Name: Werner Liebrich
Nickname: "De Rot", "Kleiner Fahrer", "Löwe von Wembley", "Liebrich II"
Country:
GermanyClub: 1. FC Kaiserslautern
Position: *CB, DMF, CF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 23-28 years (18/01/1927)
Height: 176 cm
Weight: 75 kg
Attack: 63
Defence: 89
Balance: 86
Stamina: 81
Top Speed: 81
Acceleration: 77
Response: 87
Agility: 75
Dribble Accuracy: 71
Dribble Speed: 72
Short Pass Accuracy: 74
Short Pass Speed: 73
Long Pass Accuracy: 71
Long Pass Speed: 72
Shot Accuracy: 62
Shot Power: 83
Shot Technique: 61
Free Kick Accuracy: 60
Curling: 58
Header: 85
Jump: 87
Technique: 72
Aggression: 63
Mentality: 88
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 78
Injury Tolerance: B
Condition: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 5
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 6
Growth type: Standard
CARDS:
S07 - Man Marking
S08 - Slide Tackle
S09 - Covering
SPECIAL ABILITIES: Marking - Sliding - Covering
Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded
INFO
Werner Liebrich (18 January 1927 – 20 March 1995) was a German footballer who played in the centre back position. He is notable for his role in West Germany's triumph in the 1954 FIFA World Cup, and spending his entire playing career of almost twenty years with hometown club Kaiserslautern, with whom he also briefly coached. Mostly remembered today for being the player who allegedly injured Ferenc Puskas on purpose in the 1954 World Cup, Werner Liebrich was a stopper of great aerial authority, a relentless defender with a commendable discipline. Unknown to many is his background coming from a worker’s family, his father was a plasterer and communist persecuted by the Nazis, Liebrich himself was a lifelong member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD). A real organizer at the back, Liebrich debuted aged 17 in the first team of Kaiserslautern in 1944. He was one of the main factors in the series of successes of the Kaiserslautern club during the early-1950s. Additionally to his firstrate heading, Liebrich impressed with his pace and stamina, but he was also known as a very hard player often close to overstepping the mark. Virtually perfect was his sliding tackling. All these features were instrumental in Germany’s successful 1954 World Cup campaign. His best game at that tournament came in the quarterfinal against Yugoslavia where he impressed with a World Class performance in the centre half position. Even better was his game against England at Wembley in December 1954 (which Germany lost 1-3), when he effectively marked English centre forward Ronnie Allen and also helped out covering Stanley Matthews with whom left back Werner Kohlmeyer had tremendous difficulties. After the game Sepp Herberger honored him by saying “Werner, the English pennant belongs to you.” Liebrich was not only a great defender but also often seen stimulating Kaiserslautern’s offense if need be. In the 1955 German championship final he steered his teammates forward with the score being 3-1 to RW Essen. Kaiserslautern got a grip on the game but in the end lost 3-4. A bit of a hothead on the pitch he had a sense of justice outside of it and didn’t balk at expressing his opinion. Known for his dry and at times sarcastic humour, he was the backstage entertainer of his teammates. In March 1995, Liebrich died of heart failure aged 68, in Kaiserslautern.