Scorer of first Bundesliga goal dies in assisted suicide

MUNICH - Reuters

In this April 14, 2011 file photo German soccer legend Timo Konietzka reacts during a training session with Swiss soccer club FC Ebikon in Ebikon. AP photo

Timo Konietzka, the scorer of the Bundesliga's first goal, has died at 73 with the help of a Swiss assisted suicide group. 

Konietzka, who played nine times for West Germany, scored after 58 seconds for Borussia Dortmund against Werder Bremen on August 24, 1963, the opening day of the inaugural Bundesliga season. 
 
"With the first goal in the league's history, he will always be unforgettable for fans in Germany, even though this goal was not filmed by any television camera," said Bundesliga president Reinhard Rauball on the league's website.
 
Konietzka, who lived in Switzerland, had been suffering from cancer. 
 
"I would like to thank [assisted suicide group] Exit which on Monday afternoon freed me from my torture. I am very happy," said Konietzka in a notice published in the Swiss newspapers. 
 
Konietzka scored 72 goals in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund and then TSV Munich and was second top scorer in the Bundesliga three times. He moved to Switzerland in 1967 and finished his playing career there with FC Winterthur. 
 
He coached FC Zurich for seven years, winning three Swiss titles, and also won the league in a later spell with their rivals Grasshoppers.