Rudi Völler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Rudi Völler

Völler in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Rudolf Völler
Date of birth	(1960-04-13) 13 April 1960 (age 65)
Place of birth	Hanau, Germany
Height	1.77 m
Playing position	Forward
Club information
Current club	Germany (director)
Youth career
1966–1975	TSV Hanau
1975–1977	Kickers Offenbach
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1977–1980	Kickers Offenbach	79	(23)
1980–1982	1860 Munich	74	(49)
1982–1987	Werder Bremen	174	(119)
1987–1992	Roma	198	(68)
1992–1994	Marseille	73	(28)
1994–1996	Bayer Leverkusen	75	(31)
Total		673	(318)
National team
1979–1982	West Germany U21	19	(10)
1980	West Germany B	3	(0)
1982–1994	West Germany/Germany	90	(47)
Teams managed
1996–2000	Bayer Leverkusen (sporting director)
2000	Bayer Leverkusen
2000–2004	Germany
2004	Roma
2005	Bayer Leverkusen
2005–2022	Bayer Leverkusen (sporting director)
2023–	Germany (director)
2023	Germany (caretaker)
Honours Men's football Representing  Germany FIFA World Cup Winner 1990 Italy Runner-up 1986 Mexico UEFA European Championship 1992 Sweden
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (born 13 April 1960) is a famous German football manager and former player. He is currently the director of the German national team. People in Germany call him "Tante Käthe" (which means "Aunt Kathy"). In Italy, fans of Roma called him "Il tedesco volante" ("The flying German").

Rudi Völler played as a forward. He started his professional career at Kickers Offenbach. Then he joined 1860 Munich, where he was the top scorer in the 2. Bundesliga in the 1981–82 season. He later played for Werder Bremen and was the top scorer in the Bundesliga in 1982–83. Völler then moved to play in other countries. He joined Serie A club Roma in Italy and then Ligue 1 club Olympique Marseille in France.

At Roma, he won the Coppa Italia cup. He also reached the final of the UEFA Cup in the 1990–91 season. He was the top scorer in both these tournaments. At Marseille, he won the French league title and the Champions League in 1992–93. However, the club later lost its league title and was moved down a division because of a scandal. In 1994, Völler returned to Germany and finished his playing career at Bayer Leverkusen.

Völler first played for the German national team, then called West Germany, in 1982. He played in three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships. This was a very successful time for the German team. Völler played in two World Cup finals in a row, both against Argentina. He helped Germany win the World Cup trophy in 1990. When he stopped playing in 1994, he was Germany's second-highest goal scorer.

After he stopped playing for Bayer Leverkusen, Völler became the club's sporting director. In 2000, he briefly managed the team. Later, he became the caretaker manager of the German national team, even though he didn't have much coaching experience. He led Germany to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final, where they lost to Brazil. Völler is one of only a few people who have reached a World Cup final as both a player (in 1986 and 1990) and a manager (in 2002). After Germany was knocked out early from UEFA Euro 2004, Völler left his manager role. He then had a short time as manager of his old club Roma. He later returned to Leverkusen as sporting director again until 2022. In February 2023, he became the director of the German national team.

Playing for Clubs

Rudi Völler started his football journey with 1860 Hanau. He then played for second division teams Kickers Offenbach and TSV 1860 Munich. In 1982, he joined the top German league club Werder Bremen. That same year, he played his first game for West Germany. He had a great season, becoming the Bundesliga's top scorer.

Because of his success, clubs from other countries became interested in him. In 1987, he moved to Roma in Italy. There, he became a very important player for the team. Fans gave him the nicknames "er tedesco" ("the German") and "il tedesco volante" ("the flying German"). He won the Coppa Italia cup in 1991 with Roma. He was also the club's top scorer many times.

In 1992, Roma sold Völler to Marseille in France. He was meant to replace their star striker Jean-Pierre Papin. This move also allowed Roma to bring in another foreign player, Claudio Caniggia. In his first season at Marseille, Völler won his biggest club trophy. His team won the UEFA Champions League in 1993 by beating AC Milan. Völler played for 78 minutes in that final. However, Marseille later faced a scandal. They lost their 1993 league title and were moved down a division in 1994. Völler scored 24 league goals for Marseille before leaving after the club was relegated. He returned to Germany and joined Bayer Leverkusen in 1994. He finished his playing career there in 1996 and began working in the club's management.

Playing for Germany

Rudi Völler played 90 times for the German national team. He scored 47 goals, with eight of those coming in World Cup tournaments.

He also played in three UEFA European Championships. His first was Euro 1984. He scored two goals in a group game against Romania, which Germany won 2–1. However, West Germany was knocked out after losing to Spain in their next match.

At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Völler scored a goal to help West Germany win 2–1 against Scotland in the group stage. He scored a last-minute goal against France in the semi-final, securing a 2–0 win. In the final against Argentina, his goal in the 80th minute made the score 2–2. Germany had come back from being 2–0 down, but they eventually lost the match 3–2.

West Germany hosted Euro 1988. Völler scored twice in a 2–0 win against Spain. But the host team lost to the eventual winners, the Netherlands, in the semi-final.

Völler was part of the team that won the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He scored three goals in the tournament. He scored one goal in a 4–1 win against Yugoslavia. Then he scored twice against the United Arab Emirates in a 5–1 victory. During a match against the Netherlands, Völler and Dutch player Frank Rijkaard were both sent off the field after a heated disagreement. Völler was injured in the semi-final against England and had to leave the game. However, he recovered and started in the final against Argentina. Germany won that match 1–0, claiming their third World Cup title.

The incident with Frank Rijkaard was quite famous. Rijkaard was given a yellow card for a foul on Völler. As they lined up for the free kick, Rijkaard spat near Völler. Völler complained and also received a yellow card. After some more back-and-forth, the referee decided to send both players off. Rijkaard later said it was his fault and apologized to Völler. They even appeared in a funny advertisement together years later.

Völler was chosen for Euro 1992, but he got injured in the first game and had to go home.

At the 1994 World Cup, Völler did not start in the first three group games. He came on as a substitute in one of those games. He did start the second-round match against Belgium and scored two goals in a 3–2 win.

Managerial Career

After a disappointing Euro 2000 for Germany, the German Football Association (DFB) chose Rudi Völler as the new manager. They knew he didn't have much coaching experience at the time. At first, he only planned to manage the team for one year. But because the team did well, Völler stayed on longer. Even though Germany lost 5–1 to England at home and had two draws against Finland during qualification, Völler led the team to a surprising appearance in the final of the 2002 World Cup against Brazil.

After Germany was knocked out early from Euro 2004, Völler resigned from his job. After leaving the German national team, Völler briefly returned to Roma in 2004 as manager. He was hired in late August but left only a month later after some poor results and disagreements with players.

He then went back to Bayer Leverkusen in a support role. On 16 September 2005, Völler became the caretaker manager of Leverkusen again after the club's coach was fired. He stayed in that role until a new coach was found. After that, Völler became the club's sporting director for the second time. He held this position until 2022.

Völler in 2009

Rudi Völler was, and still is, very popular in Germany. Even when the national team didn't get the best results, people still liked him. They knew he was doing his best with the players he had. In September 2003, during a TV interview after a 0–0 draw against Iceland, he famously lost his temper. He yelled at the TV presenter to defend his team from what he thought were unfair comments. The public even forgave him for this.

On 1 February 2023, Völler became the director of the German national team. On 10 September 2023, he was named interim manager for a friendly match against France. Germany won that game 2–1.

Personal Life

Rudi Völler has two children with his German ex-wife Angela. One of them is Marco, who is a basketball executive and former professional player. In 1995, Rudi married a woman from Rome during his time in Italy. He adopted her daughter and they had one more son together.

Honours

Player

Roma

• Coppa Italia: 1990–91
• UEFA Cup runner-up: 1990–91

Marseille

• UEFA Champions League: 1992–93

Germany

• FIFA World Cup: 1990; runner-up: 1986
• UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1992

Individual Awards

• UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Golden Player: 1982
• 2. Bundesliga Top Goalscorer: 1981–82
• Bundesliga Top Goalscorer: 1982–83
• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1982–83, 1983–84, 1984–85, 1994–95
• Footballer of the Year (Germany): 1983
• UEFA Euro Team of the Tournament: 1984
• UEFA Cup Top Goalscorer: 1990–91
• AS Roma Hall of Fame: 2014

Manager

Germany

• FIFA World Cup runner-up: 2002

Images for kids

• 

  Völler signs the book of his hometown Hanau, 2002.

See also

In Spanish: Rudi Völler para niños