Felix Gerritzen

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Felix Gerritzen , called "Fiffi" ​​(born February 6, 1927 in Oldenburg ; † July 3, 2007 in Münster ) was a German football player who was in the final of the German football championship in 1951 with the Preußen Münster club and was part of the German national football team played four international matches.

Career

societies

VfB Oldenburg, 1938–1950

Felix Gerritzen spent his childhood and youth in Oldenburg. Before he was drafted into military service at the age of 16, he was already used several times in Lower Saxony's youth team. In the 1943/44 season he repeatedly strengthened the 1st team of VfB in the Gauliga Weser-Ems . In 1943 he was called up for military service and trained as a parachutist in Stendal . When he jumped over Breslau for the first time , he was captured by the Soviets. After the Second World War, he helped VfB Oldenburg in the 1948/49 round to rise from the Lower Saxony Weser-Ems relay to the Oberliga Nord . The lightning-fast ball artist contributed 14 goals in 28 games to the 9th rank of the climber in the 1949/50 round. Due to his outstanding performance in the top division, he was nominated for the representative game of the northern selection against the west on May 14, 1950 in Cologne on the right wing. Since Prussia Münster was looking for reinforcements for the Oberliga West in the 1950/51 round - Alfred Preissler and Rudolf Schulz had already been signed by Borussia Dortmund - Gerritzen was persuaded to move to Münster. His father, who was born in Münster, convinced him of the advantages of the cathedral city.

Prussia Munster, 1950–1958

In the first season of Gerritzen in Münster in 1950/51, SC Preußen Münster and Schalke 04 fought a balanced battle for the championship in the west. With one point behind, Münster reached the runner-up and thus the entry into the finals of the German soccer championship 1951. Against the competitors 1. FC Nürnberg , Hamburger SV and Tennis Borussia Berlin , the way to the final on June 30, 1951 in Berlin led against the 1. FC Kaiserslautern . Gerritzens 1-0 lead in the 47th minute made Ottmar Walter with two goals to 2-1 victory for the Palatinate to nothing. Encouraged by the successes of the people of Münster, reporters headlined with the term “one hundred thousand mark storm ”. This in no way meant the salaries of the five-man storm Gerritzen, Preißler, Schulz, Lammers, Rachuba or the transfer fees paid by Prussia Munster. The reporters only wanted to express that the Prussian storm would have been worth 100,000 DM. Before the final of the German championship, Felix Gerritzen received an offer from FC Turin. The Turin residents lured them with 80,000 DM. Gerritzen stayed in Munster. The couple on the right wing of Münster, Gerritzen and Preißler, are referred to by football historians as the "inventors" of the one-two. Münster could not repeat the success of the round 1950/51 in the following rounds. "Fiffi" ​​Gerritzen personally played two impressive rounds in 1953/54 and 1954/55, in the year after the 1954 World Cup he was top scorer in the west with 23 goals, but Münster did not make it to the finals. On February 2, 1958, Gerritzen played his last game in the Oberliga West in the 0-1 defeat against Duisburg SpV . Between 1950 and 1958 he had scored 83 goals in 166 games for the SCP and became a football legend in Münster.

National team - selection games, 1950–1956

The VfB Oldenburg winger received an invitation to attend the first DFB training course after the Second World War from November 14 to 19, 1949 in Duisburg, under the direction of Sepp Herberger . Gerritzen completed several appearances in representative games. He stood on May 14, 1950 for a selection from the North and on November 12, 1950 and March 18, 1951 for the selection from the West. In the DFB team he was able to contribute three goals for the Herberger team to the 7-1 final score in the unofficial international match against Saarland on April 4, 1951. These convincing appearances earned him a call to play the second international match after the Second World War on April 15, 1951 in Zurich against Switzerland . In Zurich, too, he was able to enter the scorers' list in the 3-2 victory for the German national team. This was followed by three more missions against Turkey , Austria and Ireland . In all four international matches, Fritz Walter led the team onto the field as captain. After Helmut Rahn made his debut on the right wing in Istanbul 2-0 against Turkey on November 21, 1951 , the competitive situation for the man from Münster was significantly intensified. He never completely lost contact with the national team. This was followed by further West selection games (the last on March 3, 1957 in Bochum against Berlin), four appearances in the B national team from 1952 to 1956 and test games for the DFB against Bolton Wanderers , against a South and Berlin selection in May and June 1953 But an injury prevented the player, who was on the FIFA 40 list, from taking part in the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

Sporty finale, 1958–2006

With the amateurs of Saxonia Münster, Felix Gerritzen let his career as a football player come to an end until 1964.

In the 1978/79 season he not only trained the first senior team of SV Blau-Weiß Aasee, but also his four sons André, René, Dieter and Peter at the same time. Son-in-law Franz “brother-in-law” Dehne was also standing in the gate and neighbor's son Andreas Roth stormed on the right wing.

With tennis he maintained an active connection to sport. He was still committed to social projects of SC Preußen Münster and went to every home game of his club until the end. However, the fulfillment of his wish to see him again in the second Bundesliga was denied him. For this, the Prussian mascot, an eagle, was named “Fiffi” after him.

In 2008 it was discussed whether a street or a square in Münster should be named after Gerritzen. Today the office of SC Preußen Münster is at Fiffi-Gerritzen-Weg 1.

Since the 2013/14 season, the former east curve of the Prussian stadium has been known as the Fiffi-Gerritzen curve.

Hobby and job

Gerritzen was a trained decorator, but worked as a driver for an insurance company. His hobbies became painting and carving. He brought his artistic streak to the advertising department of the Provinzial insurance. He became the owner of a studio in a boathouse across from the old Pleistermühle near Münster. There he drew, made sculptures or planned the hall design for the gala performances for the Münster carnival societies. During the annual parade in Münster, a carnival float usually came from Gerritzen. For many years he repaired damaged figures of saints for churches free of charge. Gerritzen created crispy and witch houses for orphanages.

Awards

In recognition of its voluntary social commitment, the Westphalia Initiative accepted Gerritzen posthumously in its Westphalian gallery of honor in October 2013 .

literature

  • Raphael Keppel : Germany's international football matches. Documentation from 1908–1989. Sport- und Spielverlag Hitzel, Hürth 1989, ISBN 3-9802172-4-8 .
  • Hardy Greens : Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 1: From the Crown Prince to the Bundesliga. 1890 to 1963. German championship, Gauliga, Oberliga. Numbers, pictures, stories. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1996, ISBN 3-928562-85-1 .
  • Prussia Munster football between felt and fans. The workshop, 1995, ISBN 3-89-533-141-4 .
  • The heroes from the football west. Aschendorff Verlag, 2001, ISBN 3-402-06-480-4 .
  • Dahlkamp, ​​H. & Schulze-Marmeling, D. (2006): 100 Years of Preußen Münster. The workshop, Göttingen, ISBN 978-3895335198 .
  • Dieter H. Jütting : From dribbler to king of hearts. In: Westfälische Nachrichten. February 17, 2014, supplement Auf Rote Erde, Heimatblätter for Münster and the Münsterland .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b c Westphalia Initiative: Laudation to Felix "Fiffi" ​​Gerritzen for inclusion in the Westphalian Gallery of Honor 2013 ( Memento from March 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Prof. Dr. Dieter H. Jütting, October 14, 2013, printed in the Westfälische Nachrichten : From Dribbler to King of Hearts: Felix (Fiffi) Gerritzen (1927–2007) was not only a Münster football legend when he was accepted into the Westphalian gallery of honor , Auf Roter Erde - Heimatblätter for Münster and the Münsterland, Dieter H. Jütting (editor: Johannes Loy), February 17, 2014.
  2. ↑ Oldenburg City Archives, VfB holdings.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g Münstersche Zeitung : Striker legend: Fiffi Gerritzen included in the Westphalian gallery of honor ( memento from March 1, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ), Münster, Helmut Etzkorn, October 14, 2013.
  4. ↑ Fiffi Gerritzen at dfr-nrw.de
  5. ↑ echo-muenster.de: A street for Fiffi ?! ( Memento from March 6, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), Heike Hänscheid, March 8, 2008.
  6. ↑ Prussia Münster : office
  7. ↑ Münstersche Zeitung : Fiffi-Gerritzen-Weg: Memory of a Legend ( Memento from March 1, 2014 in the web archive archive.today ), Münster, Christoph Ueberfeld, December 12, 2008.
  8. ↑ Fan project Münster: Archive link ( Memento from March 1, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ Westfälische Nachrichten : Flags are forbidden at the derby: Preußen Münster versus Osnabrück , Münster, Karin Völker, 25 February 2014.
  10. ↑ Westfälische Ehrengalerie: Christoph Metzelder and Fiffi Gerritzen honored for their commitment ( Memento from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ), FLVW homepage from October 16, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Gerritzen, Felix
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Fiffi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH February 6, 1927
PLACE OF BIRTH Oldenburg , Germany
DATE OF DEATH July 3, 2007
Place of death Munster , Germany