Gerhard Strack

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Gerd Strack

| fullname = Gerhard Strack

| image =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1955|9|1|df=y}}

| birth_place = Kerpen, West Germany

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2020|5|21|1955|9|1|df=y}}

| death_place = Germany

| height = 1.86 m

| currentclub =

| clubnumber =

| position = Defender

| youthyears1 = 1961–1966

| youthclubs1 = Glückauf Habbelrath-Grefrath

| youthyears2 = 1966–1973

| youthclubs2 = SpVg Frechen 20

| youthyears3 = 1973–1974

| youthclubs3 = 1. FC Köln

| years1 = 1974–1985

| clubs1 = 1. FC Köln

| caps1 = 261

| goals1 = 31

| years2 = 1985–1987

| clubs2 = FC Basel

| caps2 = 48

| goals2 = 9

| years3 = 1987–1988

| clubs3 = Fortuna Düsseldorf

| caps3 = 17

| goals3 = 2

| totalcaps = 326 | totalgoals = 42

| nationalyears1 = 1982–1983

| nationalteam1 = West Germany

| nationalcaps1 = 10

| nationalgoals1 = 1

}}

Gerhard Strack (1 September 1955 – 21 May 2020) was a German footballer who played as a defender in the 1970s and 1980s.

Club career

Strack played his youth football ba locals clubs Glückauf Habbelrath-Grefrath (until 1966) und SpVg Frechen 20 (until 1973). He played one season by the youth of 1. FC Köln before he advanced to their first team. Strack played as a defender.{{cite web | url = http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/strackgerhard/ | title = Gerhard Strack | language = de | publisher = fussballdaten.de | access-date = 14 February 2010}} Strack played eleven seasons in Köln. He played 339 games for them, of which 261 were in the Bundesliga. He scored 46 goals, of which 31 were in the Bundesliga. With Köln Strack won the DFB-Pokal three times and were German champions once.

Strack joined FC Basel's first team in for their 1985–86 season under manager Helmut Benthaus. Strack played his domestic league debut for his new club in the home game at the St. Jakob-Park on 7 August 1975 as Basel were defeated 0–1 by FC Luzern.{{cite web | last = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | url = https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?saison=1985/86 | title = FC Basel - FC Luzern 0:1 (0:0) | publisher = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | access-date = 2019-11-16}} He scored his first goal for his club a few weeks later on 4 September in the away game as Basel played a 1–1 draw against St. Gallen.{{cite web | url = https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=20915 | title = FC St. Gallen - FC Basel 1:1 (0:0) | publisher = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | access-date = 2019-11-16}}

During the two seasons with Basel, Strack played a total of 71 games scoring a total of 17 goals. 48 of these games were in the Nationalliga A, six in the Swiss Cup and 17 were friendly games. He scored nine goal in the domestic league, three in the cup and the other five were scored during the test games.{{cite web | last = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | url = https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/spieler?command=detail&id=7498 | title = Gerhard Strack - FCB-Statistik | publisher = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | access-date = 2019-11-16}}

After his time with Basel, Strack returned to Germany and played the 1987–88 season in the 2. Bundesliga with Fortuna Düsseldorf.{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/players/strackdata.html | title = Gerhard 'Gerd' Strack - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 17 June 2020 | access-date = 18 June 2020 | publisher = RSSSF.com}}

International career

He earned ten caps and scored one goal for West Germany from 1982 to 1983,{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/strack-intl.html | title = Gerhard 'Gerd' Strack - International Appearances | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 17 June 2020 | access-date = 18 June 2020 | publisher = RSSSF.com}} and was included in the West German team for the UEFA Euro 1984, but did not play.

The one goal he scored, against Albania in a European Championship qualifier in Saarbrücken on 20 November 1983, was vital: it gave West Germany a 2–1 win and ensured that they qualified for Euro 1984 ahead of Northern Ireland.

References

Sources

Die ersten 125 Jahre. Publisher: Josef Zindel im Friedrich Reinhardt Verlag, Basel. {{ISBN|978-3-7245-2305-5}}
[https://www.fcb.ch/de-CH/News/2020/05/23/Gerd-Strack-mit-nur-64-Jahren-gestorben FCB homepage: Gerd Strack mit nur 64 Jahren gestorben]{{Dead link|date=May 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}