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Karl-Heinz Riedle
Karl-Heinz Riedle, 2012.jpg
Riedle in 2012
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-09-16) 16 September 1965 (age 58)
Place of birth Weiler im Allgäu, West Germany
Height 1.79 m
Playing position Striker
Youth career
TSV Ellhofen
SV Weiler
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1986 FC Augsburg 80 (31)
1986–1987 Blau-Weiß Berlin 34 (10)
1987–1990 Werder Bremen 86 (38)
1990–1993 Lazio 84 (30)
1993–1997 Borussia Dortmund 87 (24)
1997–1999 Liverpool 60 (11)
1999–2001 Fulham 34 (6)
Total 465 (150)
National team
1986–1987 West Germany U21 4 (1)
1988 West Germany Olympic 1 (0)
1988–1994 Germany 42 (16)
Teams managed
2000 Fulham
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Karl-Heinz Riedle (German pronunciation: [kaʁlˈhaɪnts ˈʁiːdlə]; born 16 September 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Despite not being particularly tall, he was nicknamed "Air" throughout his career, due to his notable heading accuracy, jumping and timing skills in the air, as well as his ability to make runs into the box and get on the end of crosses, and made a name for himself as a traditional yet well-rounded and prolific centre forward. He appeared in 207 Bundesliga games over the course of eight seasons, scoring 62 of his 72 goals for Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund. He also played for Lazio in Italy and Liverpool in England.

A German international for six years, Riedle represented the country in two World Cupswinning the 1990 edition – and Euro 1992.

Club career

Germany

Born in Weiler im Allgäu, Swabia, Riedle started his senior career in the Bayernliga with FC Augsburg, being club top scorer in the 1985–86 season with a total of 20 goals. His performances attracted interest from newly promoted Bundesliga side SpVgg Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin, who signed him for a fee of 33,000 Deutsche Mark; he made his league debut for his new team on 9 August 1986, scoring in a 4–1 home loss against 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

After his team's relegation, as last, Riedle nonetheless signed with SV Werder Bremen, led by legendary Otto Rehhagel, and netted 18 times in his first season (second-best in the league behind Jürgen Klinsmann, and 24 overall) to help the club win the national title. During his three-year spell with the Hanseatic he scored 58 goals all competitions comprised, and appeared in back-to-back German Cup finals, losing both and finding the net in the 1989 edition – opening the score in a 4–1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

Lazio and return home

In the 1990 summer, Riedle moved to S.S. Lazio of Italy for a transfer fee of 13 million DM. During his stint with the Roman the club failed to win any silverware or reach any final, and his best output occurred in the 1991–92 campaign when he scored 13 goals in 29 games for an eventual 10th-place finish in Serie A; for two of his three years, he shared teams with countryman Thomas Doll.

Riedle returned to Germany in 1993 and joined Borussia Dortmund. He was a starter for most of his spell, often partnering Stéphane Chapuisat, but failed to reproduce his previous form, never scoring in double digits; he was however important in the conquest of the 1995 and 1996 national championships (13 goals combined) and, in the 1996–97 UEFA Champions League, netted twice against Juventus in the final for a 3–1 success.

England

In 1997, Riedle joined Liverpool in the Premier League. He was irregularly used during his stint at Anfield, especially after the phasing-in of 18-year-old Michael Owen.

In late September 1999, 34-year-old Riedle moved to Fulham where, along with his old Liverpool manager Roy Evans, he would serve as caretaker manager until the end of 1999–2000 after Paul Bracewell's dismissal. Before the end of the following season – where he eventually netted once from 14 appearances to help Fulham to top flight promotion – he announced his retirement.

International career

Riedle made his debut for West Germany on 31 August 1988, playing 15 minutes against Finland and scoring in a 4–0 away win for the 1990 World Cup qualifiers. Selected by coach Franz Beckenbauer for the finals in Italy as a backup to Klinsmann and Rudi Völler, he contributed with four games as the national team won its third title, starting once due to suspension to the latter. In the semi-final against England Völler limped off injured in the first half and Riedle came on as a substitute. The match went to penalties and Riedle converted his attempt as Germany eventually prevailed. However Völler recovered to start the final and Riedle remained on the bench.

One of Riedle's most memorable matches for Germany came during the UEFA Euro 1992 semi-final against Sweden, in which he netted two goals in a 3–2 triumph, eventually being the tournament's joint-top scorer. He gained a total of 42 caps, scoring on 16 occasions.

Personal life

Riedle married Gabriele and fathered three children, Alessandro, who is also a professional footballer, Dominic and Vivien-Joana. He owned a hotel and ran a football academy, in the village of Oberstaufen.

On 28 August 2014, UEFA announced Riedle as the ambassador of the upcoming Champions League final, which was later held in Berlin.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin 1986–87 Bundesliga 34 10 3 4 37 14
Werder Bremen 1987–88 Bundesliga 33 18 6 2 10 4 49 24
1988–89 Bundesliga 33 13 6 5 5 1 1 1 45 20
1989–90 Bundesliga 20 7 4 2 8 6 32 15
Total 86 38 16 9 0 0 23 11 1 1 126 59
Lazio 1990–91 Serie A 33 9 2 0 35 9
1991–92 Serie A 29 13 4 0 33 13
1992–93 Serie A 22 8 4 2 26 10
Total 84 30 10 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 94 32
Borussia Dortmund 1993–94 Bundesliga 22 4 0 0 5 0 27 4
1994–95 Bundesliga 29 6 2 1 9 6 40 13
1995–96 Bundesliga 18 7 0 0 4 1 22 8
1996–97 Bundesliga 18 7 0 0 5 4 23 11
1997–98 Bundesliga 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 1 0
Total 87 24 2 1 1 0 23 11 0 0 113 36
Liverpool 1997–98 Premier League 25 6 1 0 5 0 3 1 34 7
1998–99 Premier League 34 5 1 0 1 0 4 1 40 6
1999–2000 Premier League 1 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 2 2
Total 60 11 2 0 7 2 7 2 0 0 76 15
Fulham 1999–2000 Football League First Division 21 5 1 0 0 0 22 5
2000–01 Football League First Division 14 1 0 0 0 0 14 1
Total 35 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36 6
Career total 386 119 34 16 8 2 53 24 1 1 482 162

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 1988 1 1
1989 3 1
1990 9 1
1991 5 3
1992 10 4
1993 8 5
1994 6 1
Total 42 16

Honours

Werder Bremen

Borussia Dortmund

Fulham

Germany

Individual

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Karl-Heinz Riedle para niños

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