Elek Schwartz

Infobox Football biography
playername = Elek Schwartz


fullname = Alexander Schwartz
dateofbirth = birth date|1908|10|23|df=yes
cityofbirth = Timişoara
countryofbirth = Romania {then Austria-Hungary}
dateofdeath = death date and age|2000|10|2|1908|10|23
cityofdeath = Haguenau
countryofdeath = France
height =
position =
currentclub =
clubnumber =
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = ?–?
1932–1934
1934–1936
1936–1938
1938–1939
clubs = Timişoara
FC Hyères
AS Cannes
Racing Strasbourg
Red Star Olympique
caps(goals) = 0- (-)
0- (-)
0- (-)
0- (-)
0- (-)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 1948–1949
1950–1952
1952–1953
1953–1955
1955–1957
1957–1964
1964–1965
1965–1968
1969–1970
1972–
1976–1977
1977–1979
managerclubs = AS Cannes
AS Monaco
Le Havre AC
Sportfreunde Hamborn 07
Rot-Weiss Essen
Netherlands
SL Benfica
Eintracht Frankfurt
FC Porto
1860 Munich
Racing Strasbourg
SR Haguenau
pcupdate = 17:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)
ntupdate = 17:01, 19 March 2007 (UTC)

Alexander "Elek" Schwartz (23 October 1908–2 October 2000) was coach of the Dutch national football team. With SL Benfica he won the national Championship and Cup trophies of 1965 and led the club into the final of the European Cup of Champions.

Player in Romania and France

Elek Schwartz initially started playing in his Romanian hometown of Timişoara. Later he played professional football in the French Ligue 1 with FC Hyères (1932-1934), AS Cannes (1934-1936), Racing Strasbourg (1936-1938) and Red Star Olympique (1938/39).

Beginnings as Coach on the Côte d'Azur

He started his coaching career in France with AS Cannes (1948/49) and from there continued to AS Monaco (1950-1952) and Le Havre AC (1952/53).

Early years in Germany

1953 he was hired by Sportfreunde Hamborn 07. In his second season with the club from the suburb of Duisburg he led the club to promotion to the western division of the the five ways split first division of Germany, the 'Oberliga West".

1955 he was appointed as manager by the then German champions, Rot-Weiss Essen. In the next couple of years he led the team to ranks 4 and 8 in the Oberliga West.

Manager of the Dutch Team

After leaving Rot-Weiss Essen, Schwartz joined the Dutch football association, the KNVB and took on the reins of the "Oranjes". The Dutch national football team. He guided the "Elftal" through 49 matches.

However, this was in an era when Dutch football had yet to achieve the standing it has held since the 1970s. A negative highlight was the 7-0 defeat to Germany in 1959 in Cologne. Nevertheless, he held the position of "Bondscoach" until 1964 when Georg Kessler replaced him.

European Cup Final with Benfica

In 1964/65 he coached SL Benfica in Lisbon, then with the legendary Eusébio. There he led the team to the championship of Portugal.

After this Benfica overcame Real Madrid in the quarterfinals of the European Cup of Champions and eventually even made it all the way to the final, where the "Eagles" had to yield to the masters of the Catenaccio, the Helenio Herrera coached team of Inter Milan, if just 0-1.

Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt

From July 1965 to to June 1968 Schwartz coached - as successor to Ivica Horvat Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Bundesliga. There he introduced the 4-2-4 system. Nevertheless, place 4 was as good as it got in the league.

No success with the "Dragons" in Porto

In 1969/70 he coached FC Porto. Not only that the "Dragons" exited already in the first round of the national cup competition and in the second round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup - in the end Porto was only 9th in the League. This is still their hitherto worst rank ever.

End of the career in Munich and Strasbourg

In the season 1972/73 Schwartz coached 1860 Munich, but he could not help them to fulfill their aspirations to return to the Bundesliga after then three years of absence.

He had more luck in 1976/77, when in the course of his last professional engagement he led Racing Strasbourg to promotion to the French Ligue 1.

After this he guided the Alsatian amateur side SR Haguenau, todays FCSR Haguenau, through the 1978/79 season.

Haguenau, he decided, was also a nice place for him to spend the rest of his life.

Overview

Coach of the Netherlands - Statistics

Links

* [http://www.racingstub.com/page.php?page=dirigeant&id=38 Data about Elek Schwartz]
* [http://www.eintracht-archiv.de/schwartz.html Elek Schwartz at eintracht-archiv.de]