Josef Hügi

Josef Hügi (born January 23, 1930 in Basel ; † April 16, 1995 in Basel), called "Seppe" or "Goldfüsschen", was a Swiss football player who made 34 appearances with 23 goals in the years 1951 to 1961 National team brought.

Career

FC Basel, 1942-62

At the age of 12, Josef Hügi began playing football in the youth department of FC Basel in his home university town . In his first round in the National League A , 1948/49, the “blue-reds” from the Landhof stadium (until 1954) landed in second place behind champions FC Lugano . The 19-year-old had appeared in 18 games and scored eight goals. The second runner-up followed in the 1949/50 round. His sporting breakthrough came in the year after the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. In the 1950/51 round he scored 21 goals in 26 appearances. In the seven rounds from 1950/51 to 1956/57 he scored 162 goals, an average of 23 goals per round. He won the top scorer's crown three times in a row from 1952 to 1954. To win the championship in the 1952/53 season, the center forward contributed 32 hits in 26 games. When he topped the top scorer list in the National League A for the third time in the 1954 World Cup with 29 goals, FC Basel only finished 9th in the table. It was not until the 1956/57 round that the Young Boys Bern , supervised by coach Albert Sing , replaced Hügi's team as the “flagship” of the national league with four championship wins in a row. After 20 years, after the 1961/62 round, he quit his job at the “Joggeli” at FC Basel and moved to FC Zurich . In Letzigrund he celebrated winning his second championship title alongside Klaus Stürmer in the 1962/63 series. However, he had only played an active role in two games.

From 1948 to 1963, Josef Hügi had played 322 games with 244 goals in the National League A. Despite this record, he is not considered an enforcer type, but as a playing center forward.

National team, 1951–61

Honorary grave in the Hörnli cemetery .

Josef Hügi received his first appointment to the national team for the international match on November 25, 1951 in Lugano against Italy . The highlight of the "Nati" were the games and emotional experiences during the 1954 World Cup in their home country as the host of the FIFA tournament. With his goal in the 78th minute, Hügi decided the group game against Italy to make it 2-1 and also scored twice for the team of in the game for second place in the group in the 4-1 win in the new Sankt Jakob Stadium in Basel against the Italians Trainer Karl Rappan . In the heat battle of Lausanne on June 26th in the quarter-final against Austria , he scored three goals against the renowned Austria defenders Gerhard Hanappi and Ernst Happel . Switzerland lost the game with 5: 7 goals. In three games of the World Cup, "Seppe" Hügi scored six goals and is in second place in the top scorer list of this World Cup tournament together with Max Morlock and Erich Probst , albeit well behind the Hungarian Sándor Kocsis (11 goals).

Another noteworthy game in the national team was the World Cup qualifier against Spain on March 10, 1957 in Madrid . Hügi stood out as a two-time goalscorer in a 2-2 draw against the Iberian team, which was peppered with international stars. He set his national team scoring record in the 6-2 win over the third place in the World Cup in 1958 , France, on October 12, 1960 in Basel with five goals (four of them in a row and three as a flawless hat trick ). His two appearances in the victorious games in the World Cup qualification for the 1962 World Cup against Belgium in 1960 and 1961 also contributed to the Confederations' participation in the final tournament in Chile. He himself did not travel to South America, however: With the game on May 28, 1961 in Stockholm against Sweden , he ended his career in the national team after 34 appearances.

End of career

From 1963 to 1964 Josef Hügi ended his playing career in the 2nd division at FC Pruntrut, then at FC Laufen. After his active time as a player, he still worked as a coach.

Josef Hügi died in 1995 at the age of 65 and was buried in the cemetery on Hörnli in the municipality of Riehen in the canton of Basel-Stadt .

Web links

Commons : Josef Hügi  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

swell

• 211 world's top first division goalscorers of the century. IFFHS, 1998
• Hardy Greens : Football World Cup Encyclopedia. 1930-2006. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2002, ISBN 3-89784-205-X .
• The great European football book. Volume 2: International matches and cup finals. Sportverlag Uwe Nuttelmann, Jade, 1999, ISBN 3-930814-02-1
• Hardy Greens: Encyclopedia of European Football Clubs. The first division teams in Europe since 1885. 2., completely revised. Edition. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-89784-163-0 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ weltfussball.de: player profile Josef Hügi
2. ↑ knerger.de: The grave of Josef Hügi