Volkmar Groß (31 January 1948 – 3 July 2014) was a German 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 ...

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 spent seven seasons in the

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 ...

with Hertha BSC,

Tennis Borussia Berlin Tennis Borussia Berlin is a German football club based in the locality of Westend in Berlin. History The team was founded in 1902 as ''Berliner Tennis- und Ping-Pong-Gesellschaft Borussia'' taking its name from its origins as a tennis and ta ...

and FC Schalke 04. He represented

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 ...

once in a friendly against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

. He scored one goal in the Bundesliga from a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

Career

Groß was born in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. In 1967, he began his career with Hertha BSC. In 1971, Groß received a 15,000

Deutsche Mark The Deutsche Mark (; English: ''German mark''), abbreviated "DM" or "D-Mark" (), was the official currency of West Germany from 1948 until 1990 and later the unified Germany from 1990 until the adoption of the euro in 2002. In English, it was ...

fine as a result of an investigation into a match fixing scheme. He was suspended for two years from the Bundesliga and banned for life from the national team. During those two years, he played for Hellenic FC in

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

as due to UN Sanctions against this country, South Africa was not a member of FIFA. In 1977, he returned to Germany and joined

. In 1979, Groß moved to the United States and signed with the

Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initia ...

of the North American Soccer League. He began the season in Minnesota, but finished it with the

San Diego Sockers San Diego Sockers may refer to: *San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) The San Diego Sockers were a soccer and indoor soccer team based in San Diego, California. The team played in the indoor and outdoor editions of the North American Soccer League ( ...

. He would go on to play five outdoor, two NASL indoor and one Major Indoor Soccer League seasons with the Sockers before retiring in 1984. Groß died on 3 July 2014 after a long illness.

Honours

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

finalist: 1974–75

References

External links

* * *
NASL/MISL stats
1948 births 2014 deaths Footballers from Berlin German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Bundesliga players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Hertha BSC players Hellenic F.C. players FC Twente players Tennis Borussia Berlin players FC Schalke 04 players Minnesota Kicks players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) players San Diego Sockers (1978–1996) indoor players West German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's soccer players in South Africa Expatriate men's footballers in the Netherlands Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States West German expatriate sportspeople in South Africa West German expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands West German expatriate sportspeople in the United States West German men's footballers {{Germany-footy-goalkeeper-stub

Career

Honours

See also

References

External links