Michael Preetz (born 17 August 1967) is a German former professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a forward. He spent his whole career in Germany, playing for

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fo ...

, 1. FC Saarbrücken,

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

and

SG Wattenscheid 09 SG Wattenscheid 09 is a Football in Germany, German association football club located in Wattenscheid, Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club claimed an official founding date of 18 September 1909 as Ballspiel-Verein Wattenscheid out of the me ...

, but he is mostly remembered for his seven-year spell at

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 ended his career. After retiring from active play, he stayed with the club, going directly into management.

Playing career

Michael Preetz scored 178 goals in the top two divisions of the German league system. In 1998–99 he won the top scorer crown of 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 ...

. His good form in this season brought him a call-up to Erich Ribbeck's Germany national team in early 1999. Overall, he won seven caps.

Managerial career

On 7 June 2009, Preetz was named as the new general manager of

, replacing former

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 ...

and

FC 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 association foo ...

forward Dieter Hoeneß. On 23 January 2021, Preetz, along with manager Bruno Labbadia, was relieved of his duties.

Managerial record

Honours

Hertha BSC * Ligapokal: 2001, 2002; runners-up 2000

References

1967 births Living people Footballers from Düsseldorf German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Men's association football forwards 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players Fortuna Düsseldorf players SG Wattenscheid 09 players 1. FC Saarbrücken players MSV Duisburg players Hertha BSC players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners Recipients of the Order of Merit of Berlin West German men's footballers Hertha BSC non-playing staff {{germany-footy-forward-1960s-stub