Fritz Szepan

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Personal information
Fritz Szepan
Full name	Fritz Szepan
Date of birth	September 2, 1907
Place of birth	Gelsenkirchen, Germany
Date of death	December 14, 1974
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Deceased
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1916-1950	Schalke 04
National team
1929 - 1939	Germany	34 (8)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Fritz Szepan (born 2 September 1907 in Gelsenkirchen; died 14 December 1974 in Gelsenkirchen) was a German soccer player in the period leading up to and including World War II. He spent his entire career with Schalke 04 where he won six national championships and one German Cup. He is commonly regarded as one of the greatest Schalke players of all time.

[edit] Life

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Fritz Szepan was born in 1907 in the industrial town of Gelsenkirchen. He joined Schalke 04 as a youth player in 1916 and remained with the side until his retirement in 1950. He and his brother-in-law Ernst Kuzorra led Schalke during the era of the team's greatest success in the 30s when it was the dominant club in Germany. Together they established the famous "Schalker Kreisel" system that used short flat passes to overwhelm their opponent's defense.

Unlike Kuzorra, Szepan also had a successful international career. From 1929 to 1938 he played for the German national team which he led as captain in 30 matches and during two World Cups.

After his retirement in 1950, Szepan remained active as coach for Wuppertaler SV, Schalke 04 and Rot-Weiß Essen, leading that club to the German championship in 1955. He served Schalke again as club president from 1964 to 1967. Fritz Szepan died on 14 December, 1974 in his hometown Gelsenkirchen.

[edit] Trivia

He and fellow Schalke star Ernst Kuzorra married sisters and thus became brothers-in-law.

[edit] External links

(German) Player profile
International career

	Germany squad - 1934 FIFA World Cup Third Place
FW Albrecht \| MF Bender \| GK Buchloh \| DF Busch \| FW Conen \| MF Gramlich \| DF Haringer \| FW Heidemann \| FW Hohmann \| GK Jakob \| MF Janes \| FW Kobierski \| GK Kreß \| FW Lehner \| MF Münzenberg \| FW Noack \| DF Schwartz \| FW Siffling \| MF Szepan \| MF Zielinski \| Coach Nerz

	Germany squad - 1938 FIFA World Cup
GK Buchloh \| FW Gauchel \| FW Gellesch \| MF Goldbrunn \| FW Hahnemann \| GK Jakob \| DF Janes \| MF Kitzinger \| MF Kupfer \| FW Lehner \| MF Mock \| MF Münzenberg \| FW Neumer \| FW Pesser \| GK Raftl \| DF Schmaus \| FW Siffling \| FW Skoumal \| FW Streitle \| FW Stroh \| FW Szepan \| MF Wagner \| Coach Herberger