Stefan Effenberg (; born 2 August 1968) is a German former

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 ...

who most recently acted as

sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

for KFC Uerdingen 05. A

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

, he was known for his leadership skills, passing range, shooting ability, and physical strength, but was also a temperamental and controversial character. In the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footbal ...

alone – where he represented Bayern Munich most notably, in six seasons and in two different spells – Effenberg collected 109 yellow cards, an all-time record at the time of his retirement. With Bayern, he won three Bundesligas and captained the club to the

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...

title in 2001. In a career which was cut short after a run-in with the management, he played for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

on more than 30 occasions, representing the nation in one

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 concept i ...

and one European Championship. His nickname is ''Der Tiger'' (, "the tiger").

Club career

Born and raised in Niendorf, Hamburg on 2 August 1968, Stefan Effenberg started his professional career with

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

, where he became an undisputed first-choice by the age of 20. This attracted the interest of

giants

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

, where he scored 19 goals in his first two seasons after his transfer, although the club failed to win any silverware with Effenberg in the lineup. When legendary

Lothar Matthäus Lothar Herbert Matthäus (; born 21 March 1961) is a German football pundit and former professional player and manager. After captaining West Germany to victory in the 1990 FIFA World Cup where he lifted the World Cup trophy, he was awarded the ...

(who also represented Mönchengladbach) returned to Bayern in 1992, Effenberg moved to

ACF Fiorentina ACF Fiorentina, commonly referred to as Fiorentina (), is an Italian professional football club based in Florence, Tuscany, Italy. The original team was founded by a merger in August 1926, while the actual club was refounded in August 2002 fo ...

. Despite the presence of Dane Brian Laudrup and Argentine

Gabriel Batistuta Gabriel Omar Batistuta (; born 1 February 1969) is an Argentine former professional footballer. During his playing career, Batistuta was nicknamed Batigol () as well as El Ángel Gabriel (; Spanish for ''Angel Gabriel''). Regarded as one of the ...

, Fiorentina was relegated from

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

in his first season. Effenberg stayed on in the second flight, winning promotion back at the first attempt. In the summer of 1994, Effenberg then moved back to Gladbach, where he appeared in 118 league matches, scoring 23 goals, before Bayern re-signed him in 1998. Effenberg's second spell with the

Bavaria Bavaria ( ; ), officially the Free State of Bavaria (german: Freistaat Bayern, link=no ), is a state in the south-east of Germany. With an area of , Bavaria is the largest German state by land area, comprising roughly a fifth of the total l ...

ns was much more successful. He collected three Bundesliga titles in a row, and Bayern also reached two

finals, the first of which was a 1–2 defeat to

Manchester United F.C. Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd), or simply United, is a professional football club based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England. The club competes in the Premier League, ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

. Bayern returned to the final in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a multi-national coalition in an invasion of Afghanistan ...

with Effenberg as captain. He scored Bayern's equalising goal from the penalty spot in a victory against

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

(1–1,

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

win). After the final, Effenberg was named the

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

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 Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

, Effenberg ended his career in Qatar with Al-Arabi Sports Club, with

as his teammate. He appeared occasionally as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and th ...

for German TV after his retirement as a player.

Managerial career

Effenberg was appointed as the head coach of

SC Paderborn Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...

on 13 October 2015. He was sacked on 3 March 2016. On 10 October 2019, KFC Uerdingen 05 presented Effenberg as the new sporting director. Following a few troubled months which included the team briefly staying at an Italian hotel with no football pitch for a mid-season training camp, he stepped back from this position prematurely in May 2020.

International career

Effenberg played 35 games for the Germany national team and scored five goals. His debut came on 5 June 1991, in a Euro 1992 qualifier against

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, as he played the last 18 minutes of a 1–0 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 Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

. During a group game against

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

in the

1994 FIFA World Cup The 1994 FIFA World Cup was the 15th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for men's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted by the United States and took place from June 17 to July 17, 1994, at nine venues across the countr ...

. Effenberg "gave the finger" to German fans at the Cotton Bowl in the 35 °C (95 °F) heat of

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

when he got substituted after a subpar performance; the Germans were then only one goal up, after leading 3–0. German coach

Berti Vogts Hans-Hubert "Berti" Vogts (; born 30 December 1946) 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 ...

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 did not appear in another international match again until 1998, when he was briefly re-instated to the national team for a couple of friendly matches in Malta in September, which happened to be Vogts' last two matches as national team coach. They turned out to be his last caps for Germany.

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 A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, cla ...

game against then-semi-professional

Cork City Cork ( , from , meaning 'marsh') is the second largest city in Ireland and third largest city by population on the island of Ireland. It is located in the south-west of Ireland, in the province of Munster. Following an extension to the c ...

, Effenberg told the press he was sure of a victory, saying Cork City midfielder

Dave Barry David McAlister Barry (born July 3, 1947) is an American author and columnist who wrote a nationally syndicated humor column for the '' Miami Herald'' from 1983 to 2005. He has also written numerous books of humor and parody, as well as comi ...

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 teammate

Thomas Strunz Thomas Strunz (born 25 April 1968) is a German former professional footballer who played mostly as a defensive midfielder. Over the course of 12 seasons, he amassed Bundesliga totals of 235 games and 32 goals, representing in the competition ...

. Later, Effenberg published a controversial autobiography, notorious for its blatant contents – which included lashing out at some other football professionals, namely club and national side mate

. 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 was issued in ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

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

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...

Career statistics

Club

International

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

Managerial

Honours

Bayern Munich *

: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

: 1999–2000 *

: 2000–01 * Intercontinental Cup:

* DFL-Supercup: 1990 * DFB-Ligapokal:

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 frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

Fiorentina *

Serie B The Serie B (), currently named Serie BKT for sponsorship reasons, is the second-highest division in the Italian football league system after the Serie A. It has been operating for over ninety years since the 1929–30 season. It had been ...

: 1993–94 Borussia Mönchengladbach * DFB-Pokal: 1994–95 Germany *

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

runner-up:

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment building in Amsterdam after two of its engines ...

* U.S. Cup: 1993 Individual * '' kicker''

Team of the Season: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–2000 * UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1992 * FIFA XI: 1997FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info
/ref> * ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99 *

UEFA Club Footballer of the Year The UEFA Club Footballer of the Year was a football award presented by UEFA to the most outstanding performers of every European club football season. The award, along with "Best Goalkeeper," "Best Defender," "Best Midfielder," and "Best Forward, ...

: 2001 * Bayern Munich All-time XI

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Effenberg, Stefan 1968 births Living people Footballers from Hamburg German footballers Bundesliga players Association football midfielders SC Victoria Hamburg players Borussia Mönchengladbach players FC Bayern Munich footballers VfL Wolfsburg players Serie A players Serie B players ACF Fiorentina players Al-Arabi SC (Qatar) players Germany under-21 international footballers Germany international footballers UEFA Euro 1992 players 1994 FIFA World Cup players German expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Qatar German expatriate sportspeople in Italy Qatar Stars League players 2. Bundesliga managers German football managers SC Paderborn 07 managers UEFA Champions League winning players UEFA Men's Player of the Year Award winners