Fritz Szepan

Fritz Szepan

Personal information
Full name	Friedrich Szepan
Date of birth	(1907-09-02)2 September 1907
Place of birth	Gelsenkirchen, German Empire
Date of death	14 December 1974(1974-12-14) (aged 67)
Place of death	Gelsenkirchen, West Germany
Position(s)	Forward
Youth career
1924–1925	Schalke 04
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1925–1950	Schalke 04	265	(199)
International career
1929–1939	Germany	34	(8)
Managerial career
1949–1954	Schalke 04
1954–1956	Rot-Weiss Essen
Medal record Men's football Representing  Germany FIFA World Cup 1934 Italy
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Friedrich "Fritz" Szepan (2 September 1907 – 14 December 1974) was a German footballer in the period leading up to and including World War II. He spent his entire career with Schalke 04 where he won six national championships and one German Cup. He is commonly regarded as one of the greatest Schalke players of all time.^{[citation needed]} To celebrate the 100th birthday of the club, the supporters voted the Schalker Jahrhundertelf, the "Team of the century": he was included in the midfield. From 1929 to 1938 he played for the Germany national team which he led as captain in 30 matches and during two World Cups.

Usually a highly skilled midfielder, his versatility allowed him to play centre half and as forward. He was not very fast, however he compensated his lack of speed with fantastic intelligence, technique and positional play. Because of his extraordinary game understanding and leadership, he was later known as "Beckenbauer before the war".^[1]