 Oßwald (right) with Herbert Binkert | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1905-02-04)4 February 1905 | ||
| Place of birth | Saalfeld, Germany | ||
| Date of death | 10 November 1993(1993-11-10) (aged 88) | ||
| Place of death | Frankfurt, Germany | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1918–? | VfL Saalfeld | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| Minerva 93 Berlin | |||
| Managerial career | |||
| 1928–1933 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| 1933–1935 | Mainz 05 | ||
| 1935–1938 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| 1938–1941 | VfR Frankenthal | ||
| 1946–1958 | Kickers Offenbach | ||
| 1958–1964 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| 1968–1969 | Kickers Offenbach | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Paul Oßwald (4 February 1905 – 10 November 1993) was a Germanfootball player and manager. As manager ofEintracht Frankfurt he won theGerman championship in1959.
Paul Oßwald began as a youth player at local club VfL Saalfeld/Thüringen. AtMinerva 93 Berlin he played as a senior player in the midfield. He graduated at the German sport academy and took the examination as a sports teacher. The thenGerman national managerOtto Nerz discovered his ability for team leading and managing and connected him to Eintracht Frankfurt in 1928.
With Eintracht Frankfurt the young manager won the Southern Germany championship in 1930 and 1932, each one after Eintracht won the district championship of Main/Hessen. In 1930 his team leftSpVgg Fürth back on the second position – in 1931 theFranks secured the title – and in 1932 Frankfurt reclaimed the title and won the final match in the South againstBayern Munich with 2–0. Three times in a row Paul Oßwald led theEagles to the final round of theGerman championship . In 1930 Eintracht lost toHolstein Kiel and in 1931 toHamburger SV. In 1932, at the third try, the squad headed by the German internationalsRudolf Gramlich,Hugo Mantel,Franz Schütz andHans Stubb succeeded against Allenstein,Tennis Borussia Berlin andFC Schalke 04 and subsequently reached the final match. On 2 June 1932 they had to face the runner-up of the South, Bayern Munich, in Nuremberg an. Bayern's internationals –Ludwig Goldbrunner,Sigmund Haringer,Konrad Heidkamp andOskar Rohr – turned the table of the Southern Germany's final fixture and won 2–0 the German championship. After a break from 1933 until 1935 – Oßwald assistedReichstrainer Otto Nerz at the1934 FIFA World Cup in Italy, and managedFSV Mainz 05 and the Gauauswahl Südwest (South Western XI). As manager of the Gauauswahl Südwest he won against Bavaria XI on 29 July 1934 in Nuremberg with 5–3. In 1935–36 he led the South Western squad to the finals against Saxonia. In 1935 he overtook again the management atSGE and stayed until 1938. In the 1937–38 season Eintracht won the championship of theGauliga Südwest and let Borussia Neunkirchen, Wormatia Worms and Kickers Offenbach behind. In the group matches of the final round to the German championship theEagles did not advance due to the worse goal difference. After the season Paul Oßwald was appointed to the head of the municipal office for sportsFrankenthal and had to abandon his at occupation at Frankfurt. Until 1941 he managedVfR Frankenthal as well.
After World War II the former Wehrmacht officer started to work forKickers Offenbach. He was a football teacher, strict father figure and commanded respect. In twelve he led Kickers to the top of the Oberliga. Twice (in 1949 and 1955) he won the Southern German championship. In 1950 and 1957 he entered for the third and fourth time final round for the German championship. He could win the championship of theOberliga Süd in 1948–49 with a difference of eleven points to runner-upVfR Mannheim. Mannheim took revenge and beat Offenbach in the final round with 2–1 and eventually won in the final match againstBorussia Dortmund the 1949 German championship. In 1950 the Oßwald team finished third in the South, endured the final round but lost the Southern runner-upVfB Stuttgart in the final match when VfB won 2–1 against Offenbach. Horst Buhtz, Gerhard Kaufhold, Willi Keim and Kurt Schreiner were part of this team then. In the final group matches in 1955 and 1957 Kickers failed advance against the respective later championsRot-Weiss Essen andBorussia Dortmund. In these years he contributed the playersEngelbert Kraus,Hermann Nuber andHelmut Preisendörfer to Kickers. After his twelfth season he bid farewell after 1957–58. Paul Oßwald was described as perfectionist who had the view for the talent and the shaping of youth players. The football teacher was not afraid of visiting village and eye talents and sign them in their parents' house. As manager of Kickers he took care of the Under-19 section as well. He set value on travels abroad against foreign clubs: "In international matches you learn the most". 1968–69 managed OFC in theBundesliga for another season but could not avoid Offenbach's relegation and resigned due for health reason on 16 November 1969.
In the summer of 1958 Paul Oßwald crossed theMain and signed at Frankfurt for the third time. At first go he won the Southern German championship with theSGE. In the final round they overcameWerder Bremen,1. FC Köln andFK Pirmasens. In eight final round matches Eintracht won them all. In the final fixture Frankfurt the former Oßwald club Offenbach on 28 June 1959 in Berlin and won 5–3 after overtime. The match was calledOßwald derby because the two teams in Berlin played a similar style, the Oßwald style. The offence quality with Kreß, Sztani, Feigenspan, Lindner and Pfaff succeeded after overtime. InEuropean Cup 1959-60 the motivator led the team as the first German squad to a European final after beatingBSC Young Boys,Wiener Sportclub andRangers. On 18 May 1960Real Madrid with their starsFerenc Puskás (four goals) andAlfredo Di Stéfano (three goals) beat Frankfurt atHampden Park with 7–3. In the 1961 and 1962 campaigns Eintracht entered the final rounds for the German championship again. In the first season of theBundesliga Paul Oßwald managed Eintracht but later two heart attacks led to his resignation on 17 April 1964.
Paul Oßwald was co-founder and the first chairman (1957–63) of the Association of German Football Teachers (Bund Deutscher Fußball-Lehrer). Later he was announced as the honoured chairman. In 1967German Football Association established a contact point for managers and player to be placed in a club to prevent illegal agents. Paul Oßwald led this contact point, located inDAG-Haus in Frankfurt on Bockenheimer Landstraße and was supported by the Association of German football teachers and theGerman Salaried Employees' Union. In November 1993 the manager legend died in Sachsenhausen.