Gerhard Strack

Gerhard Strack ( born September 1, 1955 in Kerpen ) is a former German football player. From 1974 to 1985 the header strong central defender completed in the Bundesliga 261 league games for the first FC Cologne, scoring 30 goals. He won with Cologne three times the DFB Cup ( 1977, 1978, 1983) as well as 1978, the German championship. After the World Cup 1982, he was national player and participated in the European Football Championship 1984.

Career

Clubs, 1961-1988

About the stations SV Gluckauf Habbelrath ( until 1966 ) and SpVg Frechen 20 ( until 1973 ) came Strack before the start of the 1973/74 season in the youth department of the 1st FC Cologne. As A Junior player of the " Billy Goat " Elf, he was appointed by the DFB on 14 September 1973 for the first time in the German youth national football team. Together with Rüdiger Abramczik, Karl DEL'HAYE and Bernd Förster he failed in April 1974 in the qualification for the UEFA youth tournament to Romania. With the A- juniors of 1.FC Cologne he went under coach Joseph Roehrig as the Middle Rhine champion in the final round of the German championship. In the final, but the juniors of 1.FC Nuremberg 1-0 gates sat down on 9 June in Stade by then. Strack was taken to Round 1974/75 in the first team and made his debut under coach Zlatko Čajkovski on August 24, 1974 at the home game against Rot -Weiss Essen in the Bundesliga. Together with Harald Schumacher ( goalkeeper ), Harald Konopka, Bernd Cullmann and Herbert Hein, he was the defensive formation in the 0-1 defeat of Cologne. Strack graduated its first seniors in round 18 Bundesliga games and scored one goal. On September 18, 1974, he made ​​his debut in the UEFA Cup, as the FC celebrated a 5-1 win against Kokkolan PV.

His first major success with the celebrated Cologne practiced at that time in the 4-3 -3 system both as a sweeper as well as Vorstopper usable Strack 1976/77. Under the direction of " returnees " Hennes Weisweiler he came in the league only 16 league games (2 goals ). But in the two finals of the DFB - Cup on 28 and 30 May in Hannover vs Hertha BSC he put together with Libero Roland Gerber 's central defense, Cologne, which after a 1-1 draw after extra time in the first game two days later in necessitated replay 1-0 sat. As in the following round 1977/78 Cologne succeeded with the Double the biggest success in club history, Strack was in the Bundesliga already starting players ( 32 appearances / 2 goals). He also completed together with Dieter Müller ( 8 goals), Roger Van Gool (7 goals), Heinz Flohe, Roland Gerber and Herbert Zimmermann all seven games in the repetition of Cup success from the previous year.

From the 1978/79 season, the two semi-final matches stand out in the European Champions Cup against Nottingham Forest. On June 4, 1980 Strack played his third DFB Cup final, lost with his team but with 1:2 goals against the Rhenish rivals Fortuna Dusseldorf. Under new coach Rinus Michels he belonged on 5 November 1980, the Cologne-based team, which was able to win 4-0 goals for FC Barcelona in the UEFA Cup, Strack was officially introduced to the 1-0 lead. The Dutch coach size it reached 1981/82 (32 games / 6 goals) once again to the runner-up and on June 11, 1983 by a 1-0 win against local rivals SC Fortuna Köln for the third DFB Cup victory. Strack acted here as a sweeper, Paul Steiner was Vorstopper the " Billy Goats ".

On April 3, 1985 in a 2-1 away win at Fortuna Dusseldorf denied the 1,86 m tall defender on the Libero position his last league game for the first FC Cologne. Under coach Hannes Löhr he had completed 17 league games in the 1984/85 season. He finished after 261 league games - a total of 339 duty games ( 46 goals) - in the summer of 1985 his active time in Cologne and moved to Switzerland for FC Basel.

The former successful coach Helmut Benthaus was there back in 1985 from VfB Stuttgart to Basel, but he could not success to inculcate the Red - Blue. Although with René Botteron, Adrian Knup, Thomas Sweet, Marco Schällibaum, Beat Sutter and Strack were good single player available, but it was only enough to rear center field seats. Strack it moved to two years in the homeland he signed for season 1987/88 at Fortuna Dusseldorf a contract for the 2nd Bundesliga. But 14 years professional football had taken its toll. Due to injury, denied Strack for Fortuna under coach Aleksandar Ristic still only 17 second division games ( 2 goals) and finished his playing career in the summer of 1988.

Now he lives in Hürth ex -National player then worked as a freelance football coach and was involved in football schools.

National Team, 1977-1983

After the Cologne and Sweeper first came in the B national team on 15 November 1977 the course, followed in the 1981/82 season three more vocations in the B-team. On 14 May 1982 it announced the DFB in the 40's list for the Football World Cup 1982 in Spain to FIFA. To make a nomination in the 22er squad for the World Cup but it was not enough. In the second international game after the streaky World Cup in Spain, on 13 October 1982 in London against England, Strack made ​​his debut in the senior team. With the defensive formation Manfred Kaltz, Strack, Karl Heinz ( from the 5th minute Holger Hieronymus ) and Bernd Förster front of goalkeeper Schumacher the DFB team doing with goals from Karl -Heinz Rummenigge scored a 2-1 win. This was followed by Strack for four bets in a row in the qualifying matches for the European Football Championship 1984 in France against Northern Ireland ( 0-1), Albania (2:1 ), Turkey ( 3-0) and Austria (0-0 ). After the friendly match on September 6, 1983 in Budapest against Hungary (1:1) - it served as a preparation for further European Championship qualifiers - was the Cologne at the two clear victories over Austria (3-0 ) and Turkey (5: 1) over 90 minutes in use. When not factored 0-1 home defeat on 16 November 1983 in Hamburg in the return match against Northern Ireland on the other hand he was not loaded until the 83rd minute for Uli Stielike of Real Madrid. Four days later, on November 20 in Saarbrücken against Albania, he played again from the beginning as a sweeper and headed home in the 80th minute the decisive goal to make it 2-1. Through this " jitter victory" the German national team qualified for the tournament in France.

While Strack belonged to the 20 squad for the European Championship tournament in France, but came under national coach Jupp, outfitted in the games against Portugal (0-0 ), Romania ( 2-1) and Spain (0-1 ) is not used. When international match on September 12, 1984 in Dusseldorf against Argentina, the first under the newly crowned " Team Principal " Franz Beckenbauer, he stood for the last time on the national team.

Statistics

• DFB-Pokal 41 games, 4 goals ( 1 FC Köln )

• European Cup champions, European Cup Winners' Cup, UEFA Cup 39 games, 8 goals (1st FC Cologne)