Fredi Bobic (, born 30 October 1971) is a German

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

executive and former player who played as a striker. He is currently the head of football operations at

Ekstraklasa (; meaning "Extra Class" in Polish), officially known as PKO Bank Polski Ekstraklasa due to its Sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by PKO Bank Polski, is a professional association football league in Poland and the highest level of the Polish foo ...

club

Legia Warsaw Legia Warszawa (), commonly referred to as Legia Warsaw or simply Legia, is a professional football club based in Warsaw, Poland. Legia is the most successful Polish football club in history, winning a record 15 champions titles, a record 2 ...

Club career

Bobic was born in

Maribor Maribor ( , , ; also known by other #Name, historical names) is the List of cities and towns in Slovenia, second-largest city in Slovenia and the largest city of the traditional region of Styria (Slovenia), Lower Styria. It is the seat of the ...

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, to a Slovene father and a Croatian mother. A few months after his birth, his parents emigrated with him to

West Germany West Germany was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) from its formation on 23 May 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with East Germany on 3 October 1990. It is sometimes known as the Bonn Republi ...

and settled down first in

Ditzingen Ditzingen (; Swabian German, Swabian: ''Ditzenge'') is a town in the Ludwigsburg (district), district of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located approximately 10 km northwest of Stuttgart, and 12 km southwest of Ludwigs ...

, then in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

. There, he started playing football at VfR Bad Cannstatt but soon switched to the youth team of VfB Stuttgart. While in Stuttgart, he also acquired German citizenship. Bobic reached his prime in the mid-1990s at VfB Stuttgart in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. In his first Bundesliga season (1994–95), he scored a goal in each of his first five games, so he became a candidate for the Germany national team after only a few appearances in the first German league. In 1996, he was the Bundesliga's top scorer with 17 goals. At Stuttgart, he formed part of a successful attacking line-up, along with strike partner

Giovane Élber Élber de Souza (born 23 July 1972), commonly known as Giovane Élber, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. A prolific goalscorer in various clubs, Élber's career was mostly spent in Germany, where he repre ...

and attacking midfielder

Krasimir Balakov Krasimir Genchev Balakov (, ; born 29 March 1966) is a former Bulgarian footballer and manager. A former attacking midfielder, he was a key member of the Bulgaria national team that finished fourth in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He is considered ...

, known as the "magic triangle". After four years in Stuttgart, in 1999 he signed with

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

and was the club's top scorer in both 1999–2000 and 2000–01. However, after the signings of

Jan Koller Jan Koller (; born 30 March 1973) is a Czech former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was noted for his height, strong physique and heading ability. He began his career at Sparta Prague, then moved to Belgium, where he beca ...

and

Márcio Amoroso Márcio Amoroso dos Santos (born 5 July 1974) is a Brazilian football pundit and former professional player who mainly played as a forward. He played for several teams in his home country as well as in Japan, Italy, Germany, Spain and Greece w ...

in the summer of 2001, he soon fell out of favor and played only three games in the first half of 2001–02 season. Subsequently, Bobic was loaned to the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

side

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

, where he had a successful spell, playing a key role in keeping Bolton in the Premiership. His

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three Wick ...

in the 4–1 win against Ipswich at the Reebok Stadium ensured Bolton stayed up, and remained the last Bolton hat-trick in a competitive game until Joe Mason in the 2014–15 season. He scored once more for Bolton, in a 3–2 victory over

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

. After returning from England, Bobic was signed by newly promoted Bundesliga side

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

where he reestablished himself as one of the league's top scorers, netting 14 times in 27 games. In 2003, he was signed by

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...

, where he played for two seasons, scoring 8 goals in 54 games. He last played for Croatian outfit

NK Rijeka Hrvatski nogometni klub Rijeka (), commonly referred to as HNK Rijeka, is a Croatian professional association football club from the city of Rijeka. HNK Rijeka competes in Croatia's top division, Supersport HNL, of which they have been members ...

before retiring in June 2006, at the end of the 2005–06 season.

International career

Bobic won 37

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

(10 goals) for the Germany national team and was part of the

UEFA Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial Association football, football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in ...

winning squad. He also played at

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

, having returned to the national team in 2002 after a four-year absence.

Managerial career

upBobic with VfB Stuttgart Bobic signed a contract as a managing director of Bulgarian club Chernomorets Burgas on 25 March 2009 and worked in the club with his former teammate Krasimir Balakov. On 27 July 2010, Bobic became new director of sport of

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...

. On 20 January 2012, he extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2016. He took on the role as board representative for sport of the club on 10 April 2013. Bobic was sacked on 24 September 2014. On 1 June 2016, Bobic became sporting director of

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

. During his term the club won the

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

after beating

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in the final (3–1). On 14 April 2021,

announced its decision to hire Bobic as their new managing director for sport starting 1 July 2021. Bobic was sacked on 28 January 2023 after a 2–0 loss to 1. FC Union in the

Berlin derby The Berlin derby (, ) is the name given to any association football match between two clubs in Berlin, Germany, but has more recently referred to the derby between 1. FC Union Berlin and Hertha BSC. History Before reunification Despite produci ...

. In April 2025, Bobic was appointed head of operations at Polish top-flight club

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bobic goal.''

Honours

VfB Stuttgart *

: 1996–97 *

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European association football, football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The competition's official name was originally the European Cup Winners' Cup; it was renam ...

runner-up: 1997–98 Borussia Dortmund *

: 2001–02 NK Rijeka * Croatian Cup: 2005–06 Germany *

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro or Euros, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition ...

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

Individual * Bundesliga top scorer: 1995–96 * '' kicker''

Team of the Season: 1995–96

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bobic, Fredi 1971 births Living people West German men's footballers Footballers from Maribor Footballers from Stuttgart German men's footballers Naturalized citizens of Germany Yugoslav emigrants to Germany Slovenian emigrants to Germany German people of Slovenian descent German people of Croatian descent Slovenian people of Croatian descent Men's association football forwards Germany men's international footballers UEFA European Championship–winning players Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners UEFA Euro 1996 players UEFA Euro 2004 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Premier League players Croatian Football League players Stuttgarter Kickers players VfB Stuttgart players TSF Ditzingen players Borussia Dortmund players Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Hannover 96 players Hertha BSC players HNK Rijeka players German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in England Expatriate men's footballers in England German expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Association football executives German sports executives and administrators VfB Stuttgart non-playing staff Hertha BSC non-playing staff Eintracht Frankfurt non-playing staff Legia Warsaw non-playing staff German expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria German expatriate sportspeople in Poland