1954 German football championship

The 1954 German football championship was the culmination of the football season in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1953–54. Hannover 96 were crowned champions for the second time after a group stage and a final.

1954 German championship

Deutsche Fußballmeisterschaft
Tournament details
Country	West Germany
Dates	2–23 May
Teams	6
Final positions
Champions	Hannover 96 2nd German title
Runner-up	1. FC Kaiserslautern
Tournament statistics
Matches played	7
Goals scored	29 (4.14 per match)
Top goal scorer(s)	Otto Baitinger Rolf Paetz Georg Stollenwerk (3 goals each)

It was Hannover's second appearance in the German final, having previously won the championship in 1938, beating Schalke 04 4-3 after extra-time. Kaiserslautern were making their fourth appearance, and was the third time they had reached the final in four years, following their championship wins in 1951 and 1953.

The format used to determine the German champion was different from the 1953 season. Only six teams qualified for the championship, instead of eight. These six teams were split into two groups of three, and only played a single round of matches with games on neutral grounds; previously it had been home-and-away games. The reason for this format change and the reduction in the number of games was Germany's qualifying for the 1954 FIFA World Cup, held shortly after the championship final. As in the past seasons, the two group winners then played the national final.

Qualified teams

The teams qualified through the 1953–54 Oberliga season:

Club	Qualified from
Hannover 96	Oberliga Nord champions
1. FC Köln	Oberliga West champions
Berliner SV 92	Oberliga Berlin champions
1. FC Kaiserslautern	Oberliga Südwest champions
VfB Stuttgart	Oberliga Süd champions
Eintracht Frankfurt	Oberliga Süd runners-up

Competition

Group 1

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification		H96	VFB	BSV
1	Hannover 96	2	2	0	0	5	2	2.500	4	Advance to final		—	3–1	—
2	VfB Stuttgart	2	1	0	1	4	3	1.333	2			—	—	3–0
3	Berliner SV	2	0	0	2	1	5	0.200	0			1–2	—	—

Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

Berliner SV 92 v Hannover 96

2 May 1954	Berliner SV 92	1 – 2	Hannover 96	Berlin
	Karlsch 82'	Report	Tkotz 5' Kruhl 83'	Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Jacobi (Mannheim)

VfB Stuttgart v Berliner SV 92

9 May 1954	VfB Stuttgart	3 – 0	Berliner SV 92	Berlin
	Waldner 35' Baitinger 60', 69'	Report		Stadium: Olympiastadion Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Schreiber (Eschweiler)

Hannover 96 v VfB Stuttgart

16 May 1954	Hannover 96	3 – 1	VfB Stuttgart	Düsseldorf
	Paetz 32', 43' Zielinski 46'	Report	Baitinger 50'	Stadium: Rheinstadion Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Pennig (Mannheim)

Group 2

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GR	Pts	Qualification		FCK	KOE	SGE
1	1. FC Kaiserslautern	2	2	0	0	5	3	1.667	4	Advance to final		—	4–3	1–0
2	1. FC Köln	2	1	0	1	6	6	1.000	2			—	—	3–2
3	Eintracht Frankfurt	2	0	0	2	2	4	0.500	0			—	—	—

Source: RSSSF
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Goal ratio.

1. FC Kaiserslautern v Eintracht Frankfurt

2 May 1954	1. FC Kaiserslautern	1 – 0	Eintracht Frankfurt	Cologne
	F.Walter 82'	Report		Stadium: Müngersdorfer Stadion Attendance: 50,000 Referee: Ternieden (Oberhausen)

1. FC Köln v Eintracht Frankfurt

8 May 1954	1. FC Köln	3 – 2	Eintracht Frankfurt	Ludwigshafen
	Stollenwerk 31', 39' Dörner 50'	Report	Heilig 25' Weilbächer 55'	Stadium: Südweststadion Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Eix (Emden)

1. FC Kaiserslautern v 1. FC Köln

16 May 1954	1. FC Kaiserslautern	4 – 3	1. FC Köln	Stuttgart
	F.Walter 32', pen.' Scheffler 43' Wenzel 48' O.Walter 68'	Report	Schäfer 63' Nordmann 79' Stollenwerk 83'	Stadium: Neckarstadion Attendance: 65,000 Referee: Winkler (Nuremberg)

Final

23 May 1954

Hannover 96	5 – 1	1. FC Kaiserslautern
Tkotz 45' Kohlmeyer 48' (o.g.) Wewetzer 77' Kruhl 81' Paetz 84'	Report	Eckel 13'

Volksparkstadion, Hamburg

Attendance: 76,000

Referee: E.Schmetzer

HANNOVER: GK Hans Krämer DF Hannes Kirk DF Helmut Geruschke DF Heinz Bothe MF Werner Müller MF Rolf Gehrcke FW Klemens Zielinski FW Heinz Wewetzer FW Hannes Tkotz FW Rolf Paetz FW Helmut Kruhl Manager: Helmut Kronsbein

KAISERSLAUTERN: GK Willi Hölz DF Werner Liebrich DF Werner Kohlmeyer DF Werner Baßler MF Fritz Walter MF Otto Render MF Horst Eckel FW Willi Wenzel FW Karl Wanger FW Ottmar Walter FW Erwin Scheffler Manager: Richard Schneider

Sources

• German Championship 1953-54 at Weltfussball.de
• Germany - Championship 1954 at RSSSF.com
• German championship 1954 at Fussballdaten.de