Saarland national football team facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Saarland

to 1950–1956
Association	Saarländischer Fussball-Verband (SFV)
Confederation	UEFA (Europe)
Head coach	Helmut Schön
Most caps	Waldemar Philippi (18)
Top scorer	Herbert Binkert Herbert Martin (6)
Home stadium	Ludwigspark Stadion
FIFA code	SAA
First colours Second colours
Elo ranking
Highest	31 (June 1953)
Lowest	49 (June 1956)
First international
Saar 5–3 Switzerland B  (Saarbrücken, Saar; 22 November 1950)
Biggest win
Switzerland B 2–5 Saar  (Bern, Switzerland; 15 September 1951)
Biggest defeat
Saar 1–7 Uruguay  (Saarbrücken, Saar; 5 June 1954)

The Saarland national football team was a special football team that played for the Saar Protectorate from 1950 to 1956. This was a time after World War II when France was in charge of Saarland. France wanted Saarland to be separate from Germany.

Because people in Saarland didn't want to join France, they created their own groups. They even had their own National Olympic Committee in 1950. This led to Saarland sending athletes to the 1952 Summer Olympics. The football team was not called a "national team" because people still felt connected to Germany. Instead, it was often called a "selection" or similar.

History of the Saarland Football Team

After World War II, Germany was divided. Saarland was separate from both West Germany and East Germany. The Saarland Football Association (SFB) started on July 25, 1948. Willy Koch was its first leader.

Early Football in Saarland

Most Saarland clubs played in a local league called the Ehrenliga. But one strong team, 1. FC Saarbrücken, played in France's Ligue 2 in 1948–49. They were called FC Sarrebruck there and easily won their division. However, French clubs didn't want them to join the main French Football Federation. So, 1. FC Saarbrücken left the French league.

Instead of rejoining the weaker local league, Saarbrücken started its own tournament in 1949. It was called the Internationaler Saarlandpokal. Many top teams joined, and it was seen as an early idea for the European Cup. In 1955, 1. FC Saarbrücken was the only Saarland team in the new European Champion Clubs' Cup. They even beat AC Milan in Italy (3–4) but lost the second game at home. By then, 1. FC Saarbrücken and other top Saarland clubs had already rejoined the German football league system.

Joining FIFA

On July 17, 1949, the Saarland Football Association members voted against joining the French Football Federation. On June 12, 1950, the SFB became part of FIFA, the world football body. This was three months before the German Football Association (DFB) rejoined FIFA. It was also two years before the East German football association was accepted.

The Saarland team mostly had players from 1. FC Saarbrücken. Some players also came from SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken and Borussia Neunkirchen. A few players came from other clubs like SV St. Ingbert 1945 and ASC Dudweiler.

Playing in the World Cup Qualifiers

The team played only 19 games in total. Ten of these were against "B" teams (second-tier national teams). They did play in the 1954 World Cup qualifiers. They finished ahead of Norway in their group. Their only win against a full senior team was when they beat Norway in Oslo. Before the 1954 World Cup, they played against the defending champions, Uruguay, and lost 1–7. They also played friendly games against Yugoslavia, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. The team only played one match outside Europe, which was against Uruguay in Montevideo.

Saarland Joins West Germany

After a vote in 1955, Saarland became part of West Germany on January 1, 1957. The Saarland Football Association stopped being a separate FIFA member. It became part of the German Football Association (DFB). The coach of the Saarland team, Helmut Schön, later became a very successful coach for the German national team in the 1960s and 1970s. Hermann Neuberger, who was from Saarland, helped create the Bundesliga in 1962. He also organized the 1974 FIFA World Cup and was president of the DFB until he passed away in 1992.

FIFA World Cup Record

• 1950 – Did not enter, as they joined FIFA only two weeks before the tournament.
• 1954 – Did not qualify.

FIFA World Cup record										Qualification record
Year	Round	Position	Pld	W	D*	L	GF	GA		Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA
as Saar										as Saar
1930	Not a member of FIFA									Not a member of FIFA
1934
1938	Did not exist									Did not exist
as  Saar										as  Saar
1950	Not a member of FIFA									Not a member of FIFA
1954	Did not qualify									4	1	1	2	4	8
Total	–	0/1	0	0	0	0	0	0		4	1	1	2	4	8

1954 World Cup Qualifying Matches

The only time Saarland tried to qualify for the World Cup was for the 1954 tournament. They were in a group with West Germany and Norway.

In their first game in summer 1953, they won their only away match. They beat Norway 3–2 in Oslo, even after being down 0–2. One player, Theodor Puff, even stayed on the field with a broken leg! This win put them at the top of the group for a short time.

Saarland then lost badly to West Germany (3–0) and drew 0–0 at home against Norway. West Germany then beat Norway, ending Norway's hopes. The last game was between Saarland and West Germany. Saarland needed to win to finish first, but they lost 3–1. West Germany won the group and went on to win the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland.

Players who played for Saarland could not play for West Germany. This was Saarland's only time trying to qualify for the World Cup on its own. Later, its players and coaches joined West Germany's team.

FIFA World Cup qualification
Date	Venue	Opponents	Score	Saarland scorers	Year
24 June 1953	Bislett Stadion, Oslo	Norway	3–2	Binkert, Otto, Siedl	1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
11 October 1953	Neckarstadion, Stuttgart	West Germany	0–3		1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
8 November 1953	Ludwigsparkstadion, Saarbrücken	Norway	0–0		1954 FIFA World Cup qualification
28 March 1954		West Germany	1–3	Martin (pen.)	1954 FIFA World Cup qualification

Pos.	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	West Germany	4	3	1	0	12	3	+9	7
2	Saar	4	1	1	2	4	8	−4	3
3	Norway	4	0	2	2	4	9	−5	2

Player Records

In total, 42 players played for the Saarland national team. Waldemar Philippi played the most games, appearing in 18 out of the team's 19 matches. He only missed one friendly game against Uruguay in 1954.

Clean Sheets

Two goalkeepers managed to keep a clean sheet (meaning the other team didn't score) in Saarland's nineteen matches.

Player	Caps	Clean sheet			Average
		Date	Opponent	Score
Erwin Strempel	14	8 November 1953	Norway	0–0	0.07
Hans Neuerburg	1	3 June 1956	Portugal B	0–0	1.00

Managers

Manager	Period			Record								Ref.
	First match	Last match	Days	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Win %
Auguste Jordan	22 November 1950	14 October 1951	326	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&04.&&&&&04	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&00.&&&&&00	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&01.&&&&&01	&&&&&&&&&&&&&014.&&&&&014	&&&&&&&&&&&&&011.&&&&&011	+3	&&&&&&&&&&&&&075.&&&&&075.00
Helmut Schön	20 April 1952	6 June 1956	1,508	&&&&&&&&&&&&&015.&&&&&015	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&09.&&&&&09	&&&&&&&&&&&&&022.&&&&&022	&&&&&&&&&&&&&043.&&&&&043	−21	&&&&&&&&&&&&&020.&&&&&020.00
Total				&&&&&&&&&&&&&019.&&&&&019	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&06.&&&&&06	&&&&&&&&&&&&&&03.&&&&&03	&&&&&&&&&&&&&010.&&&&&010	&&&&&&&&&&&&&036.&&&&&036	&&&&&&&&&&&&&054.&&&&&054	−18	&&&&&&&&&&&&&031.58000031.58	—

Record by Opponent

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Austria B	2	1	0	1	4	6	−2	3
2	France B	4	2	0	2	11	11	0	6
3	Netherlands	2	0	0	2	3	5	−2	0
4	Norway	2	1	1	0	3	2	+1	4
5	Portugal B	2	0	1	1	1	6	−5	1
6	Switzerland	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	1
7	Switzerland B	2	2	0	0	10	5	+5	6
8	Uruguay	1	0	0	1	1	7	−6	0
9	West Germany	2	0	0	2	1	6	−5	0
10	Yugoslavia	1	0	0	1	1	5	−4	0

Anthem

Saarland did not have its own national anthem right after being separated from Germany. So, for the first international football game in 1950 against Switzerland, they chose the Saarlandlied to be their anthem for such events.

See also

In Spanish: Selección de fútbol del Sarre para niños

• Saarland national football B team