Andreas Kupfer (7 May 1914, in

Schweinfurt Schweinfurt ( , ; ) is a city in the district of Lower Franconia in Bavaria, Germany. It is the administrative centre of the surrounding district (''Landkreis'') of Schweinfurt and a major industrial, cultural and educational hub. The urban agg ...

– 30 April 2001, in

Marktbreit Marktbreit am Main () is a town in the district of Kitzingen in the Regierungsbezirk Unterfranken in Bavaria, Germany. It is situated at the most southern point of the Main river. Marktbreit is the birthplace of Alois Alzheimer who first identi ...

) was a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player.

Career

Kupfer played for

VfR 07 Schweinfurt Verein für Rasenspiele 1907 Schweinfurt e.V., called VfR 07 Schweinfurt, VfR Schweinfurt, or simply VfR 07, was a German association football club established in Schweinfurt (Bavaria) in 1907. The club dissolved in 2015 after it had gone bank ...

until 1933 and then joined

1. FC Schweinfurt 05 1. Fussball-Club Schweinfurt 1905, Verein für Leibesübungen e.V., called 1. FC Schweinfurt 05, Schweinfurt 05, or simply FC 05, is a German association football club established in Schweinfurt (Bavaria) in 1905. It has sections for netball, f ...

for the rest of his career. On the national level he played for Germany national team (44 matches/1 goal), and was a participant at the

1938 FIFA World Cup The 1938 FIFA World Cup was the third edition of the World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams and was held in France from 4 June until 19 June 1938. Italy defended its title in the final, beat ...

. Kupfer was one of two

FC Schweinfurt 05 1. Fussball-Club Schweinfurt 1905, Verein für Leibesübungen e.V., called 1. FC Schweinfurt 05, Schweinfurt 05, or simply FC 05, is a German association football club established in Schweinfurt (Bavaria) in 1905. It has sections for netball, f ...

players featured in the Breslau Elf that beat Denmark 8:0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 out 11 games played during that year. 'Ander' Kupfer was one of the best half backs in the history of German football and is the only player to have played Germany's last international game before the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

(played in 1942) and the first one after the war (in 1950). Kupfer became famous in German football as a left-footed right half and together with his Schweinfurt club colleague

Albin Kitzinger Albin Kitzinger (1 February 1912 in Schweinfurt – 6 August 1970) was a German football player. He played his whole career for 1. FC Schweinfurt 05. Career On the national level he played for Germany national team (44 matches/2 goals), ...

formed the best half back duo in German football. Playing between the two-halves was center half

Ludwig Goldbrunner Ludwig Goldbrunner (5 March 1908 – 26 September 1981) was a German footballer. He began playing for his home club Bayern Munich in 1927, with whom he won the German championship in 1932. Career Goldbrunner played as a centre half 39 times for ...

and this trio was considered the best assembly of halves during the time Germany played the 2-3-5 system.Bitter, Jürgen. ''Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler'', Sportverlag, 1997, p. 272. Kupfer was a player that fascinated the crowds with his elegant ways of playing. He was a master of kicking the ball with just moving his ankle joint. In 1938 he was called up to play for the

Europe XI The Europe XI is an association football scratch team mainly consisting of players from the UEFA region but, on occasion, players hailing from other continents playing for European teams are invited to play. The European XI play one-off games agai ...

against England at

Highbury Stadium Arsenal Stadium was a football stadium in Highbury, London, which was the home of Arsenal Football Club between 6 September 1913 and 7 May 2006. It was popularly known as "Highbury" due to its location and was given the affectionate nickname ...

on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the

Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world an ...

. He finished his active career in 1954 after having played in over 650 games for 1. FC Schweinfurt 05. In his 1978 book ''Fussball'',

Helmut Schön Helmut Schön (15 September 1915 – 23 February 1996) was a German football player and manager. He is best remembered for his exceptional career as manager of the West German national team in four consecutive World Cup tournaments, including ...

characterised Kupfer as follows: ''As an outside half he was a player who certainly would be a regular in our midfield today. I would have been glad if we could have had a player like him in our ranks in Argentina. When he played behind me, with his hardness, deftness and pace, I felt absolutely safe upfront. Kupfer's left foot was stronger than his right; when he moved with the ball from the right side to the center, he played diagonal passes with his left foot towards the right wing, which tore apart the defense. An exceptionally gifted player.'' Kupfer was the last member of the Breslau Elf to die, in 2001.

Honours

Club

Gauliga Bayern The Gauliga Bayern was the highest association football league in the German state of Bavaria from 1933 to 1945. Shortly after the formation of the league, the Nazis reorganised the administrative regions in Germany, and the five ''Gaue'' ''Bayreu ...

** Champion: (2) 1938–39, 1941–42 ** ''Runner-up'': (2) 1936–37, 1942–43 *

Tschammerpokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...

** ''Semi-finalist'':

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Individual

: 1938

Trivia

Alongside with

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed ''The Mirac ...

and

Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany a ...

, in 1942 Kupfer acted in the

Robert A. Stemmle Robert Adolf Stemmle (10 June 1903 – 24 February 1974) was a German screenwriter and film director. He wrote for more than 80 films between 1932 and 1967. He also directed 46 films between 1934 and 1970. His 1959 film '' Die unvollkommen ...

sports film The Big Game, starring

René Deltgen Renatus Heinrich Deltgen born 30 April 1909 in Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg; died 29 January 1979 in Cologne, West Germany) was a Luxembourgian stage and film actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance ...

Gustav Knuth Gustav Knuth (7 July 1901 – 1 February 1987) was a German film actor. He appeared in more than 120 films between 1935 and 1982 and starred in the TV series '' Alle meine Tiere''. He was married to the actress Elisabeth Lennartz. Selected ...

, and

Heinz Engelmann Heinz Engelmann (1911–1996) was a German film actor. He was married to the actress Gertrud Meyen. Selected filmography * '' D III 88'' (1939) * ''Drei Unteroffiziere'' (1939) * ''Congo Express'' (1939) * ''The Girl at the Reception'' (1940) * ...

References

* ;Notes {{DEFAULTSORT:Kupfer, Andreas 1914 births 2001 deaths People from Schweinfurt Sportspeople from Lower Franconia German footballers Germany international footballers 1938 FIFA World Cup players 1. FC Schweinfurt 05 players Association football midfielders Footballers from Bavaria