Wilhelm Huberts

Not to be confused with Wilhelm Huberts (footballer, born 1947).

Willi Huberts
Personal information
Full name Wilhelm Huberts
Date of birth (1938-02-22)22 February 1938
Place of birth Voitsberg, Austria
Date of death 4 March 2022(2022-03-04) (aged 84)
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
ASK Voitsberg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1955–1960 Grazer AK 118 (28)
1961–1962 New York Hungarians
1962 Roma
1963–1970 Eintracht Frankfurt 213 (67)
1970–1971 Austria Wien 28 (0)
1971–1975 Grazer AK 60 (0)
International career
1959–1960 Austria 4 (1)
Managerial career
Kapfenberger SV
Alpine Donawitz
1976–1978 LASK
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Wilhelm Huberts (22 February 1938 – 4 March 2022), also known as Willi Huberts, was an Austrian footballer who played as a midfielder.

Club career

Huberts began his career in his hometown with ASK Voitsberg. From there he was transferred to Grazer AK, who got him to the Stadion an der Körösistraße in 1955. Through his immense technical skills and his scoring qualities he became a supporter's favourite in Graz.

When GAK played a couple of friendlies in New York in 1959, two of them against Real Madrid, it caused Huberts who was a midfielder, to finally convince New York Hungarians of the German American Soccer League to sign him in 1960. With this club he won National Challenge Cup (today Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup) in 1962.

In 1963 Huberts joined Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.[1] In this year the Bundesliga was founded and the Eagles from Hesse were a founding member. Huberts was one of only four foreign players in German pro football, and the only Austrian. In the 1960s team of Frankfurt he was a key player. With the jersey number 10 he scored 80 times for the boys from Main.

For the 1970–71 season he returned to Austria and joined Austria Wien and eventually his home club Grazer AK in 1971 and retired in 1975.

International career

Huberts was capped four times for the Austria national team between 1959 and 1960, scoring in his debut in a 2–0 win against Belgium.

With the club change to New York came travel limitations, he was no longer selected for Austria and even when he joined Eintracht Frankfurt he never played again for the national team due to the politics of the clubs not to release foreign players except for big tournaments.

Personal life

Huberts died on 4 March 2022, at the age of 84.[2]

Honours

New York Hungarians

Eintracht Frankfurt

Austria Wien

References

  1. ^ "Huberts, Wilhelm" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 29 December 2011.
  2. ^ Fußballlegende Willi Huberts gestorben (in German)