Paul Janes

One of the best full backs of his era, Paul Janes established a record for most German caps which was not broken until 1970. Janes started out as a right half back, but during the 1934 World Cup he debuted as right back and stayed at that position for some four seasons before moving back into a sweeper role. He was injured during the 1936 Olympics and thus was spared of the embarrassing defeat of Germany by Norway. During the latter half of the 1930s, Germany possessed one of the strongest full back pairings in European football with Paul Janes on the right and Reinhold Münzenberg on the left side. Vittorio Pozzo, the coach of World Champions Italy, nominated Janes for a 1937 continental selection, but Janes could not participate due to an injury. One of Janes’ best assets was his powerful yet accurate shooting ability, which gave him the nickname "World Champion of Precision". His trademark were hard shots from all possible angles, his seven goals for Germany all came from either freekicks (four) or penalties (three). He was also a very calm player who kept his cool even in nerve-racking situations. Sepp Herberger said about Janes’ characteristics: "He rarely was caught off-guard on the pitch, as he had the ability to anticipate what the opponent was planning and he interpreted defensive play always as the first step in building up the next attack." Despite his calmness and overall cleverness, Janes was renowned for an extravaganza that he had imported from South America:…