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Jürgen Kohler

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German footballer and manager

Jürgen Kohler
Kohler in 2005
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-10-06) 6 October 1965 (age 59)
Place of birth Lambsheim, West Germany
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1975–1981 TB Jahn Lambsheim
1982–1983 Waldhof Mannheim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1987 Waldhof Mannheim 95 (6)
1987–1989 1. FC Köln 57 (2)
1989–1991 Bayern Munich 55 (6)
1991–1995 Juventus 102 (8)
1995–2002 Borussia Dortmund 191 (14)
Total 500 (36)
International career
1983–1984 West Germany U-18 8 (1)
1985–1987 West Germany U-21 11 (0)
1986–1998 Germany 105 (2)
Managerial career
2002–2003 Germany U-21
2005–2006 MSV Duisburg
2008 VfR Aalen
2012 Bonner SC U-19
2013–2015 SpVgg EGC Wirges
2015–2016 SC Hauenstein
2016–2017 VfL Alfter
2018–2020 Viktoria Köln U19
2019 Viktoria Köln (caretaker)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner 1990
UEFA European Championship
Winner 1996
Runner-up 1992
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Jürgen Kohler (born 6 October 1965) is a German former professional footballer and manager, who played as a centre-back.

Playing career

Club

Kohler enjoyed a lengthy career at the highest level with exactly 500 top flight league matches, playing primarily as a centre back in the German Bundesliga, and in the Italian Serie A, achieving notable success both at domestic and international level with FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

Kohler's professional career began at Waldhof Mannheim, where he made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in April 1984. His first professional goal came in a 5–2 defeat of FC Schalke 04 on 26 January 1985.

A two-year spell at 1. FC Köln preceded a transfer to Bayern Munich, with the Bavarian club winning the Bundesliga championship in his first season at the club.

In 1991, Kohler transferred to Italian club Juventus. After being named Serie A's best foreign player for 1992, he went on to be part of the team that won the 1992–93 UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund, as well as a league and cup double in the 1994–95 season.

Returning to Germany to play for Dortmund in 1995, Kohler won another league championship in 1996 and helped the club to the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final. In a reversal of Kohler's previous continental final victory, Dortmund defeated his former club Juventus to become European Champions for the first time. As a result of this success, Kohler was named Footballer of the Year (Germany) for 1997. In the 2001–02 season, the last of his career, Kohler won his third Bundesliga title with Dortmund and reached the final of the UEFA Cup.

In his final professional appearance, the 2002 UEFA Cup Final against Feyenoord, Kohler was sent off for a foul on Jon Dahl Tomasson in the 31st minute of the match. After losing possession to Tomasson on the edge of Dortmund's penalty area, Kohler tripped the Danish forward inside the area to concede a penalty kick and was given a straight red card by referee Vítor Melo Pereira. Pierre van Hooijdonk scored the opening goal from the resulting penalty and BVB went on to lose the match 3–2.

International

At international level, Kohler made over 100 appearances for the Germany national team, playing at three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships, winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996.

Style of play

Regarded by pundits as one of the best defenders of his generation (even being dubbed the best stopper in the world by Maurizio Crosetti e Licia Granello of La Repubblica in 1992), Kohler was a complete and physically strong centre-back, who was famed for his defensive perception, anticipation, quick reactions, and marking, as well as his tactical sense; he was also known for his prowess in the air, courtesy of his height, timing, heading accuracy, and elevation, which also made him a goal threat during set-pieces. Although primarily a powerful and hard-tackling but fair stopper (man-marking centre-back), he was also known for his composure and finesse when in possession, and his ability to play the ball out of defence, which he was able to improve as his career progressed, in particular during his time in Italy, where he showed significant technical developments, after initially being pejoratively nicknamed "Eisenfuss" ("iron foot," in German) in his home-country. Beyond his defensive capabilities, he also stood out for his mentality, professionalism, and leadership qualities. Despite his ability as a defender, however, he also struggled with injuries throughout his career; his physical struggles occasionally limited his playing time and affected his form and consistency. Moreover, he was predominantly a right-footed player, who was not particularly adept with his weaker left foot. He was also known for his professional rivalry with Dutch striker Marco van Basten.

Coaching career

After his playing career was over, he has managed the German under-21 side, and became sports director of Bayer Leverkusen on 31 March 2003, quitting this post on 29 June 2004.

On 17 December 2005, he was appointed the coach of MSV Duisburg.

In August 2006, he turned down the opportunity to coach the Ivory Coast national team.

On 28 August 2008, Kohler signed a three-year contract as manager of German 3. Liga club VfR Aalen. However, on 16 November 2008, he retired due to a heart condition from the coaching job. He continued to work as director of sports for Aalen, but was sacked on 5 May 2009.

In April 2013, he started to work as director of sports for his former club SV Waldhof Mannheim.

Personal life

After his retirement from professional sports, Kohler occasionally played for Alemannia Adendorf in the Kreisliga C (the 11th tier of German club football).

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental SuperCup Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Waldhof Mannheim 1983–84 Bundesliga 5 0 — — — — 5 0
1984–85 26 2 1 0 — — — 27 2
1985–86 32 1 5 2 — — — 37 3
1986–87 32 3 2 0 — — — 34 3
Total 95 6 8 2 — — — 103 8
1. FC Köln 1987–88 Bundesliga 30 2 2 0 — — — 32 2
1988–89 27 0 2 0 — 6 0 — 35 0
Total 57 2 4 0 — 6 0 — 67 2
Bayern Munich 1989–90 Bundesliga 26 2 2 0 — 6 0 1 0 35 2
1990–91 29 4 1 0 — 7 0 1 1 38 5
Total 55 6 3 0 — 13 0 2 1 73 7
Juventus 1991–92 Serie A 27 3 7 0 — — — 34 3
1992–93 29 1 7 1 — 11 2 — 47 4
1993–94 27 3 1 0 — 7 1 — 35 4
1994–95 19 1 5 0 — 5 1 — 29 2
Total 102 8 20 1 — 23 4 — 145 13
Borussia Dortmund 1995–96 Bundesliga 29 5 3 0 — 7 0 1 0 40 5
1996–97 30 2 1 0 — 8 1 1 0 40 3
1997–98 23 3 3 1 2 0 5 0 1 0 34 4
1998–99 29 2 3 0 — — — 32 2
1999–00 30 2 — 1 0 10 1 — 41 3
2000–01 28 0 2 0 — — — 30 0
2001–02 22 0 — 1 1 10 0 — 33 1
Total 191 14 12 1 4 1 40 2 3 0 250 18
Career total 500 36 44 4 4 1 82 6 5 1 635 48

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 1986 2 0
1987 9 0
1988 11 0
1989 2 0
1990 10 0
1991 6 0
1992 10 0
1993 10 0
1994 13 0
1995 5 0
1996 10 1
1997 7 0
1998 10 1
Total 105 2
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kohler goal.
List of international goals scored by Jürgen Kohler
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 4 June 1996 Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim  Liechtenstein 6–0 9–1 Friendly
2 18 February 1998 Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat  Oman 2–0 2–0 Friendly

Honours

Bayern Munich

Juventus

Borussia Dortmund

Germany

Individual

See also

References

  1. "Kohler wird trainer bei Oberligist Hauenstein" (in German). DFB. 23 March 2015.
  2. Matthias Arnhold (26 July 2012). "Jürgen Kohler – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. "Der FC Schalke 04 in der Saison 1984/1985". FC Schalke 04 (in German). Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Jürgen Kohler". UEFA. 31 August 2011.
  5. "Autogramme", Sport-Bild 24 February 1993, p.43
  6. ^ Stefano Bedeschi (7 October 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Jürgen KOHLER" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  7. "Feyenoord fired by Van Hooijdonk". The Guardian. 9 May 2002.
  8. CROSETTI, MAURIZIO; GRANELLO, LICIA (9 February 1992). "IL CENTRAVANTI E LO STOPPER, AVANTI CON LO SHOW" [The Centre-forward and the Stopper, Let the Show Continue]. La Repubblica (in Italian). Retrieved 16 June 2021.
  9. "Kohler lehnt Angebot der Elfenbeinküste ab". Die Welt (in German). 30 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  10. "Irre! Weltmeister Jürgen Kohler kickt jetzt in der Kreisliga C". Bild (in German). 15 July 2009. Archived from the original on 26 June 2010. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  11. Jürgen Kohler at National-Football-Teams.com
  12. ^ Roberto Mamrud (9 November 2002). "Jürgen Kohler – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  13. "Deutscher Supercup, 1990, Finale". dfb.de. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  14. "Bundesliga Historie 1986/87" (in German). kicker.
  15. "Bundesliga Historie 1987/88" (in German). kicker.
  16. "Bundesliga Historie 1988/89" (in German). kicker.
  17. "Bundesliga Historie 1990/91" (in German). kicker.
  18. "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker.
  19. "Bundesliga Historie 2000/01" (in German). kicker.
  20. "EURO 1992 Team of the Tournament". UEFA. Retrieved 1 January 2020.

External links

UEFA Euro 1992 Team of the Tournament
Goalkeeper
Defenders
Midfielders
Forwards
1986–87 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season
1987–88 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season
1988–89 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season
1990–91 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season
1998–99 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season
2000–01 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season
Footballer of the Year (Germany)
West Germany / Germany squads
West Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1988 semi-finalists
West Germany
West Germany squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup winners (3rd title)
West Germany
Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1992 runners-up
Germany
Germany squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup
Germany
Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1996 winners (3rd title)
Germany
Germany squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup
Germany
MSV Duisburg – managers
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