Ulf Kirsten facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Ulf Kirsten

Kirsten in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth	(1965-12-04) 4 December 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth	Riesa, East Germany
Height	1.72 m
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1972–1978	BSG Chemie Riesa
1978–1979	BSG Stahl Riesa
1979–1983	Dynamo Dresden
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1983–1990	Dynamo Dresden	154	(57)
1990–2003	Bayer Leverkusen	350	(181)
Total		504	(238)
National team
1984–1986	East Germany U21	10	(4)
1985–1990	East Germany	49	(14)
1990–2000	Germany	51	(20)
Teams managed
2003–2005	Bayer Leverkusen (assistant)
2005–2011	Bayer Leverkusen II
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed Der Schwatte (dialect for Der Schwarze, 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps playing with two different national teams (first for East Germany, then Reunified Germany). Kirsten's biggest success was the victory of the 1992–93 DFB-Pokal.

Club career

Dynamo Dresden

Kirsten began playing football for local team BSG Chemie Riesa in 1972. He joined BSG Stahl Riesa in 1978 before joining the youth academy of Dynamo Dresden in 1979. Dynamo Dresden was a center of excellence (German: Leistungszentrum) and the most prominent club in Bezirk Dresden. It was also the most successful club in East Germany at the time. Kirsten made his professional debut for Dynamo Dresden in the 1983–84 DDR-Oberliga season.

Kirsten played 154 matches and scored 57 goals for Dynamo Dresden in the DDR-Oberliga. He won the DDR-Oberliga with Dynamo Dresden in two consecutive seasons: 1988–88 and 1989–90. Kirsten became the Footballer of the Year in East Germany in 1990.

Kirsten had an unusual build: measuring only 172 cm (5'8"), but weighing 81 kg (179 lbs). He therefore had an unusually low centre of gravity, which enabled him to protect the ball in the box against much bigger defenders and turn around quickly for close-range shots. His playing style was often compared to that of Gerd Müller. In addition, despite his small height, Kirsten was also a feared header.

Bayer Leverkusen

Kirsten in 1997

Kirsten was one of the first East German men's footballers to enter the Bundesliga after the German reunification. In the German Bundesliga he played 350 matches for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and scored 182 goals (ranked #7 in the all-time top scorer list). He established himself as one of the most dangerous strikers in the Bundesliga, but Bayer Leverkusen regularly ended as runner-up to either Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund. He stayed there until his retirement in 2003. He also played in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final, although his team lost to Real Madrid. In the 1999–2000 season, Kirsten won the EFFIFU award for being the most efficient striker in the league.

Off the pitch, Kirsten was famous for his strong beard growth, which earned him a sponsorship by Braun, who used him to advertise their electrical shavers.

International career

East Germany squad photo from 1986 – Kirsten is seated third from left in the front row

Kirsten's 100 caps are almost evenly split: 49 for East Germany and 51 for the re-unified Germany in a career which spanned 15 years from 1985 until 2000, with the reunified team being formed in late 1990.

Kirsten scored a total of 34 international goals, 14 of them for East Germany. His only major tournaments came late in his career; Kirsten played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 2000.

Personal life

Kirsten's son Benjamin is also a footballer and has played as a goalkeeper for Dynamo Dresden and NEC Nijmegen.

Along with several other teammates, Kirsten was allegedly implicated as an Stasi informant during his time at Dynamo Dresden through files recovered from the security service's archives after the fall of East Germany.

Career statistics

Club

International

• Ulf Kirsten's team's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ulf Kirsten goal.

International goals by Ulf Kirsten

No.	Team	Cap	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref
1	East Germany	3	14 August 1985	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway	Norway	1–0	1–0	Friendly
2		10	19 February 1986	Estádio 1º de Maio, Braga, Portugal	Portugal	2–0	3–1	Friendly
3		16	29 October 1986	Sportforum Chemnitz, Chemnitz, East Germany	Iceland	2–0	2–0	UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
4		23	23 September 1987	Stadion der Freundschaft, Gera, East Germany	Tunisia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
5		24	10 October 1987	Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East Germany	Soviet Union	1–0	1–1	UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
6		25	28 October 1987	Ernst Grube Stadium, Magdeburg, East Germany	Norway	1–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
7						3–1
8		37	13 February 1989	Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt	Egypt	1–0	4–0	Friendly
9						3–0
10		42	20 May 1989	Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany	Austria	1–1	1–1	1990 FIFA World Cup qualification
11		43	23 August 1989	Steigerwaldstadion, Erfurt, East Germany	Bulgaria	1–0	1–1	Friendly
12		50	28 March 1990	Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany	United States	1–0	3–2	Friendly
13						2–0
14						3–1
15	Germany	4	14 April 1993	Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany	Ghana	1–1	6–1	Friendly
16		6	13 October 1993	Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe, Germany	Uruguay	4–0	5–0	Friendly
17		10	27 April 1994	Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates	United Arab Emirates	1–0	2–0	Friendly
18		11	16 November 1994	Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania	Albania	2–1	2–1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
19		12	14 December 1994	Republican Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova	Moldova	1–0	3–0	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
20		17	6 September 1995	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Georgia	3–1	4–1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
21		20	2 April 1997	Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain	Albania	1–1	3–2	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
22						2–1
23						3–1
24		23	6 September 1997	Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany	Portugal	1–1	1–1	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
25		24	10 September 1997	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Armenia	4–0	4–0	1998 FIFA World Cup qualification
26		28	25 March 1998	Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany	Brazil	1–1	1–2	Friendly
27		32	5 June 1998	Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany	Luxembourg	1–0	7–0	Friendly
28						4–0
29		40	14 October 1998	Republican Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova	Moldova	1–1	3–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
30						2–1
31		44	4 June 1999	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Moldova	2–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
32		48	26 April 2000	Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Switzerland	1–1	1–1	Friendly
33		49	7 June 2000	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Liechtenstein	5–2	8–2	Friendly
34						7–2

Managerial statistics

Honours

Club

Dynamo Dresden

• DDR-Oberliga: 1988–89, 1989–90
• FDGB-Pokal: 1984–85, 1989–90

Bayer Leverkusen

• DFB-Pokal: 1992–93
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2001–02

Individual

• East German Footballer of the Year: 1989–90
• Bundesliga top scorer: 1992–93, 1996–97, 1997–98
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup top scorer: 1993–94
• UEFA Cup top scorer: 1994–95
• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1996–97, 1998–99

See also

In Spanish: Ulf Kirsten para niños

• List of men's footballers with 100 or more international caps