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 Willibald KREß 1930-1934 
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Joined: Wed Jul 17, 2013 1:09 pm
Posts: 121
Name: Willibald Kreß

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Country: :GER: Germany
Clubs: Rot-Weiss Frankfurt, FC Mulhouse, Dresdner SC
Position: *GK, CF
Side: RF/BS
Age: 24-28 years (13/11/1906)

Height: 183 cm
Weight: 75 kg

Attack: 40
Defence: 94
Balance: 81
Stamina: 62
Top Speed: 68
Acceleration: 70
Response: 89
Agility: 78
Dribble Accuracy: 55
Dribble Speed: 57
Short Pass Accuracy: 56
Short Pass Speed: 59
Long Pass Accuracy: 63
Long Pass Speed: 60
Shot Accuracy: 53
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 55
Free Kick Accuracy: 48
Curling: 49
Header: 72
Jump: 85
Technique: 61
Aggression: 58
Mentality: 83
Keeper Skills: 94
Team Work: 78

Injury Tolerance: A
Condition: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 4
Weak Foot Frequency: 4
Growth Type: 7
Growth Type: Standard Lasting

CARDS:
S11 Penalty Saver

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Penalty Stopper

Attack / Defence Awareness Card: Defence Minded


INFO

The athletic keeper whose trademark were precise heading clearings, he'd take off the cap and rush from the line to clear the ball with his head from dangerous position. He started to play as striker first. Keeper with fantastic positioning and handling. He also had great understanding with his defendes and commanded successfully his box. He was elegant and disciplined, with good reflexes and strong mentally. The most popular German goalkeeper of the 1930s, Willibald Kress started out as a centre forward in youth but soon established himself as a goalkeeper for his youth club Bockenheim. The tall and lean Kress impressed as a phenomenal ball catcher, was known for his brilliant positional play and looked distinctly elegant in doing so. "Fussball" wrote about Kress: "A player with all the virtues of a goalkeeper. He knows how to captivate the crowds. There is no other goalkeeper that is so save with his hands." Despite his great ability it took a while before he debuted in the national team as Heiner Stuhlfauth reigned supreme. After Stuhlfauth resigned from international duty in 1930, the time of Kress had come. A career setback came in 1932: his club had signed a contract with various clubs for six friendlies amid the week and it was agreed that Kress had to be playing in goal in each game otherwise the sum would not have to be paid in full. But soon after the contract was agreed, Kress caught diphtheria and was missing those games. RW Frankfurt wanted to gain the missing amount of money by reducing the allowances paid to the players and these as a consequence began to strike. The German FA would have none of that and suspended the players for one year. But Kress wanted to keep on playing and thus joined French side Mulhouse in 1932-33. A year later the ban was lifted and he joined SC Dresden. With his easy-going character and unexcited ways, Kress soon became a fan favorite in Dresden. Nicknamed "Gentleman of football", Kress remained one of the most impressive keepers for the next ten years. He did well playing for Germany, too, but only until the 1934 World Cup semi final against Czechoslovakia. That game proved to be raven-black for Kress as he was at fault for one crucial goal that Germany conceded that day, a real blunder. The unforgiving Reichstrainer Otto Nerz dropped Kress completely after that fateful day and his international career was over on the spot. His club career however did not suffer from this at all. With Dresden he was a crucial part in their rise to the top of German football, winning the German championship and the Cup twice in the early 1940s. Helmut Schön once touted Kress as "the best German goalkeeper of all-times". Between 1934 and 1944 he was in 39 finals games for the German Championship in the case of Dresdner SC. In the poppy-red DSC-shirt he was able to celebrate two German championships (1943 and 1944) and two German Cup victories (1940 and 1941). Willibald Kress, commercial representatives of professional, completed in the period 1929 to 1934 16 caps for the German national team. At the World Cup in 1934, the German team finished with him in the goal third. He also played representative of Saxony and southern Germany later. 1936 and 1941 he won with the Gau-Saxon kingdom of the Confederation Cup selection. After the return from captivity he went to FSV Frankfurt in 1899 and left it there until end 1950 at the age of 44 years, his active career. His specially designed goalkeeper training was in high demand. Even as a 71-year-old he was still on as a consultant for goalie training. He died in 1989.


"THE GREATEST EVER GERMAN KEEPER" - HELMUT SCHÖN


Sat Jun 29, 2013 9:08 am
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