Ernst Kuzorra - Miscellanea

Miscellanea

• Ernst Kuzorra briefly worked as coach of Schalke's archrival Borussia Dortmund in 1935–36. It should be noted, though, that at the time the rivalry hadn't yet been established.
• He and fellow Schalke star Fritz Szepan married sisters and thus became brothers-in-law.
• When former Bundespräsident Johannes Rau was asked an opinion on what he thought about naming at least one Bundesliga stadium after a female German notability (since German football stadiums, if named after individuals, are exclusively named after male football legends), he returned jokingly: "Und wie soll das denn dann heißen: 'Dem Ernst-Kuzorra-seine-Frau-ihr-Stadion'? (a highly Ruhrpottdeutsch vernacular version of "And what name would that be: 'Ernst-Kuzorra's wife's stadium'?")
• According to an anecdote, Kuzorra explained the geographical location of Gelsenkirchen (the town of which Schalke is a district) to the king of Sweden with the words "Bei Schalke, Euer Majestät" ("Near Schalke, Your Majesty!"). So when the king asked where Schalke was, Kuzorra boldly returned "Anne Grenzstrasse, Euer Majestät" ("At Grenz (Border) Road, Your Majesty!"). The factual accuracy of this quote is questionable, but gives a nice illustration of the common perception of Schalke 04 and its players in Germany.
• Kuzorra explained his decisive 2-1 goal in the 1934 finals (which earned Schalke their first championship trophy) with the words: "Ich wusste nicht, wohin mit dem Ball, da hab' ich 'n einfach reingewichst" ("I didn't know where to put the ball, so I simply wanked it in!")