Hans Plenk, the luge athlete who led Germany’s team at the Opening Ceremony of the 1968 Winter Olympics in Grenoble, has died aged 85.

Two events in the past week or so have conspired to remind me of the time when I thought I was on the brink of answering one of sport's great unanswered questions.

Helmar Müller, who helped West Germany to win men's 4x400 metres bronze at the Mexico City 1968 Olympics, has died aged 83.

Uwe Seeler, who captained West Germany in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final, has died at the age of 85, it has been announced.

West Germany were the first team to hold the Henri Delaunay trophy as European Champions and go on to win the World Cup. 

Horst Eckel, the last surviving member of West Germany's 1954 FIFA World Cup winning team, has died at the age of 89, the German Football Association (DFB) has announced.

German footballing legend Gerd Müller has died at the age of 75.

The stopwatch used by English referee Jack Taylor to time the 1974 FIFA World Cup final between West Germany and The Netherlands has fetched a total of £4,210.80 ($5,842.05/€4,926.85) at Fellows Auctioneers in Birmingham.

The stopwatch used by English referee Jack Taylor when he awarded the fastest penalty in the history of the FIFA World Cup final has gone up for auction.

Seventy years ago, the Olympic Movement was faced with the reintegration of a nation excluded from the world sporting community. 

How long will the lyrics of "Three Lions" need updating? The "30 years of hurt" referred to in the Skinner/Baddiel/Lightning Seeds song that was an aural backdrop to the 1996 European football Championships are about to become "50 years of hurt" - and counting - as the anniversary of those fabled 1966 World Cup finals, in which England claimed the trophy on home soil, falls this Sunday.