Walter Fritzsch (21 November 1920 – 15 October 1997) was a German

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.

Beginning

He began his career as a player in 1927 with

SC Planitz FSV Zwickau is a Football in Germany, 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-Ob ...

. In 1940, he transferred to VfL

Leisnig Leisnig ( hsb, Lěsnik) is a small town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in the state of Saxony in Germany, 50 kilometers southeast of Leipzig. History A settlement in this location was first mentioned in 1046. The town features Mildenstein Ca ...

and played there until 1943 after which he played for several other clubs including BC

Hartha Hartha is a town in the district of Mittelsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated 11 km west of Döbeln, and 12 km north of Mittweida. Personalities * Carl Grünberg (1847–1906), woven goods manufacturer in Hartha and politicia ...

, SC

Döbeln Döbeln ( hsb, Doblin) is a town in Saxony, Germany, part of the Mittelsachsen district, on both banks of the river Freiberger Mulde. History * 981: First written mention of Döbeln (Margravate of Meissen). * Around 1220: Döbeln is described ...

and

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: ' ...

-Oberhohndorf. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

he stayed in what would become

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 ...

and finished his playing days with Wismut Cainsdorf in 1950. His playing career ended due to a back injury, he became a trainer with

Wismut Aue Fußball Club Erzgebirge Aue e.V., commonly known as simply FC Erzgebirge Aue or Erzgebirge Aue (), is a German football club based in Aue-Bad Schlema, Saxony. The former East German side was a founding member of the 3. Liga in 2008–09, ...

in 1950. Fritzsch then went on to work as trainer with a number of sides between 1952 and 1969 including Empor Lauter, Motor Dessau, SC Motor Karl-Marx-Stadt,

SC Empor Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the forme ...

(where he earned three vice-championships), and

Stahl Riesa BSG Stahl Riesa is a German association football club from Riesa in Saxony. History The club was founded as ''SC Riesa'' in 1903 in the cellar of the local pub "Bodega" and was renamed ''Riesaer SV'' two years later. In 1917, they fused with ' ...

Dynamo Dresden

Fritzsch joined

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 ...

as trainer on 30 June 1969 and the club soon began the most successful period of its history. Under his guidance the black and yellow won five East German championships in the first division

DDR-Oberliga The DDR-Oberliga (English: ''East German Premier League'' or ''GDR Premier League'') was the top-level association football league in East Germany. Overview Following World War II, separate sports competitions emerged in the occupied eastern ...

(1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978), as well as four vice-championships. The team also captured two East German Cups (FDGB Pokal) in 1971 and 1977, and made 42

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

appearances. During his career the small, strict trainer also coached 40 national team players and helped uncover talents such as

Ulf Kirsten Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed ''Der Schwatte'' (dialect for ''Der Schwarze'', 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps play ...

and

Matthias Sammer Matthias Sammer (; born 5 September 1967) is a German football official and former player and coach. He played as a defensive midfielder and later in his career as a sweeper. With Borussia Dortmund as a player, Sammer won the Bundesliga and D ...

Post Dynamo career

Fritzsch was succeeded as trainer at Dynamo by Gerhard Prautzsch and moved on to work for the DFV (Deutscher Fußball Verband der DDR or German Football Association of East Germany). Over his career he had coached 1,900 games, coming away with 1,163 victories. His opinion was still sought out by his former club Dynamo Dresden when they became one of two former East German sides to join 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 ...

after

German reunification German reunification (german: link=no, Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) was the process of re-establishing Germany as a united and fully sovereign state, which took place between 2 May 1989 and 15 March 1991. The day of 3 October 1990 when the Ge ...

in 1990.

Death

Fritzsch died on 15 October 1997, shortly before his 77th birthday. The "Small General" was buried in the Heidefriedhof Dresden Cemetery. He was subsequently honored with a monument in the Rudolf Harbig Stadion, home of Dynamo Dresden, and an annual football tournament in Dresden has been organized in his memory. Today a movie filmed movie about his career at the SG Dynamo Dresden.

References

*Dynamo Dresden 1953–1983 ; Publisher's: Thom Vlg., Leipzig (1993)

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fritzsch, Walter 1920 births 1997 deaths People from Zwickau Dynamo Dresden managers Footballers from Dresden German footballers East German footballers FSV Zwickau players German football managers History of sport in East Germany East German football managers Chemnitzer FC managers FC Erzgebirge Aue managers Association football midfielders