Jürgen Croy (born 19 October 1946) is a former

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 ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

. He made 86 appearances for the German Democratic Republic national team.

Club career

Born in

Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...

, Germany, Croy spent his entire footballing career at BSG Sachsenring Zwickau (today

FSV Zwickau FSV Zwickau is a German association football club located in Zwickau, Saxony. Today's club claims as part of its complex heritage sides that were East Germany's first champions: 1948 Ostzone winners SG Planitz and 1950 DDR-Oberliga champions ZSG ...

), with which he won the East German Cup in 1967 and 1975. He was one of East Germany's few international players not to play for a top club such as

Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...

FC Carl Zeiss Jena FC Carl Zeiss Jena is a German football club based in Jena, Thuringia. Formed in 1903 and initially associated with the Carl Zeiss AG factory, they were one of the strongest clubs in East Germany from the 1960s to the 1980s, winning the DDR-Obe ...

, or

FC Magdeburg 1. FC Magdeburg is a German association football club based in the city of Magdeburg. The club was founded in 1965 and spent all but one season in East Germany top flight, the DDR-Oberliga, winning three championships and seven cup titles. It ...

. As such, Croy did not get the chance to play frequently in European competitions and did not gain the international fame he deserved. Though tall (186 cm), he was an outstanding shot-stopper capable of amazing reflexes on his line. Combined with an excellent command of his penalty area, first-rate ball-handling skills, and above-average consistency, this quality made Croy one of the best goalkeepers of his time and arguably one of the best ever. East and West German media alike often placed him on an equal footing with his contemporaries

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and

Dino Zoff Dino Zoff (; born 28 February 1942) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the oldest ever winner of the World Cup, which he earned as captain of the Italian national team in the 1982 tournament, at th ...

, two of the game's all-time legends. Croy was voted GDR Footballer of the Year in 1972, 1976, and 1978 by the East German football press. He played 372 East Germany first-division matches in his career.

International career

Croy earned his first

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

in May 1967 against

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(1–0). He was the starting goalkeeper during East Germany's only

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

appearance in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

. In particular, Croy stood in goal for the GDR's historic 1–0 victory over its

West German 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 ...

neighbor in the only match ever to oppose the two Germany national teams. Two years later, Croy celebrated his greatest sporting triumph with the win of the gold medal in the

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

football tournament. Croy went on to play 86 times for his country, the last one a 5–0 victory over

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in May 1981.

Post-playing life

At the end of his footballing career, Croy worked as a football instructor for some time. From 1991 to 2001, he served as city commissioner for education, culture, and sports in his hometown of

. He then became the managing director of the Zwickau Chamber of Commerce, Tourism, and Culture until his retirement in 2010.

References

External links

* * *
Jürgen Croy profile
at goalkeepersaredifferent.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Croy, Jurgen 1946 births Living people People from Zwickau German footballers East German footballers Footballers from Saxony Association football goalkeepers Footballers at the 1972 Summer Olympics 1974 FIFA World Cup players Footballers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Olympic footballers of East Germany Olympic gold medalists for East Germany Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany East Germany international footballers FSV Zwickau players Olympic medalists in football DDR-Oberliga players Medalists at the 1976 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1972 Summer Olympics FSV Zwickau managers Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver East German football managers People from Bezirk Karl-Marx-Stadt