Josef Posipal facts for kids
Posipal in 1953
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 20 June 1927 | ||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Lugoj, Romania | ||||||||||||
| Date of death | 21 February 1997 (aged 69) | ||||||||||||
| Place of death | Hamburg, Germany | ||||||||||||
| Height | 1.76 m | ||||||||||||
| Playing position | Defender | ||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||
| 1943–1944 | TSV Badenstedt | ||||||||||||
| 1945–1946 | Blau-Weiß Wölpinghausen | ||||||||||||
| 1946 | SV Linden 07 | ||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||
| 1946–1949 | SV Arminia Hannover | ||||||||||||
| 1949–1958 | Hamburger SV | 250 | (13) | ||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||
| 1951–1956 | West Germany | 32 | (1) | ||||||||||
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Honours
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Josef "Jupp" Posipal (born June 20, 1927 – died February 21, 1997) was a famous German footballer. He was born in Romania. Josef Posipal was a key player in the German national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup. This was a very important victory for Germany. During his club career, he played for teams like SV Arminia Hannover and Hamburger SV.
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Playing Career
Josef Posipal was born in Lugoj, Romania. His father was German, and his mother was Hungarian. When he was 16 years old, his family moved to Germany. As a young person, Josef enjoyed other sports. He was good at swimming, track-and-field, and handball.
In 1949, he joined Hamburger SV. The coach, Georg Knöpfle, was looking for a forward player. But the coach soon saw that Posipal was a very strong defender. So, he moved him to a half-back position.
A year later, in 1950, the coach for the West Germany national team, Sepp Herberger, wanted Posipal to join the team. This was for Germany's first international game after World War II. However, officials found out that Posipal had Romanian citizenship, not German. After he became a West German citizen in 1951, Posipal played his first international game against Turkey in West Berlin.
In 1952, Posipal changed positions again. He moved from right half-back to center half. In this new role, he was seen as one of Germany's best defenders. Many people thought he was one of the best in all of European football. In October 1953, he was chosen to play for a special "Europe" team against England at Wembley Stadium.
During the first part of the 1954 FIFA World Cup, Posipal was not playing his best. He also got injured before the quarterfinal game against Yugoslavia. Because of this, Werner Liebrich played as center half instead. Posipal was fit again for the semifinal against Austria. Coach Herberger put him back in the starting team. Since Liebrich had played so well, Posipal played as a right full-back. This was a new position for him in the tournament.
Coach Herberger trusted Posipal, and it paid off. Posipal played very well in the semifinal and the final in his new position. For the rest of his international career, he continued to play as a right back. Liebrich stayed as the center half. Josef Posipal stopped playing football in 1958.
Legacy
In 2012, his long-time club, Hamburger SV, celebrated its 125th birthday. Josef Posipal was chosen for the club's all-star team. This shows how important he was to the club's history.
Personal Life
Josef Posipal passed away in 1997 at the age of 69 in Hamburg. He was married to Gisela and they had two sons. His son, Peer Posipal, also became a professional football player. He played for the Bundesliga team Eintracht Braunschweig. Josef's grandson, Patrick Posipal, is also a professional footballer. This means football runs in the family!
See also
In Spanish: Josef Posipal para niños
