Erich Burgener

Erich Burgener
Personnel
birthday	February 15, 1951
place of birth	Raron ,  Switzerland
Size	184 cm
position	goal
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1967-1970	FC Raron
1970-1981	Lausanne Sports	286 (1)
1981-1986	Servette Geneva	140 (0)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1973-1986	Switzerland	64 (0)
Stations as a trainer
Years	station
2000-2008	Switzerland (To-Tr.)
1 Only league games are given.

Erich Burgener (born February 15, 1951 in Raron , Canton of Valais ) is a former Swiss football goalkeeper who now works as a goalkeeper coach .

Player career

Erich Burgener learned a trade in his father's construction business before he even started playing football. Neither in his school nor in his free time, he had never given football a thought. He had more fun skiing or guarded the ice hockey goal . It was not until he was 16 that he ventured into the football goal irregularly. Just a year later he rose to the first amateur class with his club, FC Raron . The canton neighbor FC Sion from the national league quickly became aware of the young Burgener. But the Swiss goalkeeper legend Frank Séchehaye had anticipated them. As an agent for the Lausanne Sports Club, he quickly succeeded in convincing Father Burgener and FC Raron to move.

After more than three years at FC Raron, Burgener moved to the Lausanne Sports club in 1970 for a transfer fee of 50,000 francs . However, the then 19-year-old needed some time to settle in and was therefore only second choice behind the Swiss top club for two years as an amateur. But in his first game his team achieved a sensational 5-2 victory against the Grasshopper Club from Zurich . His career in the national team began with a similarly furious victory on June 22, 1973. Burgener is said to have contributed a large part to this 1-0 triumph over Scotland in Bern . He made one of his other big games in 1977 when he was able to keep his goal clean at London's Wembley Stadium and thus kidnapped his team from this legendary stadium.

A year later he shone in the UEFA Cup against Ajax Amsterdam and was undefeated. Even when he signed a semi-professional contract in Lausanne, he didn't see his future in football. Between the games with the club and the national team, he had passed his master's examination with flying colors and stated that his goal was to take over the family business in Raron one day. Another peculiarity of the left-hander was that he was able to play football in the field. This is what happened in the derby against Servette Geneva . Burgener was used as a center forward and was even able to score a goal for the 2-1 lead, but his representative conceded six goals in the gate, so this experiment was not repeated by coach Miroslav Blažević , who wanted to end the struggle.

After winning the Cup in 1981, he moved to Servette Geneva, where he won the Cup again in 1984 and the national championship in 1985.

Coaching career

Burgener has been the goalkeeping coach of the Swiss national team since 2000. In July 2008 he was replaced by Willi Weber.

successes

• Swiss champion: 1985.
• Swiss cup winners: 1981, 1984.

Quotes

“Erich Burgener is without a doubt one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. The team whose goal he is guarding plays with an additional sweeper. The lightning-fast grasp of the situation in the case of an opponent's steep assists is one of his strengths. With high flank balls or corner kicks, the 1.84 tall Valais cannot be dealt with anyway. Flat shots don't cause him too much trouble either. He's only afraid of long-range shots, he admits, when they touch down shortly before him. "

- Fritz Hack (1979)

"Today, however, Erich is a perfect goalie who is worthy of the Swiss tradition of great goalkeepers."

- Fritz Hack (1979)

literature

• Fritz Hack: Goalkeeper of the Century . Limpert Verlag GmbH, Bad Homburg 1979, ISBN 3-7853-1284-9 .
• Bertrand Zimmermann: Erich Burgener . Editions de la Thèle, Yverdon-les-Bains 1987. ISBN 2-8283-0024
• Christoph Bausenwein: The last men . The workshop, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-89533-425-1 .