Ernst Kuzorra

Ernst Kuzorra (16 October 1905 – 1 January 1990) was a German footballer of the pre-war era. During his entire career, he played for Schalke 04, whom he led to six national championships and one national cup. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Schalke player of all time alongside Fritz Szepan. A highly athletic, technical and prolific forward, Kuzorra is also commonly regarded as one of the greatest German forwards.

Ernst Kuzorra
Personal information
Date of birth (1905-10-16)16 October 1905
Place of birth Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Date of death 1 January 1990(1990-01-01) (aged 84)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1920–1923 Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1923–1950 Schalke 04 277 (289)
National team
1927–1938 Germany 12 (7)
Teams managed
1935–1936 Borussia Dortmund
1946–1947 Schalke 04
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Life

Ernst Kuzorra was born as the son of Karl Kuzorra from East Prussia and his wife Bertha in the industrial town of Gelsenkirchen where his father worked as a coal miner. Ernst joined the club in 1920 at the age of 14, allegedly playing his first match in his confirmation shoes after being asked to join the team while watching from the sidelines. Three years later, he advanced to the first team, where he soon became one of the starting players. During the years 1930–31, he and thirteen teammates were banned for a relatively minor infraction of the strict amateur statutes, having received ten instead of the allowed five Reichsmark as compensation for playing in an away game.

In the following years, Kuzorra along with his brother-in-law Fritz Szepan led Schalke to become the dominant team in German soccer, winning six national championships from 1934 to 1942. He was one of the main axes of what became known as the Schalker Kreisel, a system that used quick, short passes to confuse and overwhelm the opponent.

Even though he may have been the best German player on his position at the time, he only had 12 appearances for the national team,[1] a fact that is widely attributed to bad relations with national coach Otto Nerz. Nevertheless, because of his success and his athletic prowess, national socialist propaganda soon took an interest in him. Great efforts were made to show that Kuzorra, despite his Slavic sounding name and mixed origin, was in fact of purely Germanic stock. The success of these efforts was limited, however, as Kuzorra remained politically uninterested and due to his taciturn character a poor instrument for public campaigns.

After the war, Kuzorra remained playing for a few years, mainly for material reasons - at the time, soccer players were often reimbursed in otherwise scarce foodstuff. In 1950 he retired, and from then on earned his livelihood as proprietor of a tobacco and lottery store. Over time, he became a living legend, especially among the supporters of Schalke 04. In 1985, he finally received the honorary citizenship of his home town, Gelsenkirchen. Ernst Kuzorra died on New Year's Day in 1990 at the age of 84.

Career statistics

Club

Ref.[2][3]

ClubSeasonLeagueGerman
Champ'ship		Cup[lower-alpha 1]Other[lower-alpha 2]Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Schalke 041924–26Emscher-Kreisliga916———916
1926–27Gauliga Ruhr142110—8112332
1927–28Gauliga Ruhr101610—9112027
1928–29Gauliga Ruhr71121—981820
1929–30Gauliga Ruhr163421—652440
1930–31Gauliga Ruhr00———00
1931–32Gauliga Ruhr111832—591929
1932–33Gauliga Ruhr151942—542425
1933–34Gauliga Westfalen161843——2021
1934–35Gauliga Westfalen16566——2211
1935–36Gauliga Westfalen15188869—2935
1936–37Gauliga Westfalen14157574—2824
1937–38Gauliga Westfalen17219560—3226
1938–39Gauliga Westfalen1697412—2415
1939–40Gauliga Westfalen1187722—2017
1940–41Gauliga Westfalen16138230—2715
1941–42Gauliga Westfalen12125264—2318
1942–43Gauliga Westfalen15123043442619
1943–44Gauliga Westfalen12112042442217
1944–45Gauliga Westfalen45———45
1945–46Landesliga Westfalen62———62
1946–47Landesliga Westfalen74——50124
1947–48Oberliga West141———141
1948–49Oberliga West40———40
Career total277289794839265556450419
  1. Tschammer-Pokal (forerunner of today's DFB-Pokal)
  2. Includes Ruhr / Western German championship (1926–1933), Westphalian Cup (1943–1944), Westphalian / British zone championship (1947)

International

Ref.[1]

Germany
YearAppsGoals
192710
192821
192900
193023
193121
193230
193300
193400
193500
193612
193700
193810
Total127

Honours
Schalke 04

References
  1. Arnhold, Matthias (22 September 2016). "Ernst Kuzorra - Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  2. FC Schalke 04 (2015). Königsblau: Die Geschichte des FC Schalke 04. Die Werkstatt. ISBN 978-3-7307-0204-8.
  3. "Ernst Kuzorra » Club matches". worldfootball.net.
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