Richard Herrmann (28 January 1923 – 27 July 1962) was a German football player. He played for the clubs

1. FC Kattowitz 1. FC Kattowitz ( pl, 1. FC Katowice) was an ethnically German football club playing in what was Kattowitz, Silesia Province in Germany (now Katowice, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland) and was active during the inter-war period and World War II when ...

(1934–1945) and

FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...

(1947–1960). He was part of the West Germany team which won the

1954 FIFA World Cup The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football tournament for senior men's national teams of the nations affiliated to FIFA. It was held in Switzerland from 16 June to 4 July. Switzer ...

. He scored a goal in the first round 3–8 defeat by

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...

. However, this was the only match he played in the tournament, and he did not play in the final victory against

. In total he played eight matches for Germany. After

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

Herrmann was a prisoner of war first in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, then in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

before being sent back to camp 1008 in

Derby Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby g ...

, England. Football was being played in that camp and the officials of

Derby County Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group. Founded in 188 ...

were told that there was a talented German POW. However Herrmann intended to get back to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

as soon as possible. When released in 1947, one of his comrades in camp 1008, the pressman Alfred Ludwig attended to Herrmann and took him along to Frankfurt, where he joined

. Gifted with great ball control and a precise shot, Herrmann soon became a starter for FSV as an

outside left Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

. In 1952

AC Torino Torino Football Club (), commonly referred to as Torino or simply Toro, is an Italian professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont. They currently play in Serie A. Founded as ''Foot-Ball Club Torino'' in 1906, Torino are among the mo ...

offered 60,000 D-Mark to Herrmann, but he declined due to being married with a son. Instead he rented a little smoke shop and an outlet for football beds. In 1958 Herrmann ended his career after a bad injury at the age of 35 and began coaching Seckbach 05 for a while. He died from a liver cirrhosis at the age of 39.

References

1923 births 1962 deaths Sportspeople from Katowice People from Silesian Voivodeship (1920–1939) German footballers Germany international footballers Polish footballers Polish people of German descent 1954 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players FSV Frankfurt players Association football forwards Deaths from cirrhosis German military personnel of World War II German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United Kingdom German prisoners of war in World War II held by the United States {{germany-footy-forward-1920s-stub