Edmund Konen German football player, coach. Center forward of the German national team. Date of Birth: 10.11.1914 Country: Germany

Biography of Edmund Conen

Edmund Conen (born November 10, 1914 - died March 5, 1990) was a German footballer and coach. He played as a central forward for the German national team. Conen, along with Miroslav Klose in the 2006 World Cup, were the only players to become the top scorers representing a unified Germany. Gerd Müller, the top scorer of the 1970 World Cup, played for West Germany.

At just 19 years old, the young German forward Conen amazed everyone with his performance in the second World Cup. In the first match against Belgium on May 27, he scored three goals. The teams went into halftime with a score of 2-1 in favor of Belgium, but in the second half, the Germans transformed their game. Otto Schiffling equalized the score in his first international match on the 49th minute, and then, within 19 minutes, Conen scored three goals. Germany won 5-2 and advanced to the quarter-finals.

In the next two matches, four days later in the quarter-finals against Sweden and the semi-final against Czechoslovakia, which they lost 3-1, Conen failed to score. However, in the third-place match, he managed to score his fourth goal of the tournament, and not just against anyone, but against the legendary Austrian "Wunderteam," which also became the decisive goal. Germany won 3-2 and earned their first World Cup, finishing in third place. With four goals, Conen became the top scorer of the 1934 World Cup, along with Czechoslovakia's Nejedly and Italy's Schiavio.

Two years later, Conen had to take a break from football due to heart problems (cardiac neurosis) and missed four years. With the support of Sepp Herberger, he was able to overcome his illness and even returned to the German national team in 1939. In 1942, at the age of 28, Conen ended his international career. By that time, he had played 28 matches for the national team and scored 27 goals - a remarkable achievement. Conen's last game for Germany against Hungary in Budapest in May 1942 ended in a 5-3 victory, where he played alongside the young Fritz Walter.

In the post-war years, Conen transitioned to coaching. He first worked as a player-coach for the Young Fellows club in Switzerland from 1950 to 1952, and then coached various teams in Germany, including Bayer Leverkusen. Conen passed away on March 5, 1990, just a few months before the German national team's third triumph in the World Cup in Italy.