Wolfgang Kleff

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Wolfgang Kleff
Personal information
Full name	Wolfgang Kleff
Date of birth	November 16, 1946
Place of birth	Schwerte, Germany
Height	180 cm
Nickname	Otto
Position	goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	retired
Youth clubs
	VfL Schwerte
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1968-1979 1979-1980 1980-1982 1982-1984 1984-1985 1985-1986 1986-1987	Borussia Mönchengladbach Hertha BSC Berlin Borussia Mönchengladbach Fortuna Düsseldorf Rot-Weiß Oberhausen VfL Bochum FSV Salmrohr	272 (0) 33 (0) 49 (0) 59 (0) 31 (0) 20 (0) 25 (0)
National team**
1971-1973	West Germany	6 (0)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 30, 1990. ** National team caps and goals correct as of June 30, 1990.

Wolfgang Kleff (born November 16, 1946 in Schwerte, Germany) is a former German football player whose assemblance to German actor and comedian Otto Waalkes ^[1] allowed him to pick up minor roles in motion pictures and his referring nickname as well.

Contents 1 Player bio 2 West Germany career 3 Trivia 4 Notes

[edit] Player bio

Kleff joined Borussia Mönchengladbach from amateur outfit VfL Schwerte, where he wasn't a regular starter, in 1968 to become the leading goalkeeper of the Bundesliga side until injuries forced him to lay-off periods in the late 1970's. From 1968 to 1976 he did not miss any domestic game of Borussia Mönchengladbach and was able to lift four Bundesliga (1970, 1971, 1975, 1976), one German Cup (1973) and one UEFA Cup (1975) trophy with Die Fohlen. He was also in the Borussia Mönchengladbach goal when his team lost to Liverpool F.C. in the UEFA Cup final in 1973. A groin injury in 1976 saw him losing his starting role in the Mönchengladbach goal to Wolfgang Kneib, subsequently not playing games when his club won the Bundesliga a fifth time and became runner-up to Liverpool F.C. in the European Cup in 1977 respectively. The two season after he was temporarily back as first choice for Mönchengladbach, but just the backup of Kneib when the club won its second UEFA Cup trophy in 1979. He then moved on to play under contract at fellow Bundesliga side Hertha BSC Berlin for one season until Mönchengladbach re-signed him due to Wolfgang Kneib going for Arminia Bielefeld. Back at Mönchengladbach, Kleff played two more years in the Bundesliga for his old club, joining local rival Fortuna Düsseldorf for two years in 1982. After a fall-out with Düsseldorf he joined Rot-Weiß Oberhausen of the 2nd Bundesliga and was on the verge of becoming 40 years of age when he enjoyed one more year in the best German division with VfL Bochum. At the age of forty Kleff played the majority of games for promoted FSV Salmrohr in the 2nd Bundesliga of 1986-1987. The season ended in swift relegation for Salmrohr and in Kleff's decision to hang up his gloves. However, for some time he continued to be a goalkeeper for amateurs such as SV Straelen.

At the end of his illustrious career, Wolfgang Kleff had taken part in 433 matches in the Bundesliga and 56 games in the 2nd Bundesliga.

[edit] West Germany career

Kleff's life in goal of West Germany had just a duration of two years at the beginning of the 1970's. With competitor Sepp Maier occupying the role of West Germany's leading goalkeeper in that decade, Kleff won just six caps for his country in between 1971 and 1973. His first of those six matches took place in Oslo on June 22, 1971, and was a 7-1 thrashing of Norway in a post-season friendly, his final appearance was on November 14, 1973, against Scotland (1-1) when he was substituted at half-time in behalf of Sepp Maier. Not making any further appearance for his country afterwards, Kleff was one of two backup goalkeepers for triumphant West Germany in the 1974 FIFA World Cup. Beforehand he had also been backup for Sepp Maier when West Germany lifted the 1972 UEFA European Championship trophy in Brussels.

[edit] Trivia

• His assemblance to German actor and comedian Otto Waalkes earned him several minor roles in successful cine films such as Otto – Der Film (Otto - The Movie) in 1985 and Werner – Beinhart! in 1990.

[edit] Notes

1. ^ imdb.com on Wolfgang Kleff's role in motion pictures

	West Germany squad - 1974 World Cup Champions (2nd Title)
1 Maier | 2 Vogts | 3 Breitner | 4 Schwarzenbeck | 5 Beckenbauer | 6 Höttges | 7 Wimmer | 8 Cullmann | 9 Grabowski | 10 Netzer | 11 Heynckes | 12 Overath | 13 Müller | 14 Hoeneß | 15 Flohe | 16 Bonhof | 17 Hölzenbein | 18 Herzog | 19 Kapellmann | 20 Kremers | 21 Nigbur | 22 Kleff | Coach: Schön