Otto Siffling (3 August 1912 – 20 October 1939) was a German

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 forward for SV Waldhof Mannheim and the Germany national team. As Germany international, he made 31 appearances scoring 17 goals between 1934 and 1938 and was a participant in the

1934 FIFA World Cup The 1934 FIFA World Cup was the second edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football championship for senior men's national teams. It took place in Italy from 27 May to 10 June 1934. The 1934 World Cup was the first in w ...

, where he scored a goal. He was part of the

Breslau Eleven The Breslau Eleven (german: Breslau-Elf) was the name given to the Germany national football team who defeated Denmark 8–0 at Hermann-Göring-Sportfeld in Breslau, Nazi Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) on 16 May 1937. Coached by Sepp Herberger, t ...

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. Siffling was one of the most talented center forwards of the 1930s. An opinionated and exceptionally gifted player, Siffling was a virtuoso on the pitch who impressed with his ingenuity and imagination when on the ball. Being not keen on overly physical play, he was not a traditional center forward, preferring to create more than to score.Bitter, Jürgen. ''Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler'', Sportverlag, 1997, p. 460. Taciturn in nature, he did not like to be in the spotlight and ovations at times made him feel uncomfortable.Bitter, Jürgen. ''Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler'', Sportverlag, 1997, p. 461. His performance for the Breslau Eleven in 1937 was the pinnacle of his career. In 1938, his level suddenly dropped inexplicably, so that he was not starting in the 1938 World Cup. A year later he died of a

pleurisy Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

, aged 27. 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 Siffling as follows: "As a center forward he was not a tank but a playing center forward who still was enormously dangerous in front of the goal; in the famous game in Breslau he scored five goals. He was creating goals and scoring goals."

References

External links

International career
* *
„Otto Siffling – Eine Fußball-Legende wird 100“ (German)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siffling, Otto 1912 births 1939 deaths German footballers Association football forwards Germany international footballers 1934 FIFA World Cup players 1938 FIFA World Cup players Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 1936 Summer Olympics SV Waldhof Mannheim players Deaths from pleurisy Footballers from Mannheim Footballers from Baden-Württemberg