Heinz Kubsch

{{short description|German footballer}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2024}}

{{Infobox football biography

| name = Heinz Kubsch

| image =

| fullname =

| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|7|20|df=y}}

| birth_place = Essen, Germany

| death_date = {{death date and age|1993|10|24|1930|7|20|df=y}}

| height =

| position = Goalkeeper

| currentclub =

| youthyears1 = 1939–

| youthclubs1 = Sportfreunde Katernberg

| years1 = {{0|0000}}–1951

| clubs1 = Sportfreunde Katernberg

| caps1 =

| goals1 =

| years2 = 1951–1961

| clubs2 = FK Pirmasens

| caps2 =

| goals2 =

| totalcaps =

| totalgoals =

| nationalyears1 = 1954–1956

| nationalteam1 = West Germany

| nationalcaps1 = 3 | nationalgoals1 = 0

|medaltemplates =

{{MedalCountry|{{fb|FRG}}}}

{{MedalCompetition|FIFA World Cup}}

{{Medal|W|1954 Switzerland|}}

}}

Heinz Kubsch (20 July 1930, Essen – 24 October 1993) was a German football goalkeeper.

He was part of the West German team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup. In total he earned three caps for West Germany.{{cite web | url = http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/kubschheinz/ | title = Heinz Kubsch | publisher = fussballdaten.de | language = German | accessdate = 18 June 2010}} During his club career he played for FK Pirmasens.{{cite web | url = http://www.weltfussball.de/spieler_profil/heinz-kubsch/| title = Heinz Kubsch | publisher = weltfussball.de | language = German | accessdate = 18 June 2010}}

During the 1954 FIFA World Cup, Kubsch almost became the starter of the German team. The standard goalkeeper Toni Turek had shown some weaknesses in the first game against Turkey and the second goalkeeper Heinrich Kwiatkowski had conceded eight goals in the game against Hungary, which made Sepp Herberger consider giving Kubsch a chance in the second game against Turkey. However Kubsch was injured between matchdays after a boat trip. Kubsch stumbled badly and injured his shoulder on a concrete staircase, which impeded any chance of Kubsch getting a chance to start.{{cite book | last = Bitter | first = Jürgen | title = Deutschlands Fußball Nationalspieler | publisher = Sportverlag | year = 1997 | page = 267 | language = German}}

As a goalkeeper, Kubsch was very agile and showed fast reactions on the goalline. When he debuted in 1948 at the age of 17, he became the youngest goalkeeper in the Oberliga.{{cite web | url = https://www.derwesten.de/sport/lokalsport/essen/heinz-kubsch-sepp-herbergers-zweite-wahl-id3332670.html | title = Heinz Kubsch – Sepp Herbergers zweite Wahl | language = German | publisher = derwesten.de | date = 14 June 2010 | accessdate = 28 November 2012 | archive-date = 4 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160304084935/http://www.derwesten.de/sport/lokalsport/essen/heinz-kubsch-sepp-herbergers-zweite-wahl-id3332670.html | url-status = dead }} He ended his career in April 1961 after having played in 222 Oberliga games.