Matzkowski mourned by Schalke
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
Article summary
FC Schalke 04 are mourning former player Paul Matzkowski, who died on Tuesday night at the age of 83.
Article body
Title winner
Matzkowski was a key figure for the Gelsenkirchen club in the years following the second world war, and was part of the squad that won the last of Schalke's seven German league titles in 1958.
Change of role
Born on 5 December 1920, he joined Schalke in 1948 after ten years with local rivals Westfalia Herne. His shooting power meant he had often been deployed as a centre-forward, however Matzkowski was moved to central midfield after team-mate Otto Tibulsky retired in 1949.
'B' international
In all he played 212 matches, scoring 58 times, in the Oberliga, Germany's top flight in those pre-Bundesliga days. His final appearance for Schalke was on 13 October 1957, in a 2-0 win against SC Preussen Münster. An expert free-kick and penalty-taker, he was capped once by the Germany 'B' team.
Coaching career
Matzkowski then coached the Schalke reserve side before moving on to work at Sportfreunde Gelsenkirchen, SV Zweckel, Friedrichsfeld and Jahn Werdohl. However, he never lost contact with Schalke. Matzkowski's son wrote the lyrics for a new musical about the club which opened in Gelsenkirchen last weekend - and naturally, the veteran Matzkowski was in attendance.
