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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
Playing position 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)
National team
1988–1990 West Germany U21 5 (1)
1991–1998 Germany 35 (5)
Teams managed
2015–2016 SC Paderborn
2019–2020 KFC Uerdingen 05 (sporting director)
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.
† Appearances (Goals).

Stefan Effenberg (born 2 August 1968) is a German former footballer. He played as a midfielder and was known for his strong leadership and powerful shots. He was also famous for his fiery personality on the field.

Effenberg played for Bayern Munich for six seasons in two different periods. He won three Bundesliga titles with Bayern. He also led the team as captain to win the UEFA Champions League in 2001.

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

Playing Career Highlights

Stefan Effenberg began his professional football journey with Borussia Mönchengladbach. He quickly became a key player for the team by the time he was 20 years old. His talent caught the eye of Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich.

First Time at Bayern and Move to Italy

Effenberg joined Bayern Munich and scored many goals in his first two seasons. However, the team did not win any major trophies during this time. In 1992, he moved to ACF Fiorentina in Italy. Even with famous players like Brian Laudrup and Gabriel Batistuta, Fiorentina was relegated from Serie A in his first season. Effenberg stayed with the team and helped them win promotion back to Serie A the very next year.

Return to Germany and Big Wins

In 1994, Effenberg went back to Gladbach. He played in 118 league matches for them. After four years, Bayern Munich signed him again in 1998. His second time at Bayern was much more successful. He helped the team win three Bundesliga titles in a row.

Bayern also reached two UEFA Champions League finals. 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 goal from a penalty kick against Valencia. Bayern won the match after a penalty shootout. After this victory, Effenberg was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Bayern fans later voted him one of the greatest players in the club's history.

After leaving Bayern, Effenberg played briefly for VfL Wolfsburg. He then finished his playing career in Qatar with Al-Arabi Sports Club.

International Matches for Germany

Effenberg played 35 games for the German national team and scored five goals. His first game was in 1991 in a match against Wales. He was an important player during the UEFA Euro 1992 tournament, even scoring a goal against Scotland.

During the 1994 FIFA World Cup, Effenberg had a moment of frustration during a game against South Korea. He was substituted from the game and reacted poorly to some German fans. The German coach, Berti Vogts, was very upset by this. He decided to remove Effenberg from the national team right away.

Effenberg did not play for Germany again until 1998. He played in a couple of friendly matches in Malta, which were also coach Vogts' last games. These turned out to be Effenberg's final appearances for Germany.

Coaching Career

After his playing career, Stefan Effenberg became a coach. He was named the head coach of SC Paderborn in October 2015. He stayed in that role until March 2016.

Later, in October 2019, he became the sporting director for KFC Uerdingen 05. He stepped down from this position in May 2020.

Achievements and Awards

Stefan Effenberg won many titles and awards during his career:

Bayern Munich

Fiorentina

Borussia Mönchengladbach

  • DFB-Pokal: 1994–95

Germany

Individual Awards

  • kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: Seven times between 1990 and 2000
  • UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1992
  • FIFA XI: 1997
  • ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99
  • UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2001
  • Bayern Munich All-time XI: 2005

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Stefan Effenberg para niños

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