Walter Eich

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Walter Eich (born May 27, 1925 ; † June 1, 2018 in Bern ) was a Swiss football goalkeeper .

Career

Eich played 13 years for the Bernese Young Boys and was considered the best goalkeeper in the club's history. He became particularly well known in the 1958 Cup final, when he played against Grasshoppers Zurich with a broken thumb . Since he broke his thumb during the game, he was given a hollow cattle horn on the pitch that was placed over his thumb. The Bernese won the game, thanks in part to Eich's commitment. In 1947, at the age of 22, Walter Eich moved from the Zurich Club Young Fellows to Bern, where the goalkeeper legend Maurice Glur was to be replaced. With Walter Eich, YB managed to return to the National League A, later two cup wins (1953 and 1958) and four championship titles in a row (1957, 1958, 1959, 1960).

Eich made a novelty in the European Cup on November 5, 1958, when he was substituted for substitute goalkeeper René Häfeli in the 61st minute of the European Cup game at MTK Budapest - presumably due to an injury . At this point in time, substitutions were not actually planned in football, so Walter Eich became the first player in the history of the European Cup to be substituted. The Bernese won the game 2-1.

National team

His calm, his catching ability, his enormous jumping ability and his excellent positional play made Eich one of the best goalies at a time when Switzerland had an above-average number of strong goalkeepers with Eugène Parlier , Georges Stuber , Antonio Permunian , Erwin Ballabio , Karl Elsener and others . Probably for this reason, «Wädu», as the spectators in Bern called him, only made five appearances in the national team. He made his international debut on May 16, 1951 in the 3-2 defeat by Wales in Wrexham . He played his fifth and last international match on April 25, 1954 in the 3: 5 defeat against Germany in Basel .

After football

The Zurich resident, who has now become a real Bernese and worked as a civil servant in the general management of the PTT and moved to Kandersteg after his retirement, made particular merits as a goalkeeper coach. The later YB goalies Eichenberger, Zurbuchen from the 1986 championship team and Pulver still speak of their trainer with great respect. At the age of 93, Eich died in Bern in early June 2018.

societies

titles and achievements

  • Swiss champions: 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960
  • Swiss Cup: 1953, 1958

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The BSC Young Boys mourns Walter Eich. Berner Sport Club Young Boys, June 4, 2018, accessed June 5, 2018 .
  2. ^ A b Charles Beuret: Walter Eich died at the age of 93 - a long life for YB. In: Neue Zürcher Zeitung from June 5, 2018.
personal data
SURNAME Eich, Walter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wedu
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss football goalkeeper
DATE OF BIRTH May 27, 1925
DATE OF DEATH June 1, 2018
Place of death Bern , Switzerland