Fritz Korbach (18 July 1945 – 14 August 2011) was a German professional
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 and manager. He was particularly well known in the Netherlands, where he served eleven different teams, including
FC Wageningen
FC Wageningen (before 1978 ''Wageningen'' and ''WVV Wageningen'') was a Dutch football club which was founded on 27 August 1911., The club played its matches in the Wageningse Berg stadium.
Its first success came on 18 June 1939, when the team w ...
,
FC Zwolle
PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...
,
FC Volendam
Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...
,
FC Twente
Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...
,
SC Cambuur
SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...
,
Go Ahead Eagles
Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...
,
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
,
De Graafschap
VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football.
It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...
,
Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...
,
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.
Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...
(where his management spell famously lasted only two days),
Rohda Raalte
Rohda Raalte is a football club from Raalte, Netherlands. Rohda Raalte plays in the 2017–18 Sunday Eerste Klasse
The Eerste Klasse ( en, First Class) started as the 1st tier of football in the Netherlands and is now the 6th tier. The league ...
and
Harkemase Boys
Harkemase Boys is a football club from Harkema, Netherlands. The club plays in the Derde Divisie since 2016, when it won a section championship in the Hoofdklasse.
History
On 27 October 2021, they became one of 3 Derde Divisie teams to advance ...
.
Playing career
As a player, Korbach was active for Dutch amateur clubs ZSC Patria and SV Baarn.'Fritz Korbach moet vooral uit de media blijven' by
Johan Derksen
Johannes Gerrit "Johan" Derksen (born 31 January 1949) is a Dutch sports journalist and former football player. He played professional football between 1966 and 1978 for six clubs: Go Ahead Eagles, Cambuur, Veendam, HFC Haarlem, SV Meppen and MVV ...
, ''
Voetbal International
''Voetbal International'' (VI) is a Dutch football magazine. It is the oldest Dutch football magazine that is still running.
History and Profile
''Voetbal International'' was established in 1965. VI was one of the founding members of ESM but l ...
''; 12 November 2007
Management career
Assistant at FC Utrecht
In 1970, Korbach was appointed assistant to
Bert Jacobs
Bert Jacobs (March 5, 1941 – November 14, 1999) was a Dutch football manager, who played for HFC Haarlem. Jacobs was a football trainer at a young age, worked for Roda JC, FC Utrecht, Fortuna Sittard, Vitesse Arnhem, RKC Waalwijk and Sporting ...
at the newly formed club
FC Utrecht
Football Club Utrecht () is a Dutch professional football club based in Utrecht. The club competes in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, and plays its home matches at the Stadion Galgenwaard.
The club was formed in 1970 as a merge ...
. Prior to that, he had been co-trainer with the predecessor
USV Elinkwijk
Utrechtse Sportvereniging Elinkwijk, known as USV Elinkwijk is a Dutch football club, based in Utrecht. It played professional football during the years 1955–1970. Marco van Basten was a player of the club during his youth years.
History
The ...
, as assistant of
Evert Mur
Evert is a Dutch and Swedish short form of the Germanic masculine name "Everhard" (alternative Eberhard).Evert at the .
FC Wageningen
The football instructor had his first post as manager at the
FC Wageningen
FC Wageningen (before 1978 ''Wageningen'' and ''WVV Wageningen'') was a Dutch football club which was founded on 27 August 1911., The club played its matches in the Wageningse Berg stadium.
Its first success came on 18 June 1939, when the team w ...
, At the end of his first season, he led Wageningen in winning the playoffs and securing promotion to the Eredivisie. Wageningen's first season ever in the Eredivisie was not successful; the club relegated in 1975.
PEC Zwolle
At 1 February 1977, it was announced that Korbach would start as
PEC Zwolle
PEC Zwolle is a Dutch football club based in Zwolle, Netherlands. They play in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football, following relegation from the Eredivisie in the 2021–22 season. They have played in the Eredivisie for a total ...
's new manager.nieuwe trainer PEC
De Telegraaf; 1 February 1977 Given his experience at both Dutch tiers, and his ideas on scouting and youth programs, he was the most fit of the twelve candidates.
After one of the first matches in the 1977–78 season, Korbach attracted the anger of
Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...
-coach
Hennie Hollink
Hendrikus ("Hennie") Hollink (1 October 1931 in Glanerbrug, Overijssel – 31 January 2018) was a football (soccer) player and manager from the Netherlands, who played for Roda JC, FC Twente and Heracles Almelo. He played professional football him ...
, who threw a glass of lemonade in the face of Korbach, and slapped Korbach's face afterwards. They reconciled a few days later. After this incident, Korbach's team (with
Rinus Israel
Rinus is a male given name, usually short for Marinus and popular in the Netherlands, and may refer to:
*Rinus Bennaars (born 1931), retired Dutch footballer
*Rinus Gerritsen (born 1946), Dutch bassist
*Rinus Gosens (born 1920), retired football ...
Uri Banhoffer
Uruguay Gustavo Graffigna Banhoffer, also known as Uri Banhoffer or Yuri Banhoffer (14 January 1948 – 12 March 2021) was a Uruguayan footballer who played for clubs in Uruguay, Chile, the Netherlands and the United States. He died from COVID-1 ...
and
Ron Jans
Ron Jans (, born 29 September 1958) is a Dutch football coach and former player, he currently is the head coach of Twente.
Coaching career
FC Groningen
Born in Zwolle, Overijssel, Ron Jans joined FC Groningen on 2002, and was the longest-serv ...
), became the champion of the
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
and promoted to the Eredivisie. In its debut in the highest class of the Netherlands the team reached the eighth place.
Korbach kept the club regularly safe from the relegation (with a 2–1 win against
Feyenoord
Feyenoord Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club in Rotterdam, which plays in the Eredivisie, the top tier in Dutch football. Founded as Wilhelmina in 1908, the club changed to various names before settling on being called after its ...
in his last season), before he signed at
FC Volendam
Football Club Volendam () is a professional Association football, football club based in Volendam, Netherlands. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football league system, Dutch football from the 2022–23 season following promotion ...
for the 1982–83 season. During his time at PEC Zwolle,
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
wanted to contract Korbach. However, when the Amsterdam board consulted with then-PEC Zwolle chairman Jan Wiersma, Korbach stormed the boardroom, asking 'at what time the fucking would start.' After that, Korbach never heard anything again from Ajax.
FC Volendam
With Volendam his goal was to promote from the
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
. Under Korbach, the tall defender
Kees Guyt
Kees Guyt (14 October 1953 – 30 March 2012) was a Dutch football player and coach.
Career
Guyt began his career as an amateur with VV Katwijk, before playing as a professional with FC Volendam and AZ.
He later became a coach with a number of ...
became a forwarder, thus scoring eleven goals.In memoriam: Fritz Korbach FC Volendam website; 15 August 2011Frank Kramer returned to the club and became the top scorer of Volendam with 14 goals. With a 0–2 victory in the last match against FC VVV the team secured a second place behind DS'79 in the league, and Korbach's goal was achieved.
FC Twente
Despite this, the club and the coach parted ways, and
FC Twente
Football Club Twente () is a Dutch professional football club from the city of Enschede, sometimes known internationally as Twente Enschede. The club was formed in 1965 by the merger of 1926 Dutch champions Sportclub Enschede with Enschedese Bo ...
lured Korbach to
Enschede
Enschede (; known as in the local Twents dialect) is a municipality and city in the eastern Netherlands in the province of Overijssel and in the Twente region. The eastern parts of the urban area reaches the border of the German city of Gronau ...
for 1983–84 season. Twente had relegated in the previous year and wanted the immediate promotion. Korbach's sense of humor and enthusiasm worked well on FC Twente's selection; within one year Twente was back at the highest level. For the fourth time in succession Korbach promoted to the Eredivisie.Trainers van FC Twente FC Twente website After two more rather uneventful seasons at Twente, Korbach decided to leave after an 8–1 defeat against
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
.
SC Cambuur
SC Cambuur
SC Cambuur, also known as Cambuur Leeuwarden, or simply Cambuur, () is a Dutch football club from the city of Leeuwarden formed on 19 June 1964. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, after winning the 2020–21 Ee ...
, who needed a new manager after Simon Kistemaker left for DS'79, then secured Korbach's services as a manager for season 1986–87. Korbach gave confidence to his players and maintained a good relationship with the board. The atmosphere in the club improved and spectators found the way to the stadium again.Succesjaar van Korbach ondanks fikse domper by Henk Hielkema; Nieuwsblad van het Noorden, 22 June 1987 Korbach developed a special game style, which had all the charms of English football: little fuss, attacking, demanding a lot of effort and a heartbreaking enthusiasm. It became a spectacular season, with Cambuur scoring 80 goals in 36 matches.De jaren '80 Cambuur Homepage However, this time Korbach's team ended third, two points short for promotion. The promotion competition was all that remained. On 18 June 1987, the deciding contest between Korbach's Cambuur and Kistemaker's DS'79 was played in the Cambuur Stadium, filled with 16,000 spectators. DS controlled the match and was already halfway the match at 0–2. Willem van der Ark was given a chance to change the odds when Cambuur was awarded a penalty, but failed hopelessly.
Go Ahead Eagles
The 1987–88 season was very disappointing. Cambuur finished eleventh and Korbach left for
Go Ahead Eagles
Go Ahead Eagles () are a Dutch professional football club from the city of Deventer. They play in the Eredivisie, the top tier of Dutch football, having achieved promotion from the second tier Eerste Divisie in the 2020-21 season. The club's h ...
in
Deventer
Deventer (; Sallands: ) is a city and municipality in the Salland historical region of the province of Overijssel, Netherlands. In 2020, Deventer had a population of 100,913. The city is largely situated on the east bank of the river IJssel, bu ...
. As with many clubs before, he once again had the task of leading the club into the Eredivisie, this time with the help of his assistant
Henk ten Cate
Hendrik Willem ten Cate (born 9 December 1954) is a Dutch football manager and former professional player.
In the 2005–06 season, he was assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona when the team won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles. ...
.
SC Heerenveen
After less than two years without success, Korbach found a new challenge at
SC Heerenveen
Sportclub Heerenveen (; West Frisian: Sportklub It Hearrenfean) is a Dutch football club from Heerenveen. They currently play in the Eredivisie, the top level of football in the Netherlands.
History
Sportclub Heerenveen was founded on 20 July ...
before his second season ended. Although only 16th place in the second Dutch league was reached, the club rose to the Eredivisie by the play-offs for the first time in history. However, the club relegated the next year.
One of Korbach's skills was his talent to teach his players tactics in a simple yet charismatic and humorous way. As player
René van der Gijp
René van der Gijp (born 4 April 1961) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for Sparta Rotterdam, Lokeren, PSV, Neuchâtel Xamax, Aarau and Heerenveen, as well as for the Netherlands national team. Since r ...
recalled: "If he is talking about tactics, the trashman at the corner of the street understands it too." This talent had a downside: in a February 1991 interview, Korbach called player
Bryan Roy
Bryan Eduard Steven Roy (born 12 February 1970) is a Dutch football manager and a former professional player.
As a player he was a winger and notably played for Ajax, Nottingham Forest and Hertha BSC. His spell at Forest culminated in three Pre ...
("een kleine rotneger"; "a putrid little negro"),
Romário
Romário de Souza Faria Figueiredo (born 29 January 1966), known simply as Romário (), is a Brazilian politician and a former professional footballer. A prolific striker renowned for his clinical finishing, he scored over 750 goals and was ...
("die koffieboon van PSV", "that
coffee bean
A coffee bean is a seed of the ''Coffea'' plant and the source for coffee. It is the pip inside the red or purple fruit often referred to as a coffee cherry. Just like ordinary cherries, the coffee fruit is also a so-called stone fruit. Even thou ...
Simon Tahamata
Simon Melkianus Tahamata (born 26 May 1956) is a Dutch-Moluccan Association football, football coach and former professional player who played for Dutch and Belgian clubs. He also played 22 times for the Netherlands national football team, Dutch n ...
("treinkaper"; " train hijacker"). In the 1991–92 season the team finished third in the Eerste Divisie, nearly missing the promotion. Therefore, Korbach was replaced by
Foppe de Haan
Foppe Geert de Haan (, born 26 June 1943) is a Dutch football coach. He is known for his long association with Frisian club SC Heerenveen. De Haan was the manager of the Tuvalu national football team during 2011 and then rejoined Heerenveen's ...
in October 1992. After exactly ten years, the coach went back to the struggling FC Volendam in November. Under Korbach, the club remained unbeaten the next fifteen matches, finishing in the Eredivisie at a sixth place. After a bad start in the following season, he resigned and returned to SC Cambuur in October 1993.
De Graafschap
Korbach signed a second time with SC Cambuur-Leeuwarden and stayed with the Leeuwarden club for two years. After the 1994 relegation, they failed tot return to the first league in 1995. Between November 1995 and December 1998 he supervised the
De Graafschap
VBV De Graafschap () is a professional football club from Doetinchem, Netherlands, playing in the Eerste Divisie, the second tier of Dutch football.
It was formed on 1 February 1954 and they play their home games at the De Vijverberg stadium. ...
. At the beginning of the 1996–97 season, coach Fritz Korbach bluffed that they would finish 8th in the Eredivisie.Graafschap vormt Korbach tot Achterhoeker ''De Volkskrant'' 21 October 1996, With new players such as
Eric Viscaal
Eric Viscaal (born 20 March 1968) is a former football player from the Netherlands, who played much of his career as a forward in Belgium (Beveren, KAA Gent, KV Mechelen). He earned five caps for the Dutch national team and was part of their squ ...
and
Hans van de Haar
Johannes "Hans" van de Haar (born February 1, 1975) is a Dutch football manager and former player. He currently manages Tweede Divisie club TEC
Professional career Netherlands, Austria & Germany
Van de Haar was born in Amersfoort. He played ...
, mixed with regional players, the team played a good exhibition match against
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football.
Founded ...
and then continued to play well. After a win on PSV and a draw in the
Amsterdam Arena
The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...
, the team was even in third place. Eventually they finished at an eight place, just as Korbach predicted.
Two days at Sparta
In 1999, Korbach took over the trainer's office at
Heracles Almelo
Heracles Almelo is a Dutch professional football club based in Almelo, founded in 1903. The club has won the Dutch national title twice, in 1927 and 1941. Heracles won the Eerste Divisie title during the 2004–05 season, gaining promotion to th ...
. After two years in Almelo, he paused from 2001 to 2003 before
Sparta Rotterdam
Sparta Rotterdam () is a Dutch professional football club based in Rotterdam. Established on 1 April 1888, Sparta Rotterdam is the oldest professional football team in the Netherlands.
Sparta currently compete in the Eredivisie, the top flight ...
secured the coach's services. There, Korbach was to prevent the descent from the Eredivisie. The coach stayed only two days. The reason for this was that his doctor advised him to avoid stress, and Korbach had already given up the job after two training sessions.
Amateur clubs
At the 2003–04 season, he worked for the Dutch amateur club
Rohda Raalte
Rohda Raalte is a football club from Raalte, Netherlands. Rohda Raalte plays in the 2017–18 Sunday Eerste Klasse
The Eerste Klasse ( en, First Class) started as the 1st tier of football in the Netherlands and is now the 6th tier. The league ...
. In the summer of 2005, he ventured for the first time to train a team outside the Netherlands. The
Indonesia
Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...
n club
PSM Makassar
Persatuan Sepakbola Makassar ( 'Football Association of Makassar'; abbreviated as PSM) is an Indonesian professional football club based in Makassar, South Sulawesi that competes in Liga 1. PSM was founded in 1915 as , making it the oldest ...
lured the German to Asia. It was hoped that he would win the
Indonesia Super League
Liga 1 ( en, League 1), also known as BRI Liga 1 for sponsorship reasons with Bank Rakyat Indonesia, is the men's top professional football division of the Indonesian football league system. Administered by the PT Liga Indonesia Baru (), Liga 1 i ...
. This did not happen and Korbach returned to the Netherlands. On 26 October 2006, he succeeded Pieter Bijl at the subclass association
Harkemase Boys
Harkemase Boys is a football club from Harkema, Netherlands. The club plays in the Derde Divisie since 2016, when it won a section championship in the Hoofdklasse.
History
On 27 October 2021, they became one of 3 Derde Divisie teams to advance ...
for a short while.
Death
Early 2011,
Throat Cancer
Head and neck cancer develops from tissues in the lip and oral cavity (mouth), larynx (throat), salivary glands, nose, sinuses or the skin of the face. The most common types of head and neck cancers occur in the lip, mouth, and larynx. Symptoms ...
was detected at Korbach at an advanced stage. In the summer of that year, the diagnosis followed that he had only few months to live. On 14 August 2011, he died from the consequences of a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. The stadium of Cambuur Leeuwarden was used as the s memorial service for Fritz Korbach. FC Twente held a minute of silence for the Champions League play-off-match against Benfica, since, as Twente coach
Co Adriaanse
Co Adriaanse (born 21 July 1947) is a Dutch football manager and former player who played as a centre-back.
Playing career
As a professional player, Adriaanse played for six seasons with (now dissolved) De Volewijckers (from 1964 until 1970) and ...
said: "I told the players that Fritz Korbach has been one of the best Dutch trainers of the last thirty years, and in addition a former coach of FC Twente."
Legacy
Korbach became well known for leading mediocre
Eerste Divisie
The Eerste Divisie (, en, First Division) is the second-highest tier of football in the Netherlands. It is linked with the top-level Eredivisie and with the third-level Tweede Divisie via promotion/relegation systems. It is also known as the ...
sides to the
Eredivisie
The Eredivisie (; ''"Honour Division"'' or ''"Premier Division"'') is the highest level of professional football in the Netherlands. The league was founded in 1956, two years after the start of professional football in the Netherlands. It is c ...
. This sudden change in achievements has become known in the Netherlands as the 'Korbach-effect'.Voetbaltrainer Fritz Korbach overleden historiek.net; 14 August 2011