Reinhold Münzenberg

Reinhold Münzenberg (25 January 1909 in Walheim – 25 June 1986 in Aachen[1]) was a German football player, in the defender position.

Reinhold Münzenberg
Personal information
Date of birth (1909-01-25)25 January 1909
Place of birth Walheim, Germany
Date of death 25 June 1986(1986-06-25) (aged 77)
Place of death Aachen, West Germany
Position(s) Defender
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1921 Aachener Spielverein
1927–1938 Alemannia Aachen
1943 SV Werder Bremen
1943–1944 LSV Hamburg
1946–1951 Alemannia Aachen
National team
1930–1938 Germany 41 (0)
Teams managed
1934–1936 Alemannia Aachen
1949 Alemannia Aachen
1950 Alemannia Aachen
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Münzenberg spent most of his career with Alemannia Aachen (1927–1951) but also had spells with SV Werder Bremen and LSV Hamburg as a Wartime Guest Player. On the national level he played for Germany (41 matches, no goals), and was a participant at the 1934 and 1938 FIFA World Cups. Münzenberg was a member of the Breslau Eleven that beat Denmark 8–0 in Breslau in 1937 and went on to win 10 out 11 games played during that year.

Münzenberg was considered to be one of the best and most athletic German defensive players of the 1930s. He started his career as a center half, a role in which the physically strong Münzenberg excelled, being one of the best headers of the ball of his time. After Germany had played at Wembley against England in 1935, the English press praised 'Steely' Münzenberg for his combination of toughness and technical ability, claiming that he played more 'English' than the English themselves.[2] His reputation was one of athleticism and tremendous commitment. The first time Münzenberg made international football headlines, was after the 1934 World Cup third place game, when he marked the Czech goalgetter Josef Bican. By 1936, Münzenberg had been converted from center half to left back, another role in which excelled. The full back pairing of Paul Janes and Münzenberg became one of the best of the late-1930s in Europe. After he retired from football, Münzenberg became an architect. He died in 1986 only hours after having watched the World Cup semi final in which West Germany beat France 2–0.[2]

In his 1978 book "Fußball", Helmut Schön characterised Münzenberg as follows:

"The counterpart to Paul Janes. He was edgier and harder, certainly not a finesse player; a man who as a defender would not beat around the bush."

References
  1. "Index und Lebenslauf" (in German). reinhold-muenzenberg.de. Retrieved 30 September 2012.
  2. Bitter, Jürgen (1997). Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler. Sportverlag. p. 230.
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