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Stefan Effenberg
Personal information
Date of birth (1968-08-02) 2 August 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth Hamburg, West Germany
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
0000–1974 Bramfelder SV
1974–1986 Victoria Hamburg
1986–1987 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1990 Borussia Mönchengladbach 73 (10)
1990–1992 Bayern Munich 65 (19)
1992–1994 Fiorentina 56 (12)
1994–1998 Borussia Mönchengladbach 118 (23)
1998–2002 Bayern Munich 95 (16)
2002–2003 VfL Wolfsburg 19 (3)
2003–2004 Al-Arabi 15 (4)
Total 441 (87)
International career
1988–1990 West Germany U21 5 (1)
1991–1998 Germany 35 (5)
Managerial career
2015–2016 SC Paderborn
2019–2020 KFC Uerdingen 05 (sporting director)
Medal record
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Stefan Effenberg (born 2 August 1968) is a famous German former footballer. He was known for being a strong midfielder with great leadership skills. He could pass the ball well, shoot powerfully, and was physically strong. He was also known for being a very passionate player.

Effenberg played for Bayern Munich for six seasons in two different periods. He holds a record for the most yellow cards in the Bundesliga (Germany's top football league). With Bayern, he won the Bundesliga three times. He also led the team as captain to win the UEFA Champions League in 2001.

He played for the German national team more than 30 times. He represented Germany in the UEFA Euro 1992 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup. His nickname is Der Tiger, which means "the tiger" in German.

Club Career Highlights

Stefan Effenberg grew up in Niendorf, Hamburg. He started his professional football journey with Borussia Mönchengladbach. By the time he was 20, he was a key player for the team. This caught the eye of the big club, FC Bayern Munich.

First Time at Bayern and Move to Italy

Effenberg joined Bayern Munich in 1990. He scored 19 goals in his first two seasons there. However, the team didn't win any major trophies during this time. In 1992, another famous player, Lothar Matthäus, returned to Bayern. Effenberg then moved to ACF Fiorentina in Italy.

Even with talented players like Brian Laudrup and Gabriel Batistuta, Fiorentina was relegated from Serie A (Italy's top league) in his first season. Effenberg stayed with the team in the second division. They managed to win promotion back to Serie A in just one year.

Return to Germany and Big Wins

In 1994, Effenberg went back to Borussia Mönchengladbach. He played 118 league matches for them and scored 23 goals. Then, in 1998, Bayern Munich signed him again. His second time at Bayern was much more successful.

He helped Bayern win three Bundesliga titles in a row. Bayern also reached the UEFA Champions League final twice. In 1999, they lost 2–1 to Manchester United F.C.. But in 2001, Bayern returned to the final with Effenberg as captain. He scored a penalty goal against Valencia, and Bayern won the match after a penalty shootout. After this victory, Effenberg was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Later, Bayern fans voted him one of the club's greatest players ever.

After leaving Bayern, Effenberg played briefly for VfL Wolfsburg. He finished his playing career in Qatar with Al-Arabi Sports Club, where he played alongside Gabriel Batistuta again.

Coaching and Sporting Director Roles

After retiring as a player, Stefan Effenberg became a coach. He was appointed as the head coach of SC Paderborn on 13 October 2015. He stayed in that role until 3 March 2016.

Later, on 10 October 2019, he became the sporting director for KFC Uerdingen 05. He left this position in May 2020.

Playing for Germany

Effenberg played 35 games for the German national team and scored five goals. His first game was on 5 June 1991, in a match against Wales. He was a regular player during UEFA Euro 1992, even scoring a goal in a 2–0 win against Scotland.

During a group game at the 1994 FIFA World Cup against South Korea, Effenberg made a gesture that upset German fans and the coach. Because of this, the German coach, Berti Vogts, removed Effenberg from the team right away. He said Effenberg would no longer play for the national team.

Effenberg did not play for Germany again until 1998. He was briefly called back for a couple of friendly matches in Malta. These turned out to be his last games for Germany.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

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
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1987–88 Bundesliga 15 1 15 1
1988–89 29 3 2 0 31 3
1989–90 29 6 3 0 32 6
Total 73 10 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 78 10
Bayern Munich 1990–91 Bundesliga 32 9 1 0 8 1 1 0 42 10
1991–92 33 10 1 0 4 1 38 11
Total 65 19 2 0 0 0 12 2 1 0 80 21
Fiorentina 1992–93 Serie A 30 5 4 2 34 7
1993–94 Serie B 26 7 4 0 30 7
Total 56 12 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 64 14
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1994–95 Bundesliga 30 7 5 2 35 9
1995–96 31 7 2 1 6 3 1 0 40 11
1996–97 29 1 2 0 3 2 34 3
1997–98 28 8 1 0 29 8
Total 118 23 10 3 0 0 9 5 1 0 138 31
Bayern Munich 1998–99 Bundesliga 31 8 6 3 2 0 12 5 51 16
1999–2000 27 2 5 0 1 0 11 2 44 4
2000–01 20 4 10 1 30 5
2001–02 17 2 4 0 1 0 7 1 29 3
Total 95 16 15 3 4 0 40 9 0 0 154 28
VfL Wolfsburg 2002–03 Bundesliga 19 3 2 0 21 3
Al-Arabi 2003–04 Qatar Stars League 15 4 15 4
Career total 441 87 42 8 4 0 61 16 2 0 550 111

International Appearances and Goals

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 1991 4 0
1992 12 2
1993 11 3
1994 6 0
1995 0 0
1996 0 0
1997 0 0
1998 2 0
Total 35 5

Honours and Awards

Stefan Effenberg won many titles and received several awards during his career:

Bayern Munich

Fiorentina

  • Serie B (Italian Second Division): 1993–94

Borussia Mönchengladbach

  • DFB-Pokal (German Cup): 1994–95

Germany

Individual Awards

  • kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: Many times between 1990 and 2000
  • UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1992
  • FIFA XI (World Select Team): 1997
  • ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99
  • Ballon d'Or nominee: 1999, 2001
  • UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2001
  • Bayern Munich All-time XI (one of the best players in the club's history): 2005
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