Karl Mai

Who was Karl Mai?

Karl Mai was a German footballer. He was born in Fürth.

He was part of the West German team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup. In total he earned 21 caps and scored one goal for West Germany. During his club career he played for SpVgg Fürth and Bayern Munich.

Sepp Herberger compared Mai's playing style to that of 1930s player Andreas Kupfer but also appreciated his solidity and straightness. In the 1954 World Cup Final Mai faced Sandor Kocsis who had scored no less than 11 goals up to that game, yet he failed to score in the final as Mai performed a rigid marking job on Kocsis. Mai was an outspoken player who also did not shy away from stating his opinion towards Herberger.

After his professional career he became a coach in the 1960s and then a school trainer. In the early 1990s, his right lung was removed. He died in 1993.