Erwin Kostedde (born 21 May 1946) is a German former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played as a striker.

Career

The son of a German mother and an African-American father, Kostedde was the first black player to play for

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

, and was the top scorer in the Belgian League in 1970–71 and in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

in 1979–80. He scored 98 goals in 218

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

matches. Kostedde won his first of three caps for West Germany in 1974.

Personal life

In 1990, Kostedde was accused of robbing an amusement hall, and spent six months in prison before being acquitted and receiving DM 3,000 compensation. In 1994, a

fanzine A fanzine (blend word, blend of ''fan (person), fan'' and ''magazine'' or ''-zine'') is a non-professional and non-official publication produced by fan (person), enthusiasts of a particular cultural phenomenon (such as a literary or musical genre) ...

at Kickers Offenbach was started and given the name 'Erwin' in Kostedde's honour. The fanzine lasted for 13 years and produced 65 editions. In 2021, Kostedde featured in ', a documentary detailing the experiences of

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

players in German professional football.

References

External links

* * * 1946 births Living people Sportspeople from Münster Association football forwards German footballers West German expatriate sportspeople in France Germany international footballers West German expatriate footballers West German footballers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Ligue 1 players Belgian Pro League players SC Preußen Münster players MSV Duisburg players Standard Liège players Kickers Offenbach players Hertha BSC players Borussia Dortmund players SG Union Solingen players Stade Lavallois players SV Werder Bremen players VfL Osnabrück players Expatriate footballers in Belgium Expatriate footballers in France German people of American descent German people of African-American descent Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia West German expatriate sportspeople in Belgium {{Germany-footy-forward-1940s-stub