1914 German football championship

The 1914 German football championship, the 12th edition of the competition, was won by SpVgg Fürth, defeating VfB Leipzig 3–2 after extra time in the final. It was the last edition of the championship before the First World War, with the next edition not held until after the war in 1920.[1]

1914 German championship
Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft
Replica of the Viktoria trophy
Tournament details
CountryGermany
Dates3–31 May
Teams8
Final positions
ChampionsSpVgg Fürth
1st German title
Runner-upVfB Leipzig
Tournament statistics
Matches played7
Goals scored30 (4.29 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Karl Franz (5 goals)
← 1913
1920 →

For SpVgg Fürth it was the first national championship won with two more to follow in 1926 and 1929 as well as a losing appearance in the 1920 final. VfB Leipzig, the first-ever German champions in 1903, had also won the 1906 and 1913 editions as well as making a losing appearance in 1911 and was the most successful club in the pre-First World War era of the competition.[2][3][4]

Fürth's Karl Franz was the top scorer of the 1914 championship with five goals.[5]

Eight clubs qualified for the competition played in knock-out format, the champions of each of the seven regional football championships as well as the defending German champions.[1]

Overview

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The German championship final was contested by SpVgg Fürth and VfB Leipzig with the former winning its first national championship. The final lasted for an historic 153 minutes, until SpVgg scored the winning goal, the longest game in German football history. Fürth took an early lead and Leipzig lost a player through a broken leg just before half time, unable to bring on a substitute as substitutions were not allowed in those days. Nevertheless, Leipzig equalised in the 83rd minute, forcing extra time. Fürth once more took the lead but Leipzig equalised again four minutes later. After 120 minutes the game stood at two all and the rules stipulated that the game was to be continued in 10-minute blocks of extra time until a winner was determined. A red card for Fürth player Hans Schmidt in the 138 minute put both clubs at an equal number of ten players again. The game was finally decided in the 153rd minute when Karl Franz scored the winning goal for SpVgg Fürth.[6]

Qualified teams

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The teams qualified through the regional championships:[1]

Club Qualified as
Prussia Königsberg Baltic champions
Askania Forst South Eastern German champions
Berliner BC Brandenburg champion
SpVgg Leipzig Central German champions
Altonaer FC 93 Northern German champions
Duisburger SV Western German champions
SpVgg Fürth Southern German champions
VfB Leipzig Holders

Competition

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Quarter-finals

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The quarter-finals, played on 3 May 1914:[7]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
Berliner BC 4–0 Askania Forst
Duisburger SV 4–1 aet Altonaer FC 93
SpVgg Fürth 2–1 SpVgg Leipzig
VfB Leipzig 4–1 Prussia Königsberg

Semi-finals

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The semi-finals, played on 17 May 1914:[7]

Team 1  Score  Team 2
SpVgg Fürth 4–3 aet Berliner BC
VfB Leipzig 1–0 Duisburger SV

Final

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SpVgg Fürth3 – 2 (a.e.t.)VfB Leipzig
Franz   17', 153'
Weicz   104'
Report Pendorf   83'
Hesse   108'
Victoria 96-Platz, Magdeburg
Attendance: 6,000
Referee: von Pacquet
SPVGG FÜRTH
    Hermann Polenski
    Sebastian Seidel
    Hans Schmidt   138'
    Erich Riebe
    Julius Hirsch
    Karl Burger
    Georg Wellhöfer
    Fritz Weicz
    Hans Jakob
    Karl Franz
    Georg Wunderlich
Manager:
  William Townley
VFB LEIPZIG
    Johannes Schneider
    Alfred Herrmann
    Willy Völker
    Eduard Pendorf
    Paul Michel
    Curt Hesse
    Georg Richter
    Paul Pömpner
    Adalbert Friedrich
    Hans Dolge
    Johannes Völckers
Manager:

References

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  1. ^ a b c "German championship 1914". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  2. ^ "(West) Germany -List of champions". Rsssf.com. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  3. ^ "1. FC Lok Leipzig » Steckbrief" [1. FC Lok Leipzig honours]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  4. ^ "SpVgg Greuther Fürth » Steckbrief" [SpVgg Greuther Fürth honours]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Deutsche Meisterschaft » Torschützenkönige" [German championship: Top goal scorer]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  6. ^ "100 Jahre Meister: Das längste Spiel" [100 Years Champions: The longest game]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  7. ^ a b "Deutsche Meisterschaft 1913/1914 » Spielplan" [German championship 1913–14]. Weltfussball.de (in German). Retrieved 12 January 2016.

Sources

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  • kicker Allmanach 1990, by kicker, page 160 to 178 – German championship
  • Süddeutschlands Fussballgeschichte in Tabellenform 1897-1988 (in German) History of Southern German football in tables, publisher & author: Ludolf Hyll
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