Tobias Rau
 | |||
| 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 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1996 | Sportfreunde Ölper | ||
| 1996–1999 | Eintracht Braunschweig | ||
| 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) |
| 2012– | TV Neuenkirchen | ||
| Total | 152 | (2) | |
| National team | |||
| 2003 | Germany | 7 | (1) |
| 2005 | Germany Team 2006 | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
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 from professional play at only 27. In 2012 he took up football again, playing for amateur side TV Neuenkirchen as a past time.
Club career
VfL Wolfsburg
After making his professional debut 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.
Bayern Munich
Rau's solid performances caught the attention of league powerhouse FC Bayern Munich. However, several serious injuries[1] 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).
Arminia Bielefeld
In July 2005, Rau moved to Arminia Bielefeld, where he 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,[2] before announcing his retirement on 6 July.
International career
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.
Personal
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.[3][4]
References
- ↑ "Rau ruled out for Bayern". UEFA.com. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
- ↑ "Rau verlässt Arminia Bielefeld" [Rau leaves Arminia Bielefeld)] (in German). DFL. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
- ↑ "Lehrer statt Fußballprofi" [Teacher instead of Football Pro] (in German). Focus.de. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
- ↑ "Sprung ins Lehramt" [Leap into teaching] (in German). Zeit.de. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
External links
- Tobias Rau at fussballdaten.de (German)
- Tobias Rau at National-Football-Teams.com