Matthias Mauritz was already 34 years old when he made his first and only appearance for the Germany national team. Today, more than half a century later, the Düsseldorf man is the oldest living Germany international. But football alone was never enough for the 90-year-old, a cheerful soul and great story teller, who may have even won the World Cup if he had focused on football alone. But that doesn't mean he has any regrets – actually, it’s quite the opposite.
For his 90th birthday, he was visited by an editor of the local paper. On the next day, Marianne Mauritz, 76, jolted a little when she read the article. “Be careful,” it said her husband had once told her. “Remember you are married to a legend.” Matthias Mauritz breaks out in laughter. He is in great spirits on this chilly and damp day in Düsseldorf's Rochusclub, where the “legend” likes to spend his time. Several years ago, Boris Becker and John McEnroe were battling it out here, trying to win the World Team Cup. These days it is a quiet, calm place.
First and only international fixture under Herberger at 34
It’s the perfect setting to indulge oneself in Matthias “Matthes” Mauritz’s stories. The oldest living Germany international lives around the corner in Düsseldorf’s Grafenberg district. On 20th May 1959 he made his only appearance for Germany, when coach Sepp Herberger fielded him in a match against Poland in Hamburg. Mauritz was already 34 years old – even today, there has never been an older debutant.
The former Fortuna Düsseldorf player has the fascinating characteristic that he’s always laughing. His stories and jokes will keep you entertained for hours. He has over 70 jokes at his disposal and sometimes attends events at an old folks’ home or birthdays to share them. He laughs after each and every joke as if he heard it for the first time. It’s actually quite contagious.
“When he had his third heart attack two years ago, his only fear was that he could forget all his jokes,” his wife Marianne remembers. Luckily, he didn’t. He had them all written down and safely stowed away. Mauritz decides it’s time to share on with us. “People from Köln are extremely lucky. They can go on trips to any destination they like. No matter where they go, it is always nicer there than in Köln.”
Missed the 1954 World Cup - "Didn't want to give up tennis"
As Mauritz needs his regular dose of football, it goes without saying that he only attends Fortuna matches. His wife Marianne always tags along. “I have to take her with me, even though she doesn’t understand much about football,” he explains. “But I can't drive a car anymore.” The couple have been married for 53 years and have brought along a photo from their wedding day. A beautiful couple and some people could get jealous over how well their marriage works. When he wants to watch football via pay TV channel Sky, he asks her to turn it on for him: “He doesn't care about technology much,” she reveals.
He talks, she coordinates. Around 30 requests for an autograph arrive each month – even today. His club Fortuna nurtures traditional values a lot and the club’s tradition is very closely linked to Matthes Mauritz. The marketing department has printed autograph cards for him and of course he carries these with him. There are different versions: One showing Mauritz in a Fortuna jersey, another wearing the Germany shirt and there is also a “legend card”. All of them have his major achievements on the back: Footballer from 1945 until 1960, 760 matches, all of them for Fortuna. His one international appearance, amateur cup wins and two Olympic Games – 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne – because Mauritz never signed a professional contract at Fortuna. "Due to the amateur regulations, I wouldn't have been able to play tennis anymore."
Here’s where his life story really reaches another level, because he was actually a tennis player, once ranked eleventh in all of Germany. He went on to win the European Championship four times and was a German seniors champion no less than 21 times. He was also a track and field athlete, sprinting 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, as well as a hockey player, winning the German youth championship and becoming a youth international. He also had a golf handicap of 18. A true multi-talent in ball sports. And he would have probably been a World Cup winner if he hadn't been gifted in so many other areas besides football. “Herberger later told me that I would have been in the squad if I had quit tennis. But I didn't want that.” Incredible. Did he regret it? “No.”
Matthias Mauritz was already 34 years old when he made his first and only appearance for the Germany national team. Today, more than half a century later, the Düsseldorf man is the oldest living Germany international. But football alone was never enough for the 90-year-old, a cheerful soul and great story teller, who may have even won the World Cup if he had focused on football alone. But that doesn't mean he has any regrets – actually, it’s quite the opposite.
For his 90th birthday, he was visited by an editor of the local paper. On the next day, Marianne Mauritz, 76, jolted a little when she read the article. “Be careful,” it said her husband had once told her. “Remember you are married to a legend.” Matthias Mauritz breaks out in laughter. He is in great spirits on this chilly and damp day in Düsseldorf's Rochusclub, where the “legend” likes to spend his time. Several years ago, Boris Becker and John McEnroe were battling it out here, trying to win the World Team Cup. These days it is a quiet, calm place.
First and only international fixture under Herberger at 34
It’s the perfect setting to indulge oneself in Matthias “Matthes” Mauritz’s stories. The oldest living Germany international lives around the corner in Düsseldorf’s Grafenberg district. On 20th May 1959 he made his only appearance for Germany, when coach Sepp Herberger fielded him in a match against Poland in Hamburg. Mauritz was already 34 years old – even today, there has never been an older debutant.
The former Fortuna Düsseldorf player has the fascinating characteristic that he’s always laughing. His stories and jokes will keep you entertained for hours. He has over 70 jokes at his disposal and sometimes attends events at an old folks’ home or birthdays to share them. He laughs after each and every joke as if he heard it for the first time. It’s actually quite contagious.
“When he had his third heart attack two years ago, his only fear was that he could forget all his jokes,” his wife Marianne remembers. Luckily, he didn’t. He had them all written down and safely stowed away. Mauritz decides it’s time to share on with us. “People from Köln are extremely lucky. They can go on trips to any destination they like. No matter where they go, it is always nicer there than in Köln.”
Missed the 1954 World Cup - "Didn't want to give up tennis"
As Mauritz needs his regular dose of football, it goes without saying that he only attends Fortuna matches. His wife Marianne always tags along. “I have to take her with me, even though she doesn’t understand much about football,” he explains. “But I can't drive a car anymore.” The couple have been married for 53 years and have brought along a photo from their wedding day. A beautiful couple and some people could get jealous over how well their marriage works. When he wants to watch football via pay TV channel Sky, he asks her to turn it on for him: “He doesn't care about technology much,” she reveals.
He talks, she coordinates. Around 30 requests for an autograph arrive each month – even today. His club Fortuna nurtures traditional values a lot and the club’s tradition is very closely linked to Matthes Mauritz. The marketing department has printed autograph cards for him and of course he carries these with him. There are different versions: One showing Mauritz in a Fortuna jersey, another wearing the Germany shirt and there is also a “legend card”. All of them have his major achievements on the back: Footballer from 1945 until 1960, 760 matches, all of them for Fortuna. His one international appearance, amateur cup wins and two Olympic Games – 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne – because Mauritz never signed a professional contract at Fortuna. "Due to the amateur regulations, I wouldn't have been able to play tennis anymore."
Here’s where his life story really reaches another level, because he was actually a tennis player, once ranked eleventh in all of Germany. He went on to win the European Championship four times and was a German seniors champion no less than 21 times. He was also a track and field athlete, sprinting 100 metres in 10.8 seconds, as well as a hockey player, winning the German youth championship and becoming a youth international. He also had a golf handicap of 18. A true multi-talent in ball sports. And he would have probably been a World Cup winner if he hadn't been gifted in so many other areas besides football. “Herberger later told me that I would have been in the squad if I had quit tennis. But I didn't want that.” Incredible. Did he regret it? “No.”
What's to regret when life has so much luck in store for you. He survived the war. He was one of eight young lads, he recalls, all of them being sent to the front together. “Five of them died.” But he returned and – being a master baker – was able to open one bakery after another during Germany's economic boom. He then finished his school degree at a girl's school (“The best time of my life”), before being lucky enough to find his way into football even though he had only played on the streets until then.
Turned down transfer to Bayern
He was discovered by Hans Körfer, who would later lead the DFB’s Football Committee, and Mauritz scored two goals against an English select XI in his first game for Fortuna. He went on to wear the Fortuna jersey for 759 more matches. “In 1933, I was in the stadium and saw Fortuna become German champions. And in 1945, I played with seven of those title winners, led by Paul Janes. He was a hero, but he really gave us a major ‘rollocking’ on the pitch,” Mauritz recalls.
And so the stories go on: He started playing for Fortuna after he was offered two pounds of meat and two dinners. Later he would earn 320 Deutsche Mark plus additional bonuses. At the end of every match, he inspected his jacket to see if the officials had put some extra cash inside it. And there is also the story about Toni Turek, Germany's legendary goalkeeper. Fortuna travelled to the United States in the summer of 1954, but Turek opted to play at the World Cup instead. “We asked him, ‘Toni, what are you going to do there. It's going to be a debacle.’ But then he returned a World Champion,” explained Mauritz.
Mauritz once paid FC Bayern München 10,000 Deutsche Mark back because he decided to stay in Düsseldorf rather than going through with the transfer and opened a sporting goods store in 1961. He recommended Fortuna physio Erich Deuser to Herberger and Deuser stayed at the DFB for 38 years. During the Olympics in 1952, he “accidentally” opened the door for Adi Dassler, head of adidas, to enter the US market. “The US players saw my shoes and I told them that the producer was part of our staff. So he has me to thank for his first few orders.” This connection would turn out to be beneficial for Mauritz as well when he owned the sporting goods store several years later.
Happy and communicative character
And now? Matthes Mauritz gets a lot of awards and credit from all over. Recently, when DFB president Wolfgang Niersbach was a guest at an event in Düsseldorf, Niersbach received a bouquet of flowers, which he then passed on to Marianne Mauritz: “For my oldest friend in Düsseldorf.” Both are smiling while he tells the story. He's known Niersbach for a long time. The DFB president once worked on the stadium magazine and Mauritz helped him acquiring the advertisements. For his 90th birthday, Niersbach sent him a long letter, as well as flowers. “For my friend,” the letter read.
Marianne hands over pictures every other minute, while Matthes seems astonished recapitulating the tales behind the photos. “I haven't seen this one for a long time,” he recalls, before jokingly saying to his wife: “When I look at this, I can certainly understand why you were after me.” Then he laughs whole heartedly. And she smiles.
