Jens Nowotny facts for kids
Nowotny in 2016
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Jens Daniel Nowotny | ||
| Date of birth | 11 January 1974 | ||
| Place of birth | Malsch, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1979–1985 | SV Spielberg | ||
| 1985–1990 | FC Germania Friedrichstal | ||
| 1990–1991 | Karlsruher SC | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1991–1996 | Karlsruher SC | 103 | (7) |
| 1996–2006 | Bayer Leverkusen | 231 | (4) |
| 2006–2007 | Dinamo Zagreb | 10 | (0) |
| Total | 344 | (11) | |
| International career | |||
| 1994–1996 | Germany U21 | 12 | (0) |
| 1997–2006 | Germany | 48 | (1) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Jens Daniel Nowotny (born on January 11, 1974) is a German former professional footballer. He played as a defender, which means his main job was to stop the other team from scoring goals.
Jens Nowotny played almost 300 official games for Bayer Leverkusen over ten years. He helped his team reach the Champions League final in 2002.
He also played for the German national team in one World Cup and two European Championships. He earned 48 "caps," which is a way of saying he played 48 times for his country.
Contents
Club Career
Playing for Karlsruher SC
Jens Nowotny started playing youth football at a young age. He played for two different clubs before joining Karlsruher SC to finish his training.
He made his first team debut on May 2, 1992, in the Bundesliga, which is Germany's top football league. He played the whole game, and his team won 1–0 against Hamburger SV. He quickly became a regular player for Karlsruhe.
Even before he turned 20, Jens was a very important defender for the team. On April 10, 1993, he scored two goals in just ten minutes during a game against VfL Bochum. He played almost 150 official games for Karlsruher SC. This included four games in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup, which is another big European competition.
Playing for Bayer Leverkusen
When he was 22, Jens Nowotny joined Bayer 04 Leverkusen. He played his first league game for them on August 21, 1996. His new team won 3–1 against MSV Duisburg.
From the very beginning, he was a key player for Bayer Leverkusen. In his first season (1996–97), he played in 32 matches. His team finished in second place, just two points behind FC Bayern Munich. He continued to play regularly and often worked well with fellow defender Carsten Ramelow. They formed a strong partnership in defense.
On October 30, 1998, Jens scored his first league goal for Leverkusen in a huge 8–2 win against Borussia Mönchengladbach. He also played in 16 games when his club reached the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League final in 2002. However, he was badly missed the next season (2002–03) because of an injury. He only played one game, and his team finished much lower in the league.
On September 28, 2004, Jens scored his only Champions League goal. It was in a game where Bayer lost 4–2 to FC Dynamo Kyiv. He left the club in the summer of 2006. By then, he had played over 300 official games for Bayer Leverkusen in 10 years.
Playing for Dinamo Zagreb
On July 18, 2006, Jens Nowotny, who was 32 years old, signed a three-year contract with NK Dinamo Zagreb. They were the champions of the Croatian League.
He played his first game for Dinamo on July 29, 2006. He also played in a Champions League qualifying game against Arsenal. Arsenal had tried to sign him in the past. Dinamo lost that game 3–0 at home.
On August 19, 2006, Jens got injured during a home game for Dinamo. Even though he wasn't fully healed and had played a friendly match for Germany just three days before, he wanted to play. His wife and children had come to Zagreb to watch him. His coach, Josip Kuže, had doubts about him playing but let him. After the game, his injury became worse and needed surgery. He had to take a month off.
Finally, on January 22, 2007, Jens Nowotny announced he was retiring from football. He couldn't fully recover from his injury. He said it was too much to think about waiting another 10 months for recovery and training. He was 33 years old when he retired.
International Career
Jens Nowotny played his first game for the German national team on April 30, 1997. It was a World Cup qualifying game against Ukraine in Bremen. He came on as a substitute after 15 minutes.
He was chosen to be part of the German squad for two European Championships: in 2000 and in 2004. He played five games in total in these tournaments, but Germany did not get past the group stage. He missed the 2002 World Cup because of a serious injury.
Jens was then picked for the 2006 World Cup, which was held in Germany. He had not played for the national team for two years before this. During the tournament, he was a backup player for younger defenders like Christoph Metzelder and Per Mertesacker. He only played in the third-place match against Portugal, which Germany won 3–1. He played in that game because Mertesacker was injured.
In total, Jens Nowotny earned 48 "caps" for Germany. He scored his only goal for the national team in a friendly match. It was a 7–0 win against Malta on May 27, 2004.
Honours
Bayer Leverkusen
- Bundesliga runner-up: 1996–97, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2001–02
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2001–02
- DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2001–02
Dinamo Zagreb
- Croatian First Football League: 2006–07
- Croatian Football Cup: 2006–07
Germany
- FIFA World Cup third place: 2006
Individual
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02
Images for kids
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Nowotny in 2016 (from infobox)
See also
In Spanish: Jens Nowotny para niños
