| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Tobias Rau | ||
| Date of birth | 31 December 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Braunschweig, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Left back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2001 | Eintracht Braunschweig | 60 | (1) |
| 2001–2003 | VfL Wolfsburg | 48 | (1) |
| 2003–2005 | Bayern Munich | 13 | (0) |
| 2005–2009 | Arminia Bielefeld | 31 | (0) |
| Total | 152 | (2) | |
| National team | |||
| 2003 | Germany | 7 | (1) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). |
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Tobias Rau (born 31 December 1981 in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony) is a retired German footballer, who played as a left defender.
In a career blighted by injuries, he was forced to retire at only 27.
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After making his professional debuts in the lower leagues with hometown Eintracht Braunschweig, Rau moved to VfL Wolfsburg in the first division, where he amassed more than 50 official appearances; his league debut came on 18 August 2001, in a 1–1 home draw against SC Freiburg.
Rau's solid performances caught the attention of league powerhouse FC Bayern Munich.[1] However, several serious injuries[2] and stiff competition from Frenchmen Willy Sagnol and Bixente Lizarazu restricted his chances to 13 league appearances (with a further seven matches for the amateur side).
In July 2005, Rau moved to Arminia Bielefeld, where he also would also be a backup and suffer severely with injuries (only an average of eight league contests in four years), being released on 30 June 2009,[3] before announcing his retirement on 6 July.
Rau played seven times for Germany, all in 2003, which included a goal in a 4–1 routing of Canada. His debut came on 12 February, in a friendly with Spain played in Palma, Majorca.
In July 2009, shortly after retiring, Rau announced his return to school to start a career as a teacher despite having offers from clubs abroad and from the second division.[4][5]