Eugen Meier (soccer player)

Eugen Meier , called "Geni" (born April 30, 1930 in Schaffhausen ; † March 26, 2002 in Bern ) was a Swiss football player . With his 249 goals scored in the top Swiss league, he is considered one of the best Swiss strikers of all time. At BSC Young Boys , where he played 14 seasons, he is by far the record scorer. He also played in the Swiss national football team from 1953 to 1965 and was featured 42 times.

Career

Childhood and youth

In 1942, Eugen Meier began his career as a football player in the student team of the youth department of his home club FC Schaffhausen . There the young striker played with the yellow-blacks until 1951. In the rounds of 1946/47 to 1950/51 he gained playing experience in the 2nd division.

BSC Young Boys, 1951-65

In 1951, Meier, who was only 21 years old, moved to the federal city to join BSC Young Boys . In his second season in Bern, "Geni" Meier celebrated winning the cup against Grasshoppers Zurich and the runner-up in 1953 . In the same round, the offensive half-striker distinguished himself as a dangerous attacker. With 32 goals, he won the title of top scorer in the Swiss National League A. After three more rounds of the growing together of coach Albert Sing's team with places four, five and three, the championship win followed four rounds in a row. From 1956/57 to 1959/60, the Young Boys' “black and yellow” triumphed in the Swiss championship at their home in Wankdorf Stadium . In the round of 1957/58 the double win succeeded. In the 1958/59 season, the powerful half-striker was the top scorer with 24 goals for the second time in his career. When "Geni" Meier ended his career with Young Boys in the summer of 1965 after 14 years with the renewed runner-up championship, he had a record of 320 league appearances with 249 goals. With Young Boys Bern he also dealt with the European competition in the European Champions Cup . In 1958/59, Bern only failed in the semi-finals against Stade de Reims . In 1960 they measured their strength with Eintracht Frankfurt and in 1961 with Hamburger SV . The draws achieved in the second legs - 1-1 in Frankfurt, 3: 3 in Hamburg - could not prevent the elimination due to the home defeats in the first legs. At local rivals FC Bern, Geni Meier let his playing career end in the two rounds 1965-67 in the 2nd division. He was a player personality, captain, all-rounder, dangerous goal, equipped with a powerful, hard shot.

National team, 1953–62

In the " Nati " he made his debut on May 25, 1953. At the Soccer World Cup in 1954 in his own country, he was used against Italy and England. In the successful World Cup qualification for the 1962 World Cup in Chile, he made four appearances in 1961, all three of which were against Sweden. At the tournament in Chile itself, he said goodbye with the 3-0 defeat on June 7, 1962 against Italy after 42 international matches from the national team.

successes

• four times Swiss champion (1957–1960)
• two Swiss cup winners (1953 and 1958)
• twice top scorer in National League A (1953 and 1959)
• 42 international matches with two World Cup appearances

swell

• 211 World's Top Premier League Scorers of the Century, IFFHS, 1998
• The great European football book, Volume 2, international matches and cup finals, Sportverlag Uwe Nuttelmann, Jade, 1999, ISBN 3-930814-02-1
• Hardy Greens : Football World Cup Encyclopedia. 1930-2006. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2002, ISBN 3-89784-205-X .