Thomas Helmer facts for kids
Helmer in 2010
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 21 April 1965 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Herford, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.85 m | ||||||||||||||||||
| Playing position | Centre-back, sweeper | ||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||
| –1984 | SC Bad Salzuflen | ||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† | ||||||||||||||||
| 1984–1986 | Arminia Bielefeld | 39 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1992 | Borussia Dortmund | 190 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1999 | Bayern Munich | 191 | (24) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Sunderland | 2 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||
| 1999 | → Hertha BSC (loan) | 5 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||
| Total | 427 | (46) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1998 | Germany | 68 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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Thomas Helmer (born 21 April 1965) is a German former footballer. He mostly played as a centre-back or sweeper.
Helmer played for many years with Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich. He played almost 400 games in the Bundesliga, which is Germany's top football league. He also helped the German national team win the European Championship in 1996.
Contents
Thomas Helmer's Club Career
Thomas Helmer was born in Herford, West Germany. He started his professional football journey with Arminia Bielefeld. He played a few games in the 1984–85 season. His team was relegated to a lower league that year.
In the next season, he scored five goals in 35 matches in the second division. This caught the eye of Borussia Dortmund, who signed him in 1986. Helmer quickly became an important player for Dortmund. He scored 16 goals during his six years with the club.
Moving to Bayern Munich
In 1992, Helmer joined FC Bayern Munich. This move was a bit unusual. Borussia Dortmund did not want to sell one of their best players to a rival team in Germany. So, they first sent him to Olympique Lyonnais in France.
However, just three months later, Lyon sold Helmer to Bayern Munich. Bayern paid 7.5 million marks for him. This was a record amount for the club at that time. The situation caused a lot of discussion. The German national team coach, Berti Vogts, even thought about not picking Helmer for the UEFA Euro 92 team because of the fuss.
Success with Bayern Munich
Helmer became a key player and later the captain for Bayern Munich. In his first season (1992–93), he scored seven goals. He helped Bayern win many titles in the late 1990s. These included:
- Three league titles
- One German Cup
- Three League Cups
He also helped Bayern win the 1995–96 UEFA Cup. He scored one goal in the final against FC Girondins de Bordeaux. During his time at Bayern, he played alongside other famous players like Olaf Thon, Lothar Matthäus, and Markus Babbel.
Later Career and Retirement
After leaving Bayern in 1999, Helmer decided to play in the Premier League in England. He had an offer from Liverpool, but he chose to join Sunderland for free.
However, Sunderland's manager, Peter Reid, did not use him much. Helmer only played two league games. He then went back to Germany on loan to Hertha BSC. He even played in the UEFA Champions League for Hertha. When he returned to Sunderland, the manager felt he was not as fast as before. Sunderland ended his contract, and Helmer retired from playing football.
Thomas Helmer's International Career
Thomas Helmer played his first game for the German national team on 10 October 1990. It was a friendly match against Sweden in Stockholm, which Germany won 3–1.
He had great success in the UEFA European Football Championships. He played in two finals in a row.
- In 1992, Germany surprisingly lost to Denmark. Denmark had only been called to play at the last minute.
- Four years later, Germany won the tournament. They beat the Czech Republic in extra-time at Wembley.
Helmer also played in two FIFA World Cups. His last international game was in the 1998 World Cup. He was replaced during the second-round match against Mexico. In the 1994 FIFA World Cup, he was involved in an incident where he tripped Josip Weber in the penalty area, but the referee did not call a foul.
Life After Football
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After he stopped playing football, Thomas Helmer became a sports journalist. He also worked as a television presenter for DSF.
He also became an ambassador for the children's charity "FIFA for SOS Children's Villages." He started this role in 1997, helping children in need.
Career Statistics
Here are Thomas Helmer's goals for the German national team. Germany's score is listed first.
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 21 June 1995 | Letzigrund, Zürich |  Italy |
1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 8 October 1995 | Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, Leverkusen |  Moldova |
2–0 | 6–1 | Euro 1996 qualifier |
| 3. | 11 October 1997 | AWD-Arena, Hanover |  Albania |
1–1 | 4–3 | 1998 World Cup qualifier |
| 4. | 22 February 1998 | King Fahd International Stadium, Riyadh |  Saudi Arabia |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 5. | 5 June 1998 | Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim |  Luxembourg |
3–0 | 7–0 | Friendly |
Honours
Borussia Dortmund
- DFB-Pokal: 1988–89
- DFL-Supercup: 1989
Bayern Munich
- Bundesliga: 1993–94, 1996–97, 1998–99
- DFB-Pokal: 1997–98; runner-up 1998–99
- DFB-Ligapokal: 1997, 1998
- UEFA Cup: 1995–96
- UEFA Champions League: runner-up 1998–99
Germany
- UEFA European Championship: 1996; runner-up 1992
- US Cup: 1993
See also
In Spanish: Thomas Helmer para niños
