Bernhard Klodt
Encyclopedia
Bernhard "Berni" Klodt was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 football player. He was born in Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen
Gelsenkirchen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located in the northern part of the Ruhr area. Its population in 2006 was c. 267,000....

-Bismarck; the goalkeeper Hans Klodt
Hans Klodt
Hans Klodt was a German football player. He was the older brother of Bernhard Klodt. He was born in Gelsenkirchen.,...

 was his brother.

Between 1950 and 1959, he played 19 times and scored three goals for the Germany national football team
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

. He was part of the 1954 FIFA World Cup
1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup, the fifth staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzerland was chosen as hosts in July 1946. The tournament set a number of all-time records for goal-scoring, including the highest average goals scored per game...

-winning squad, and also played in the 1958 FIFA World Cup
1958 FIFA World Cup
The 1958 FIFA World Cup, the sixth staging of the World Cup, was hosted by Sweden from 8 June to 29 June. The tournament was won by Brazil, who beat Sweden 5–2 in the final for their first title. To date, this marks the only occasion that a World Cup staged in Europe was not won by a European...

. For his club career, he played for FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

. He died in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Garmisch-Partenkirchen is a mountain resort town in Bavaria, southern Germany. It is the administrative centre of the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Oberbayern region, and the district is on the border with Austria...

. He debuted in the senior team on 14 March 1943 at the age of 16, when FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

 beat VfL Bochum
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum, is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia.-Founding to World War II:...

 by 10–1.

During the 1954 World Cup, Klodt had started in the outside right position instead of Helmut Rahn
Helmut Rahn
Helmut Rahn, known as Der Boss , was a German football player. He became a legend for having scored the winning goal in the final game of the 1954 FIFA World Cup .- Career :...

. He played in both games against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...

. Although he played fairly well in both games, Sepp Herberger
Sepp Herberger
Josef "Sepp" Herberger was a German football player and manager...

 decided to replace him with Rahn for the quarterfinal against Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia national football team
The Yugoslavia national football team represented the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in association football. It enjoyed a modicum of success in international competition. In 1992, during the Yugoslav wars, the team was suspended from international...

. 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.

Aged 36, Klodt ended his career in 1963 with the start of the Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

. In his last game, he scored the only goal in Schalke's 1–0 victory against the Bulgarian national team
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

 on 18 June 1963. Klodt had played in 330 Oberliga
Oberliga (football)
The Oberliga is currently the name of the fifth tier of the German football leagues. Before the introduction of the 3rd Liga in 2008, it was the fourth tier...

 games in which he scored 131 goals.

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
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...

in 1990, he was paralysed from the right.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK