Kurt Sommerlatt

In the 1952 Helsinki Olympic football tournament, West Germany beat Egypt 3-1 in the first round before a surprising 4-2 extra time win over Brazil in the quarter-final. They lost 1-3 to Yugoslavia in the semi-final and missed out on a medal after Sweden beat them 2-0 in the bronze medal match.

Midfielder Kurt Sommerlatt played for Karlsruher FC Phoenix (1950-52), Karlsruher SC (1952-57), FC Bayern München (1957-59), and then in Switzerland for FC La Chaux-des-Fonds (1959-62). With Karlsruher SC he won the German Cup in 1955 and 1956, and with Bayern München in 1957 and in 1961 he added a Swiss Cup winners’ medal whilst with La Chaux-des-Fonds. He won seven German amateur international caps.

After he finished playing, Sommerlatt became a successful coach in the South of Germany. In 1964 he was the first Bundesliga coach of Karlsruher SC before stints with FK Pirmasens, VfR Frankenthal, Borussia Neunkirchen, FC 08 Homburg and SpVgg 07 Ludwigsburg. Beside his coaching engagements he ran his own sports goods shop in his home town of Blankenburg. He died in 2019 after an operation caused by a fall.