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Oliver Bierhoff

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Oliver Bierhoff (born 1 May 1968) is a German football official and former player who played as a forward. He has previously served as the national team director of the German Football Association. A tall, strong and prolific goalscorer, Bierhoff was mostly renowned for his excellent abilities in the air, and as a target man, being able to deliver pin-point headers towards goal.[2]

Oliver Bierhoff
Bierhoff in 2018
Personal information
Full name Oliver Bierhoff[1]
Date of birth (1968-05-01) 1 May 1968 (age 56)
Place of birth Karlsruhe, West Germany
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Forward
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1988 Bayer Uerdingen 31 (4)
1988–1989 Hamburger SV 34 (6)
1989–1990 Borussia Mönchengladbach 8 (0)
1990–1991 Austria Salzburg 33 (23)
1991–1995 Ascoli 117 (48)
1995–1998 Udinese 86 (57)
1998–2001 AC Milan 91 (36)
2001–2002 Monaco 18 (4)
2002–2003 Chievo 26 (7)
Total 444 (185)
International career
1988–1990 West Germany U21 10 (7)
1996–2002 Germany 70 (37)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1996 England
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2002 Korea/Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

He spent his early career playing for Bayer Uerdingen, Hamburger SV and Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga where he had modest success. After a season in the Austria Bundesliga for Austria Salzburg, he was signed by Ascoli in Serie A. Ascoli were relegated in his first season and Bierhoff played three seasons with them in the Serie B.

Bierhoff was signed by an Udinese team led by Alberto Zaccheroni in 1995 where he had great success and earned his first call-up to the Germany national team. Bierhoff scored the first golden goal in the history of major international football, for Germany in the Euro 96 final, a career-defining performance that vaulted him into the international limelight.

He finished the 1997–98 season as Serie A top scorer. He was subsequently signed by AC Milan in 1998, winning the Serie A title in his first season with the club, scoring 19 goals in the league and 21 in all competitions. He set a Serie A record for most headed goals in a single season, with 15. After three years at AC Milan, Bierhoff had brief stints at Monaco and Chievo before retiring from playing in 2003.

Club career

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The son of a German utility magnate, Bierhoff played for nine different clubs, in four different countries. He scored a total of 102 goals in Serie A, one of the highest totals for a non-Italian in the league's history. In the 1997–98 season, he was the Serie A top scorer with 27 goals for Udinese.

Bierhoff, however, was never a success in the Bundesliga. After failing to shine in Germany, he got his chance in the Austrian Bundesliga. That gave him the chance at Ascoli in Italy. But it was at Udinese, under Alberto Zaccheroni, that Bierhoff found success and won his place in fame and in the Germany national team. He then transferred to AC Milan in 1998, winning the Serie A title in his first season with the club, scoring 19 goals in the league and 21 in all competitions, including the match-winning goal in the final, title-deciding match of the season, a 2–1 away win over Perugia.[3] During the 1998–99 season, he set a Serie A record for most headed goals in a single season, with 15.[4] After three seasons there, he moved to Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2001 for one year, before moving back to Serie A to play for ChievoVerona, where he retired at the end of the 2002–03 season. In his last game, he scored a hat-trick for Chievo in a 3–4 defeat to Juventus.[5]

International career

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Bierhoff training with Germany, c. 1999

Bierhoff debuted for the Germany national team in a friendly against Portugal on 21 February 1996. In his second appearance on 27 March 1996, he scored his first two international goals in his country's 2–0 win over Denmark. Bierhoff was not initially going to be selected by coach Berti Vogts for Germany's UEFA Euro 1996, but Vogts's wife convinced him to take Bierhoff, saying, "he'll repay you." Bierhoff would come on as a substitute in the final against the Czech Republic with Germany 1-0 down, and scored both the equaliser and the golden goal in extra time to win the tournament.[6][7]

In an important qualification match on 20 August 1997, Germany trailed Northern Ireland, 0–1, with 20 minutes left when the manager of the national team, Berti Vogts, sent in Thomas Häßler and Oliver Bierhoff. Within seven minutes the former provided Bierhoff with three assists, meaning Bierhoff had scored the fastest hat-trick in the history of the Germany national team.[8] In 1998, he was appointed captain of the national team after the retirement of Jürgen Klinsmann.[9]

Bierhoff also played in Euro 2000, and both the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. In Germany's opening match of the 2002 tournament at the Sapporo Dome on 1 June, he scored in an 8–0 win over Saudi Arabia.[10] He made his last appearance for his country on 30 June, when he was brought on during the second half of the 2002 FIFA World Cup final against Brazil, but was unable to help the Germans score in the 0–2 loss.[11]

Style of play

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A large and prolific striker, Bierhoff was a strong, physical, aggressive, and powerful player, who played mainly as a target man in the centre-forward role.[2][12] Although he was not particularly skilful with his feet from a technical standpoint, or a particularly good ball-player, he possessed good movement inside the box as well as strong hold-up play, but he was known in particular for his excellent aerial ability; in addition to his height, strength, and elevation, he was able to execute headers with power and precision, having scored several critical goals with his head throughout his career, for both club and country, which led him to be regarded as one of the best players in the world with his head and as a specialist in the air. In addition to scoring goals, Bierhoff was also capable of providing assists to his teammates with his head through knock-downs.[12][13][14][15][16][17] Although he was less adept at scoring with his feet,[12] he also possessed a powerful shot.[18]

Managerial career

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Bierhoff was a manager of the Germany national football team from 2004 until December 2017, a new position created as part of Jürgen Klinsmann's acceptance of the coaching job. Essentially the duties revolve around the public relations aspect of the team as opposed to coaching responsibilities.[19] On 1 January 2018, a structural reform in the German Football Association took place and Bierhoff was named the technical director of the Germany national team (officially Direktor Nationalmannschaften und Akademie, "director national teams and football development").[20][21] After another early World Cup exit in 2022, Bierhoff had his contract terminated by the DFB, which was supposed to run until 2024.[22]

Personal life

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Bierhoff married Klara Szalantzy on 22 June 2001, Szalantzy was a model of Hungarian ancestry from Munich and former girlfriend of basketball player Dražen Petrović. She was behind the wheel in the fatal car crash that claimed Petrović's life.[23] Bierhoff and his wife had a daughter on 27 January 2007. He is a Roman Catholic.

Bierhoff features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he features in the FIFA 14 Ultimate-Team Legends.[24]

He is a member of the AC Milan Hall of Fame.[2]

Bierhoff was one of several celebrities in 2015 who endorsed the tabloid newspaper Bild's petition against anti-Islamisation group PEGIDA.[25]

Education

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Bierhoff took a correspondence course and graduated in 2002 with a degree in business economics from the University of Hagen.[26][27]

Career statistics

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Club

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Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[28]
Club Season League National cup[a] League cup[b] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
KFC Uerdingen 05 1986–87 Bundesliga 19 3 4 4 — 4[c] 2 — 27 9
1987–88 Bundesliga 12 1 1 0 — — — 13 1
Total 31 4 5 4 — 4 2 — 40 10
Hamburger SV 1988–89 Bundesliga 24 6 3 1 — — — 27 7
1989–90 Bundesliga 10 0 1 0 — — — 11 0
Total 34 6 4 1 — — — 38 7
Borussia Mönchengladbach 1989–90 Bundesliga 8 0 — — — — 8 0
Austria Salzburg 1990–91 Austrian Bundesliga 33 23 3 3 — — — 36 26
Ascoli 1991–92 Serie A 17 2 2 0 — — — 19 2
1992–93 Serie B 35 20 2 1 — — — 37 21
1993–94 Serie B 32 17 2 0 — — — 34 17
1994–95 Serie B 33 9 1 0 — — — 34 9
Total 117 48 7 1 — — — 124 49
Udinese 1995–96 Serie A 31 17 2 1 — — — 33 18
1996–97 Serie A 23 13 1 0 — — — 24 13
1997–98 Serie A 32 27 3 2 — 4[c] 2 — 39 31
Total 86 57 6 3 — 4 2 — 96 62
AC Milan 1998–99 Serie A 34 19 3 2 — — — 37 21
1999–2000 Serie A 30 11 3 1 — 6[d] 2 1[e] 0 40 14
2000–01 Serie A 27 6 5 1 — 10[d] 2 — 42 9
Total 91 36 11 4 — 16 4 1 0 119 44
Monaco 2001–02 Division 1 18 4 4 1 3 2 — — 25 7
ChievoVerona 2002–03 Serie A 26 7 2 0 — 2[c] 0 — 30 7
Career total 444 185 42 17 3 2 26 8 1 0 516 212
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Pokal, Austrian Cup, Coppa Italia, Coupe de France
  2. ^ Includes Coupe de la Ligue
  3. ^ a b c Appearances in UEFA Cup
  4. ^ a b Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Appearance in Supercoppa Italiana

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year[29]
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 1996 11 6
1997 8 7
1998 17 8
1999 8 6
2000 8 3
2001 7 1
2002 11 6
Total 70 37
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bierhoff goal[30]
List of international goals scored by Oliver Bierhoff
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 27 March 1996 Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany   Denmark 1–0 2–0 Friendly
2 2–0
3 4 June 1996 Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany   Liechtenstein 3–0 9–1 Friendly
4 30 June 1996 Wembley Stadium, London, England   Czech Republic 1–1 2–1 (a.e.t.) UEFA Euro 1996
5 2–1
6 4 September 1996 Górnik Stadium, Zabrze, Poland   Poland 1–0 2–0 Friendly
7 30 April 1997 Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany   Ukraine 1–0 2–0 FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
8 20 August 1997 Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland   Northern Ireland 1–1 3–1 FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
9 2–1
10 3–1
11 11 October 1997 Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany   Albania 2–1 4–3 FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
12 4–3
13 15 November 1997 Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany   South Africa 2–0 3–0 Friendly
14 30 May 1998 Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany   Colombia 1–0 3–1 Friendly
15 2–0
16 5 June 1998 Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany   Luxembourg 5–0 7–0 Friendly
17 6–0
18 21 June 1998 Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France   Yugoslavia 2–2 2–2 FIFA World Cup 1998
19 25 June 1998 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France   Iran 1–0 2–0 FIFA World Cup 1998
20 29 June 1998 Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France   Mexico 2–1 2–1 FIFA World Cup 1998
21 14 October 1998 Stadionul Republican, Chişinău, Moldova   Moldova 3–1 3–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
22 4 June 1999 BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany   Moldova 1–0 6–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
23 4–0
24 6–1
25 4 September 1999 Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland   Finland 1–0 2–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
26 2–0
27 8 September 1999 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany   Northern Ireland 1–0 4–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
28 3 June 2000 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany   Czech Republic 2–1 3–2 Friendly
29 3–2
30 7 June 2000 Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany   Liechtenstein 1–0 8–2 Friendly
31 15 August 2001 Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary   Hungary 5–2 5–2 Friendly
32 13 February 2002 Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany   Israel 5–1 7–1 Friendly
33 27 March 2002 Ostseestadion, Rostock, Germany   United States 3–1 4–2 Friendly
34 9 May 2002 Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany   Kuwait 2–0 7–0 Friendly
35 4–0
36 6–0
37 1 June 2002 Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan   Saudi Arabia 7–0 8–0 FIFA World Cup 2002

Honours

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Ascoli

AC Milan

Germany[32][33]

Individual

References

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  1. ^ "German Football Association". FIFA. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "AC Milan Hall of Fame: Oliver Bierhoff". acmilan.com. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  3. ^ "#TBT – 23 maggio 1999: Perugia-Milan 1-2, Scudetto e paratissima di Abbiati" (in Italian). PianetaMilan.it. 23 May 2017. Archived from the original on 19 July 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Serie A: Pavoletti da record, nessuno come lui nei gol di testa". ilsole24ore.com (in Italian). 27 August 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  5. ^ "Juventus 4–3 Chievo Verona". ESPN FC. 24 May 2003. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  6. ^ Hesse, Uli (2013). Tor!: The Story of German Football (Revised & Updated ed.). When Saturday Comes. pp. 266–269. ISBN 978-0-9561011-3-6.
  7. ^ Lawton, Matt (7 October 2000). "Bierhoff back for more glory". The Daily Telegraph. UK. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  8. ^ "Key player – Oliver Bierhoff". BBC Sport. 3 May 1998. Archived from the original on 16 February 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2010.
  9. ^ "Vogts names Bierhoff Germany's captain". CNN. 1 September 1998. Retrieved 26 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Germany – Saudi Arabia". FIFA. 2002. Archived from the original on 15 June 2010.
  11. ^ Murray, Scott (30 June 2002). "Brazil 2 - 0 Germany". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 June 2018.
  12. ^ a b c Kuper, Simon (12 September 1999). "Chelsea face hero with feet of clay". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  13. ^ Thomsen, Ian (1 July 1996). "Germany Wins Euro 96 With a 'Golden Goal'". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  14. ^ Cohen, Roger (4 July 1998). "WORLD CUP '98; Germany Stays Resolute to End, Which Is When the Rally Comes". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  15. ^ "La Germania ringrazia il solito Bierhoff". La Repubblica (in Italian). 29 June 1998. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  16. ^ Bonifazi, Enrico (26 April 2013). "Oliver Bierhoff" (in Italian). DNAMilan.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  17. ^ "Luca Waldschmidt, Marco Richter proving pleasant surprises for Germany's U21s". DW.com. 24 June 2019. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
  18. ^ "Oliver Bierhoff". BBC Sport. 7 May 2002. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
  19. ^ Tommaso Maschio (13 March 2015). "UFFICIALE: Germania, Bierhoff fino al 2020. Coordinerà il settore giovanile". tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  20. ^ "Oliver Bierhoff wird Superminister". Welt (in German). Axel Springer SE. 20 October 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  21. ^ "Germany technical director Oliver Bierhoff admits to mistakes in handling of Mesut Ozil's international retirement". First Post. 10 April 2019. Retrieved 26 April 2019.
  22. ^ "Oliver Bierhoff löst Vertrag mit DFB auf". DFB (in German). 5 December 2022.
  23. ^ "Forever Shattered - Crash that killed Drazen Petrovic 18 years ago crushed the dreams of one broken passenger". New York Daily News. 27 August 2011. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  24. ^ "FIFA 14 Ultimate Team Legends: Oliver Bierhoff". futhead.com. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  25. ^ "Germany Pegida protests: 'Islamisation' rallies denounced". BBC News. 6 January 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2015.
  26. ^ Miles, Grant (9 October 2013). "Top FIVE footballers that graduated at University". Sports Gazette. Retrieved 27 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
  27. ^ "Oliver Bierhoff - Manager, Deutscher Fußball-Bund e.V." Boardroom Insiders. 3 August 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
  28. ^ Oliver Bierhoff at WorldFootball.net
  29. ^ "Bierhoff, Oliver". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
  30. ^ "Oliver Bierhoff – Goals in International Matches". RSSSF. Retrieved 23 December 2010.
  31. ^ "White lays on fillip for County". The Independent. 20 March 1995. Archived from the original on 16 November 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  32. ^ a b "Oliver Bierhoff Forward". eurosport.yahoo.com. Eurosport. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  33. ^ "Bierhoff: We have to play our own game". fifa.com. FIFA. 11 July 2014. Archived from the original on 11 July 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  34. ^ "Italy – Serie B Top Scorers". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  35. ^ "Juni 1996 - Bierhoff" (in German). Sportschau. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  36. ^ "(West) Germany – Footballer of the Year". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2015.
  37. ^ FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info
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Sporting positions
Preceded by Germany captain
1998–2001 		Succeeded by
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