Gustav Witlatschil

Gustav Witlatschil (1958)

Gustav Witlatschil , called "Gustl" (born December 9, 1935 in Zwittau , Czechoslovakia ; † May 7, 2018 ) was a German football player of the Karlsruher SC who played 220 times in the Oberliga Süd and in the Bundesliga from 1956 to 1966 Brought 38 goals.

Start of career

Gustav Witlatschil, who grew up near Brno in the Sudetenland , came to Karlsruhe with his parents and brother in 1945 as part of their expulsion. The family quickly settled in the former royal seat of Baden and their son Gustav joined the youth department of the Karlsruhe FC Phönix at the age of 12 . The sports fields of Phönix, located in the middle of the Hardtwald near the Karlsruhe Castle, became the second home of the football-loving young player for years. He went through all youth teams from the C-youth up to the A-youth with the master of the year 1909. Appearances in the youth team of North Baden was followed by a training week with the DFB youth team in the sports school Schöneck before the UEFA tournament in April 1954 in West Germany . Despite high commitment in the training sessions against Uwe Seeler and Hermann Nuber , only the KFV goalkeeper, Manfred Eglin , drove to the tournament from Karlsruhe . In the last A youth year 1953/54 Witlatschil was vacated for the league team. But he only came to one mission. He was not yet able to meet the physical requirements in the senior division of the Oberliga Süd . Then the path led to the amateurs of the Karlsruher SC, created on October 16, 1952 through the merger. In the amateur team, the talented striker received special support and training from coach Georg Seeburger . The former high performer of VfB Mühlburg worked intensively on Gustav Witlatschil's combat strength and shooting technique. During this time he was appointed to the amateur team of the Badischer Fußballverband several times.

The DFB Cup winners of 1955 and 1956 blocked the way to the Oberliga-Elf. Against the footballing qualities of the strikers Traub , Kunkel , Kohn, Beck , Strittmatter, Sommerlatt and Termath , the talent from their own ranks could not yet stand up. In addition, this successful team was characterized by a particularly strong community spirit and solidarity. After participating in the finals in 1956 in Berlin for the German soccer championship against Borussia Dortmund , the striker's hope from the amateur team was taken on a vacation trip to the North Sea on the island of Baltrum and thus his transfer to the league team in 1956/57 was initiated.

Major League, 1956-1963

The first season 1956/57 was an "apprenticeship year". Gustav Witlatschil did more as a "porter" than as an active player in the Oberliga-Elf. At the end of the round he was rewarded with his 8-1 victory at Schweinfurt 05 for his uninterrupted training efforts and behavior that served the team. Coach Ludwig Janda tried in the 1957/58 round with the newcomer Pál Csernai and Witlatschil, who moved closer to the regular seats, to close the gap in Kurt Sommerlatt, who had switched to Bayern Munich . The success of the round spoke for the personnel realignment. The KSC won the championship in the Oberliga Süd in front of 1. FC Nürnberg , Eintracht Frankfurt and SpVgg Fürth . In the final round of the German soccer championship, because of the upcoming soccer world championship in Sweden in 1958, the entry into the final was not played in home and return games, but in one game on a neutral pitch. KSC defeated Tennis Borussia Berlin and Eintracht Braunschweig. The FC Schalke 04 also succeeded. On May 10, 1958, the "Knappen" won the decisive game in Hamburg against Karlsruhe with 3-0 goals, made it into the final and won the German championship against Hamburger SV . Gustav Witlatschil took part in the storming of the KSC in all three final round matches.

Most of the Janda protégés practiced a defensive-oriented game from the defense, with Witlatschil the protection of the left side of the field and the move up from midfield was transferred to the top. In 1959 Witlatschil scored eight goals in the league and was one of the most successful goalscorers, but the KSC could not defend its title, he even slipped back into the deep midfield. This was surprising. With the newcomers Günter Herrmann , Klaus Matischak and Willy Reitgaßl , much more was imagined in the wildlife park. In contrast, the only one-time use of the former UEFA youth tournament goalkeeper of 1957, Bierhoff, was only a marginal comment by the KSC in the 1958/59 round. Under the new coach Eduard Frühwirth , Gustav Witlatschil completed 29 games in the 1959/60 round in the Oberliga Süd. He had moved into defense and was used as a defender or center runner. It was the most successful sporting round for the Phönix home-grown. In retrospect, he personally considers the team of 1960 “the best KSC team he has ever played in”. If you take note of the newcomers Horst Szymaniak , Reinhold Wischnowsky and Friedl Späth, think of the goalkeeper legend Rudi Fischer and the field players Herrmann, Reitgaßl, Ruppenstein and Termath, the class of the South German champions of 1960 is six and eight points ahead of the finalists of the year 1959, Kickers Offenbach and Eintracht Frankfurt, imaginable. On November 8, 1959, "Gustl" was appointed by national coach Sepp Herberger in the B national team in the game in Saarbrücken against Hungary. In the 2-1 win, he and his club mate Späth formed the defender pair in front of goalkeeper Horst Schnoor from Hamburger SV. The standard defenders of the 1958 World Cup in Sweden, Stollenwerk and Juskowiak, were on the brink, the national coach was looking for a successor. Lutz, Nowak and Schnellinger prevailed in this position in the national team in the next few games.

The highlight of the season was the final round of the German soccer championship in 1960 . The KSC had to deal with Westfalia Herne , Borussia Neunkirchen and Hamburger SV. After the first three games, the KSC had 3: 3 points with a goal difference of 10:11 goals. Gustav Witlatschil moved from the left defender to the middle position and was at least able to successfully prevent the national center forward Uwe Seeler from scoring in the 4-3 home win against the eventual German champions Hamburger SV on June 11, 1960. Due to the offensive orientation of the outside runners Ruppenstein and Szymaniak as well as the strength of the forward Herrmann in the game, the stability of the defense block was not given enough to move into the final due to the insufficient cooperation of the midfield. Witlatschil and his comrades took three points from HSV in the final round, but also lost three points against the Südwest representative Neunkirchen, against whom the Hanseatic League won 4-0 and 6-0. Witlatschil still mourns this unused championship opportunity in a conversation today (2006). In the following round in 1960/61, third rank was achieved in the south. The 1960 DFB Cup was held in the first half of the season. On July 30th, KSC won the title of South German Cup winner against Eintracht Frankfurt with a 2-1 win. As a stopper, “Gustl” was the boss of the defensive. In the replay in the semi-finals of the DFB Cup on September 21 in the Wildpark Stadium at home, the all-rounder, who had advanced into the storm, became the match winner. Gustav Witlatschil scored both goals for KSC's 2-0 win against FK Pirmasens . Witlatschil has mixed feelings about the final on October 5, 1960 in Düsseldorf against Borussia Mönchengladbach for several reasons. Firstly, the players Manfred Paul (goalkeeper), Max Schwall (half left) and Reinhold Wischnowskiy (center forward) were missing from the regular line-up due to injury, secondly he suffered a painful concussion in the game and thirdly, the final was lost with 2: 3 goals. Albert Brülls decided the duel against his national teammate Horst Szymaniak and with it the game. Witlatschil, who flew to the finals especially, was unable to complete his REFA course in Ludwigsburg because of the concussion he had suffered and thus had to cope with a professional disadvantage in addition to the lost cup success.

In the two final rounds of the Oberliga Süd 1961/62 and 1962/63 Gustav Witlatschil was not absent in any KSC game. It had become an institution in the defense of the KSC. Persistent, strong in headers and two-way combat, commitment to the final whistle was normal, the switch from defensive to offensive dominated, provided with finishing qualities in his advances (eleven goals in the two seasons), comradely shaping the team spirit, he had himself in the hearts played by fans in the wildlife park. The coach, team-mates and supporters knew that Gustav Witlatschil can be relied on as a person and player. Personally, the all-rounder, who can be used in all defense positions due to his two-footed position, was unlucky enough to only play in his favorite position of the stop when he was not urgently needed elsewhere. The 1962 tours from April 29th to May 24th to South America and in 1963 the trip around the world with the KSC are more in the memory of the defense strategist than the performance in the major league in 1962 and 1963. In preparation for the new Bundesliga from the 1963/64 season, the trip around the world with stops in Cairo, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Haiti, Hawaii and the Fiji Islands was certainly not conducive to building up the form. Only a few days before the premiere match day, the kickers had returned from this five-week trip.

Bundesliga, 1963-1966

In the first three rounds of the Bundesliga , which concentrated the top of the previous regional league football on one season, Gustav Witlatschil completed 71 games with nine goals for Karlsruher SC. The men around Witlatschil found it very difficult in the new league. No consistent preparation, the loss of the playmaker Günter Herrmann to Schalke 04 and the selection of the newcomers prevented more than just playing to stay up. Under the coaches Kurt Sommerlatt and Helmut Schneider, Witlatschil was always part of the regular formation in the first two rounds. In the 7-0 away win on September 19, 1964 at Eintracht Frankfurt, the stopper distinguished himself with two converted penalties as a two-time goalscorer against Eintracht goalkeeper Egon Loy . After he had rejected an offer from Hannover 96 in the summer of 1965 and extended it at improved conditions in Karlsruhe, he suddenly found himself in the unpopular reserve role under coach Werner Roth . Witlatschil completed his last Bundesliga game on May 28, 1966 in the 0-1 defeat at relegated Borussia Neunkirchen. Annoyed by the fact that he would no longer play a fixed role in the coach's plans, in the summer of 1966, at the age of not yet 31, he terminated his contract with the KSC and had himself reamateurised.

The time after competitive football

From 1967 to 1970 Gustav Witlatschil strengthened the old master Karlsruher FV in the 1st Amateur League North Baden . At the age of 35 he ended his active playing career in the north-west of Karlsruhe , in the traditional KFV-Platz at the Telegrafenkaserne , not far from his family residence and his metalworking shop. Witlatschil, who worked as a lathe operator and locksmith throughout his playing career, always played football as a hobby alongside his job. In 1964, he had independently made and the industrial and craftsman exam taken. Sports ambition, joie de vivre through dancing and socializing in youth, skiing from the age of 35 and playing tennis always complemented life alongside work.

At VfB Bretten , he was in charge of training from 1970 to 1973. Due to the stress in his company, he gave up this function and only played football in the old men’s team of the Karlsruhe FV. Witlatschil lived with his wife in the north-west of Karlsruhe until his death.

Playmates

Witlatschil (left) and Jupp Marx during a team excursion on the Vierseenblicklift (1965)

Since "Jupp" Marx came to Karlsruher SC in 1961, a friendship had developed that lasted and was cultivated until his death in 2008. Gustav Witlatschil shared a room with Horst Szymaniak for two years while traveling and during training camps. He took the view that it was “Schimmi's” way of deliberately giving simple-minded answers to journalists' questions, which they then disseminated at face value and Szymaniak later gave his colleagues as a gag. He highlighted the national player's game preparation as comprehensive, intensive and clearly professional.

swell

• Information talks with Gustav Witlatschil in June 2006.
• Werner Skrentny (Ed.): When Morlock still met the moonlight. The history of the Oberliga Süd 1945–1963. Klartext, Essen 1993, ISBN 3-88474-055-5 .
• Matthias Weinrich: Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 3: 35 years of the Bundesliga. Part 1. The founding years 1963–1975. Stories, pictures, constellations, tables. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1998, ISBN 3-89784-132-0 .
• Matthias Weinrich, Hardy Greens : Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 6: German Cup history since 1935. Pictures, statistics, stories, constellations. AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 2000, ISBN 3-89784-146-0 .
• Klaus Querengässer: The German football championship. Part 2: 1948–1963 (= AGON Sportverlag statistics. Vol. 29). AGON Sportverlag, Kassel 1997, ISBN 3-89609-107-7 .
• Germany's great football teams. Part 11: KSC. AGON, Kassel 1998, ISBN 3-89609-115-8 .
• 100 years of KSC 1894–1994, Karlsruhe Sport Club Mühlburg-Phönix eV Baddruck, Karlsruhe 1994.