Kevin Kurányi facts for kids
Kurányi in 2016
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 2 March 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.90 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1993 | Serrano | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1994 | Las Promesas Panama | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1994–1996 | Serrano | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1997 | Las Promesas Panama | |||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2001 | VfB Stuttgart | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | VfB Stuttgart II | 33 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2005 | VfB Stuttgart | 99 | (40) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2005–2010 | Schalke 04 | 162 | (71) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Dynamo Moscow | 123 | (50) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 14 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 431 | (171) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2001 | Germany U20 | 5 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Germany U21 | 6 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002 | Germany Team 2006 | 1 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | Germany | 52 | (19) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Kevin Dennis Kurányi Rodríguez (born March 2, 1982) is a former professional football player. He was known for being a strong striker who was great at heading the ball and scoring goals. From 2003 to 2008, Kurányi played for the German national team. He scored 19 goals in 52 games for them. He also played in two UEFA European Championships and one FIFA Confederations Cup.
Contents
Kevin Kurányi's Early Life
Kurányi was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His father was German with Hungarian family roots, and his mother was Panamanian. Because of his family background, Kevin could have chosen to play for the national teams of Brazil, Panama, or Hungary. However, he decided to play for the German national team.
Kevin Kurányi's Club Career
Starting His Football Journey
Kevin Kurányi started playing football in 1988 when he was six years old. He joined Serrano FC in Petrópolis, Brazil. In 1993, he moved to a Panamanian club called Las Promesas for a year. After that, he went back to Serrano FC. He returned to Las Promesas again in 1996 for another year of play.
Playing for VfB Stuttgart
In 1997, Kurányi moved to Germany. He joined VfB Stuttgart's youth team. After playing some games for the Germany national under-21 football team, he signed his first professional contract with VfB Stuttgart in 2001.
Before joining the main team, Kurányi played 33 matches and scored 10 goals for the amateur team. He then played 99 matches for VfB Stuttgart's professional team, scoring 40 goals. He also played in 22 European club championship games, where he scored 10 goals. In the 2002–03 season of the Bundesliga (Germany's top football league), he was the best German goal-scorer. He helped Stuttgart finish second in the league that year. The team, known as the "Junge Wilde" (meaning "young wild ones"), played exciting attacking football.
Moving to Schalke 04
In the summer of 2005, Kurányi left Stuttgart to join Schalke. He signed a contract that lasted until the 2009–10 season. At Schalke, he was the team's top goalscorer from 2005 to 2008. During this time, the team earned a spot in the UEFA Champions League three times in a row.
On April 15, 2008, Kurányi scored four goals in a league match against Energie Cottbus. Schalke won that game 5–0. Just three days before, Schalke had lost 5–1 to Werder Bremen, and Kurányi had also scored a goal in that match.
Time with Dynamo Moscow
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On May 9, 2010, it was announced that Kurányi would move to Dynamo Moscow in Russia. He joined them on July 1, 2010, and signed a three-year contract. After extending his contract with Dynamo until 2015, he became the team's captain in July 2012. On December 9, 2012, he scored two goals for Dynamo. These goals helped his team win 2–1 against Terek Grozny.
Playing for 1899 Hoffenheim
After his contract with Dynamo Moscow ended in the summer of 2015, Kurányi returned to Germany. He signed a one-year deal with 1899 Hoffenheim on July 24, 2015.
Kevin Kurányi officially announced his retirement from football on March 24, 2017.
Kevin Kurányi's International Career
Kurányi played his first game for Germany on March 29, 2003. This was a qualifier match for UEFA Euro 2004 against Lithuania. In his sixth game, he scored Germany's final goal in their 3–0 win over Iceland. He played for Germany in the Euro 2004 finals and the 2005 Confederations Cup. However, he was not chosen for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany.
In 2006–07, Kurányi started playing very well again. After not being on the national team for 15 months, he was called back. He scored a goal in Germany's 3–1 win against Switzerland on February 7, 2007. In a Euro 2008 qualifying match against the Czech Republic on March 24, he scored both goals in Germany's 2–1 victory. He came on as a substitute in the second half of the Euro 2008 final against Spain. Germany lost 1–0, and he received a yellow card. This final game was his 50th match for Germany.
On October 11, 2008, Kurányi was not chosen for the 18-man squad to play against Russia. He watched the first half from the stands with other players who were not selected. During halftime, he left the stadium and did not return to the German team hotel. After this happened, the German team coach, Joachim Löw, said that he would never pick Kurányi for the national team again. One of Kurányi's advisors told reporters that he "decided what he for himself found to be right, which was to say I'm going home."
Kevin Kurányi's Personal Life
Because of his family background, Kevin Kurányi has three citizenships: German, Panamanian, and Brazilian. He has said that he is a big fan of the Brazilian football team Flamengo.
His son, Karlo, joined the Under-19 team of VfB Stuttgart in 2022, following in his father's footsteps.
Kevin Kurányi's Honours and Achievements
Here are some of the awards and titles Kevin Kurányi won with his teams:
VfB Stuttgart
- UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002 (a European club competition)
Schalke 04
- DFL-Ligapokal: 2005 (a German league cup)
Germany National Team
- FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2005
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2008 (Germany finished second)
Individual Awards
- kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2006–07, 2009–10 (He was chosen as one of the best players in the league for these seasons)
See also
In Spanish: Kevin Kurányi para niños
