Mehmet Tobias Scholl (born Mehmet Tobias Yüksel; 16 October 1970) 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 ...

manager and former player. He played most of his career as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

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, ...

. During his career he won the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

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 ...

(scoring a goal in each leg of the final),

Euro 1996 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

, and the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, as well as eight German Championships (all with Bayern Munich). He retired at the end of the 2006–07

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 ...

season as one of the most successful German football players of all time.

Club career

Scholl played for SV Nordwest Karlsruhe (from 1976 to 1982) and

Karlsruher SC Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...

(from 1982 to 1992) before joining

in July 1992. He stayed at Bayern for the rest of his career, wearing the number 7 shirt. Scholl retired from professional football after the 2006–07 season. In 15 seasons at Bayern he played in 468 competitive matches for Bayern, scoring 116 goals – 88 of these appearances were in European cup competitions (18 goals). He was one of the

's most successful players, winning the championship eight times. Aged 19, he made his Bundesliga debut on 21 April 1990, coming on for Karlsruher SC in the 78th minute of their away match against

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

, and promptly scored his team's fifth goal in the 90th minute. He scored 98 goals (11 for Karlsruhe, 87 for Bayern) in 392 Bundesliga matches (58 for Karlsruhe, 334 for Bayern). Scholl has been praised for his technical ability, his creative playmaking, his dribbling skills, and his free kicks. In early 2001, he was voted Player of the Year 2000 by the professional players of the First and Second Bundesliga, and in May 2005, fans voted him one of the eleven greatest Bayern players of all time.

International career

upScholl playing for Germany, 1999 Scholl played 36 matches for the German national team between 1995 and 2002, scoring eight goals. He was part of Germany's winning team at

Euro 96 The 1996 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 96, was the 10th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by European nations and organised by UEFA. It took place in England from 8 to 30 ...

where he played in the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final. In the 69th minute of the final when the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

was leading 1–0, he was substituted for the then relatively unknown

Oliver Bierhoff Oliver Bierhoff (born 1 May 1968) is a German association football official and former player who played as a striker. He has previously served as the technical director of the Germany national team. A tall, strong and prolific goalscorer, Bier ...

who went on to score the two goals that turned the match around for Germany, catapulting Bierhoff to national and international fame. Scholl also played in all three of Germany's games at

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

, scoring Germany's only goal in the tournament against Romania. Scholl repeatedly suffered injuries throughout his career, preventing him from maintaining a regular spot on the national team and eventually prompting him to retire from the national team prior to the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea/Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

, making him one of Germany's most successful players never to have played in a

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

. Among German football fans, Scholl was one of the most popular footballers because of his character and his unique skills. Before the 2006 World Cup Campaign, more than 100,000 people signed an online petition, "Mehmet für Deutschland", to persuade

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (; born 30 July 1964) is a German professional Association football, football manager and former player. He played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, AS Monaco FC, Monaco, Tottenham Hot ...

to include Scholl in the German squad. Despite the public support, Scholl was not included.

International goals

:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.''

Coaching career

Scholl (right) coaching Bayern Munich II in 2009 On 27 April 2009, he was named as interim head coach for

Bayern Munich II FC Bayern Munich II (''FC Bayern Munich Amateure'' until 2005) are the German reserve football teams, reserve team of Football in Germany, German association football club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich, currently playing in the Regionalliga B ...

. He replaced

Hermann Gerland Hermann "Tiger" Gerland (born 4 June 1954) is a German professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Football player, player who has most recently worked as an assistant coach of Bundesliga club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern ...

who became assistant coach under

Jupp Heynckes Josef "Jupp" Heynckes (; born 9 May 1945) is a German retired professional footballer and manager. For the majority of his playing career he was as a striker for Borussia Mönchengladbach in its golden era of the 1960s and '70s, when they won m ...

and continued to work as under-13 head coach. In July 2009 he was appointed as permanent manager of Bayern II and left the team on 30 June 2010 for a year, working on his coaching licence. Scholl returned to Bayern Munich II as head coach. In January 2013, Scholl announced that he would leave the team at the end of the 2012–13 season because he wanted to focus on his job as a TV pundit and that it conflicted with his work as coach.

Personal life

Scholl was born in

Karlsruhe Karlsruhe ( ; ; ; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Kallsruh'') is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, third-largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, after its capital Stuttgart a ...

, the second son of Ergin and Hella Yüksel, a Turkish father and a German mother. When he was five, his parents divorced, and his mother then married Hermann Scholl from whom Mehmet acquired his surname. In May 2002 and October 2003, he released two successful

mixtape In the modern music industry, a mixtape is a musical project, typically with looser constraints than that of an album or extended play. Unlike the traditional album or extended play, mixtapes are labeled as laid-back projects that allow artists mo ...

s, featuring his favourite bands. The compilation's title "Mehmet Scholl kompiliert – Vor dem Spiel ist nach dem Spiel" is a reference to

Sepp Herberger Josef "Sepp" Herberger (28 March 1897 – 28 April 1977) was a German football player and manager. He is most famous for being the manager of the West Germany national team that won the 1954 FIFA World Cup final, a match later dubbed '' The Mir ...

's famous expression "nach dem Spiel ist vor dem Spiel" ("after the game is before the game"). In an interview, Scholl said he chose this title because he listens to this music before the game, after the game, in the car on the way to the stadium, and in the car when leaving the stadium. The first volume includes songs by The Beta Band,

Sportfreunde Stiller Sportfreunde Stiller () is a German indie rock band from Germering near Munich, Bavaria. History The band was founded by Peter Brugger (guitar, vocals), Florian "Flo" Weber (drums), and Andi Erhard (bass). They initially wanted to name themse ...

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...

, and

The Notwist The Notwist are a German indie rock band. Formed in 1989, the band moved through several musical incarnations, despite maintaining a relatively stable line-up. While their early records moved through heavy metal into dark indie rock, their re ...

(complete track list) among others. The second volume includes songs by

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Wir sind Helden Wir sind Helden (, German for "We are heroes") was a German pop rock band that was established in 2000 in Hamburg and based in Berlin. The band was composed of lead singer and guitarist Judith Holofernes, drummer , bassist and keyboardist/guita ...

, and

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, bass, keyboards, drums, vocals), Derek Brown ...

(complete track list) to name a few. Once a month, he co-presents the feature ''Mehmets Schollplatten'' in the program ''Nachtmix'' of the ''Bayern 2'' radio station, which is the culturally oriented channel of the federal public broadcaster

Bayerischer Rundfunk (; "Bavarian Broadcasting"), shortened to BR (), is a public broadcasting, public-service radio and television broadcaster, based in Munich, capital city of the Bavaria, Free State of Bavaria in Germany. BR is a member organization of the ARD (b ...

. As a young player, Scholl was quoted with the words "hängt die Grünen, solange es noch Bäume gibt" ("hang the Greens while there still are trees"), seemingly expressing his dislike for the

German Green Party Alliance 90/The Greens (, ), often simply referred to as Greens (, ), is a green political party in Germany. It was formed in 1993 by the merger of the Greens (formed in West Germany in 1980) and Alliance 90 (formed in East Germany in 1990). Th ...

. He was widely criticized for this quote because most people did not understand his point that here might be no trees left in the near future, thereby giving his statement an ironic touch. He was sued by a Green politician for instigation to murder, although this charge was later dropped and Scholl donated 15,000 DM to charity. When a journalist later asked Scholl which party he would vote for, Scholl answered "Grün natürlich, ich kann sie ja nicht hängenlassen" ("Greens, of course – I cannot leave them hanging, can I"). Scholl is officially without religious confession, but is an avid follower of

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

principles. Since his retirement from football, he has taken up

nine-pin bowling Nine-pin bowling (also known as ninepin bowling, nine-pin, kegel, or kegeln) is a bowling game played primarily in Europe. European championships are held each year. In Europe overall, there are some 130,000 players. Nine-pin bowling lanes are mo ...

(Kegeln), a sport in which he already excelled as a youth.

Career statistics

Club

International

Managerial statistics

Honours

Bayern Munich *

: 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06 *

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 ...

: 1997–98, 1999–2000, 2002–03, 2004–05, 2005–06 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German association football, football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five t ...

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

: 2000–01 *

: 1995–96 * Intercontinental Cup:

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 ...

Individual * Bravo Otto: 1996, 1997, 2000 * ESM Team of the Year: 1995–96, 2000–01 *'' kicker'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1997–98, 2000–01 *

Goal of the Month (Germany) The Goal of the Month () is, like the ''Goal of the Year (Germany), Goal of the Year'', the ''ARD Goal of the Decade'' and ''Goal of the Century'', an individual soccer award selected by viewers of ''Sportschau'' (German TV channel ARD (broadcast ...

: January 2000, December 2000, February 2003 * VDV Bundesliga Player of the Year: 2000 *Bayern Munich All-time XI: 2005

References

External links

Player profile
on the Bundesliga's official website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Scholl, Mehmet 1970 births Living people Footballers from Karlsruhe German men's footballers Men's association football midfielders Karlsruher SC players Karlsruher SC II players FC Bayern Munich footballers Germany men's international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers UEFA Euro 1996 players 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2000 players UEFA European Championship–winning players German sportspeople of Turkish descent FC Bayern Munich non-playing staff Bundesliga players 3. Liga managers UEFA Champions League–winning players UEFA Europa League–winning players FC Bayern Munich II managers German football managers West German men's footballers