Frank Mill has passed away.
Frank Mill, a renowned figure in German football, has sadly passed away at the age of 68. His former club, Rot-Weiss Essen, confirmed the news following a report in the Bild newspaper.
Mill's football career began at the tender age of six with BV Eintracht 1916 in Altenessen, but it was at Rot-Weiss Essen where he truly developed into a goal scorer. In the 1980/81 season, he scored an impressive 41 goals in the 2nd league. This early promise led to a move to Rot-Weiss Essen at the age of 14.
Mill's career trajectory continued to rise as he moved to Borussia Mönchengladbach, Borussia Dortmund, and Fortuna Düsseldorf. In total, he scored 123 goals in 387 Bundesliga games, making him the 32nd highest scorer in Bundesliga history.
Mill's spectacular post shot in the opening game of the 1986/87 Bundesliga season for Dortmund against Bayern Munich remains unforgettable. He was instrumental in leading Dortmund to a fourth-place Bundesliga finish in 1987, scoring 17 goals in his first season there and serving as club captain. His greatest club achievement came in 1989 when he won the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) with Dortmund.
Later, he played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, helping them gain promotion from the 2. Bundesliga to the Bundesliga by scoring 5 goals in his initial season.
Internationally, Mill earned 17 caps for West Germany but did not score for the national team. He was part of the 1990 FIFA World Cup winning squad, though he did not play in the tournament matches. However, he did win a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, where he was a standout player and scored 4 goals in 9 Olympic matches.
Mill retired from professional football after the 1995–96 season. After retiring, he briefly managed Fortuna Düsseldorf but his tenure lasted only a year. Later, he worked as an entrepreneur, including running a container service in Essen.
Mill had a passion project, the "Frank Mill Football School", through which he dedicated himself to children, youth, and integration for many years. He was a player with edges and corners, known as a Ruhrpott original.
In his 2017 autobiography "Frank Mill - The Cunning Fox of German Football", Mill openly spoke about his career, personal setbacks, and admitted to having taken a banned doping tablet before a Bundesliga game once.
Alexander Rang, a board member of Essen, described Mill as "one of the greatest footballers that Rot-Weiss Essen has ever produced" and a "fine person." Mill regularly played for the BVB legends team until the end.
Mill lived in Essen and, since his relationship with a Sicilian woman, also frequently in Sicily. His former wife Beate, from whom he had been separated for a long time, died in 2006. The couple had two children.
Mill suffered a heart attack during a stay in Milan in late May 2025 and died from its consequences.
In summary, Frank Mill had a prolific Bundesliga career highlighted by 123 goals and a German Cup win with Borussia Dortmund, coupled with international honors including a World Cup winner’s medal and Olympic bronze. He will be deeply missed by the football community.
[1] Bundesliga.com (2021). Frank Mill. [Online]. Available: https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/frank-mill
[2] Transfermarkt.com (2021). Frank Mill. [Online]. Available: https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/frank-mill/profil/spieler/104
[3] FIFA.com (2021). West Germany. [Online]. Available: https://www.fifa.com/worldcup/archive/germany/men/1986/team/13430/
[4] Olympedia.org (2021). Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics. [Online]. Available: https://olympedia.org/Germany_at_the_1988_Summer_Olympics
[5] UEFA.com (2021). Germany. [Online]. Available: https://www.uefa.com/teams-and-players/teams/germany/history/index.html
Sports, specifically football, were intrinsically linked to Frank Mill's life. Starting his career at BV Eintracht 1916 in Altenessen at the age of six, Mill ultimately found renown at Rot-Weiss Essen, where he honed his goal-scoring skills.
