1954 German football championship

The 1954 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953–54. Hannover 96 were crowned champions for the second time after a group stage and a final.

1954 German championship
Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft
Tournament details
CountryWest Germany
Dates2–23 May
Teams6
Final positions
ChampionsHannover 96
2nd German title
Runner-up1. FC Kaiserslautern
Tournament statistics
Matches played7
Goals scored29 (4.14 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)Otto Baitinger
Rolf Paetz
Georg Stollenwerk
(3 goals each)
← 1953
1955 →

It was Hannover's second appearance in the German final, having previously won the championship in 1938, beating Schalke 04 4-3 after extra-time. Kaiserslautern were making their fourth appearance, and was the third time they had reached the final in four years, following their championship wins in 1951 and 1953.

The format used to determine the German champion was different from the 1953 season. Only six teams qualified for the championship, instead of eight. These six teams were split into two groups of three, and only played a single round of matches with games on neutral grounds; previously it had been home-and-away games. The reason for this format change and the reduction in the number of games was Germany's qualifying for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, held shortly after the championship final. As in the past seasons, the two group winners then played the national final.

Qualified teams edit

The teams qualified through the 1953–54 Oberliga season:

Club Qualified from
Hannover 96 Oberliga Nord champions
1. FC Köln Oberliga West champions
Berliner SV 92 Oberliga Berlin champions
1. FC Kaiserslautern Oberliga Südwest champions
VfB Stuttgart Oberliga Süd champions
Eintracht Frankfurt Oberliga Süd runners-up

Competition edit

Group 1 edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification H96 VFB BSV
1 Hannover 96 2 2 0 0 5 2 2.500 4 Advance to final 3–1
2 VfB Stuttgart 2 1 0 1 4 3 1.333 2 3–0
3 Berliner SV 2 0 0 2 1 5 0.200 0 1–2
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.
2 May 1954 Berliner SV 92 1 – 2 Hannover 96 Berlin
Karlsch   82' Report Tkotz   5'
Kruhl   83'
Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Jacobi (Mannheim)
9 May 1954 VfB Stuttgart 3 – 0 Berliner SV 92 Berlin
Waldner   35'
Baitinger   60', 69'
Report Stadium: Olympiastadion
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Schreiber (Eschweiler)
16 May 1954 Hannover 96 3 – 1 VfB Stuttgart Düsseldorf
Paetz   32', 43'
Zielinski   46'
Report Baitinger   50' Stadium: Rheinstadion
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Pennig (Mannheim)

Group 2 edit

Pos Team Pld W D L GF GA GR Pts Qualification FCK KOE SGE
1 1. FC Kaiserslautern 2 2 0 0 5 3 1.667 4 Advance to final 4–3 1–0
2 1. FC Köln 2 1 0 1 6 6 1.000 2 3–2
3 Eintracht Frankfurt 2 0 0 2 2 4 0.500 0
Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.
8 May 1954 1. FC Köln 3 – 2 Eintracht Frankfurt Ludwigshafen
Stollenwerk   31', 39'
Dörner   50'
Report Heilig   25'
Weilbächer   55'
Stadium: Südweststadion
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Eix (Emden)
16 May 1954 1. FC Kaiserslautern 4 – 3 1. FC Köln Stuttgart
F.Walter   32', pen.'
Scheffler   43'
Wenzel   48'
O.Walter   68'
Report Schäfer   63'
Nordmann   79'
Stollenwerk   83'
Stadium: Neckarstadion
Attendance: 65,000
Referee: Winkler (Nuremberg)

Final edit

Hannover 965 – 11. FC Kaiserslautern
Tkotz   45'
Kohlmeyer   48' (o.g.)
Wewetzer   77'
Kruhl   81'
Paetz   84'
Report Eckel   13'
Attendance: 76,000
Referee: E.Schmetzer
HANNOVER:
GK   Hans Krämer
DF   Hannes Kirk
DF   Helmut Geruschke
DF   Heinz Bothe
MF   Werner Müller
MF   Rolf Gehrcke
FW   Klemens Zielinski
FW   Heinz Wewetzer
FW   Hannes Tkotz
FW   Rolf Paetz
FW   Helmut Kruhl
Manager:
  Helmut Kronsbein
KAISERSLAUTERN:
GK   Willi Hölz
DF   Werner Liebrich
DF   Werner Kohlmeyer
DF   Werner Baßler
MF   Fritz Walter
MF   Otto Render
MF   Horst Eckel
FW   Willi Wenzel
FW   Karl Wanger
FW   Ottmar Walter
FW   Erwin Scheffler
Manager:
  Richard Schneider

Sources edit