Kurt Neumann (soccer player)

Kurt Neumann (born November 11, 1923 in Duisburg ; † June 13, 2014 ) was a German football player . For many years he was the team captain of Meidericher SV , for which he completed 216 games in the Oberliga West . He is the record player of the MSV in the league.

Career

Youth and beginnings at Meiderich (until 1949)

Neumann grew up in the northern Ruhr area and started playing soccer at the age of eleven. As a child he went to Meidericher SV from Duisburg , in whose youth team he initially took on the role of goalkeeper . Due to the clear superiority that usually existed over the opponents, he felt under-challenged and therefore asked his coach to make him an outfield player. However, this request was not granted to him, which is why he decided in 1940 to switch to local rivals SpVgg Meiderich 06 . In this, the A-youth made the leap into the first team.

Shortly after his move, he was forced to interrupt his football career as he was drafted into the army due to World War II . He fought at the front, was captured and returned to his homeland in 1945. Immediately after his arrival he was accepted back into the Meiderich team in 1906, but he was recruited by his former club Meiderich SV in the following winter 1945/46. The move to the neighboring club was so controversial that Neumann said he was even pelted with bricks. At the age of 22 at the time, he immediately became a regular at MSV and some time later took over the captain's armband, which he wore for around 15 years.

With Meiderich in first and second league (1949–1963)

As a leading player in the team, he experienced the Meidericher's inclusion in the II. Division in 1949 , which, after the Oberliga West, was the second highest division of the then regionally limited league system. Neumann, who was employed full-time at the Deutsche Bundesbahn and, through his footballing existence, did not secure more than a considerable additional income even in the upper league, did not miss a single game in the first second division season. In addition, he was then a dangerous goal and scored six goals each in the seasons 1949/50 and 1950/51, although he was part of the defensive chain as a center runner ; In the top division, however, the number of hits fell significantly. In 1951, the team led by Neumann took first place in the table by a clear margin and thus made the promotion to the Oberliga West perfect. A team-mate who also went with the way to the league was Erich Neumann ; Although the two were not related, Kurt was also referred to as Neumann I for better differentiation .

After promotion to the highest league, he remained a firm top performer and attracted attention when top teams and their strikers faced Meiderich and he had to defend against them. He earned a reputation as a particularly strong player. In the following years he was able to keep up with his colleagues, even fourth place in 1953, until he was relegated again in 1955. This was particularly unfortunate, as the team as 15th and penultimate in the table were only four points behind Borussia Dortmund , fourth in the table . In 1956 the direct resurgence followed. Although he was well past 30 years and the team consisted mainly of very young players, he remained unchallenged; during the season 1959/60 he did not miss any of the 30 league matches. In the following season, however, he was ousted from the first team. In a reserve role, he remained loyal to the Meiderichern until they made the leap into the newly founded Bundesliga in the summer of 1963 . Although he wanted to continue the employment relationship, this contradicted the will of the association, which no longer planned with the almost 40-year-old. At the time of his departure, which took place after 216 disputed league games with six goals and 83 games with 19 goals in the second division, he was the oldest contract player in Germany. In addition, he holds another record as the most used MSV player in the Oberliga West.

After his contract with MSV expired, he wanted to continue playing football in the lower leagues, but a guideline of the DFB forced him to take an 18-month break during which he made his coaching license. He then worked as a trainer for Meiderich 1906, Schwarz-Weiß Alstaden and Wacker Dinslaken. At the age of 50 he finally retired from football. He lived in retirement in the Oberhausen district of Alstaden and died in 2014 at the age of 90.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Mourning Kurt Neumann: Mittelläufer died at the age of 90 . msv-duisburg.de, June 14, 2014
2. ↑ Dagmar Dahmen, Hermann Kewitz, Bernd Bemmann: MSV Duisburg - the chronicle: where Meiderich wins ... published by MSV Duisburg GmbH & Co. KGaA. Duisburg: Mercator-Verlag, 2nd edition, 2005; ISBN 3-87463-391-8 ; P. 213f.
3. ↑ Oberliga West ( Memento of the original from August 9, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , msv-archiv.de 
4. ↑ Tina Halberschmidt: Kurt Neumann, the first . tina-halberschmidt.de, December 22, 2011
5. ↑ “Our role model” - Kurt Neumann turns 90 . msv-duisburg.de, accessed on June 19, 2014.