Reinhold Münzenberg (25 January 1909 in

Walheim Walheim is a town in the district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany with a considerable viticulture. Besides the village Walheim there are no other places belonging to the municipal area of Walheim. Geography and climate Walheim is s ...

– 25 June 1986 in Aachen) 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 **Ge ...

football player, in the defender position.

Biography

Münzenberg spent most of his career with Alemannia Aachen (1927–1951) but also had spells with SV Werder Bremen and

LSV Hamburg Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg (literally: Airforce sports club Hamburg) was a short-lived military German association football club active during World War II and is notable as the most successful of the wartime military sides. History Military spor ...

as a ''Wartime Guest Player''. On the national level he played for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(41 matches, no goals), and was a participant at the

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...

and

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, bea ...

s. Münzenberg was a member of the Breslau Eleven that beat Denmark 8–0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 out 11 games played during that year. He was also part of Germany's squad at the 1936 Summer Olympics. Münzenberg was considered to be one of the best and most athletic German defensive players of the 1930s. He started his career as a center half, a role in which the physically strong Münzenberg excelled, being one of the best headers of the ball of his time. After Germany had played at

Wembley Wembley () is a large suburbIn British English, "suburb" often refers to the secondary urban centres of a city. Wembley is not a suburb in the American sense, i.e. a single-family residential area outside of the city itself. in north-west Londo ...

against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1935, the English press praised 'Steely' Münzenberg for his combination of toughness and technical ability, claiming that he played more 'English' than the English themselves. His reputation was one of athleticism and tremendous commitment. The first time Münzenberg made international football headlines, was after the 1934 World Cup third place game, when he marked the Czech goalgetter

Josef Bican Josef "Pepi" Bican (25 September 1913 – 12 December 2001) was an Austrian-Czech professional footballer who played as a striker. He is the second-most prolific goalscorer in official matches in recorded history according to Rec.Sport.Soccer ...

. By 1936, Münzenberg had been converted from center half to left back, another role in which excelled. The full back pairing of

Paul Janes Paul Janes (11 March 1912 – 12 June 1987) was a German football player. He earned 71 caps and scored seven goals for the Germany national team from 1932 to 1942, and played in two World Cups: 1934 and 1938. Janes was a member of the Breslau ...

and Münzenberg became one of the best of the late-1930s in Europe. After he retired from football, Münzenberg became an architect. He died in 1986 only hours after having watched the World Cup semi final in which West Germany beat France 2–0. 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 Münzenberg as follows: "The counterpart to Paul Janes. He was edgier and harder, certainly not a finesse player; a man who as a defender would not beat around the bush."

References

External links

*
Reinhold Münzenberg
at worldfootball.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Munzenberg, Reinhold 1909 births 1986 deaths German footballers Alemannia Aachen players Germany international footballers 1934 FIFA World Cup players 1938 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics Association football defenders German football managers Alemannia Aachen managers Luftwaffen-SV Hamburg players Sportspeople from Aachen Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia