Hans Schäfer facts for kids
Schäfer (left) in 1957
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 19 October 1927 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Zollstock, Cologne, Germany | ||||||||||||
| Date of death | 7 November 2017 (aged 90) | ||||||||||||
| Place of death | Cologne, Germany | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Outside left | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 1948–1965 | 1. FC Köln | 394 | (254) | ||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 1952–1962 | West Germany | 39 | (15) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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Hans Schäfer (born 19 October 1927 – died 7 November 2017) was a famous German football player. He played as an outside left, which means he was a forward player who usually played on the left side of the field.
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Hans Schäfer's Football Career
Hans Schäfer was born in a place called Zollstock in Cologne, Germany. He spent most of his club career playing for 1. FC Köln. He played for them from 1948 until 1965.
Playing for West Germany
Schäfer also played for the West Germany national team. He played in 39 international matches, which are called "caps" in football. During these games, he scored 15 goals.
He was part of the West Germany team in three different World Cups. These big tournaments were in 1954, 1958, and 1962.
Winning the World Cup
The most exciting moment was in 1954 when he won the World Cup with his team. He scored a total of seven goals across all three World Cup tournaments he played in. From 1957 to 1962, Schäfer was the captain of the German team 16 times.
His Playing Style
Hans Schäfer started his career as an "outside left" forward. This position meant he played wide on the left side, often running down the wing and crossing the ball or shooting. Later in his career, he moved to play as an "inside left" forward. This position is still a forward role, but it's more central, closer to the main striker.
He played his very first game for Germany on 9 November 1952. It was a friendly match against Switzerland, and he even scored a goal in that game. During the 1954 FIFA World Cup, Schäfer scored four important goals.
Club Success and Retirement
Schäfer helped his club, 1. FC Köln, win the German football championship twice. They won in 1962 and again in 1964. In 1963, when he was 35 years old, he was voted the German Footballer of the Year. This was a big honor for him.
He also played in the first two seasons of the new German football league called the Bundesliga. He played 39 matches in the Bundesliga and scored 20 goals before he stopped playing professional football.
Hans Schäfer passed away on 7 November 2017, at the age of 90.
