Josef Dieter "Sepp" Maier  (born February 28, 1944 in Metten , Lower Bavaria ) is a former German soccer goalkeeper . With his 95 appearances, he is the record goalkeeper for the German national team and with 699 competitive games he is far ahead of Oliver Kahn 's record player for Bayern Munich , for whom he played for 17 years. During his playing days he was one of the best goalkeepers in the world and was nicknamed "The Cat of Anzing ". He won all the important national and international titles: he was World Champion , European Champion and German Champion , he also won the European Cup Winners' Cup and the State Champions as well as the DFB Cup .

youth

Sepp Maier was born as the second child of the couple Josef and Maria Maier. [1] He has an older brother named Horst and a four years younger brother named Hans. [2] The family moved to Haar in 1946, where he attended elementary school. From 1958 he also completed an apprenticeship as a machinist there. [3]

societies

In the B youth team at TSV Haar, Sepp Maier initially played as a center forward and felt it was a disgrace whenever he had to stand in goal ; in training he sometimes took over the position "for fun". [3] After an injury to the first-choice goalkeeper, Maier was called up between the posts in a cup game and did well. From then on he stayed in goal and was nominated for the Upper Bavarian youth team. Here scouts from FC Bayern Munich became aware of the talent and committed him in 1958 for the A youth .

In 1962 Maier became a contract player , and from the first regional league season in 1963/64 he replaced Fritz Kosar as goalkeeper. Before he was promoted to the Bundesliga with FC Bayern Munich in 1965 , he won the amateur national cup with the selection of the Bavarian state association in 1963 – with a 3-1 victory against the selection of Hesse. With Bayern, Maier was German champion in 1969 , 1972 , 1973 and 1974 , won the DFB Cup in 1966 , 1967 , 1969 and 1971 and the European Cup Winners ' Cup in 1967 .

Maier is considered one of the central figures of the team with which FC Bayern dominated at international level and won the European Cup in 1974 , 1975 and 1976 . In 1976 he won the World Cup with Bayern. Maier was voted Germany's Footballer of the Year in 1975, 1977 and 1978 and took over the post of team captain with Franz Beckenbauer 's departure in 1977.

On July 14, 1979, Maier was seriously injured in a road accident he was at fault. [4] During aquaplaning , Maier left his lane and crashed into an oncoming car, in which two women were slightly injured. [5] The weekend service at the district hospital to which Maier was taken after the accident did not recognize the severity of his injuries and only diagnosed a few broken ribs . [5] It was only when his friend Uli Hoeneß , who had just become manager of Bayern, rushed to the rescue, that he was referred to the Bayern club doctor, who ordered Maier to be transferred to the Großhadern hospital . [5] X-rays were first taken here, which in turn showed a ruptured lung ; [5] the liver had pushed in, the diaphragm was torn and Maier also had a collection of two and a half liters of blood in his abdominal cavity. [5] Maier was only able to survive after an emergency operation. [5]

On November 26, 1979 he began training again, [6] but then had to end his career. In 14 years as a Bundesliga player at FC Bayern Munich, he only missed three match days in the 1965/66 season; on the 10th, 11th and 34th match day he was represented by Fritz Kosar . His 442 first division games in a row – out of a total of 473 [7] – mean a world record to this day. His successor in goal at FC Bayern was Walter Junghans . Shortly before his serious accident, Maier had received an offer from the NASL franchise New York Cosmos , in which Franz Beckenbauer had been active for two years. [8] The rumored annual salary: one million marks. [8] However, Maier declined this offer and told the German media: "Maybe I'll put myself in the Cosmonaut Gate in two years, but only for one summer, because Bavaria will remain Bavaria." [8th]

His farewell game on June 4, 1980 in Munich's Olympic Stadium, in which the German national team defeated Bayern 3-1 in front of 78,000 spectators, was not without conflict. Maier insulted Bayern coach Pál Csernai , who then prematurely left his place on the bench. [9] With the money from the disability insurance , Maier subsequently bought a tennis park, with which, according to his own statement, he earned more than during his active time as a soccer player. In later years, especially after his retirement from football, he worked, among other things, as a golfer . [5]

National team

Postage stamp from Paraguay for the 1982 World Cup with a scene by Sepp Maier (year unknown)

After playing in goal for the DFB youth team under coach Helmut Schön in 1961, he played his first game for the national team in 1966. Maier made his debut in the 4-0 win against Ireland in Dublin on May 4th. [10] He was also part of the squad for the 1966 World Cup in England, but was not used there as a substitute for Hans Tilkowski . In 1969 he prevailed as No. 1 in the German goal. At the subsequent World Cup in Mexico in 1970 , he was eliminated with the German national team in the semi-finals. He described the defeat in the game of the century against Italy as his biggest defeat. [11] At the 1972 European Championships in Belgium, he won his first title with the German national team.

His greatest success came at the 1974 World Cup in his own country. He already made his best international match at the water fight in Frankfurt . He parried brilliantly several times against the strong Poles and thus secured the place in the final. He confirmed this performance in the final. The Dutch turned up the heat, especially in the second half. "Maier! Maier again and again," shouted TV commentator Rudi Michel after Maier had made world-class saves several times. In the end, Sepp Maier became world champion with the German national team – his greatest triumph. [12]

At the 1976 European Championships, Maier reached the final with the German national team. The German national team lost this after a penalty shoot-out, but he did not parry a penalty. At the 1978 World Cup, Maier retired with the German national team after a 2-3 defeat against Austria in the second round.

With 95 international matches , Maier is Germany's record national goalkeeper. In his last six international matches in 1978/79 he was captain of the national team.