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Saarland national football team facts for kids

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Saarland
to 1950–1956
Logo Saarländischer Fußball-Verband.svg
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 the Saarland region. France wanted Saarland to be separate from West Germany, so it was managed on its own.

Because the people in Saarland didn't want to join France, they created their own organizations. This included a National Olympic Committee in 1950, which even sent athletes to the 1952 Summer Olympics. The football team was often called a "selection" rather than a "national team" because people still felt connected to Germany.

The History of Saarland Football

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.

Saarland Clubs and Early Tournaments

Saarland's football clubs played in a local league called the Ehrenliga. However, one strong club, 1. FC Saarbrücken, played in the French second division in 1948–49. They finished first, but 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. This was called the Internationaler Saarlandpokal. Many top teams joined, and it's seen as an early idea for the European Cup, which is now the UEFA Champions League.

In 1955, 1. FC Saarbrücken was the only Saarland club to play in the first-ever European Champion Clubs' Cup. They even won their first game against Italian champions AC Milan in Italy (3–4). But they lost the second game at home and were knocked out. Around this time, Saarland clubs started rejoining the German football league system.

Joining FIFA and Playing International Matches

On July 17, 1949, the Saarland Football Association decided not to join the French Football Federation. Instead, on June 12, 1950, the SFB became a member of FIFA, the world football governing body. This was even before the German Football Association (DFB) was allowed back into FIFA.

The Saarland team mostly had players from 1. FC Saarbrücken. Some players also came from other local clubs like SV Saar 05 Saarbrücken and Borussia Neunkirchen.

The team played only 19 games in total. Ten of these were against "B" teams (second-tier national teams). But they did take part in the 1954 World Cup qualifiers. They finished ahead of Norway in their group by beating them in Oslo. This was Saarland's only win against a full senior national team. Before the 1954 World Cup, they played against the defending champions, Uruguay, and lost 1–7.

The only match Saarland played outside of Europe was against Uruguay in Montevideo.

Saarland Rejoins Germany

After a vote in 1955, Saarland became part of West Germany on January 1, 1957. The Saarland Football Association (SFB) stopped being a separate FIFA member and joined the German Football Association (DFB).

The coach of the Saarland team, Helmut Schön, later became the successful coach of the German national team in the 1960s and 1970s. Another important person from Saarland, Hermann Neuberger, helped create the Bundesliga (Germany's top football league) in 1962. He also organized the 1974 FIFA World Cup and was president of the DFB for many years.

Saarland in the FIFA World Cup

Saarland only tried to qualify for the World Cup once.

  • 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
Uruguay 1930 Not a member of FIFA Not a member of FIFA
Italy 1934
France 1938 Did not exist Did not exist
as  Saar as  Saar
Brazil 1950 Not a member of FIFA Not a member of FIFA
Switzerland 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 entered the World Cup qualifiers was for the 1954 World Cup. They were in a group with West Germany and Norway.

In their first game in summer 1953, they won their only competitive away match. They beat Norway 3–2 in Oslo, even after being down 0–2 and having a player, Theodor Puff, stay on the field with a broken leg!

Saarland then lost 3–0 to West Germany in Stuttgart and drew 0–0 at home against Norway. West Germany ended up winning the group and went on to win the 1954 World Cup in Switzerland. Saarland finished second in the group.

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

A total of 42 players played for the Saarland national team. Waldemar Philippi played the most games, appearing in 18 out of the team's 19 matches.

Goalkeepers with Clean Sheets

Two goalkeepers managed to keep a clean sheet (meaning they didn't let the other team score) in Saarland's 19 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

Team Managers

Manager Period Record Ref.
First match Last match Days Pld W D L GF GA GD Win %
France 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
West Germany 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 —

Match Results

The Saarland team played 19 matches in total: they won 6, drew 3, and lost 10.

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
Source: Results

Anthem

Saarland didn't have its own national anthem when it was separated from Germany. So, for the first international football match in 1950 (against Switzerland), they chose the Saarlandlied to be their anthem for such events.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Selección de fútbol del Sarre para niños

  • Saarland national football B team
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