Paul Steiner
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | January 23, 1957 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Waldbrunn, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| –1975 | TSV Strümpfelbrunn | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1975–1979 | Waldhof Mannheim | 144 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1981 | MSV Duisburg | 58 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1981–1991 | 1. FC Köln | 291 | (20) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 493 | (43) | |||||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983 | West Germany U21 | 2 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1987 | West Germany Olympic | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 | West Germany | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||||||||||||||||||||
Paul Steiner (born 23 January 1957) is a retired German footballer who played mainly as a central defender.
Club career
Born in Waldbrunn, Baden-Württemberg, Steiner started his career in his hometown, playing for TSV Strümpfelbrunn. In 1975, he started his professional career, playing four seasons with second division side SV Waldhof Mannheim.
He played 349 games in the top level, scoring 27 times from 1979 until 1991, with MSV Duisburg and 1. FC Köln. With the latter, Steiner was instrumental in five league finishes in the top three, also winning the German Cup in 1983 and losing the 1985–86 UEFA Cup to Real Madrid.
After retiring at 34, Steiner later worked as a scout for Köln's Rhine rival, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, before taking up the same role back at 1. FC Köln.
International career
Steiner was one of the oldest debutants in the Germany's national team, when he appeared as a 33-year old substitute in the final friendly match ahead of the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy, against Denmark at Gelsenkirchen's Parkstadion, on May 30. He was surprisingly given the nod for the World Cup squad in favour of Bayer Uerdingen's Holger Fach, who had been the expected pick of coach Franz Beckenbauer as Klaus Augenthaler's understudy.
Steiner was not recalled again after the tournament, where Germany defeated Argentina in the final.
Personal
Steiner is commonly quoted in Germany as stating in a talk show that homosexuals were "too soft" for playing football.
External links
- Bundesliga statistics (German)
- Paul Steiner at National-Football-Teams.com
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