Oliver Bierhoff facts for kids
Bierhoff in 2018
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 1 May 1968 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Karlsruhe, West Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.91 m | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Striker | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1988 | Bayer Uerdingen | 31 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Hamburger SV | 34 | (6) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | Borussia Mönchengladbach | 8 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Austria Salzburg | 33 | (23) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1995 | Ascoli | 117 | (48) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1998 | Udinese | 86 | (57) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–2001 | AC Milan | 91 | (36) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2001–2002 | Monaco | 18 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | Chievo | 26 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 444 | (185) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| National team | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1990 | West Germany U21 | 10 | (7) | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–2002 | Germany | 70 | (37) | |||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Oliver Bierhoff (born 1 May 1968) is a famous German football player who used to play as a striker. He was known for being tall and strong. He was very good at scoring goals, especially with his head. He could make powerful and accurate headers.
He started his career playing for clubs like Bayer Uerdingen and Hamburger SV in Germany. Later, he moved to Austria and then to Italy. In Italy, he played for Ascoli and then Udinese.
Oliver Bierhoff became very famous when he scored the first ever "golden goal" in a major international football final. This happened for Germany in the Euro 96 final. This amazing moment made him a global star.
In the 1997–98 season, he was the top scorer in Italy's Serie A league. After that, he joined AC Milan in 1998. He helped them win the Serie A title in his very first season. He even set a record for scoring the most headed goals in one Serie A season, with 15! After three years at AC Milan, he played briefly for Monaco and Chievo before he stopped playing in 2003.
Contents
Club Journey
Oliver Bierhoff played for nine different football clubs in four different countries. He scored a total of 102 goals in Italy's top league, Serie A. This is one of the highest numbers for a non-Italian player. In the 1997–98 season, he was the best scorer in Serie A with 27 goals for Udinese.
He didn't have much success in Germany's top league, the Bundesliga. But he found his stride in the Austrian league. This led him to play for Ascoli in Italy. However, it was at Udinese, under coach Alberto Zaccheroni, that he truly became a star.
In 1998, he moved to AC Milan. He helped them win the Serie A title in his first year. He scored 19 goals in the league that season. He even scored the winning goal in the last match of the season against Perugia. He set a record by scoring 15 goals with his head in that 1998–99 season. After three seasons with AC Milan, he played for Monaco in France for a year. Then he returned to Italy to play for ChievoVerona. He retired from playing football at the end of the 2002–03 season. In his very last game, he scored three goals for Chievo!
Playing for Germany
Oliver Bierhoff first played for the German national team in a friendly game against Portugal in February 1996. In his second game, he scored his first two goals for Germany.
He wasn't originally going to be picked for the UEFA Euro 1996 tournament. But the coach's wife convinced him to take Bierhoff, saying he would "repay" them. And she was right! In the final against the Czech Republic, Germany was losing 1-0. Bierhoff came on as a substitute and scored the goal that made it 1-1. Then, in extra time, he scored the "golden goal" to win the tournament for Germany! A "golden goal" means the game ends as soon as a goal is scored in extra time.
In 1997, he scored a very fast hat-trick (three goals in one game) for Germany against Northern Ireland. He scored all three goals in just seven minutes! In 1998, he became the captain of the national team after Jürgen Klinsmann retired.
Bierhoff also played in Euro 2000. He also played in two FIFA World Cups: 1998 and 2002. In the 2002 World Cup, he scored a goal in Germany's huge 8-0 win against Saudi Arabia. His last game for Germany was in the 2002 FIFA World Cup final against Brazil, which Germany lost 2-0.
How He Played
Oliver Bierhoff was a big and strong striker. He was a very physical and powerful player. He mainly played as a "target man," which means he was often the player teammates aimed for with passes. He wasn't the most skillful with the ball at his feet. But he was amazing at moving inside the penalty box.
He was especially famous for his incredible ability to head the ball. Because of his height and strength, he could jump high and hit the ball with great power and accuracy. He scored many important goals with his head throughout his career. This made him one of the best players in the world at heading the ball. Besides scoring, he could also use his head to pass the ball to teammates. He also had a powerful shot with his feet.
After Playing Football
After retiring as a player, Oliver Bierhoff became a manager for the Germany national football team. From 2004 until 2017, he was the team manager. This new role was created when Jürgen Klinsmann became the coach. His job mainly involved dealing with the public and media for the team.
In 2018, he became the technical director for the German national team. This meant he was in charge of national teams and developing football. However, after Germany left the 2022 World Cup early, his contract with the German Football Association was ended.
About His Life
Oliver Bierhoff married Klara Szalantzy on 22 June 2001. They had a daughter on 27 January 2007. He is a Roman Catholic.
You can find Oliver Bierhoff in the EA Sports' popular FIFA video games. He is also a member of the AC Milan Hall of Fame, which honors great players from that club.
His Education
Oliver Bierhoff also studied while playing football. In 2002, he earned a degree in business economics from the University of Hagen.
Honours
Ascoli
- Anglo-Italian Cup runner-up: 1994–95
AC Milan
- Serie A: 1998–99
Germany
- UEFA European Football Championship: 1996
- FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2002
Individual Awards
- Serie A top scorer: 1997–98
- Serie B top scorer: 1992–93
- Goal of the Year (Germany): 1996
- Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1998
- FIFA XI (reserve team): 1998
- AC Milan Hall of Fame
See also
In Spanish: Oliver Bierhoff para niños
