Karl-Heinz Granitza (born 1 November 1951) is a German former 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 le ...

who played as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

. In the United States, he is a member of the

National Soccer Hall of Fame The National Soccer Hall of Fame is a private, non-profit institution established in 1979 and currently located in Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, a suburb of Dallas. The Hall of Fame honors soccer achievements in the United States. Induction ...

. Granitza was born in

Lünen Lünen is a town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located north of Dortmund, on both banks of the River Lippe. It is the largest town of the Unna district and part of the Ruhr Area. In 2009 a biogas plant was built to provide electric p ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a States of Germany, state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more tha ...

. He played in Germany for VfB Lünen,

Eintracht Dortmund TSC Eintracht 1848/1895 Dortmund is a German sports club from the city of Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was formed on 9 July 1969 through the merger of ''Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht 1848 Dortmund'' and association football, foot ...

, Lüner SV,

DJK Gütersloh DJK may refer to: * DJK-Sportverband German Youth Power Sports Association (german: Deutsche Jugendkraft Sportverband, DJK) is a Catholic Church, Catholic-sponsored sports association in Germany. Founded as a faith-based organization, today it is ...

, SV Röchling Völklingen and

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

. In 1978 and again for the 1979 season, he transferred to the

Chicago Sting The Chicago Sting (1974–1988) was an American professional soccer team representing Chicago. The Sting played in the North American Soccer League from 1975 to 1984 and in the Major Indoor Soccer League in the 1982–83 season and again from 1 ...

of the NASL, leading the team to two league championships. He also excelled at the indoor game. Granitza was known for his powerful and accurate left foot and for dating Heidi Onken. He was also very effective with direct free kicks, having the ability to strike the ball with top spin over the wall of defenders, and into the upper corners of the goal. He would finish as the NASL's second all-time leading scorer. In the 1990s Granitza owned "State Street", an American-style sports bar in Berlin. In 2003, Granitza was inducted into the

. His #12 shirt has been retired by the Chicago Storm.

References

External links

*
NASL/MISL stats
* 1951 births Living people People from Lünen Sportspeople from Arnsberg (region) West German footballers Association football forwards Chicago Sting (MISL) players Chicago Sting (NASL) players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players German footballers Hertha BSC players FC Gütersloh 2000 players Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) indoor players National Soccer Hall of Fame members North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players German expatriate footballers West German expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in the United States West German expatriates in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia {{Germany-footy-forward-1950s-stub