Hans Benzler

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Hans Benzler (March 9, 1936 - October 13, 2017 ) was a German football player in the position of goalkeeper . From 1958 to 1970, he played a total of 344 point games for VfR Mannheim and Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the Oberliga Süd and South Regional Soccer League and the West Regional Soccer League .

career

Youth, amateur and Mannheim, until 1967

At SpVg Beckum, the young goalkeeper went through the various youth classes and also gained his first experience in the senior sector. In the 1956/57 season he won the championship with the game association in the Association League Westphalia. He left the Münsterländer for the 1958/59 season and joined VfR Mannheim in what was then the first-class Oberliga Süd.

The then VfR coach Hans Schmidt opened the league round on August 17, 1958 with goalkeeper Benzler in the home game against SSV Reutlingen. The old master players Ernst Langlotz and Rudolf de la Vigne were still at the side of goalkeeper Benzler and striker Ernst-Otto Meyer . At the end of the round, the newcomer had played 20 league games and the lawn players finished eighth. In the four final rounds of the old first-class league system, 1959/60 to 1962/63, Benzler was not missing in any point game under the coaches Philipp Rohr and Helmut Kronsbein . Benzler played the last league game with VfR on May 12, 1963 in the catch-up game against Ulm 1846. From 1958 to 1963, the man from Beckum had completed 140 league games for VfR Mannheim. Since the blue-white-reds could not qualify for the new Bundesliga from the 1963/64 season, Benzler played the association games with the VfR in the second-rate Regionalliga Süd from this point on. For four rounds, 1963/64 to 1966/67, the reliable goalkeeper in the Regionalliga guarded the goal for VfR. The undisputed number one in the VfR goal completed 134 regional league games. Benzler ended his time in Mannheim with the game on May 14, 1967 at FC Schweinfurt 05. With coach Oswald Pfau and teammates such as Günter Rehbein , Wolfgang Platz , Klaus Beckfeld , Franz Schäffner and Heinz Schmitt , the ex-champion of the 1948/49 season took fifth place. In the summer of 1967 Benzler moved to Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the West Regional Football League.

Leverkusen, 1967 to 1970

The table tenth of the previous round rebuilt his squad for the 1967/68 season . In addition to Benzler, Karl-Heinz Brücken , Friedhelm Strzelczyk , Klaus Görtz , Peter Rübenach and Willi Haag also came to Leverkusen. The then trainer Theo Kirchberg , a former league player and works sports teacher, is quoted as saying: “We observed the newcomers for a long time and all of them were bought cheaply. At that time, goalkeeper Hans Benzler cost almost 10,000 marks in transfer fees, came with no hand money and for a basic salary of 320 marks per month plus study allowance. Everything else had to be earned through good efforts. We weren't able to make big leaps either, because in addition to the game income, we had a total of 150,000 marks available as a subsidy from the main club ”.

The team with the Bayer cross opened the season with Benzler in goal on August 13, 1967 with a 2-1 home win against Viktoria Köln. Benzler and colleagues lost the top game on September 24, 1967 against Rot-Weiss Essen, in front of 17,000 spectators in the Ulrich Haberland Stadium , with 0: 3. The RWE offensive formed by coach Erich Ribbeck around Willi Lippens , Helmut Littek and Günter Pröpper could not be stopped by Bayer defense chief Leo Wilden and his helpers that day. Eight days later, October 1st, the home defeat was made up for by the 1-0 away win against other rivals for the top of the table, Rot-Weiß Oberhausen. Benzler played 33 league games and Leverkusen won the championship race with 52:16 points at the end of the round with the better goal difference against Rot-Weiss Essen. With one point less, Oberhausen landed in third place.

The West Champion started the promotion round on May 18, 1968 with a 4-2 away win against Tennis Borussia Berlin. Benzler and his teammates Haag, Günter Haarmann , Görtz, Wilden, Helmut Röhrig , Helmut Brücken , Helmut Richert , Karl-Heinz Brücken, Fredi Hennecken and Strzelczyk lost the decisive game on June 9 on the Bieberer Berg against Kickers Offenbach 1: 2 . In front of 30,000 spectators, OFC left winger Gerd Becker scored the winning goal in the 90th minute of the game to make it 2-1 and thus the Hessen's promotion to the Bundesliga. Benzler had played all eight promotion round matches for Leverkusen.

In his second year at Bayer, the defending champion finished eighth. In the 1969/70 season Dieter Ferner took over the role of goalkeeper and Benzler ended his higher-class playing career after eight further regional league appearances. From 1967 to 1970 he played a total of 70 regional league games in the second division for Leverkusen.

Profession and trainer

After the end of his career, Benzler returned to Mannheim and was employed by the sports and bathing department. Under Philipp "Fips" Rohr he was assistant trainer at SV Waldhof in the 1970s. From 1988 to 1998 he coached the SC Pfingstberg.

literature

  • Christian Karn, Reinhard Rehberg: Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 9: Player Lexicon 1963-1994. Bundesliga, regional league, 2nd league. Agon-Sportverlag, Kassel 2012, ISBN 978-3-89784-214-4 .
  • Alex Feuerherdt: Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The football chronicle. The workshop, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-89533-819-9 .
  • Best of WM: a cheerful journey around the world of football , Agon, Kassel 2005, ISBN 978-3-89784-266-3 .

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Mannheim mourns Hans Benzler . In: Mannheimer Morgen , October 14, 2017, accessed on October 14, 2017.
  2. ↑ Alex Feuerherdt : Bayer 04 Leverkusen. The football chronicle. P. 31
personal data
SURNAME Benzler, Hans
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soccer player
DATE OF BIRTH March 9, 1936
DATE OF DEATH October 13, 2017