Max Link

Max Link (* July 5, 1928 ; † May 23, 2018 ) was a German soccer player who, as an active member of TSV 1860 Munich, played 112 league games in what was then the first-class soccer Oberliga Süd from 1948 to 1956 and scored 32 goals. The player, who was used alternately in midfield or in attack in the then predominantly practiced World Cup system, was appointed by the DFB to play in the national B team in 1955 . In the 1954/55 season he won the championship in the 2nd League South with the "Lions" and returned to the Oberliga South with the "Blues".

career

Beginnings and Munich 1860, until 1957

The 20-year-old Max Link came to TSV Munich 1860 for the 1948/49 season via the stations FC Bajuwaren, Perlach and Bamberg. The DFB had now introduced the so-called “contract player statute” . This made it possible for the first time legally to allow players to receive a monthly remuneration up to a maximum of DM 320 if the player continued to exercise a "civilian profession". In addition to Link, the two goalkeepers Werner Kisker (FC Schalke 04) and Josef Strauss from their own “Löwen” offspring joined the top division of the “Blauen”. Although 1860 could not repeat the runner-up of the previous year, when it reached fourth place, one point behind local rivals FC Bayern, the attack line was so heavily occupied with Helmut Fottner , Engelbert Schmidhuber , Otto Thanner , Ludwig Janda , Alois Hornauer and Hans Brück that Link was only used in three league games under coach Max Schäfer . From his second "Löwen" year, 1949/50, Link belonged to the regular formation and completed 25 league games in which he scored nine goals. Weakened by the departures of Georg Bayerer and Ludwig Janda, only ninth place could be taken.

When Link scored 13 goals in the league round in 1950/51 and made the most accurate attack in the southern league with 97 goals in 1860, the Schäfer team reached sixth place with 42:26 points. With the six attackers Ludwig Zausinger , Kurt Mondschein , Thanner, Link, Kurt Lauxmann and Fottner, the Munich team also defeated champions 1. FC Nürnberg (2: 1) and runner-up SpVgg Fürth (4: 2) in the home games. The away game on December 9, 1950 at 1. FC Nürnberg was won 6-0. When in the 1952/53 season Link was only able to make eleven missions without scoring due to an injury, the "Lions" under coach Fred Harthaus rose with 24:36 points as the penultimate from the league.

Coach Schäfer returned and in the second round in the 2nd League South, 1954/55, the championship and thus the return to the Oberliga Süd succeeded. In addition to the 25-time goalscorer Kurt Mondschein, Link played a major role in this success and was appointed to the national B team as a second division player by the DFB. The returnee in the league could not manage 1955/56 but relegation. With 19:41 points rose in 1860 as bottom of the table back in the 2nd League South. Link had played again in 22 league games and scored six goals; the careers of Johann Auernhammer and Alfons Stemmer began. His last league game completed Link on April 8, 1956 in a 1: 2 home defeat against Kickers Offenbach.

Because of a disc damage, he had to end his playing career in 1957. His grave is in the Perlach cemetery on Putzbrunner Strasse in Munich.

Selection appointments

When the German B national team scored 1-1 against the English professionals in Sheffield on March 23, 1955, the second division player Link von 1860 München formed the DFB-Elf runners as the right wing runner with Rudolf Hoffmann and Richard Gottinger . At the end of the round, Link was part of the squad for the international match on May 28, 1955 in Hamburg against Ireland (2-1). But it was not brought into action. The last time Link came into contact with the DFB squad was as a participant in a screening course from July 11, 1955 at the Grünberg sports school. After that, his selection appointments ended.

literature

• Hardy Grüne , Lorenz Knieriem: Encyclopedia of German League Football. Volume 8: Player Lexicon 1890–1963. AGON-Sportverlag, Kassel 2006, ISBN 3-89784-148-7 .
• 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 Grüne, Claus Melchior: Legends in White and Blue. 100 years of football history for a traditional Munich club. Verlag Die Werkstatt, Göttingen 1999, ISBN 3-89533-256-9 .