1955 German football championship

The 1955 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in West Germany in 1954-55. Rot-Weiss Essen were crowned champions for the first time after a group stage and a final.

1955 German championship
Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft
Tournament details
CountryWest Germany
Dates4 May – 26 June
Teams9
Final positions
ChampionsRot-Weiss Essen
1st German title
Runner-up1. FC Kaiserslautern
European CupRot-Weiss Essen
Tournament statistics
Matches played29
Goals scored107 (3.69 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Franz Islacker (10 goals)
← 1954
1956 →

It was Rot-Weiss Essen's first (and only) appearance in the German final, while Kaiserslautern were making their fifth appearance. It was also the fourth time Kaiserlautern had reached the final in five years, following their championship wins in 1951 and 1953, and their defeat in 1954.

The format used to determine the German champions was different from that which was used in the 1954 season. Nine teams qualified for the tournament, with those who qualified as a runner-up having to play qualifying matches. The remaining eight teams were split into two groups of four, and played two rounds of matches with games played home and away. The two group winners then played the national final.

Qualified teams

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The teams qualified through the 1954–55 Oberliga season:

Club Qualified from
Hamburger SV Oberliga Nord champions
Bremerhaven 93 Oberliga Nord runners-up
Rot-Weiss Essen Oberliga West champions
SV Sodingen Oberliga West runners-up
Viktoria 89 Berlin Oberliga Berlin champions
1. FC Kaiserslautern Oberliga Südwest champions
VfR Wormatia Worms Oberliga Südwest runners-up
Kickers Offenbach Oberliga Süd champions
SSV Reutlingen 05 Oberliga Süd runners-up

Competition

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First qualifying round

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4 May 1955 SV Sodingen 3 – 0 SSV Reutlingen 05 Ludwigshafen
Wächter   27'
Demski   34'
Linka   71'
Stadium: Südweststadion
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Tretter (Ammer)
4 May 1955 Bremerhaven 93 3 – 3
a.e.t.
VfR Wormatia Worms Düsseldorf
Lang   38'
Mokroß   40'
Kapteina   46'
Rupprecht   17'
Mechnig   47'
Lill   65' (o.g.)
Stadium: Rheinstadion
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Ternieden (Oberhausen)

Replay

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5 May 1955 Bremerhaven 93 3 – 2 VfR Wormatia Worms Düsseldorf
Kapteina   53', 68'
Machniki   83'
Müller   57'
Sehrt   85'
Stadium: Rheinstadion
Attendance: 8,000
Referee: Ternieden (Oberhausen)

Second qualifying round

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8 May 1955 VfR Wormatia Worms 2 – 1 SSV Reutlingen 05 Koblenz
Weiß   38'
Schroer   60'
Grziwok   62' Stadium: Stadion Oberwerth
Attendance: 7,000
Referee: Treichel (Berlin)

Group 1

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification FCK HSV SOD V89
1 1. FC Kaiserslautern 6 3 3 0 20 8 2.500 9 Advance to final 2–2 2–2 10–0
2 Hamburger SV 6 3 2 1 8 5 1.600 8 1–2 1–0 1–0
3 SV Sodingen 6 2 3 1 13 9 1.444 7 2–2 1–1 5–1
4 Viktoria Berlin 6 0 0 6 4 23 0.174 0 1–2 0–2 2–3
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.
19 May 1955 SV Sodingen 5 – 1 Viktoria 89 Berlin Gelsenkirchen
Adamik   21'
Harpers   53'
Wächter   65', 82'
Wenker   80'
Nocht   70' Stadium: Glückauf-Kampfbahn
Attendance: 20,000
Referee: Asmussen (Flensburg)

Group 2

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Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification RWE B93 KOF W08
1 Rot-Weiss Essen 6 4 2 0 16 5 3.200 10 Advance to final 4–0 4–1 1–1
2 Bremerhaven 93 6 2 2 2 5 10 0.500 6 1–1 2–0 1–0
3 Kickers Offenbach 6 2 0 4 11 12 0.917 4 1–3 4–0 5–2
4 Wormatia Worms 6 1 2 3 6 11 0.545 4 1–3 1–1 1–0
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Final

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Rot-Weiss Essen4 – 31. FC Kaiserslautern
Islacker   18', 43', 85'
Röhrig   27'
Wenzel   11', 56'
Baßler   72'
Attendance: 76,000
Referee: A. Meißner
ROT-WEISS ESSEN:
GK   Fritz Herkenrath
DF   Heinz Wewers
DF   Willi Köchling
DF   Joachim Jänisch
MF   Paul Jahnel
MF   Willi Grewer
FW   August Gottschalk
FW   Bernhard Termath
FW   Johannes Röhrig
FW   Helmut Rahn
FW   Franz Islacker
Manager:
  Fritz Szepan
KAISERSLAUTERN:
GK   Willi Hölz
DF   Werner Baßler
DF   Werner Mangold
DF   Werner Liebrich
DF   Werner Kohlmeyer
MF   Otto Render
MF   Fritz Walter
MF   Horst Eckel
FW   Willi Wenzel
FW   Karl Wanger
FW   Erwin Scheffler
Manager:
  Richard Schneider

Sources

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