Stefan Effenberg

Stefan Effenberg
Personal information
Date of birth2 August 1968
Place of birthHamburg, West Germany
Height1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing positionMidfielder
Youth career
–1974Bramfelder SV
1974–1986Victoria Hamburg
1986–1987Borussia M'gladbach
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps†(Gls)†
1987–1990Borussia M'gladbach73(10)
1990–1992Bayern Munich65(19)
1992–1994Fiorentina56(12)
1994–1998Borussia M'gladbach118(23)
1998–2002Bayern Munich95(16)
2002–2003VfL Wolfsburg19(3)
2003–2004Al-Arabi15(4)
Total431(87)
National team
1988–1990West Germany U215(1)
1991–1998Germany35(5)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Stefan Effenberg (German pronunciation: [ˈʃtɛfan ˈɛfəmbɛɐ̯k]; born 2 August 1968) is a retired German footballer. A midfielder, he possessed leadership skills, fantastic passing range, powerful shooting ability, physical strength, but also a fearsome and controversial character.[1]

In the Bundesliga alone – where he represented Bayern Munich most notably, in six seasons and in two different spells – Effenberg collected 109 yellow cards, an all-time worst at the time of his retirement.

He played for Germany on more than 30 occasions – in a career which was cut short after a run-in with the management – representing the nation in one World Cup and one European Championship. His nickname is Der Tiger [dɛɐ̯ ˈtiːɡɐ] (the tiger).

Club career

Born and raised in Niendorf, Hamburg on 2 August 1968, Stefan Effenberg started his professional career with Borussia Mönchengladbach, being an undisputed first-choice by age 20. This prompted the interest from Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich, and he proceeded to score 19 goals in his first two seasons combined, but the club did not win any silverware whatsoever.

After legendary Lothar Matthäus (who also represented Mönchengladbach) returned to Bayern in 1992, Effenberg moved to ACF Fiorentina, being relegated from Serie A in his first season, in a side that also included Dane Brian Laudrup and Argentine Gabriel Batistuta.

Effenberg then moved back to Gladbach, where he amassed a further 118 league matches, with 23 goals, before being re-signed by Bayern in 1998. Effenberg's second spell with the Bavarians was much more successful, as he collected three Bundesliga titles in a row. The team also reached two UEFA Champions League finals, the first of which was a 1–2 defeat to Manchester United F.C. in 1999. Bayern returned to the final in 2001 with Effenberg as captain. He scored Bayern's equalising goal from the penalty spot in a triumph against Valencia (1–1, penalty shootout win). After the final, Effenberg was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League.[2] After his departure, club fans voted him one of the eleven greatest Bayern players of all time.[3]

After an unassuming spell at VfL Wolfsburg,[4] Effenberg ended his career in Qatar with Al-Arabi Sports Club. Subsequently, he had the odd appearance as a color commentator for German TV.

International career

Effenberg played 35 games for the German national team and scored five goals. His debut came on 5 June 1991, in a Euro 1992 qualifier against Wales, as he played the last 18 minutes of a 0–1 away loss. He would be an everpresent fixture during the final stages, even netting in the second group stage match, a 2–0 win over Scotland.

During a group game against South Korea in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Effenberg "gave the finger" to German fans at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas when he got substituted after a subpar performance; the Germans were then only one goal up, after leading 3–0.[5] German coach Berti Vogts was so outraged by this incident that he dropped Effenberg from the team on the spot, and declared that he was finished as an international player.[6][7]

Effenberg didn't appear in another international match again until 1998, when was briefly re-instated to the national team for a couple of friendly matches in September, under Erich Ribbeck after Vogts was ousted as national team coach. They turned out to be his last caps for Germany.

International goals

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.
# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 15 June 1992 Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden  Scotland 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 1992
2 9 September 1992 Parken Stadium, Copenhagen, Denmark  Denmark 2–1 2–1 Friendly
3 14 April 1993 Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany  Ghana 2–1 6–1 Friendly
4 14 April 1993 Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany  Ghana 4–1 6–1 Friendly
5 19 June 1993 Silverdome, Detroit, United States  England 1–0 2–1 U.S. Cup

Career statistics

Club

[8]

Club performance League Cup League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
1987–88Borussia MönchengladbachBundesliga151
1988–89293
1989–90296
1990–91Bayern Munich329
1991–923310
Italy League Coppa Italia League Cup Europe Total
1992–93FiorentinaSerie A305
1993–94Serie B267
Germany League DFB-Pokal DFB Ligapokal Europe Total
1994–95Borussia MönchengladbachBundesliga307
1995–96317
1996–97291
1997–9828810
1998–99Bayern Munich31863
1999–200027250112
2000–0120400101
2001–021724071
2002–03VfL Wolfsburg193200000192
2003–04Al-ArabiQatar Stars League154000000154
CountryGermany 37071
Italy 5612
Qatar 154
Total Club 44187

International

[9]

Germany national team
YearAppsGoals
199140
1992122
1993113
199460
199500
199600
199700
199820
Total355

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich
Fiorentina
Borussia Mönchengladbach

Country

Germany

Individual

Controversies and personal life

Effenberg had a history of attracting attention and ire from fans and other players alike with his behaviour. In 1991, prior to a UEFA Cup game against then-semi-professional Cork City, Effenberg told the press he was sure of a victory, saying Cork City midfielder Dave Barry was "like (his) grandfather". Barry got his retribution by scoring the opening goal in the team's 1–1 draw at Musgrave Park.[10]

In the late 1990s, Effenberg was rarely out of the tabloids, especially when he left his wife Martina and revealed an affair with Claudia Strunz, who at that time was the wife of former team mate Thomas Strunz. Later, the player published a controversial autobiography, notorious for its blatant contents – which included lashing out at some other football professionals, namely club and national side mate, Lothar Matthäus.

In 2001, Effenberg was fined after being found guilty of assaulting a woman in a nightclub.[11] The following year, he implied that unemployed people in Germany were in fact too lazy to look for work, and demanded they took benefit cuts. The interview issued in Playboy.[12]

Strunz and Effenberg were married in 2004,[13] and the player also had three children from his first marriage; the couple then relocated to Florida.[14]

References

  1. ↑ Fearon, Matthew (25 March 2009). "Dream Teams: Bayern Munich". UK: The Independent. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  2. ↑ "2000/01: Kahn saves day for Bayern". UEFA.com. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  3. ↑ "Fans name greatest Reds of all time". FC Bayern. 1 June 2005. Retrieved 9 February 2010.
  4. ↑ "Effenberg quits Wolfsburg with immediate effect". ABC News. 3 April 2003. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  5. ↑ "Stefan Effenberg". 123Football. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  6. ↑ "Doing it his own way". China Daily. 15 May 2003. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  7. ↑ "Effenberg's day of shame". UEFA.com. 24 June 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  8. ↑ "Effenberg, Stefan" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  9. ↑ Arnhold, Matthias (2 November 2002). "Stefan Effenberg – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  10. ↑ "Cork City 1 – Bayern Munich 1" (in German).
  11. ↑ "Effenberg pays penalty". BBC Sport. 16 August 2001. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  12. ↑ "Scholl hangs up international boots". BBC Sport. 24 April 2002. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  13. ↑ "Matthaeus is 'a real quitter,' says Effenberg". Sports Illustrated. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 2 April 2011.
  14. ↑ "Stefan Effenberg bids his final farewell". Monsters and Critics. 21 July 2005. Retrieved 2 April 2011.

External links

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Thomas Helmer		 Bayern Munich captain
1999–2002 		Succeeded by
Oliver Kahn