Klapperzahn's wonder elf

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Klapperzahns Wunderelf (in the Czech original Klapzubova Anyáctka ) is a story "for big and small boys" by the Czech writer Eduard Bass , which first appeared in 1922 and was illustrated by Josef Čapek . The first German translation appeared with a cover picture by Walter Trier .

The amusing book is easy to read as a book for young people as well as for adults. It is one of the first books to make football the subject of a novel. With a wink of humor, the author knows how to cast his people's enthusiasm for football back then into a fairy tale. Along with Humberto Circus, Klapperzahn's Wunderelf is Eduard Bass's most successful book and is very popular in the Czech Republic.

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The old Klapperzahn, a poor cottager from Nieder-Buckwitz who had eleven boys, decided one day to train them in football. Within a few years he gave them a solid sports education and founded the SK Klapperzahn-Elf with them. Already in the first game in the third division, the team won so big that they were accepted into the second division and, after an equally convincing result, into the first division. But here, too, the idols of the rattle-tooth boys from renowned clubs such as Slavia Prague or Union Žižkov had no chance against them. They won the Czech championship with an aggregate result of 122-0.

The new heroes of course also attracted the attention of foreign countries and the foreign club representatives came to Nieder-Buckwitz. After winning just as confidently in Germany and Italy as they were at home, the FC Barcelona players wanted to take them unfairly and planned to eliminate all rattling teeth with targeted fouls. But the old Klapperzahn saw through the plan and had his team compete in inflatable rubber suits, on which every attack of fouls ricocheted off. Barcelona lost 0:31.

Now it was England's turn. Even the king was impressed by the playful performance of the Czechs and asked to let his son play along with the rattling teeth. On the condition that he would be treated the same as the rest of the crew, the old rattle took him under his wing and trained him. He became a great player and when his father died he was reluctant to take the throne of England.

The Rattles were so successful because they were a family and they all stuck together. They only played for the joy of the game and were amazed when one day they did not want to let some other boys they met by chance in the forest play because they were professionals and played for money. In fact, the old Klapperzahn had of course received money for the games and thus built eleven little houses, one for each son, around his house. The players, however, had never thought of money, and they saw this rejection as their first loss. They decided to stop playing football. The soccer field next to the houses was to be plowed up and turned into a field and eleven athletes were also found, with whom the rattling teeth got along well and in whom father and mother had certain hopes.

But they wanted to play one last game, in Australia for the World Cup, so that it wouldn't mean they would shirk it. There they no longer played the way they used to play and promptly got their first goal. But the old Klapperzahn knew how to grab the boys by the honor, and so they ultimately won 9: 1. They wanted to take the ship to America and return home from there. But they were shipwrecked in the South Seas. They were able to save themselves on an island, but there they were waiting for cannibals, which they immediately captured. There should be a game of life and death, because even with the ogre you knew who the rattling teeth were. But they didn't quite understand the rules of the soccer game because they wanted to play without a ball and fight for a while. In this awkward position, their rubber suits again saved the boys, for all attacks ricocheted off them, and besides, their unusual appearance frightened the natives. After winning the game, they managed to escape, grab a boat and escape despite being chased. Their boat leaked, but with the help of the suits they floated on the water and played water polo. So they were rescued from a passing ship.

review

In the German edition of Klapperzahn's Wunderelf (from 2007) there is an afterword, explanatory notes on text passages from the original and a comparative discussion of the submitted and previous translations (from 1935 and 1958) into German by Christoph Haacker , in addition to the biographies of the author and the illustrators . It makes clear references to historical backgrounds in the world of politics and football, which the target group of "big boys" named in the subtitle should take note of with interest.

expenditure

  • Klapzubova jedáctka. Povídka pro kluky malé i velké . Prague: Borový, 1922

Translations

Bulgarian

  • Ritnitopkovtsite . Sofia: Narodna kultura, 1949. trans. by Rositsa Boneva.
  • Edinadesetorkata na Klapzuba . Sofia: Medicina i fizkultura, 1966

German

  • Klapperzahn's wonder elf . Passer, Vienna / Leipzig 1935 (translated by Joseph Kalmus / Marianne Wallner)
  • Eduard Bass presents Klapperzahn's wonder elf . Sports publishing house, Berlin 1958.
  • Klapperzahn's wonder elf. A story for big and small boys . Illustrated by Josef Čapek, new edition, Arco , Wuppertal 2007, ISBN 978-3-938375-14-3, edited by Stefan Zwicker (new translation by Thomas Herbert Mandl / Daniela Pusch / Christoph Haacker, afterword by Stefan Zwicker and Christoph Haacker).

Estonian

  • Klapzubova meeskond . Tallinn: Eesti raamat, 1966
  • Klapzubova meeskond . SI Kuldsulg, 1994

Croatian

  • Nepobjedivi Kesizupci . Zagreb: Sportska štampa, 1955

Polish

  • Club Jedenastu . Katowice: Avir, 1947
  • Club Jedenastu . Poznan: Wielkopol. ksiegarnice wyd., 1949
  • Club Jedenastu . Warsaw: Sport i turystyka, 1959
  • Jedenastka Kłapząba . Rudno: Wydawnictwo Stara Szkoła, 2016, ISBN 9788394478308 .

Russian

  • Komanda Klapzuba . Moscow: Fizkul`tura i sport, 1959
  • Komanda Klapzubovych . Leningrad: Dezgiz, 1960

Slovak

  • Klapzubova jedástka . Bratislava: Šport, 1958

Film adaptations

  • ČSR 1938. Directed by Ladislav Brom
  • ČSSR 1967. TV. Directed by Eduard Hofman