Kurt Ehrmann

Kurt Ehrmann - 1955/56

Kurt Ehrmann , called "Kaddel" (born June 7, 1922 in Karlsruhe ; † August 2, 2013 ibid) was a German soccer player who was appointed to the German national soccer team in 1952 and with the German amateur national team at the Olympic Games in Helsinki participated.

Career

Youth, 1930-1940

Kurt Ehrmann, who was born in Karlsruhe's Oststadt and grew up with four siblings, played football in the youth department of FC Frankonia Karlsruhe from 1930 . His father also spent the last years of his playing days at Frankonia and his two younger brothers also learned to play football there. This was the rule for boys in the Oststadt at that time. The exception was Kurt Ehrmann's schoolmate Herbert Binkert , who joined FC Phönix as a student . Kurt Ehrmann played in the storm from the start of his career. The right-footer practiced handling the ball with both legs early on. That paid off. The later appointments to the DFB teams took place in the position of the left winger. Kurt Ehrmann refined his feeling for the ball in countless hours of individual activity with the ball. He tirelessly fitted and headed it against the wall. Especially when there were no comrades to be found in the Oststadt for a football game. In Karlsruhe's 1st youth class, Frankonia primarily had to deal with the Karlsruhe FV , Phönix, VfB Mühlburg, VfB 05 Knielingen and the FV Daxlanden. Kurt Ehrmann preferred to play half-forward or center-forward. The coaches mostly used him as a left winger. When he would have switched to the senior team in the 1940/41 round, the effects of the Second World War and his entry into military service on December 2, 1940 meant that he remained without commitment for the first team of FC Frankonia Karlsruhe.

Gauligist Post SG Danzig, 1942–1944

In 1942 Kurt Ehrmann was transferred to Danzig due to an injury. The Gauligist Post-SG Danzig recruited him there . Kurt Ehrmann played from July 1942 in the sports area 19 Danzig-West Prussia . At the side of the dangerous center forward Ernst Löttke , who won the German championship with VfR Mannheim in 1949 , the talents of the young striker from Karlsruhe developed. He was appointed several times to the Danzig city selection and to representative games for the Gau West Prussia. Trainer Anton Kugler , former master player of 1. FC Nürnberg , taught Kurt Ehrmann formative tactical behavior and tricks for the duel. Looking back, the 84-year-old Kurt Ehrmann only finds words of praise for coach Kugler and emphasizes: "I learned a lot from him" . Strong competitors of the Post SG Danzig were the HUS Marienwerder , SV Neufahrwasser , BuEV Danzig and Luftwaffen-SV Danzig . On December 2, 1944, the soccer game was over again. Kurt Ehrmann had to go back to the front. On May 22nd, 1946, Kurt Ehrmann was released from the Cham prison camp in the Upper Palatinate. There he had been able to play football in the camp team. This made it possible for Kurt Ehrmann to regain a foothold in club football immediately after his return to Karlsruhe.

Karlsruher FV , 1946–1956

1st stage, 1946–1950

Since his return home from Cham had taken place with the substantial help of the Karlsruhe FV, Kurt Ehrmann's path to the ex-master craftsman of 1910 led to the KFV-Platz at the Telegrafenkaserne . Kurt Ehrmann was able to play two games in the 1945/46 round in the Oberliga Süd . In the 1946/47 season he formed together with Albert Janda one of the strongest left wing in the Oberliga Süd, which was increased to 20 clubs. As a technically brilliant left winger, Kurt Ehrmann completed 35 games and scored nine goals. In the runner row, Sepp Herberger's nephew, Johann Herberger , who came from Phönix, moved on to Stuttgart at the end of the lap. In these years, however, the strength of a team was not determined solely by their football skills. Those clubs that were able to ensure good food and clothing for the players, as well as proper overnight accommodation for away games, enjoyed a clear advantage. Kurt Ehrmann reports that the possibilities of the KFV to supply the players with natural products were not comparable with the conditions at the Bavarian and Württemberg clubs. In terms of the financial possibilities of the majority of its opponents in the top division, the KFV was not competitive. He was unable to provide enough food, housing and jobs for his players. As their own pitch was unusable due to war damage, the Red-Blacks also had to forego home advantage. Ehrmann still raves about the personality and athletic class of his coach Max Breunig at the time . Breunig's tactical training in the various team positions still finds Kurt Ehrmann's admiring recognition. For Kurt Ehrmann, after the relegation of the KFV from the Oberliga Süd, a season in the Landesliga Nordbaden followed. For the 1948/49 round, however, Kurt Ehrmann switched to city rivals VfB Mühlburg and thus returned to the Oberliga Süd. On November 14, 1948, he played his seventh game on the ninth game day and scored his third goal for Mühlburg in the 38th minute of the game in a 3-3 draw against Bayern Munich . However, the consequences of pleurisy - in conjunction with conflicts in cooperation with coach Robert "Boba" Kraft - prevented Kurt Ehrmann from further assignments at VfB Mühlburg. "Kaddel" returned to the Karlsruher FV for the 1949/50 round. In this round he was able to celebrate the championship in the district class and thus the admission to the newly created 1st Amateur League North Baden.

2nd stage, 1950–1956

In the 1950/51 round, the KFV won the runner-up in North Baden and thus qualified for the first German amateur championship . After successes with FC 08 Villingen , VfL Sindelfingen and SSV Troisdorf 05 , Kurt Ehrmann and his comrades were able to travel to Berlin for the final . Opponent was ATSV Bremen 1860 on June 30, 1951 . The amateur final was practically the prelude to the game for the German championship in 1951. Two players stood out in the final of the amateurs. On the side of Bremen, who were victorious with 3-2 goals, the outstanding player was the three-time goalscorer Willi Schröder . In the case of KFV, especially in the second half, this was Kurt Ehrmann, who drove the game in the left wing position. National coach Sepp Herberger highlighted both players in his game analysis and made them hope to participate in the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. In 1951/52 the men around captain "Kaddel" Ehrmann won the championship in North Baden . In the derbies against Phönix Karlsruhe and FV Daxlanden, “Kaddel” had to deal with Kurt Sommerlatt and Heinz Beck . In the promotion round , captain Ehrmann led his comrades through the champions from Hesse (Olympia Lampertheim), the champions from South Baden (SC Baden-Baden), the champions from Württemberg (Union Böckingen) and the champions from Bavaria (FC Amberg) into the 2. League South. There, in the 1952/53 season, the KFV met SSV Jahn Regensburg , KSV Hessen Kassel , TSV Schwaben Augsburg , SSV Reutlingen 05 , SV Darmstadt 98 , Freiburg FC and 1. FC Pforzheim. In the inner city, the derby against ASV Durlach stood out. In Karlsruhe, the KFV could not keep up with the Karlsruher SC in the Oberliga Süd in terms of finances as well as public favor in the second division . This new merger club became champions in the south, German runner-up and DFB cup winner in 1956. 1956 joined Kurt Ehrmann at the age of 34 years for 1. FC Pforzheim in the 2nd League South and labeled with the "Club" from the valley Brötzinger the fourth . The KFV rose in the round 1956/57 from the 2nd division.

End of playing career, 1956–1960

For four years the technically outstanding Kurt Ehrmann directed the game of 1. FC Pforzheim in the 2. League South. Mostly as a left runner, he drove the game of his team. After the 1959/60 season , Kurt Ehrmann ended his playing career at the age of 38. His safe combination game, his skill on the ball, his skills as a gambler and team captain, as well as his ambition, which has not dried up even at an advanced age, convinced fellow players, club and fans in Pforzheim at the end of his career.

The national player, 1952

DFB commemorative medal, front

back

In February 1951, national coach Sepp Herberger was commissioned to build a German team for the soccer tournament of the 1952 Summer Olympics in Helsinki. The training of the future Olympians turned out to be difficult because courses lasting several weeks were not possible. It was enough for only one week in August 1951, another week in March 1952, as well as three additional half-week courses. Sepp Herberger looked out for suitable players, sometimes with the help of the association sports teachers. “Kaddel” Ehrmann played himself into the national coach's field of vision not least because of his performances during the championship finals for amateurs in 1951. He gave him the following advice, which the 84-year-old Kurt Ehrmann will still remember: "Ehrmann, let yourself be smoke, do something for the air, then let yourself be my man." After these words the chain smoker Kurt Ehrmann renounced the Cigarettes and added additional endurance runs to its program. He wanted to go to the Olympics and to join the newly formed amateur national team. His effort was worth it. The DFB nominated him for Helsinki. In the spring of 1952, national coach Herberger showed his amateurs his trust in a very special way. He invited the entire storm even before his amateur national team debut to the A international match on April 20, 1952 against Luxembourg. Matthias Mauritz was only replaced on the right winger by Schalke Bernhard Klodt due to a short-term injury . The storm of the national team in the 3-0 victory in Luxembourg was as follows: Klodt, Georg Stollenwerk (Düren 99), Hans Zeitler (VfB Bayreuth), Willi Schröder (Bremen 1860) and Kurt Ehrmann (Karlsruher FV). It was an international test of the storm for the first amateur international match of the DFB on May 14, 1952 in Düsseldorf against Great Britain. In the amateur national team's debut game in Düsseldorf, which ended with a 2-1 victory, national coach Sepp Herberger deployed eleven players from the definitive Olympic squad. Kurt Ehrmann formed the left wing with Willi Schröder. The Olympic tournament in Finland was a formative event for Kurt Ehrmann. Not only the games played remained in the memory, but rather the flight from Hamburg to Helsinki, the emotional reception by the organizers with the national anthem and the move into the team quarters.

Training break for the Olympic squad in 1952, Sepp Herberger in front left

The care, recruitment and training by national trainer Sepp Herberger and his assistant Herbert Widmayer as well as the care by masseur Erich Deuser were not comparable to the processes practiced in the clubs.

Moments that put the idea of ​​competition behind in football tournaments were the two games of the Golden Elf from Budapest that were watched as spectators . Kurt Ehrmann's eyes shone when Ferenc Puskás described the shooting technique . Great impressions for Kurt Ehrmann outside of the football tournament were Heinz Ulzheimer's 800-meter runs for the bronze medal and Emil Zátopek's entry into the Olympic Stadium when he won the marathon. Kurt Ehrmann's two appearances against Yugoslavia and Sweden in the Olympic tournament are also unforgettable. The international class of the Yugoslav team had already shown itself two years earlier at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil. Beara , Horvat , Čajkovski and Bobek were there in both Brazil and Helsinki. The Olympians Boškov and Zebec subsequently demonstrated their skills at the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. It wasn't much different with the Swedes. With Kalle Svensson , Lennart Samuelsson and Erik Nilsson , they too provided players who had already participated in the World Cup in Brazil. At the Olympics in Helsinki, Bengt "Julle" Gustavsson , the stopper of the 1958 World Cup, was called up on the Swedish side .

In 1955, Sepp Herberger expressed his appreciation for the Olympic team from 1952 in the Fritz Walter book “Games I will never forget” with the following words: “Dear Fritz! They ask me about the game that I remember most. From the multitude of individual images, the soccer tournament of the Olympic Games in Helsinki and the World Cup in Switzerland arise - outshining everything. Helsinki ... for me this is our young Olympic team, which came out of nowhere, whose excellent performances and great successes were supported by the forces of camaraderie and team spirit. ”After the Olympic Games, Kurt Ehrmann received offers from Holstein Kiel, Werder Bremen , Eintracht Braunschweig, the Stuttgarter Kickers and the Freiburger FC. Kurt Ehrmann, who had been married to his young wife from Durlach since January 30, 1951, was a young father and employee of the Baden State Insurance Institute in Karlsruhe, remained loyal to Karlsruhe and the KFV.

Trainer, 1953-1975

On May 30, 1953, Kurt Ehrmann successfully passed his soccer teacher exam under the supervision of Sepp Herberger and Hennes Weisweiler at the Schöneck sports school . Kurt Ehrmann already looked after amateur clubs in the Karlsruhe area with TSV Ellmendingen and FC Jöhlingen during his active time as a soccer player. Kurt Ehrmann won the South Baden Cup with VfB Bühl in 1962. He led ASV Durlach from the A-class back to the 1st amateur league. Until his death on August 2, 2013, Kurt Ehrmann was most cordially connected to the association at the foot of the Turmberg. The 16-day trip to America in 1972 with FVgg Weingarten was also one of the special impressions of his coaching days .

swell

• Information meetings in July 2006 with Kurt Ehrmann and inspection of the documents in his soccer archive.
• 90 years of Karlsruhe football club, KFV chronicle, Josef Frey, Karlsruhe, 1981.
• South German Football Association V. (Ed.): 100 Years of the South German Football Association. Vindelica publishing house. Gersthofen 1997.
• 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 .
• Hardy Greens : From the Crown Prince to the Bundesliga . In: Encyclopedia of German League Football . tape 1 . AGON, Kassel 1996, ISBN 3-928562-85-1 .
• Raphael Keppel : Germany's international football matches. Documentation from 1908–1989. Sport- und Spielverlag Hitzel, Hürth 1989, ISBN 3-9802172-4-8 .
• Jürgen Bitter : Germany's national soccer player: the lexicon . SVB Sportverlag, Berlin 1997, ISBN 3-328-00749-0 .
• Karl-Heinz Heimann, Karl-Heinz Jens: KICKER-Almanach 1980. Copress-Verlag Munich.
• Rupert Kaiser: Olympic Almanac 1896-2000. AGON Sportverlag. Kassel 2000. ISBN 3-89784-182-7 .

Web links

Commons : Kurt Ehrmann  - Collection of images, videos and audio files