Josef Hofmaier looks at the highlights of his career: goalkeeper, goal machine, top referee

Created: 01/15/2023, 07:00

By: Margit Conrad

The faces of SRG Freising in the early 1990s: (from left) Josef Hofmaier acted as a teacher, Hermann Ramsauer as referee chairman and Johann Braun as his deputy.

Braun accompanied Hofmaier as a linesman when he was in the state league.

© Conrad

Josef Hofmaier was a real long-running favorite for the Freising referee group.

He is particularly proud of the fact that in over 2000 missions he has not had a game crash.

Freising/Langenpreising – Josef “Sepp” Hofmaier scored 52 goals in one season in the 1960s when he was promoted to what was then the B class with his first club, FSV Steinkirchen.

Born in Riemadinger, he was a real jack of all trades when it came to footballing qualities.

He started out as a goalkeeper when he was young.

Then he switched to becoming the personified goal machine - and finally he made his way as a referee.

As such, he was on the road at a higher level and whistled for more than a decade in the state league, which was the fourth highest league at the time.

As a cross-border commuter to SRG Freising

Why did Josef Hofmaier referee only for the referee group (SRG) Freising?

"That's easy to explain," says the 75-year-old.

When he and his Anneliese from Langenpreising, whom he married in 1969, two years later also became sporty at the SpVgg Langenpreising, there was always the problem that the clubs had too few referees and therefore "cheated" them from the association “ had to.

And after "border crossers" like the SpVgg Langenpreising from the Erding district were repeatedly assigned to the Freisinger group, he decided in 1975 to join the Freising referee group and also work there.

And Josef Hofmaier pulled this through to the end.

First, however, came the sporty end as a striker.

In a game, at that time already at Langenpreising, he suffered a complicated fracture of the tibia and fibula.

He was granted a break of nine months.

But football and especially the movement fascinated him.

Acting as a striker was not so popular after the injury.

That's why he remembered his "old" qualities from his youth - and put himself back in goal.

"But when needed and behind, I switched to attacking," says Hofmaier with a mischievous grin.

Above all, Hofmaier is still very happy about the great games that he was able to referee as referee in the state league (whether in Kempten, Nördlingen or Weiden) - together with Johann Braun (VfR Haag) and Sebastian Niebauer (FC Moosinning). linesman.

He has whistled 2700 games, once 114 in one season.

He never asked what kind of game it was.

Because for Sepp Hofmaier it was always a matter of course to be ready.

"Sometimes he accepted five games a week," says his wife Anneliese.

(By the way: everything from the region is now also available in our regular Freising newsletter.)

2700 games without game abandonment

What Sepp Hofmaier is still incredibly proud of: "In my entire career, there has never been a game abandoned - and as a referee I have never needed police protection." And he also likes to remember his time as a striker: "I was still with the FSV Steinkirchen, and then we had to play against the somewhat higher-class Langenpreisinger.

It was a cup game – and I scored all four goals in the 4-1 win,” he says with a laugh.

From then on it was clear that as a "married Langenpreisinger" he would also go to SpVgg at some point.

After all, his goal instinct was known.

When he climbed from the C to the B class (today the district class) with Steinkirchen, he alone made 52 cases.

That was the absolute highlight of his active career.

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What is important to the longtime referee are the framework conditions, which he believes should be changed in view of the lack of referees.

At the age of 34, he made it through to the national league, he says, and thinks that interested young players who can no longer play football should perhaps be given an easier way to pursue a career as a referee - and without obstacles.

Because if hurdles and bureaucracy get the upper hand, there will soon be no or far too few referees.

Urgent appeal to the players' parents

Josef Hofmaier also makes an urgent appeal, especially to the parents of the little kickers: "Please hold back with rude comments, especially towards the young referees.

This is neither good for the children nor for the referees, who understandably soon throw in the towel again.

And we don't want that in the sense of an orderly game operation.” BY MARGIT CONRAD

You can find more current news from the district of Freising at Merkur.de/Freising.