Ekkhard Schmidt-Opper

Ekkhard Schmidt- Opper ( born January 29, 1961 in Dornburg - Frickhofen ) is a former German hockey player and two -time Olympian. He played a total of 246 times for the German national hockey team.

Career

The midfielder Ekkhard Schmidt- Opper was with the Limburg HC 1984 German champion in field hockey and indoor hockey in 1985. In 1987 he moved after a dispute with coach Paul Lissek along with seven other players from the SC 1880 Frankfurt, where he also became German champion in 1989.

Back in 1979, debuted Schmidt- Opper in the national team. His first major success was winning the European Indoor Championships in 1980. During the World Cup 1981/1982 in Bombay, the German team reached the finals and defeated the Pakistani selection with 1:3 there. After bronze at the European Championships in 1983, he sailed as playmaker of the German team at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In the final, the German team was again against the team of Pakistan. After the regular season ended with 1:1, Pakistan succeeded in extra time 2-1.

At the World Championships in London in 1986 Schmidt- Opper won with the German team bronze, just like a year later at the European Championships. 1988 belonged Schmidt- Opper for winning team at the European Indoor Championships. At the Olympic Games in Seoul in 1988, the German team in the preliminary round group B won, beating the team of Great Britain 2-1. In the final, the two teams were again compared and the British were victorious 3-1, the German goal in the final scoring Heiner Dopp. In the 1990 World Cup Schmidt- Opper was with the national team once again fourth.

After the end of his career, Schmidt- Opper took over the family business in Frickhofen, a civil engineering company with around 100 employees.