Preuß grew up in Meiderich which is a quarter of Duisburg and began playing football shortly after the end of the Second World War.
When the defender Hans Sehlhoff was injured, the young player took his position for a match against STV Horst-Emscher in March 1956.
In the Oberliga, Meiderich did not have to fight against a possible relegation but usually made part of the top half of the table during the following years.
One year later, the foundation of the Bundesliga scheduled for 1963 was enacted and Meidericher SV officially applied for a membership.
During the final matchdays he even had to replace certain functions of manager Willi Multhaup who had announced to join SV Werder Bremen and thereby lost the recognition of his team.
Preuß and his teammates started on 24 August 1963 with a 4–1 win against Karlsruher SC and surprisingly stayed part of the top group during the next time.
A main reason for the success was a modern formation who integrated the full backs into the offensive actions of the team.
Sepp Herberger later announced that he could possibly join the senior national team but this finally did not happen.
In 1970, he joined Eintracht Duisburg and attended the first steps of Rudolf Seliger who later became a member of the national team.
One year later, he reached the promotion of his team but later declared his demission because of severe problems with the club's supporters.