Ernst Kuzorra (16 October 1905 – 1 January 1990) was a German footballer of the pre-war era. During his entire career, he played for Schalke 04, whom he led to six national championships and one national cup. He is commonly regarded as the greatest Schalke player of all time alongside Fritz Szepan. A highly athletic, technical and prolific forward, Kuzorra is also commonly regarded as one of the greatest German forwards.
Life Ernst Kuzorra was born as the son of Karl Kuzorra from East Prussia and his wife Bertha in the industrial town of Gelsenkirchen where his father worked as a coal miner. Ernst joined the club in 1920 at the age of 14, allegedly playing his first match in his confirmation shoes after being asked to join the team while watching from the sidelines. Three years later, he advanced to the first team, where he soon became one of the starting players. He was part of Germany's team at the 1928 Summer Olympics, but he did not play in any matches. During the years 1930–31, he and thirteen teammates were banned for a relatively minor infraction of the strict amateur statutes, having received ten instead of the allowed five Reichsmark as compensation for playing in an away game.
In the following years, Kuzorra along with his brother-in-law Fritz Szepan led Schalke to become the dominant team in German soccer, winning six national championships from 1934 to 1942. He was one of the main axes of what became known as the Schalker Kreisel, a system that used quick, short passes to confuse and overwhelm the opponent.
Even though he may have been the best German player on his position at the time, he only had 12 appearances for the national team, a fact that is widely attributed to bad relations with national coach Otto Nerz. Nevertheless, because of his success and his athletic prowess, national socialist propaganda soon took an interest in him. Great efforts were made to show that Kuzorra, despite his Slavic sounding name and mixed origin, was in fact of purely Germanic stock. The success of these efforts was limited, however, as Kuzorra remained politically uninterested and due to his taciturn character a poor instrument for public campaigns.
After the war, Kuzorra remained playing for a few years, mainly for material reasons - at the time, soccer players were often reimbursed in otherwise scarce foodstuff. In 1950 he retired, and from then on earned his livelihood as proprietor of a tobacco and lottery store. Over time, he became a living legend, especially among the supporters of Schalke 04. In 1985, he finally received the honorary citizenship of his home town, Gelsenkirchen. Ernst Kuzorra died on New Year's Day in 1990 at the age of 84. Including official games, friendlies and youth games, he reportedly scored over 1000 goals for Schalke.
Career statistics Club + Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueGermanChamp'shipCupOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsSchalke 041924–26Emscher-Kreisliga916———9161926–27Gauliga Ruhr142110—81123321927–28Gauliga Ruhr101610—91120271928–29Gauliga Ruhr71121—9818201929–30Gauliga Ruhr163421—6524401930–31Gauliga Ruhr00———001931–32Gauliga Ruhr111832—5919291932–33Gauliga Ruhr151942—5424251933–34Gauliga Westfalen161843——20211934–35Gauliga Westfalen16566——22111935–36Gauliga Westfalen15188869—29351936–37Gauliga Westfalen14157574—28241937–38Gauliga Westfalen17219560—32261938–39Gauliga Westfalen1697412—24151939–40Gauliga Westfalen1187722—20171940–41Gauliga Westfalen16138230—27151941–42Gauliga Westfalen12125264—23181942–43Gauliga Westfalen151230434426191943–44Gauliga Westfalen121120424422171944–45Gauliga Westfalen45———451945–46Landesliga Westfalen62———621946–47Landesliga Westfalen74——501241947–48Oberliga West141———1411948–49Oberliga West40———40Career total277289794839265556450419
International + Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsGermany192710192821192900193023193121193230193300193400193500193612193700193810Total127
Honours Schalke 04 German Championship: 1934, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942 German Cup: 1937
References
External links
Article about early history of Schalke 04