Anton Turek (18 January 1919 – 11 May 1984) was a German footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Personal information | |||||||||||||
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Full name | Anton Turek | ||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1919-01-18)18 January 1919 | ||||||||||||
Place of birth | Duisburg, Germany | ||||||||||||
Date of death | 11 May 1984(1984-05-11) (aged 65) | ||||||||||||
Place of death | Neuss, West Germany | ||||||||||||
Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||
Position(s) | Goalkeeper | ||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||
1929–1936 | Duisburger SV | ||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||
1936–1941 | TuS Duisburg 48/99 | ||||||||||||
1941–1943 | TSG Ulm 1846 | ||||||||||||
1943–1946 | TuS Duisburg 48/99 | ||||||||||||
1946–1947 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 22 | (0) | ||||||||||
1947–1950 | TSG Ulm 1846 | 65 | (0) | ||||||||||
1950–1956 | Fortuna Düsseldorf | 133 | (0) | ||||||||||
1956–1957 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||
1950–1954 | West Germany | 20 | (0) | ||||||||||
Honours
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Born in Duisburg, Turek started his career at Duisburger Sportverein, but he soon switched to TuS Duisburg 48/99. He first came to the attention of later West Germany national team coach Sepp Herberger was on 27 September 1936, when West Germany played a preparation game against Luxembourg in Krefeld. Before that game, the youth teams of Krefeld and TuS Duisburg 48/99 had met with the 17-year-old Turek standing in the Duisburg goal. During World War II Turek was lucky things did not turn out worse for him as a shell splinter struck through his helmet.[1]
In 1950 Turek switched to Fortuna Düsseldorf. Between 1950 and 1954 he played 20 games for the West Germany national team.[2] He played in "The Miracle of Bern" 1954 FIFA World Cup final against Hungary and won the Championship.[3]
After a fine save from a very close shot by Nándor Hidegkuti, he was described by the sports reporter Herbert Zimmermann with the words "Toni, you're a football God".[4][5] He later had to apologize for that comment because the church complained about the comparison of a football player with God.
Turek died in Neuss in 1984.[4] He had been paralyzed from the waist down since August 1973.[6]
He has received numerous honours and is still highly regarded in Germany, especially in the Rhineland.[7]
Werner Raupp: Toni Turek - "Fußballgott". Eine Biographie, Hildesheim: Arete Verlag 2019 (2018) (ISBN 978-3-96423-008-9).
West Germany squad – 1954 FIFA World Cup winners (1st title) | ||
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