Fritz Herkenrath

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Fritz Herkenrath
(Germany - Netherlands, 1956)

Fritz Herkenrath (born September 9, 1928 in Cologne , † April 18, 2016 in Aachen ) was a German football player . As the goalkeeper of Rot-Weiss Essen , he won the DFB Cup in 1952/53 and the German championship in 1954/55 . From 1954 to 1958 he played 21 international matches in the national soccer team and finished fourth with the DFB selection at the 1958 World Cup in Sweden. The "flying schoolmaster" called Herkenrath was appointed professor at the sports faculty of the Technical University in Aachen after completing his active career and was later employed as a professor at the University of Düsseldorf .

career

Associations until 1962

Cologne, until 1952

The sporting career of Fritz Herkenrath, who comes from a family of teachers, began after the end of the Second World War as a field handball player at the Cologne district club TV Dellbrück, as a powerful striker on the right wing, but who also occasionally guarded the goal. Playing on streets with little traffic and between clothes rails, he and his friends enjoyed soccer. In the spring of 1946, Herkenrath joined the neighboring Preußen Dellbrück association. After just a few games in the reserve team, where he had impressed with daring parades, he was immediately used in the league team. After rising from the Rheinbezirksliga in 1946/47, Dellbrück belonged to the first season of the newly formed West Football League in 1947/48 . On the fourth match day, October 5, 1947, at the local derby against VfR Cologne, he made his debut in the 1: 2 defeat in the league. He experienced his first victory in the league on November 23, 1947 with a 2-1 home win against Sportfreunde Katernberg. On the last round match day, April 18, 1948, Dellbrück decided the home game against Vohwinkel 80 with three hits from attacker Josef Schmidt and reached equal points with the team from Wuppertal. As a result, playoffs were necessary for the relegation regulation. It was not until the fourth clash on June 29 that the decision came about through a 1-0 win by Vohwinkel against the Herkenrath team. The goalkeeper had guarded the goal of the Prussians in 18 games in the association round. Dellbrück was relegated to the Rheinbezirksliga, but immediately returned to the Oberliga West for the 1949/50 round.

The 1949/50 season opened the Dellbrücker with a 3-2 home win on September 4, 1949 against Alemannia Aachen. In addition to the derbies against 1. FC Köln on the final day, the round brought for the league returnee the surprising conquest of the runner-up and thus participation in the final round of the German championship. On matchday 30, May 7, 1950, the Herkenrath team won the home game against Rhenania Würselen with 4-1 goals and rivals 1. FC Köln and Schalke 04 with equal points lost their games against Aachen and RW Essen. Herkenrath had been in goal in 29 games. In the final round, Dellbrück prevailed against SSV Reutlingen and defending champion VfR Mannheim, before the "Prussians" lost 3-0 goals in the semi-finals to Kickers Offenbach in the replay. Herkenrath's impressive achievements in goal were honored by his use on May 14, 1950 in the representative game between West Germany and North Germany in Cologne.

His training as a soccer teacher at the German Sport University in Cologne under Sepp Herberger also played a part in improving his goalkeeping game, where he successfully passed the exam in 1950 with fellow course colleagues Karl-Heinz Heddergott , Helmuth Johannsen , Hans Rohde , Karl Striebinger and Horst Sturz . He got to know the former national goalkeeper Willibald Kress , who was able to give him good tips, especially in matters of positional play, and who became a role model for him. This is how the “flying” goalkeeper became a level-headed and thoughtful goalkeeper. Dellbrück was unable to repeat the unexpected success of 1950 in 1951. Herkenrath completed 28 missions when he reached eighth place in the table. After 75 league games for Dellbrück, he joined the league neighbors 1. FC Köln for the 1951/52 round .

Although Herkenrath was in goal on October 14, 1951 in Kiel in the selection game between North Germany and West Germany and belonged to the extended circle of the German national team, he could not prevail at 1. FC Cologne as a regular goalkeeper. The Dutch national goalkeeper Frans de Munck guarded the goal of the team of player-coach Hennes Weisweiler and Herkenrath had to be content with 13 appearances in 17 games . That made him even more motivated to pursue his sports and education studies in order to have a stable livelihood alongside football. After Georg Melches , the maker of Bergeborbeck, had started negotiations about a change to Rot-Weiss Essen, Essen had reached an agreement with Cologne, Herkenrath played for the team from Hafenstrasse at the beginning of the 1952/53 season and moved to Essen in November 1952 -Frohnhausen.

Essen, 1952 to 1962

In the team of coach Karl Hohmann , the man from Cologne immediately established himself as a regular goalkeeper. Behind champions Borussia Dortmund and the runner-up 1. FC Köln, RWE took third place in the western league in 1952/53. Herkenrath had played all 30 league games. The four games against his former clubs Prussia Dellbrück and 1. FC Köln were of particular emotional importance. After successes against Jahn Regensburg, VfL Osnabrück, Hamburger SV and in the semifinals against SV Waldhof Mannheim (Herkenrath missed Mannheim due to an injury), Herkenrath and his teammates moved into the final in the DFB Cup competition, which was held for the first time after the Second World War May 1, 1953 in Düsseldorf against the western league club Alemannia Aachen. After goals from Franz Islacker and Helmut Rahn , Captain August Gottschalk's team won the DFB Cup in 1953 with 2-1 goals. In the year of the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland, Rot-Weiss came one point behind the title holder 1. FC Köln and one point ahead of FC Schalke 04 in second place. Again, the goalkeeper had played all 30 competitive games.

From April 23, 1954 he was a member of the RWE travel company, which undertook a nine-week trip to South and North America. The international contacts of honorary chairman Georg Melches in his professional function as director of Didier-Kogag-Hinselmann AG made this outstanding company possible in the first place. In terms of sport, the matches against the Argentinian and Uruguayan top clubs CA Independiente and San Lorenzo Buenos Aires , as well as Peñarol Montevideo and a friendly against the national team of Uruguay stood out. Herkenrath received top marks from all sides and, like the storm colleagues Islacker and Rahn, lucrative offers for a move to the Río de la Plata . In addition, social and political receptions were on the program, with a visit to the incumbent Argentine President Juan Perón being of particular importance. The American trip ended with a two-week stay in the USA, where numerous receptions by sports associations of German origin provided the framework, especially in New York. The technology, the traffic, the cars, the pulsating life in the metropolises, all of this became unforgettable impressions for the young athletes from the area, especially for the educators at the Essen gate who experienced the journey with open eyes and ears. The experience of the "other world" in South and North America compensated Herkenrath for the related waiver of taking part in the soccer World Cup in Switzerland as a substitute goalkeeper.

In the year after the soccer world championship in 1954, 1954/55, Herkenrath and colleagues won the championship in the west under the sporting guidance of trainer Fritz Szepan , six points ahead of SV Sodingen . The quick-reacting, sure-footed, daring goalkeeper, who distinguished himself with spectacular saves, allowed only 38 goals against as support for the defensive led by Heinz Wewers. Shortly after his 26th birthday, Herkenrath made his debut on September 26, 1954 in the international match in Brussels against Belgium in the German national soccer team. In the final round of the German football championship in 1955, the Melches team prevailed unbeaten against TuS Bremerhaven, Wormatia Worms and Kickers Offenbach in the group games and moved into the final on June 26, 1955 in Hanover against the "Walter-Elf" from Kaiserslautern . The Palatinate, who competed with five "World Champions" from the World Cup days from Switzerland, went into the final as favorites. With his goal in the 85th minute to make it 4: 3, Franz Islacker decided the final for the team from Grugastadt. The class goalkeeper could not be really happy about his greatest sporting success, however, he had caused the 0: 1 in the eleventh minute when he could not hold a harmless flank ball. Only a few minutes later he was injured in a parade and was therefore only able to get through the game with pain.

The successes from 1953, 1954 and 1955 could not be preserved by the red and white from Bergeborbeck. The formative player personality August Gottschalk ended his career after the German championship success in 1955 and the dangerous left winger Bernhard Termath accepted an offer from the Karlsruher SC from the football league south and moved to North Baden. When Helmut Rahn, who was irreplaceable as an individual and with qualifications on the right wing, left the team from Hafenstrasse in the direction of Cologne for the 1959/60 round, the sporting regression could not be stopped. Georg Melches tragically fell sick with his heart during this phase and was retired, his decades of support for his club was clearly limited. The decline of RWE ran parallel to the economic decline of the area under the sign of the coal crisis .

In the 1960/61 round, RWE was one point behind SV Sodingen in 15th place in the table and had to relegate to the 2nd League West. On matchday 30, May 13, 1961, Herkenrath said goodbye with the 0-0 draw at Rot-Weiß Oberhausen from the Oberliga West. He had played another 26 games for the team of coach Willi Multhaup and went into the second division for a year. Looking back, Herkenrath saw the 1955 championship as a major turning point. The family in the club was increasingly sacrificed to mammon .

“In the mid-fifties, players were brought in from abroad, including foreigners, and they were magnificently rewarded. We heard behind the cupped hand what they were paid under the table. There was harmony and the last bite in one fell swoop. It has been steadily going downhill since 1956. "

From 1952 to 1961 the "flying schoolmaster" had played 248 league games for RWE, a total of 336 league games from 1947. Together with fellow players Heinz Wewers, Herbert Weinberg , Otto Rehhagel , Werner Kik and Heinz Hornig , another 21 appearances were added in the 2nd division West and Rot-Weiss took fifth place in 1961/62. In the summer of 1962, Herkenrath ended his impressive football career after 16 years of competitive football and a parallel professional career in school service.

successes

  • Runner-up in the Oberliga West 1949/50, Prussia Dellbrück
  • DFB Cup winner 1953, Rot-Weiss Essen
  • Runner-up in the Oberliga West 1954, Rot-Weiss Essen
  • German champion 1955 and champion in the Oberliga West, Rot-Weiss Essen

societies

  • Prussia Dellbrück (1947–1951, 75 league games)
  • 1. FC Köln (1951/52, 13 league games)
  • Rot-Weiss Essen (1952–1961, 248 league games)

National team, 1954 to 1958

Even as a young goalkeeper from Prussia Dellbrück, the sports student belonged to the group of contenders for the newly established national soccer team after the Second World War, who were under special observation by Sepp Herberger. Herkenrath was one of the players in various representative games for West Germany, various selection courses for the national coach, in the unofficial international match against Saarland in Essen on April 4, 1951, as a substitute in several international matches - including the two World Cup qualifiers against Saarland and Norway in Hamburg Member of the national team before the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland since 1948. He was also reported in the DFB's 40s squad to FIFA alongside competitors Toni Turek , Heinrich Kwiatkowski , Heinz Kubsch and Gerhard Geißler . But since his club Rot-Weiss Essen carried out a nine-week trip to South and North America with several games from April 23, 1954, he was unable to take part in the final course of the national team in Munich-Grünwald from May 24.

At the first international match after the World Cup in Switzerland, on September 26, 1954, in Brussels against Belgium, the RWE keeper finally made his debut in the national team. In the 2-0 defeat of the new world champions Herbert Erhardt and Werner Kohlmeyer formed the defenders in front of the well-holding debutant. His record in the next two years shows only the two successes on December 19, 1954 in Lisbon against Portugal and on November 16, 1955 in Karlsruhe against Norway, but says nothing about the class of the goalkeeper from Essen. Herkenrath was not responsible for the negative series after the World Cup days. With his intelligent and objective game, his reflexes, his courage in duel situations, the routine positional play and his personality, he was a worthy successor to Toni Turek and the goalkeeper position was one of the few constants of the unstable team in the years of crisis. The "World Cup heroes" could not preserve their form of the tournament days, be it due to illness or injury, but especially due to the negative effects of everyday problems as "world champions". In addition, there was the internationally uncompetitive league situation in top German football, with the regional football top leagues, which did not represent a competitive starting position with their usually two to three times a week training for the national team.

When, in the immediate preparatory phase before the 1958 World Cup, from 1957, the Herberger-Elf could come up with positive results again, Herkenrath celebrated successes with the national team against Austria, Hungary, Belgium and Spain. At the World Cup tournament itself, he convinced in the group matches against Argentina, Czechoslovakia and Northern Ireland, in the defensive quarter-finals against Yugoslavia and also in the semifinals against the host country Sweden. Herkenrath was the backbone of the good German defense during the World Cup days in Sweden in 1958. Fritz Herkenrath's international career ended with his 21st international match against Denmark on September 24, 1958 in Copenhagen.

The "flying schoolmaster"

Herkenrath was a sports teacher at the primary school on Margarethenhöhe in Essen from 1956 to 1961, was appointed professor in the sports faculty of the Aachen University of Technology in 1962 after his time at RWE and finally worked as a professor at the University of Düsseldorf until his retirement in 1990 .

literature

  • BF Hoffmann : The legendary World Cup goalkeepers. A lexicon. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2005, ISBN 3-89533-498-7 , pp. 79–81.
  • Lorenz Knieriem, Hardy Grüne : Player Lexicon 1890 - 1963 . In: Encyclopedia of German League Football . tape 8 . AGON, Kassel 2006, ISBN 3-89784-148-7 , p. 144 .
  • Jürgen Bitter : Germany's national soccer player: the lexicon . SVB Sportverlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00749-0 , p. 179 f .
  • Georg Schrepper, Uwe Wick: “… RWE again and again!” The story of Rot-Weiss Essen. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 2004, ISBN 3-89533-467-7 .
  • Uwe Nuttelmann (Ed.): The German League Football 1903-2010. Volume 2, Nuttelmann-Verlag, Jade 2010.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Death report from May 4, 2016, accessed on May 4, 2016.
  2. ↑ BF Hoffmann, The legendary World Cup goalkeepers, p. 80.
  3. ↑ Schrepper / Wick: “… again and again RWE!” The story of Rot-Weiss Essen. P. 91.
  4. ^ Matthias Arnhold: Fritz Herkenrath - International Appearances . RSSSF . September 1, 2016. Accessed September 12, 2016.
personal data
SURNAME Herkenrath, Fritz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soccer goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH September 9, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne , Germany
DATE OF DEATH April 18, 2016
Place of death Aachen