Things got awkward between French and German diplomats when the qualification groups were drawn for the 1954 World Cup after Saaland were drawn in the same group as West Germany. Laying on the French border, Saarland was a former state of Germany, annexed by France in the aftermath of World War II. It was one of three new countries, along with East and West Germany, that came into being after the Allied powers carved up the German territory. France had responsibility for the Saarland territory and did not want to return it to the Federation of Germany. Meanwhile, the local population did not want to join France, so Saarland was stuck in a diplomatic black hole. With France running the place as a protectorate between 1947 and 1956, Saarland became a country, which made an appearance in the Olympic games and had its own national football team managed by none other that the legendary Helmut Schon.

 

The team was administered by the Saarlandischer Fussballbund and they joined FIFA in 1950, three months before the DFB was reaccepted and a whole two years before the East German association signed up. The country’s clubs played in the local Ehrenliga with the notable exception of the powerful 1 FC Saarbrucken who were exiled to the French Ligue 2 where they played as a guest team. This club was one of the many German sports and social clubs that were dissolved by the Allies after war before being allowed to reform in 1945. Even though their points didn’t count, they totally dominated the league in 1948/49, winning promotion, but then the other French clubs voted against formally including them in the French Football Federation or allowing them to play in Ligue 1, which led to the resignation of president Jules Rimet who suggested letting them in in the first place. In addition, the French authorities now found themselves in the position of having to hand a trophy and medals over to what was essentially a German club with German players, which was unacceptable at the time.

 

Saarbrucken didn’t want to join the weak Ehrenliga so they went ahead and started up an invitational tournament which attracted a number of Europe’s elite teams and, in fact, was a precursor to the European Cup. Saarbrucken was the only club representing Saarland in the competition, called the International Saarland Cup. They played off with the top three finishers and eventually won the cup by defeating Stade Rennais UC 4-0 in the final. At this time, they also took it upon themselves to organise a number of friendly matches, with notable wins including Liverpool away, a defeat of a Catalan XI made up of Barcelona and Espanyol players and even a 4-0 thrashing of Real Madrid at the Bernebeau, no less.

 

The national team of Saarland was entirely made up of players from 1 FC Saarbrucken, padded out with a couple from SV Saar 05 Saarbrucken and Borussia Nuenkirchen. In their entire history, the team only played 19 games, 10 of which were against reserve teams, however most notably they did participate in qualifiers for the 1954 FIFA World Cup. They actually finished in second place, ahead of Norway after beating them in Oslo. This is the only competitive away match that Saarland won and they did it with only 10 effective players after Theodor Puff continued playing with a broken fibula. The only game they played outside of Europe, meanwhile, was a loss to defending world champions Uruguay in Montevideo. After West Germany drew their game with Norway, Saarland remarkably went to the top of the group, however they were then well beaten by West Germany 3-0 and could only then manage a home draw against Norway.

 

The two German teams were now level on points, that was until the West smashed Norway 5-1, ending their World Cup dreams. The people of Saarland and West Germany had to wait until after the long, dark winter for the match between the two nations which would decide which one would make the short trip to Switzerland for the 1954 World Cup. Saarland, in need of a home win to book their tickets, lost 3-1 and it was West Germany who qualified and went on to win it. Saarlands players, who identified as German, had mixed emotions about West Germany defeating them.

 

The following year, Saarbrucken participated in the European Cup where they managed to stun AC Milan, complete with Liedholm, Schiaffino and Nordahl 4-3 at the San Siro, but they disappointingly lost 4-1 in the home leg when AC, who underestimated their opponents in Milan, upped the ante in Saarbruck. In 1955, a plebiscite was held and Saarland’s territory was returned to West Germany, with its football association being absorbed into the DFB. Saarlands brief time as a nation, and their promising national team, were over.  Their manager Helmut Schon, however, would go on to win the World Cup with West Germany in 1974. Saarbrucken rejoined the German league and continued to have strong results, winning the Oberliga title and eventually being one of the clubs chosen to play in the first season of the Bundesliga. However, they finished bottom of the table and have been a yo-yo club ever since. Today, Saarbrucken can be found diligently playing the 3rd tier of the German football league, while the Saarland national team will never see the light of day again. 

Achievements:

German Football Championship – Runners-up x1
Oberliga Sudwest – Champions x1
French Ligue 2 – Champions x1