Ernst Lehner

Ernst Lehner’s father was one of the founding members of what would become FC Augsburg and became an honorary member of the Southern German football association. Three of four brothers played football while the four sisters were all keen swimmers. Ernst joined Schwaben Augsburg when he was 8-years-old. At the age of 18 he was promoted to the club’s first team, for which he would play more than 500 matches.

At the age of 21, the talented forward got his first international chance in a match against Switzerland in November 1933, when an injury sidelined the stater. Lehner took advantage of this opportunity and soon moved into the starting line-up. Of the 100 international matches played by Germany until the end of his international career, he appeared in 65, scoring 31 goals to become Germany’s record scorer at the time. Lehner’s specialty was corner kicks, quite often directly turning them into goals, even twice in a match against Estonia in August 1937. He took part in the 1934 and 1938 World Cups, playing six matches, was selected for the team of Western Europe in 1937 and was a member of the famous “Breslau 11.” In the 1930s he was considered the world’s best amateur player.

In 1940 he went to join Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin, only to return to his home town Augsburg in 1942. After World War II he continued to play for Viktoria Aschaffenburg in the Southern Division of the “Oberliga” (Upper League). Later he coached Darmstadt 98, Viktoria Aschaffenburg and Hanau 93. He lived in Aschaffenburg because the local administration had offered him a job, unlike his home town of Augsburg. From 1947 until his retirement in 1978 he was the head of the city’s sports bureau. As a tribute the stadium of Schwaben Augsburg bears his name.