Stefan Effenberg

Stefan Effenberg

Personal information
Date of birth	(1968-08-02) 2 August 1968
Place of birth	Hamburg, West Germany
Height
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	SC Paderborn (manager)
Youth career
0000–1974	Bramfelder SV
1974–1986	Victoria Hamburg
1986–1987	Borussia M'gladbach
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987–1990	Borussia M'gladbach	73	(10)
1990–1992	Bayern Munich	65	(19)
1992–1994	Fiorentina	56	(12)
1994–1998	Borussia M'gladbach	118	(23)
1998–2002	Bayern Munich	95	(16)
2002–2003	VfL Wolfsburg	19	(3)
2003–2004	Al-Arabi	15	(4)
Total		431	(87)
International career
1988–1990	West Germany U21	5	(1)
1991–1998	Germany	35	(5)
Managerial career
2015–	SC Paderborn
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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

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. After his departure, club fans voted him one of the eleven greatest Bayern players of all time.

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

Managerial career

Effenberg was appointed as the head coach of SC Paderborn on 13 October 2015.

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. 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.

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

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
1987–88	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Bundesliga	15	1
1988–89			29	3
1989–90			29	6
1990–91	Bayern Munich		32	9
1991–92			33	10
Italy			League		Coppa Italia		League Cup		Europe		Total
1992–93	Fiorentina	Serie A	30	5
1993–94		Serie B	26	7
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		DFB Ligapokal		Europe		Total
1994–95	Borussia Mönchengladbach	Bundesliga	30	7
1995–96			31	7
1996–97			29	1
1997–98			28	8	1	0
1998–99	Bayern Munich		31	8	6	3
1999–2000			27	2	5	0			11	2
2000–01			20	4	0	0			10	1
2001–02			17	2	4	0			7	1
2002–03	VfL Wolfsburg		19	3	2	0	0	0	0	0	19	2
2003–04	Al-Arabi	Qatar Stars League	15	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	4
Country	Germany		370	71
	Italy		56	12
	Qatar		15	4
Total	Club		441	87

International

Germany national team
Year	Apps	Goals
1991	4	0
1992	12	2
1993	11	3
1994	6	0
1995	0	0
1996	0	0
1997	0	0
1998	2	0
Total	35	5

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich

• DFL-Supercup: 1990
• DFB-Ligapokal: 1998, 1999, 2000
• Bundesliga: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01; Runner-up 1990–91
• DFB-Pokal: 1999–2000; Runner-up 1998–99
• UEFA Champions League: 2000–01; Runner-up 1998–99
• Intercontinental Cup: 2001

Fiorentina

• Serie B: 1993–94

Borussia Mönchengladbach

• DFB-Pokal: 1994–95

Country

Germany

• U.S. Cup: 1993
• UEFA European Championship: Runner-up 1992

Individual

• UEFA European Football Championship Teams of the Tournament: 1992
• FIFA XI: 1997
• ESM Team of the Year: 1999
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2001

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.

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. 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.

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

External links

• Stefan Effenberg profile at Fussballdaten
• Stefan Effenberg at weltfussball.de (German)
• Stefan Effenberg at National-Football-Teams.com
• Official website (German)