Norbert Nigbur facts for kids
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Nigbur in 1974
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 8 May 1948 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Gelsenkirchen, Germany | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Goalkeeper | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| SV Gelsenkirchen 06 | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||
| 1966–1976 | Schalke 04 | 289 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1976–1979 | Hertha BSC | 101 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1979–1983 | Schalke 04 | 104 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1983–1984 | VfB Hüls | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 1984–1985 | Rot-Weiss Essen | 27 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||
| 1966–1973 | West Germany U23 | 4 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1975–1981 | West Germany B | 5 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 1974–1980 | West Germany | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||
Norbert Heinrich Nigbur, born on May 8, 1948, is a famous German football goalkeeper. He played for well-known clubs like FC Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC. He also played six times for the German national team. With Schalke 04, he helped them win the DFB-Pokal (German Cup) in 1972. They also finished second in the Bundesliga league. He was a reserve goalkeeper when the national team won the 1974 World Cup. Besides football, Nigbur also had success in harness racing, which is a type of horse racing.
Contents
Norbert Nigbur's Football Journey
Norbert Nigbur first wanted to be a harness racing driver. But he played football for SV Gelsenkirchen-Hessler when he was young. He started as a center forward, which is a goal-scoring position. One day, the team's goalkeeper was sent off, and Norbert stepped in. He saved two penalty kicks! After that, he became a goalkeeper.
Starting His Professional Career
On his 18th birthday, Norbert's father signed his first professional contract. This was with Schalke's president, Fritz Szepan. Norbert was not yet old enough to sign it himself. For the 1966–67 season, Norbert joined FC Schalke 04. He was the second-choice goalkeeper behind Josef Elting. On September 3, 1966, in a game against 1. FC Nürnberg, he replaced Elting. At just 18 years old, he became the team's main goalkeeper.
Successes with Schalke 04
In 1969, Schalke lost the DFB-Pokal final to FC Bayern Munich. But the team, with players like Nigbur, Klaus Fichtel, Rolf Rüssmann, Klaus Fischer, and Reinhard Libuda, became league runners-up in 1972. That season, Nigbur let in the fewest goals among all Bundesliga goalkeepers. He went over 555 minutes without letting a goal in. This was a record that lasted for more than ten years!
Schalke then won the DFB-Pokal by beating 1. FC Kaiserslautern 5–0. This was Norbert Nigbur's first big national title. It was also the club's first major win since 1958. In the semi-final against 1. FC Köln, Nigbur was amazing. He saved a penalty kick during regular time. Then, in the penalty shootout, he saved two more penalties. He even took one himself against Köln's goalkeeper Gerhard Welz! After 21 penalties, Schalke won and went to the final. Nigbur was seen as one of the best Bundesliga goalkeepers of the 1970s. Other top goalkeepers included Sepp Maier and Wolfgang Kleff.
Norbert Nigbur was not involved in the Bundesliga scandal. This scandal involved some Schalke players. He was injured and did not play in the "fixed" game against Arminia Bielefeld on April 17, 1971. Dieter Burdenski played instead of him.
On September 14, 1974, during a Bundesliga match, something funny happened. After halftime, the game restarted, but Nigbur was still in the dressing room! A police officer stopped him from going onto the field. So, Schalke's goal was empty for a few minutes. Luckily, no goals were scored during that time.
Moving to Hertha BSC and Returning to Schalke
In 1976, Norbert Nigbur left Schalke. He had some disagreements with the coach Max Merkel and president Günter Siebert about his contract. He then joined Hertha BSC for the 1976–77 season. With Hertha, he reached the DFB-Pokal final twice. Once in 1977 against 1. FC Köln and again in 1979 against Fortuna Düsseldorf. He played in Berlin for three years and only missed one league game. In 1979, he agreed with Günter Siebert and returned to Schalke.
In the 1980–81 season, Schalke was relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after letting in 88 goals. Nigbur helped the team get promoted back to the top league. However, he had a disagreement with the new manager Rudi Assauer. After a 2–2 draw in Karlsruhe, Nigbur was suspended by the club. He was even banned from the stadium. But he used a temporary court order to force his way back into team training. He still has a difficult relationship with Schalke 04. He played a total of 455 competitive matches for them.
After Walter Junghans replaced him at Schalke, Nigbur played for VfB Hüls for half a year. He made his debut there on February 5, 1984. In the summer of 1984, he moved to Rot-Weiss Essen. This team was in the third-tier league called Oberliga Nordrhein. He played 27 league matches there. He did not play in the promotion round that followed. He ended his football career after the 1984–85 season.
Playing for His Country
Norbert Nigbur started playing for the German youth team through district selections. He played 13 times for them. His first game was on March 21, 1965, against Hungary. His last youth game was on May 25, 1966, against Spain.
On February 23, 1974, Nigbur played his first game for the senior national team. It was a 0–1 loss against Spain. He was one of the two reserve goalkeepers for the national team that won the World Cup in 1974. He stayed on the bench and did not play during the tournament. On April 2, 1980, he played his last of six international matches against Austria. He was supposed to be the main goalkeeper for the 1980 European Championship. But he had to pull out because of a serious injury. After that, Toni Schumacher became the main goalkeeper, and Nigbur did not return to the national team.
Because he was part of the German national team that won the 1974 World Cup, he received the Silver Laurel Leaf award on September 23, 1974. This award is given for winning the World Championship title.
Career Highlights
- FIFA World Cup: 1974 (as a reserve goalkeeper)
- DFB-Pokal: 1972
See also
In Spanish: Norbert Nigbur para niños
