Maik Franz

Last updated

Maik Franz
Maik Franz.jpg
Personal information
Full name Maik Franz
Date of birth (1981-08-05) 5 August 1981 (age 42)
Place of birth Merseburg, East Germany
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
1987–1997 SV Langenstein
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1997–1998 VfB Germania Halberstadt
1998–2001 1. FC Magdeburg 29 (3)
2001–2006 VfL Wolfsburg 91 (2)
2006–2009 Karlsruher SC 75 (6)
2009–2011 Eintracht Frankfurt 50 (6)
2011–2014 Hertha BSC 16 (0)
2013–2014 Hertha BSC II 2 (0)
International career
2002–2004 Germany U-21 19 (1)
2002 Germany Team 2006 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Maik Franz (born 5 August 1981) is a German former footballer. [1]

Contents

Career

Franz was born in Merseburg, East Germany, and grew up in Langenstein near Halberstadt, where he began his football career, and joined 1. FC Magdeburg's youth division in the summer of 1998. As part of the A-Youth team, Franz won the DFB-Youth-Cup in 1999.

Franz played defence for 1. FC Magdeburg until 2001, when he transferred to VfL Wolfsburg, where he played the same position in the Bundesliga. In Wolfsburg, Franz distinguished himself through his strong tackling, winning 63 percent of his challenges, making him the club's best player in this respect. He played 91 Bundesliga-matches during his time in Wolfsburg, scoring twice.

In July 2006, Franz transferred to the 2. Bundesliga, joining Karlsruher SC. Together with Mario Eggimann, he formed the central defence of Karlsruhe's starting eleven, and with his Bundesliga experience, he played a crucial role in the club's promotion to the top flight. After a strong start in the 2008–09 season, both for Franz and his club, he extended his contract until 2011. After Eggimann transferred to Hannover 96 in the summer of 2008, Franz took over the captain's armband at Karlsruher SC.

Having sustained a serious injury to his right foot in October 2008, Franz had to undergo surgery in January of the following year, and was unable to play for three months. In April 2009, he celebrated his comeback in a home match against 1899 Hoffenheim.

After the KSC was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season, Franz signed a contract with Eintracht Frankfurt, valid only for the Bundesliga. When Eintracht Frankfurt were also relegated to years later, Franz and the club were unable to agree on a contract that was also valid for the 2nd division.

On 24 June 2011, Hertha BSC announced they had signed Franz on a three-year deal, [2] but due to frequent injury, made only seven appearances in his first season in Berlin.

On 6 February 2014 Franz was displaced to Hertha BSC II. [3]

Attributes

In the 2007–08 season, Franz was openly criticised for his play style, distinguished by hard challenges and continuous provocation of opposing players. The criticism reached its height in February 2008, following the match between VfB Stuttgart, and Karlsruher SC. Stuttgart-star Mario Gómez grossly insulted Franz for his player style. He later retracted his words, but maintained his criticism of Franz. As a result, both the criticism and support for Franz (KSC fans nicknamed him "Iron Maik") intensified. Following the release of an official report on the incident, the discussion faded out over the following weeks. In April 2011, Werder Bremen captain Torsten Frings and manager Thomas Schaaf criticised Franz for having elbowed Denni Avdić in the face during an aerial challenge.

Due to his playing style, Franz is frequently booked. In the 2009–10 season, he donated 500 Euro to charity for each of his eleven yellow cards. In 2010–11, Franz was booked thirteen times in twenty-three matches.

International career

On 12 February 2002, Franz made his debut for the German U-21 national team against Northern Ireland. He was part of the German squad for the 2004 U21 European Championship, making his only appearance in against Sweden.

Related Research Articles

The 2001–02 DFB-Pokal was the 59th season of the annual German football cup competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 24 August 2001 and ended on 11 May 2002. In the final Schalke 04 defeated Bayer Leverkusen 4–2, defending their title from the previous season and thereby claiming their fourth title.

The 2000–01 DFB-Pokal was the 58th season of the annual German football cup competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 25 August 2000 and ended on 26 May 2001. In the final Schalke 04 defeated third tier Union Berlin 2–0 thereby claiming their third title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Änis Ben-Hatira</span> Tunisian footballer

Änis Ben-Hatira is a Tunisian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for German Regionalliga club Hertha BSC II. Between 2012 and 2016 he made 12 appearances for the Tunisia national team scoring one goal.

The 2008–09 season of Hertha BSC began on 17 July 2008 with a UEFA Cup first round qualifying march against Nistru Otaci from Moldova and ended on 23 May 2009, the last matchday of the Bundesliga, with a match against Karlsruher SC. Hertha were eliminated in the second round of the DFB Pokal, and the group phase the UEFA Cup. They finished fourth in the Bundesliga, qualifying for the UEFA Europa League.

Hertha BSC's 2007–08 season began on 4 August 2007, with their DFB-Pokal match against Unterhaching, and ended 17 May 2008, with their Bundesliga match against Bayern Munich. They finished tenth in the Bundesliga and were eliminated in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

The 2010–11 season is the 101st season of competitive football in Germany.

During the 2008–09 VfB Stuttgart season, the club was a genuine contender for the Bundesliga title, losing out only to VfL Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich and finishing in third position. Striker Mario Gómez scored 24 goals in the Bundesliga campaign, only to then make a shock switch to rivals Bayern for the highest-received transfer fee in the club's history.

VfL Wolfsburg had their best season yet in the Bundesliga under new coach Felix Magath. The double Bundesliga-winning coach from Bayern Munich improved the fortunes of Wolfsburg from a relegation-threatened side to a fifth place-finish. This was just the start of a sensational ascent to the top of German football, culminating in a shock title win the season afterwards. New signings Diego Benaglio, Josué, Grafite and Edin Džeko were all successful and played a big part in the resurgence.

The 2013–14 Hannover 96 season is the 118th season in the club's football history. In 2013–14 the club plays in the Bundesliga, the premier tier of German football. It is the club's eleventh season in this league, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2002.

The 2014–15 Eintracht Frankfurt season was the 115th season in the club's football history. In 2014–15 the club played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's third season back in the Bundesliga and the 46th overall.

The 2014–15 FC Augsburg season was the 108th season in the football club's history and fourth consecutive season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2011. FC Augsburg also participated in the season's edition of the DFB-Pokal. It was the sixth season for FC Augsburg in the SGL arena.

The 2014–15 Hamburger SV season was the 127th season in the club's football history. In 2014–15, the club played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's 52nd consecutive season in this league, being the only club to have played every season in the Bundesliga since its introduction in 1963.

The 1998–99 Eintracht Frankfurt season was the 99th season in the club's football history. In 1998–99 the club played in the Bundesliga, the top tier of German football. It was the club's 97th season in the first tier and the club's first season back in the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 1997–1998 season.

The 2017–18 FC Augsburg season was the 111th season in the football club's history and 7th consecutive and overall season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2011. In addition to the domestic league, FC Augsburg also participated in this season's edition of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This was the 9th season for Augsburg in the WWK Arena, located in Augsburg, Bavaria, Germany. The season covered a period from 1 July 2017 to 30 June 2018.

The 2018–19 Hertha BSC season was the 127th season in the football club's history and 6th consecutive and 36th overall season in the top flight of German football, the Bundesliga, having been promoted from the 2. Bundesliga in 2013. In addition to the domestic league, Hertha BSC also participated in this season's editions of the domestic cup, the DFB-Pokal. This was the 51st season for Hertha in the Olympiastadion Berlin, located in Berlin, Germany. The season covered a period from 1 July 2018 to 30 June 2019.

The 2019–20 season was SC Freiburg's 121st season in existence and the club's fourth consecutive season in the top flight of German football. In addition to the domestic league, SC Freiburg participated in this season's edition of the DFB-Pokal. The season covered the period from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020.

The 2020–21 season was the 122nd season in the existence of SC Freiburg and the club's fifth consecutive season in the top flight of German football. In addition to the domestic league, SC Freiburg participated in this season's edition of the DFB-Pokal. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

The 2020–21 1. FSV Mainz 05 season was the club's 116th season in existence and the club's 12th consecutive season in the top flight of German football. In addition to the domestic league, 1. FSV Mainz 05 participated in this season's edition of the DFB-Pokal. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

References

  1. ↑ "Franz, Maik". kicker (in German). Retrieved 16 June 2011.
  2. ↑ "Hertha BSC verpflichtet Maik Franz" [Hertha BSC sign Maik Franz] (in German). Hertha BSC. 24 June 2011. Archived from the original on 1 July 2011. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "Zwei Routiniers für die U23" [Two veterans to the U23] (in German). Hertha BSC II. 6 February 2014. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.