Maurice Banach
Birth date9 October 1967
Birth placeMünster, West Germany
Death date17 November 1991 (aged 24)
Death placeRemscheid, Germany
Height1.85 m
PositionForward
Youthclubs 1Preußen Münster
Youthclubs 2Borussia Dortmund
Years 11986–1988
Clubs 1Borussia Dortmund
Caps 114
Goals 12
Years 21988–1990
Clubs 2SG Wattenscheid 09
Caps 269
Goals 232
Years 31990–1991
Clubs 31. FC Köln
Caps 349
Goals 324
Totalcaps132
Totalgoals58
Nationalyears 11989
Nationalteam 1West Germany U21
Nationalcaps 13
Nationalgoals 10

Maurice "Mucki" Banach (9 October 1967 – 17 November 1991) was a German professional footballer who played as a forward.[1]

Career

Born in Münster, Banach was the son of a German seaman and an American GI. During his youth career he played for SC Preußen Münster, but he later transferred to the youth team of Borussia Dortmund, until, at seventeen, he signed his first professional contract. Until 1988 he played 14 games for Borussia, scoring two goals.

In the summer of 1988, Banach transferred to the second tier team SG Wattenscheid 09. In 1990, he was the highest scorer in the league – with 22 goals.[2] This attracted attention from 1. FC Köln, to whom he moved in the summer of 1990, playing until the end of 1991. His last two of overall 26 Bundesliga goals came in a 4–1 victory against Fortuna Düsseldorf on 9 November 1991.[3]

One week later, he played in his final game against Schalke 04, which his team lost 3–0.

Death

The morning after this match Banach was killed in a car crash on the Autobahn near Remscheid. In the struggles after his death, the team, family and friends were supported by the "FC pastor" Heinz Baumann, who also held the funeral service.[4][5][6]

Honors

1. FC Köln

References

  1. ^ "Maurice Banach". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  2. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (21 April 2011). "(West) Germany - Second Level Top Scorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  3. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (21 April 2011). "Maurice Banach - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 May 2011.
  4. ^ "Schicksal schweißt zusammen - Falko Götz 18 Jahre nach dem Tod von FC-Star Banach" (in German). Express. Cologne, Germany: M. DuMont Schauberg. 17 November 2009. Archived 12 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
  5. ^ Pröber, Simon; Kaufmann, Tobias; Misterek, Daniel; Pelka, Philipp; Stitterich, Melanie (eds.) (10 May 2015 [2015-05-09]). "FC-Pfarrer aus Aachen" (in German). Geißbockecho (GBE) - das Clubmagazin des 1. FC Köln. 57 (16): 75. Historie CLUB. Cologne, Germany: 1. FC Köln GmbH & Co. KGaA. Season 2014/2015; 32nd gameday: 1. FC Köln vs. FC Schalke 04. Archived 3 March 2019 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 3 March 2019. […] FC-Pfarrer aus Aachen […] Während sich an das Schalke-Spiel noch manch langjähriger FC-Fan erinnert, ist fast in Vergessenheit geraten, dass es einen mehr oder weniger offiziellen katholischen FC-Pfarrer gab. Heinz Baumann hieß der Geistliche, der von 1978 bis Anfang der 2000er Jahre zum FC-Inventar gehörte. […] 1978 wurde Heinz Baumann Mitglied des 1. FC Köln und war bei Mitgliederversammlungen und gesellschaftlichen Veranstaltungen des Clubs ein regelmäßiger Gast. So lernte er auch zahlreiche Spieler kennen und wurde zu einer Art Mannschaftspfarrer. Ob Hochzeit oder Kindstaufe, etliche FC-Profis nahmen im Laufe der Jahre seinen seelsorgerischen Beistand in Anspruch. Als FC-Pastor begleitete Heinz Baumann nicht nur schöne, sondern auch traurige Ereignisse – wie die Trauerfeier für den bei einem Verkehrsunfall tödlich verunglückten FC-Stürmer Maurice Banach. […] Für seine Verdienste um den 1. FC Köln wurde Baumann mit der silbernen Ehrennadel ausgezeichnet. […] [1]
  6. ^ Club-Redaktion (17 November 2016). "Unglück vor 25 Jahren - Mucki unvergessen" (in German). Cologne, Germany: 1. FC Köln GmbH & Co. KGaA. Archived 12 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2 March 2019.