Bernhard Klodt

Bernhard Klodt
Personal information
Date of birth 26 October 1926(1926-10-26)
Place of birth Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck, Germany
Date of death 23 May 1996(1996-05-23) (aged 69)
Playing position Striker
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
1943–1948 Schalke 04
1948–1950 STV Horst Emscher
1950–1963 Schalke 04
National team
1950–1959 West Germany 19 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Bernhard "Berni" Klodt (26 October 1926 – 23 May 1996) was a German football player. He was born in Gelsenkirchen-Bismarck; the goalkeeper Hans Klodt was his brother.

Between 1950 and 1959, he played 19 times and scored three goals for the Germany national football team.[1] He was part of the 1954 FIFA World Cup-winning squad, and also played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup. For his club career, he played for FC Schalke 04.[2] He died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. He debuted in the senior team on 14 March 1943 at the age of 16, when FC Schalke 04 beat VfL Bochum by 10–1.[3]

During the 1954 World Cup, Klodt had started in the outside right position instead of Helmut Rahn. He played in both games against Turkey. Although he played fairly well in both games, Sepp Herberger decided to replace him with Rahn for the quarterfinal against Yugoslavia. Herberger's decision at first was not exclusively greeted with enthusiasm by the press, but after Rahn had scored against Yugoslavia, Klodt was out of the team for good. The basis for Herberger's decision was his hope that Rahn with his unconventional style and shooting prowess was more likely to turn around a game than any other player. Contrary to Rahn, Klodt was said to be less of an individualist and more of a teamplayer.[4]

Aged 36, Klodt ended his career in 1963 with the start of the Bundesliga. In his last game, he scored the only goal in Schalke's 1–0 victory against the Bulgarian national team on 18 June 1963.[4] Klodt had played in 330 Oberliga games in which he scored 131 goals.[4]

After his retirement from football, Klodt among other things coached the youth team of FC Schalke 04 and also worked as salesman for a brewery. After suffering a heart attack and a stroke in 1990, he was paralysed from the right.[4]

References

  1. ^ "Bernhard Klodt" (in German). fussballdaten.de. http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/klodtbernhard/. Retrieved 25 January 2010. 
  2. ^ "Berni Klodt" (in German). weltfussball.de. http://www.weltfussball.de/spieler_profil/berni-klodt/. Retrieved 25 January 2010. 
  3. ^ Bitter, Jürgen. Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler, Sportverlag, 1997, p. 241.
  4. ^ a b c d Bitter, Jürgen. Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler, Sportverlag, 1997, p. 242.
West Germany squad – 1954 FIFA World Cup Winners (1st Title)
West Germany squad – 1958 FIFA World Cup Fourth Place