Axel Dünnwald-Metzler

Axel Dünnwald-Metzler
Personnel
birthday	December 9, 1939
place of birth	Stuttgart ,  Germany
date of death	April 6, 2004
Place of death	Stuttgart ,  Germany
position	midfield player
Juniors
Years	station
1949-1955	Stuttgart Kickers
1955-1956	VfB Stuttgart
1956-1958	Stuttgart Kickers
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1958–1962	Stuttgart Kickers	62 (3)
1 Only league games are given.

Axel Dünnwald-Metzler (born December 9, 1939 in Stuttgart ; † April 6, 2004 there ) was a German entrepreneur. He became known to the general public as the president of the former Bundesliga soccer team Stuttgarter Kickers .

Life

Axel Dünnwald was born as the son of Josef Dünnwald , Staatskapellmeister at the Stuttgart Opera. His brother is Achim Thorwald, former general manager of the Badisches Staatstheater Karlsruhe . His life was closely connected to the Stuttgarter Kickers. Years as a youth player at this club was followed by his deployment in the club's defense in the Oberliga Süd, the top division of German football at the time, between 1958 and 1961 . He ended his active career early at the age of 22 when he renounced further missions after a foul on an opponent and the associated suspension.

Now he devoted himself more to his professional career and began to work as a managing director at Metzler International , the largest eyewear distributor in the world at the time. There he met Ursi Metzler, the daughter of the company owner, his future wife.

In May 1979 he took over the office of president of the Stuttgarter Kickers. Under his chairmanship and thanks to his financial support, he was promoted to the Bundesliga twice (1988 and 1991). In 1987 the club was in the final of the DFB Cup . In recent years, however, the club has increasingly fallen into crisis. In addition to the sporting downturn and the only narrowly averted relegation to fourth class, the club also came to the brink of financial ruin in spring 2003. The insolvency could only be averted by the sale of the club's own ADM sports park, named after Axel Dünnwald-Metzler. In July 2003 he handed over the office of club president to his successor, Hans Kullen .

Axel Dünnwald-Metzler succumbed to lung cancer on April 6, 2004 at the age of 64 .