemorate their achievements with goals and trophies, journalists immortalize those moments with words and images that remain a witness to them across generations.

Despite reaching 88 years of age, Hartmut Scherzer still holds his pen with the same passion with which he began his journey more than 6 decades ago, stressing that age may change features, but he cannot take away from the journalist his first passion, nor from football its ability to give those who love it an endless story.

Wide resonance in sports and media circles

The scene honoring Scherzer received widespread attention in sports and media circles, before it topped the social media platforms, where followers recalled stations from his long career, and many considered that the honor was not only a celebration of his person, but rather a journalistic experience that kept pace with the transformations of football and the media over more than 6 decades.

In this context, the famous sports journalist and commentator Bebeto Flores wrote on the “X” platform that Scherzer is considered “a legend in the world of sports journalism,” noting that he covered 17 editions of the World Cup, starting from the World Cup in Chile in 1962 until the World Cup in 2026, during which he recorded the achievements of the legends of the game from Pele and Maradona to Messi.

Flores pointed out that Scherzer received recognition from the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) at the New Jersey Stadium, in recognition of his long career and exceptional presence spanning six decades of covering the tournament.

German journalist and sports correspondent Kerry Howe also pointed out, via “X”, a distinctive gesture during the press conference before the opening match on June 14, when German coach Julian Nagelsmann took the initiative to greet Scherzer, congratulating him on his 88th birthday, and praising his career that accompanied the World Cup for the 17th time in a row.

In the same context, commentators and activists described Scherzer as a “legend of sports journalism,” stressing that he had not missed any edition of the World Cup since his first participation in 1962, in an unprecedented testimony to a career that extended through successive generations of the game’s stars and its major events.

Others went on to describe his story as “amazing,” noting that he attended 17 editions of the World Cup, during which he documented the transformations of football from the era of classical beginnings to the modern era, with the change in playing styles and development in media coverage, to remain a living witness to the memory of the game over more than 6 decades.

Sports newspapers celebrated a number of reports that highlighted the International Football Association (FIFA) honoring the German journalist, in recognition of his historic career and his exceptional presence spanning 17 editions of the World Cup between 1962 and 2026, in a scene that many considered a tribute to the memory of football itself as much as it was a tribute to his person.

These coverages added that Scherzer was not just a passing sports reporter, but rather a witness to major transformations in the history of the game, transferring its details from the heart of the stadiums to the pages of newspapers, so that his name remains present in the World Cup archives as one of the journalists most closely associated with the history of the tournament and its development over time.