Neuberger, son of two teachers, grew up in the
Saarbrücken Malstatt workers district and attended the Sasbach boarding school until graduating with Abitur in 1938. He was then drafted to the
Wehrmacht and was operational in Africa and Italy during the Second World War, where he was later Captain for the Generals in Rome. After returning from British captivity in November 1945, he worked from 1946 as an editor at the Saarbrücken Sport-echo and from 1951 onwards in the advertising department of the
Karlsberg brewery in Homburg. In 1955 he took over the management of Saarland-Sporttoto GmbH, where he was director from 1961 to 1984. From 1976 to 1984 he also managed its subsidiary, Saarland Spielbank GmbH. He was elected President of the DFB at the DFB Bundestag on 25 October 1975 in
Hamburg. Before his election to the DFB, Neuberger was already active as a sports functionary. During the time of
independent Saarland, he was president of the
Saarland Football Association. Later he played a role in the founding of the
Bundesliga. He was the chief organizer of the
1974 FIFA World Cup in the
Federal Republic of Germany. In 1974, he was elected vice president of the
FIFA World Cup, and later became the organizer of the World Championships from
1978 to
1990. He held the position of FIFA vice-president and the DFB president until his death. During his term of office, championships won include the
European Championship in 1980, the world championships in
1982 and
1986, and the
World Championship title 1990 in Italy. The
national team managers during his term were
Helmut Schön (1964-1978),
Jupp Derwall (1978-1984),
Franz Beckenbauer (1984-1990) and
Berti Vogts (1990-1998). Hermann Neuberger died on 27 September 1992, at the University Hospital in Homburg, following a battle with cancer. The headquarters of the DFB in
Frankfurt - the Hermann-Neuberger-Haus - as well as the Hermann-Neuberger-Sportschule in Saarbrücken are named after him today. His birthplace, Völklingen, has named a sports hall, a stadium and a high school after him and placed a monument in his honor. ==Hermann-Neuberger Award==