Dieter Seeler

Grave of Dieter Seeler

Dieter Seeler (born December 15, 1931 in Hamburg-Rothenburgsort , † September 21, 1979 in Hamburg ) was a German football player . From 1952 to 1965 he played a total of 304 competitive games and scored 78 goals in the then first-class Oberliga Nord and the Bundesliga, which was established in 1963 . As an active member of Hamburger SV , he won the German soccer championship in 1960 and the DFB Cup in 1963 .

career

societies

Jugend and Altona 93, 1940 to 1955

Erwin Seeler's older son was mostly overshadowed by his younger brother Uwe during his career, but has made a name for himself as a striker (and later an outside runner ). Dieter Seeler was born in the port workers' district of Rothenburgsort, grew up with his parents Anni and Erwin Seeler, and the siblings Gertrud and Uwe in Hamburg-Eppendorf in Seeler's three-room apartment. “Didi” Seeler joined HSV at the age of nine. The strong duel did not get a chance in the senior league team of "Rothosen" after the transition to the senior camp and therefore tried to make his league entry into the 1952/53 season with the black-white-reds of the traditional Altona 93 club . The team from Bahrenfeld was subsequently included as third in the league promotion round because of the forced relegation of Eintracht Braunschweig to the Oberliga Nord. In addition to the son of “Vadder” Erwin Seeler, the long-time conductor of the HSV game, Heinz Spundzeile , also joined the team from the Adolf-Jäger-Kampfbahn ; with Kurt Hinsch , Karl-Heinz Keil and Kurt Reich , the AFC squad was further strengthened. On the first round match day, August 24, 1952, the young talent made his debut in the away game against the "Rautträger" of HSV in the Oberliga Nord. Coach Herbert Panse's AFC-Elf gave the favorite a big fight in the 3: 4 defeat. Dieter Seeler stormed the right winger in the mostly practiced World Cup system at the time. The NWDR (Nordwestdeutscher Rundfunk) broadcast a full-length football match for the first time in Germany.

In a 7-4 home win against Werder Bremen on September 14, 1952, the older Seeler brother scored a goal; in the 8: 7 away win on October 26 at the later relegated Eintracht Osnabrück as well. He made his breakthrough in Altona on November 23, 1952 in a 2-1 home win against VfL Osnabrück - with Hans Haferkamp , Ernst-Otto Meyer and Adolf Vetter - when he distinguished himself as a two-time goalscorer in front of 15,000 spectators. Eight days later, on November 30th, he suffered a serious knee injury in front of 18,000 spectators on snow-covered ground in the 3-1 away win against FC St. Pauli. He hit the iron barrier with his knee and then fell out for almost half a year. He was therefore able to play only 14 league games in his first league year and scored six goals; the AFC took sixth place. In its second league round, 1953/54 , Hamburger SV fell to 11th place - also because of a four-point deduction due to financial irregularities in connection with a planned change from Willi Schröder - and Altona came in an excellent third place . Champion was Hannover 96 before St. Pauli. "Didi" Seeler had scored 13 goals in 24 games. For the third year in a row, the AFC 1954/55 belonged to the leading teams in the Oberliga Nord. The team from Bahrenfeld reached fourth place and the older of the Seeler brothers had scored twelve goals in 29 missions. But the black-white-reds drew attention in the DFB Cup beyond regional borders . In the first main round they won 3-2 against the southwest German upper division club 1. FC Saarbrücken, and in the second round they beat the southern division Eintracht Frankfurt 2-1. Shortly before Christmas 1954, a 2-0 home win in the quarter-finals was achieved with two goals from Werner Erb against the western upper division Alemannia Aachen. On a Wednesday evening on April 20, 1955, two top teams from the north and the south met in the semi-finals on the neutral pitch in Cologne-Müngersdorf, the AFC and the Karlsruher SC. Blond Seeler made an outstanding game. At 3: 3 after extra time, he scored two goals and prepared the third. In the Glückauf-Kampfbahn in Gelsenkirchen, Altona lost the replay against eventual cup winners KSC with 0: 3 in front of 15,000 spectators on May 8th. After three rounds with a total of 67 league games and 30 goals, "Didi" Seeler returned to Hamburger SV for the 1955/56 season as an established top division player.

Hamburger SV, 1955 to 1965

Under coach Martin Wilke and “team boss” Günter Mahlmann , he immediately belonged to the HSV regular formation and celebrated the Northern Championship with 41:19 points ahead of the two teams from Hanover. When the northern champions opened the final round of the German championship in front of 70,000 spectators in the Volksparkstadion with a 0-0 draw against VfB Stuttgart on May 13, 1956, "Didi" Seeler stormed to the right at the side of his attacking colleague Klaus Stürmer , brother Uwe, Günter Schlegel and Rolf Börner . With 9: 3 points tied with the eventual German champions Borussia Dortmund, HSV narrowly missed the entry into the final. In the course of the league round, the older of the two Seeler brothers had made the breakthrough with two goals at the latest in the 6-0 home win in November 1955 against FC St. Pauli in the HSV team. This was confirmed by his three goals in the 10-0 home win on December 4, 1955 against Arminia Hannover and by the 3-1 win on January 1, 1956 in the final of the North German Cup against Holstein Kiel. He also stormed the 2-1 victory in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup on May 5, 1956 - eight days before the start of the finals for the German championship - against Fortuna Düsseldorf on the right wing of the HSV team.

When winning the third Northern Championship in 1957/58 , two league games stood out. Firstly, the home game on December 1, 1957 to TuS Bremerhaven 93 (2: 1) to the sending-brother Uwe and the subsequent course barrier to HSV to excesses and threat of the referee Walter Höfel, secondly, the catch-up game at the second Christmas holiday in Bremer Weserstadion against Eintracht Braunschweig, which HSV, with the help of right winger Dieter Seeler, turned into a 6-4 success after a 4-0 half-time deficit. Vinke describes the game as “the most exciting of all Hamburger SV top division games”. In the attack, the team of trainer Mahlmann with Dieter Seeler, Gerhard Krug , Uwe Seeler (three goals), Klaus Stürmer and Uwe Reuter competed and Josef Posipal is awarded an outstanding performance in the second half on the offensive.

The strong duel, always committed "Terrier" in his later regular position of the left outer runner belonged to the HSV-Elf, which won the German championship in 1960 with a 3-2 final victory against 1. FC Köln on June 25th in front of 71,000 spectators in the Frankfurt Waldstadion won. The effective defensive performance of the HSV defense around Horst Schnoor (goalkeeper), Erwin Piechowiak , Gerhard Krug (defender) and the runner row with Jürgen Werner , Jochenfritz Meinke and Dieter Seeler was an essential guarantee of success against those with Helmut Rahn , Christian Breuer , Christian Müller , Hans Schäfer and Karl-Heinz Thielen recognized high-performing "billy goat" offensive.

The 1960/61 season developed into another high point. The games in the competition for the European Champions Cup against Young Boys Bern , FC Burnley and FC Barcelona not only impressed the football fans in Germany. The 5-0 away win in November 1960 in Bern's Wankdorf Stadium was, in the opinion of Stopper Meinke, the "best European Cup game" of HSV of this era. Unfortunately, it was not televised and therefore did not get the public it deserved. Meinke continued: "Of course we also showed a sensational performance in the 4-1 home win in the quarter-finals against Burnley FC". Against the "Catalans" of FC Barcelona Dieter Seeler was on the ball on April 12, 1961 in the 0-1 defeat in front of 90,000 spectators at Camp Nou against their offensive stars Evaristo , Kubala , Suarez and Czibor , but was missing because of a broken leg on 16. April from the catch-up game against Concordia Hamburg in the two other games against "Barca". It was not until October 1, 1961 that “Didi” was able to return to the HSV team.

His greatest successes occurred during the time of the Oberliga: eight times in a row from 1956 to 1963 he was North German and in 1960 as a coronation once German champion, in 1961 he and his teammates reached the semi-finals of the European Cup . In addition, he was DFB Cup winner in 1963 just before the Bundesliga start ; in this final he was also the HSV team captain.

After 28 Bundesliga games (two goals), he ended his football career in 1965. He completed his last Bundesliga game on February 20, 1965 under coach Georg Gawliczek in a 1: 2 away defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt, with brother Uwe tearing his Achilles tendon. On the debut day of the newly installed Bundesliga, August 24, 1963, he had scored a 1-1 draw with HSV at Preußen Münster.

Selection appointments

Dieter Seeler received his only international appointment in November 1959 when he played in the German B national team against Hungary. In the 2-1 victory in Saarbrücken, he formed the German defensive in front of club colleague Schnoor with defenders Gustav Witlatschil , Friedel Späth and fellow runners Hermann Nuber and Willi Koll . He also gained international experience in ten European Cup appearances (five each in the national championship and five in the cup winners' competition ), as well as in many international friendly matches of the HSV from 1955 to 1963 against opponents such as MTK Budapest , Manchester United , the Vienna sports club , Real Madrid , FC Barcelona , the Racing Club de Paris , the AC Milan , Penarol , Benfica and FC Santos . In the ranks of the NFV selection , he played several representative games.

Regarding his attitude and style of play, Vinke states: “The saber-legged Erwin not only inherited his football talent, but also his fighting and action genes. According to the Hamburger Morgenpost, Dieter Seeler, who was born in 1931 and died in 1979, never shied away from a duel, ran his lungs out of his throat and drove his opponents to despair with his fighting spirit. "

End of life

Dieter Seeler, who was employed professionally as a representative of textile companies and also temporarily for the football patron Betten-Holm, suffered a heart attack in 1973, followed by two strokes before he died of kidney failure in September 1979. He left a wife and two children. He found his final resting place at the Ohlsdorf cemetery , in the family grave of the Seelers, together with his father and his wife Helga, who died in 2004.

literature

• Norbert Carsten: Altona 93. 111 league years in ups and downs. The workshop, Göttingen 2003, ISBN 3-89533-437-5 .
• Hans Vinke: Football Legends. The golden era of Hamburger SV 1947 to 1963. Agon Sportverlag, Kassel 2008, ISBN 978-3-89784-338-7 .
• Werner Skrentny, Jens Reimer Prüß: With the diamond in the heart. The great history of Hamburger SV. The workshop, Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-89533-620-1 .
• Jens Reimer Prüß (Ed.): Bung bottle with flat pass cork. The history of the Oberliga Nord 1947–1963. Klartext, Essen 1991, ISBN 3-88474-463-1 .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Uwe Seeler: Thank you, football! My life . Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag. Reinbek near Hamburg 2004. ISBN 978-3-499-61508-5 . P. 136.
2. ^ Norbert Carsten: Altona 93 . P. 168.
3. ^ Norbert Carsten: Altona 93 . P. 170.
4. ^ Norbert Carsten: Altona 93 . P. 172.
5. ↑ Skrentny, Prüß: With the diamond in the heart . P. 178.
6. ^ Hans Vinke: The golden era of Hamburger SV 1947 to 1963 . P. 45.
7. ↑ Jens Reimer Prüß (Ed.): Goals, points, players: the complete HSV statistics . compiled by Jens Reimer Prüß and Hartmut Irle. Die Werkstatt , Göttingen 2008, ISBN 978-3-89533-586-0 , p. 123 (352 pages).
8. ^ Hans Vinke: The golden era of Hamburger SV 1947 to 1963 . P. 44.
9. ^ Hans Vinke: The golden era of Hamburger SV 1947 to 1963 . P. 100.
10. ^ Hans Vinke: The golden era of Hamburger SV 1947 to 1963 . P. 86.
11. ^ Hans Vinke: The golden era of Hamburger SV 1947 to 1963 . P. 54.

Web link

• Players A – Z (bung bottle) , visited on March 17, 2020