kids encyclopedia robot

Hans-Jörg Butt facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Quick facts for kids
Hans-Jörg Butt
Jörg Butt – Tag der Legenden 2016 04.jpg
Butt in 2016
Personal information
Full name Hans-Jörg Butt
Date of birth (1974-05-28) 28 May 1974 (age 51)
Place of birth Oldenburg, West Germany
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1980–1991 TSV Großenkneten
1991–1994 VfB Oldenburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1997 VfB Oldenburg 87 (5)
1997–2001 Hamburger SV 133 (19)
2001–2007 Bayer Leverkusen 191 (7)
2007–2008 Benfica 1 (0)
2008–2012 Bayern Munich 63 (0)
2009 Bayern Munich II 4 (1)
Total 479 (32)
International career
2000–2010 Germany 4 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Men's football
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2002 Korea–Japan
Third 2010 South Africa
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Hans-Jörg Butt (born on May 28, 1974), often called Jörg Butt, is a German former footballer. He was a goalkeeper who played for many top clubs.

Butt was famous for taking penalty kicks. He would often run to the other team's goal to try and score. He scored 26 goals in the Bundesliga, which is Germany's top football league.

He played for big teams like Hamburger SV, Bayer Leverkusen, and Bayern Munich. He also played for the German national team in two World Cups and at Euro 2000.

About Jörg Butt

Early Life and Family

Jörg Butt was born in Oldenburg, Germany. He grew up in a nearby town called Großenkneten. His father owned a company that made industrial doors.

When he was a young boy, Jörg played football for his local club, TSV Großenkneten. Interestingly, he started out as a striker, not a goalkeeper!

Jörg Butt is married to Katja. They have three children together: one daughter and two sons.

Jörg Butt's Football Journey

Starting His Professional Career

Butt began his professional football journey with a smaller club called VfB Oldenburg. In 1996, his team was promoted to the 2. Bundesliga, which is the second division of German football.

In 1997, he moved to Hamburg. During his second season there, he scored seven goals. All of these goals came from penalty kicks. The next season, he scored nine more penalties for Hamburg.

Playing for Bayer Leverkusen

In 2001, Butt joined Bayer Leverkusen for free. He quickly became the main goalkeeper for the team. He hardly missed any games in his first five seasons. He also scored seven goals for Leverkusen.

Butt played in all 17 games when Leverkusen reached the Champions League final in 2002. They lost to Real Madrid in that final. He even scored a penalty in a 3–1 win against Juventus during the group stage.

One famous moment happened in 2004 during a game against Schalke 04. After scoring a penalty, Butt was celebrating with his teammates. He didn't hear the whistle for the game to restart. A Schalke player, Mike Hanke, quickly shot the ball from the halfway line and scored while Butt was still running back to his goal.

Time in Portugal with Benfica

In 2006, Butt started losing his spot as the main goalkeeper at Leverkusen to a younger player. So, in 2007, he decided to leave the club. He then signed a two-year contract with the Portuguese club Benfica.

Butt played his first game for Benfica in a summer tournament. He even saved a penalty in that game. However, he was mostly a backup goalkeeper at Benfica. He only played one league game for the club. In that game, he came on as a substitute and saved a penalty with his very first touch!

Joining Bayern Munich

Hans Jörg Butt 3279215575 a6913d6d1d o
Butt with Bayern in 2009

On June 4, 2008, Butt signed a two-year contract with Bayern Munich. He was expected to be a backup goalkeeper there. He made his first official appearance for Bayern in a Champions League game in March 2009.

Later in the 2008–09 season, Butt became the main goalkeeper for Bayern. This happened after the first-choice goalkeeper was injured and the team had a tough start.

On December 8, 2009, Butt scored his first goal for Bayern. It was a very important penalty in a Champions League group stage match against Juventus. Bayern won that game 4–1. This meant he had scored a Champions League goal against Juventus for all three major German clubs he played for!

In 2010, Butt signed a contract extension with Bayern until 2011. He also played in the Champions League final that year. Bayern lost that game to Inter Milan.

During the 2010–11 season, Butt, who was 36 years old, lost his starting spot again. But he returned to the starting lineup later in the season. He played in 30 official games that season.

On May 3, 2011, Butt signed another one-year contract extension with Bayern. He retired from football at the end of the 2011–12 season. He was 38 years old. His last game was a friendly match where he was the team captain.

Playing for Germany

Hans-Jörg Butt 2010 (cropped)
Butt with Germany at the 2010 World Cup

Jörg Butt was the third-choice goalkeeper for Germany in both UEFA Euro 2000 and the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He did not play in either of those tournaments.

He played in three friendly matches for Germany. His first game was against Liechtenstein on June 7, 2000. Germany won that game 8–2.

Butt was chosen as one of Germany's goalkeepers for the 2010 World Cup. He played his only competitive international game on July 10, 2010. This was in the third-place playoff match against Uruguay, which Germany won 3–2.

After Retirement

After retiring from playing, Jörg Butt was appointed head of the Bayern Munich Junior Team on July 1, 2012. However, he left this job just over a month later, on August 7. He explained that the role was not what he expected and did not bring him the satisfaction he wanted.

Honours and Achievements

Jörg Butt won several awards and titles during his career:

  • VfB Oldenburg
    • Regionalliga Nord: 1995–96
  • Individual Awards
    • kicker Goalkeeper of the Year: 2009–10
    • kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1999–2000, 2009–10

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Hans-Jörg Butt para niños

kids search engine
Hans-Jörg Butt Facts for Kids. Kiddle Encyclopedia.