Oliver Bierhoff

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Oliver Bierhoff
Personal information
Full name Oliver Bierhoff
Date of birth May 1, 1968 (age 38)
Place of birth    Karlsruhe, Germany
Height 1.91m
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Retired
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1986-1988
1988-1990
1990-1990
1990-1991
1991-1995
1995-1998
1998-2001
2001-2002
2002-2003
Bayer Uerdingen
Hamburger SV
Borussia M'gladbach
SV Salzburg
Ascoli
Udinese
AC Milan
AS Monaco
Chievo Verona
31 (4)
34 (6)
8 (0)
32 (23)
117 (48)
86 (57)
91 (38)
18 (5)
26 (7)   
National team
1996-2002 Germany 70 (37)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only.
* Appearances (Goals)

Oliver Bierhoff (born May 1, 1968) is a German former football striker, who scored the first golden goal in the history of major international football, for Germany in the Euro 96 final.

Bierhoff was born in Karlsruhe. In his club career from 1985 to 2003, he played for KFC Uerdingen, Hamburg, Borussia Mönchengladbach, Austria Salzburg, Ascoli, Udinese, AC Milan, AS Monaco, and Chievo Verona. He scored a total of 103 goals in Serie A, one of the best totals for a non-Italian in the league's history. In 1997-98, he led Serie A in goals with 27.

Bierhoff, however, was never a success in the German league. After failing to shine in Germany, he got his chance in the Austrian Bundesliga. That gave him the chance at Ascoli in Italy. But it was at Udinese, under Alberto Zaccheroni, that Bierhoff found success and won his place in fame and in the German national team. He never returned to prove himself in his home country, like, for example, Jürgen Klinsmann did when he joined FC Bayern Munich in 1995.

For Germany, Bierhoff scored 37 goals in 70 caps, including both goals in the 2-1 win over the Czech Republic in the Euro 96 final after having come on as a substitute. He also played in Euro 2000, and the 1998 and 2002 World Cups.

Bierhoff's current involvement with football is as the manager of the German national team, a new position created as part of Jürgen Klinsmann's acceptance of the coaching job. Essentially the duties revolve around the public relations aspect of the team as opposed to the coaching responsibilities.

Bierhoff was known for his remarkable heading skill, and he was often regarded as one of the best headers in the game. It was said that Bierhoff's heading might be more powerful than his shot.




Preceded by
Filippo Inzaghi
Serie A top scorer
1997-98
Succeeded by
Márcio Amoroso



Flag of Germany Germany Squad - 1996 European Football Championship (3rd Title) Flag of Germany

1 Köpke | 2 Reuter | 3 Bode | 4 Freund | 5 Helmer | 6 Sammer | 7 Möller | 8 Scholl | 9 Bobic | 10 Häßler | 11 Kuntz | 12 Kahn | 13 Basler | 14 Babbel | 15 Kohler | 16 Schneider | 17 Ziege | 18 Klinsmann | 19 Strunz | 20 Bierhoff | 21 Eilts | 22 Reck | Coach: Vogts

Flag of Germany Germany squad - 1998 FIFA World Cup Quarter-finalists Flag of Germany

1 Köpke | 2 Wörns | 3 Heinrich | 4 Kohler | 5 Helmer | 6 Thon | 7 Möller | 8 Matthäus | 9 Kirsten | 10 Häßler | 11 Marschall | 12 Kahn | 13 Jeremies | 14 Babbel | 15 Freund | 16 Hamann | 17 Ziege | 18 Klinsmann | 19 Reuter | 20 Bierhoff | 21 Tarnat | 22 Lehmann | Coach: Vogts

Flag of Germany Germany squad - 2002 FIFA World Cup Runners-up Flag of Germany

1 Kahn | 2 Linke | 3 Rehmer | 4 Baumann | 5 Ramelow | 6 Ziege | 7 Neuville | 8 Hamann | 9 Jancker | 10 Ricken | 11 Klose | 12 Lehmann | 13 Ballack | 14 Asamoah | 15 Kehl | 16 Jeremies | 17 Bode | 18 Böhme | 19 Schneider | 20 Bierhoff | 21 Metzelder | 22 Frings | 23 Butt | Coach: Völler