Mike Werner

Last updated

Mike Werner
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-02-13) 13 February 1971 (age 53)
Place of birth Spremberg, Bezirk Cottbus, East Germany
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) [1]
Position(s) Defender
Youth career
–1984 BSG Energie Cottbus
1984–1988 FC Vorwärts Frankfurt
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1988–1989 FC Vorwärts Frankfurt II [2]
1988–1989 FC Vorwärts Frankfurt
1989–1991 BSG Motor Eberswalde
1991–1996 Hansa Rostock 102 (2)
2001–2003 TSG Neustrelitz
2003–2005 PSV Ribnitz-Damgarten
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Mike Werner (born 13 February 1971) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. [1]

Contents

Career

Werner began playing football for BSG Energie Cottbus. [3] He was then allowed to join the youth department of the army-sponsored football club FC Vorwärts Frankfurt in 1984.

Werner attended a sports school in Frankfurt an der Oder and played for the youth teams of FC Vorwärts Frankfurt. [4] He eventually made his debut for the first team of FC Vorwärts Frankfurt in the DDR-Oberliga as a 17-year-old away against 1. FC Magdeburg on the 20th matchday of the 1987–88 DDR-Oberliga 6 April 1988. [5] He was then listed with the reserve team FC Vorwärts Frankfurt II in the second-tier DDR-Liga for the 1988-89 season. [2]

At the sports school in Frankfurt an der Oder, it was all about football. Werner has described that everything, everyday life and school, was tailored to football. [4] But Werner claims that he was a "wild guy". He was into motorcycles and leather jackets. [6] Werner claims that the army-officers at FC Vorwärts Frankfurt eventually had enough of him, after a teacher had found a scribbling he had made, with notes such as "Udo Lindenberg" and "The wall must go". [4] [6] Werner was subsequently demoted to second-grade enterprise sports community BSG Motor Eberswalde in 1989. [6]

Werner was eventually invited to Hansa Rostock during the winter break 1990–1991. Then Hansa Rostock coach Uwe Reinders wanted to see him for a trial session. [6] Werner then joined the team of Hansa Rostock for the second half of the 1990–91 season. [6] [3] Werner was not used as a central defender at Hansa Rostock, but as a marker. He has explained that his job at the pitch was not to ”shape football”, but "solely to destroy the opponent's game", by "following the opposing striker everywhere". Werner neither spared himself, nor the opponent. [3] He played with number 21 at Hansa Rostock. [7] Werner ultimately won the 1990–91 NOFV-Oberliga and the 1990–91 NOFV-Pokal and captured the double with Hansa Rostock in 1991. [3]

Hansa Rostock joined the Bundesliga after German re-unification. Werner made only one appearance for Hansa Rostock in the 1991-92 Bundesliga, but was part of a team that won victories against opponents such as Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund. [3] Hansa Rostock was eventually relegated to the 2. Bundesliga after the 1991–92 season. Werner became regular player for Hansa Rostock in the 1991-92 2. Bundesliga. He eventually won promotion back to the Bundesliga with Hansa Rostock in the 1994–95 season. [3] After promotion to the Bundesliga with Hansa Rostock, Werner fulfilled a great personal dream, by finally buying a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. [4] However, Werner unfortunately suffered a cruciate ligament tear in a duel with Boussia Dortmund midfielder Knut Reinhardt on the third matchday of the 1995-96 Bundesliga. He hunderwent several operations, but never made it back. [4] [8] [7] [3] Werner subsequently ended his professional career in 1996. [4] [3]

Werner later continued in amateur football. He first played for TSV Graal-Müritz. He then joined TSV Neustrelitz in the sixth tier Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 2001. TSG Neustrelitz was promoted to NOFV-Oberliga Nord in 2002. [9] He played 19 matches for TSG Neustrelitz in the 2002–03 NOFV-Oberliga Nord. Werner left TSG Neustreliz for PSV Ribnitz-Damgarten in 2003. Werner played for PSV Ribnitz-Damgarten until retiring as a player in May 2005. Werner then took over as coach of PSV Ribnitz-Damgarten in the Bezirksklasse. [9] The team of PSV Ribnitz-Damgarten eventually won promotion to the Landesliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern under Werner.

Werner returned to Hansa Rostock in June 2010 as an assistant to C-Junior coach Juri Schlünz. [10] He then joined TSV Graal-Müritz as a coach in the Landesliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern during the winter of 2013. He then served B-Junior coach at TSV Graal-Müritz. [3] Werner joined FC Pommern Stralsund as assistant coach in July 2017. [11] He has since also served as interim coach of PSV Ribnitz-Damgarten in the Landesklasse Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in 2020. [12]

Miscellaneous

Werner was known for his eye-catching haircut with mullet and moustache. [13] Former Hansa Rostock youth talent Marten Laciny, who saw Hansa Rostock win promotion to the Bundesliga in 1995 at the Ostseestadion as a twelve-year-old, told in an interview with German football magazine 11 Freunde how he once watched Stefan Beinlich, Rocco Milde and Steffen Baumgart shoot down Hannover 96, with "Werner's hair flying at the back of the defence". [8]

Werner had been forced to keep his hair short at army club FC Vorwärts Frankfurt, and used the transfer to BSG Motor Eberswalde as an opportunity to finally grow his hair. When finally arriving at Hansa Rostock during the winter 1991, he already had a "mighty mullet", in his own words. [6] Werner had originally wanted full long hair. But Hansa Rostock coach Uwe Reinders had allegedly told him: "If you ever miss a header because your hair is in your face, you'll never play again." So Werner cut his hair short in the front. [8] Werner claims that Reinders actually didn't care at all about the hair at first. But later, when the team, joined the Bundesliga, did Reinders tease Werner bout the hair. [6] Reinders is said to have once said: "If you don't cut your hair, you don't play", but Werner did not care. [14]

Werner immediately caused controversy at Hansa Rostock. Between two matches during an indoor tournament in Bremen, shortly after starting at Hansa Rostock, he accepted a vodka from a visitor. The visitor turned out to be a journalist from West German tabloid Bild . The next day, Bild wrote, "Hansa players drink vodka at the indoor tournament!" in big letters. [6]

Honours

Hansa Rostock

TSG Neustrelitz

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Hansa Rostock</span> German association football club based in Rostock

FC Hansa Rostock is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from the former East Germany after German reunification and have made several appearances in the top-flight Bundesliga. With 21,416 club members, the club is one of the largest sports clubs in Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DDR-Oberliga</span> Former top-level association football league in East Germany

The DDR-Oberliga was the top-level association football league in East Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uwe Reinders</span> German footballer and manager

Uwe Reinders is a German former footballer and manager.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TSG Neustrelitz</span> German football club

TSG Neustrelitz is a German association football club from Neustrelitz, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The football side is part of a sports club that also has departments for gymnastics and chess.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FC Schönberg 95</span> German football club

FC Schönberg is a German association football club from the city of Schönberg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.

The NOFV-Oberliga Nord is the fifth tier of the German football league system in the northern states of the former East Germany and West Berlin. It covers the German states of Berlin, Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and northern Saxony-Anhalt. It is one of fourteen Oberligas in German football. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the fourth tier of the league system, and until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the third tier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern</span> Football league

The Verbandsliga Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is the sixth tier of the German football league system and the highest league in the German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. Until the introduction of the 3. Liga in 2008 it was the fifth tier of the league system, until the introduction of the Regionalligas in 1994 the fourth tier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">DDR-Liga</span> Football league

The DDR-Liga was, prior to German reunification in 1990, the second level of football competition in the DDR, being roughly equivalent to the 2. Bundesliga in West Germany.

The 1990–91 season of the former DDR-Oberliga, renamed NOFV-Oberliga for this season, was the last season of the top East German league.

Football club was a designation for a specially promoted club for elite football in East Germany. The football clubs were formed in 1965 and 1966 as centers of excellence in East German football. The football clubs enjoyed considerable advantages over other sports communities in East German football in terms of material conditions and talent recruitment. All designated football clubs had their own catchment areas and promising players were ordered to play for them. In addition to the ten designated football clubs, sports community SG Dynamo Dresden was also promoted in a similar way to the designated football clubs from 1968.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jörn Lenz</span> German footballer

Jörn Lenz is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. Lenz had four different spells with BFC Dynamo during his professional playing career and has continued to serve as part of the club's backroom staff since retiring in 2008. Lenz played a total of 374 matches for BFC Dynamo between 1988 and 2008. He made two appearances for BFC Dynamo in the 1989-90 European Cup Winners' Cup.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Werner Voigt</span> German football coach and player (1947–2023)

Werner Voigt was a German football coach and player.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Sykora (footballer)</span> East German association footballer

Peter Sykora is a former East German association football player who spent the majority of his career with F.C. Hansa Rostock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ASG Vorwärts Dessau</span> German football club

ASG Vorwärts Dessau is a German association football club based in Dessau-Roßlau, Saxony-Anhalt.

FC Mecklenburg Schwerin is a German football club based in Schwerin in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. The club was formed from a merger in 2013 and competes in the fifth tier NOFV-Oberliga Nord. The club plays its home matches at the Sportpark Lankow. FC Mecklenburg Schwerin also has gymnastics squads and an Esports department.

The 2011–12 season of the NOFV-Oberliga was the fourth season of the league at tier five (V) of the German football league system.

Markus Kolke is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Gansauge</span> German footballer

Thomas Gansauge is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. Gansauge started his career at Hansa Rostock, going on to make 81 appearances in the Bundesliga with Hansa Rostock and Arminia Bielefeld.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MSV Pampow</span> German association football club from Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany

MSV Pampow is a German sports club in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. The club was officially formed in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rostocker FC</span> Football club

Rostocker Fußballclub von 1895 e. V. is a German football club from Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Founded in 1895, the club plays in the NOFV-Oberliga Nord in the fifth tier of the German football league system.

References

  1. 1 2 Mike Werner at WorldFootball.net
  2. 1 2 "Die Liga 1988/89 Staffel A: FC Vorwärts Frankfurt (0.)" (PDF). Die neue Fußballwoche (in German). No. Sonderausgabe. Berlin: DFV der DDR. August 1988. p. 21. ISSN   0323-6420 . Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Schwartz, Martin (3 October 2016). "OHNE VOKUHILA: KULTKICKER WERNER JETZT COACH". fussball.de (in German). Frankfurt am Main: DFB GmbH & Co. KG . Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bock, Andreas (27 October 2011). ""Sah doch gut aus"". 11 Freunde (in German). Berlin: 11FREUNDE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  5. Nachtigall, Rainer (12 April 1988). "Frühjahrsmüdigkeit grassierte" (PDF). Die neue Fußballwoche (in German). Vol. 1988, no. 15. Berlin: DFV der DDR. p. 7. ISSN   0323-8407 . Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Raack, Alex (5 June 2020). ""Kennen Sie die Wodka-Diät?"". 11 Freunde (in German). Berlin: 11FREUNDE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 22 July 2022.
  7. 1 2 "Portrait: Mike Werner". hansanews.de (in German). Berlin: WebQuartier (Sole trader: Martin Schuster). n.d. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 Kulhodd, Benjamin (14 February 2014). ""Wir mussten unsmit Nazis prügeln"". 11 Freunde (in German). Berlin: 11FREUNDE Verlag GmbH & Co. KG. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  9. 1 2 Tittmar, Jochen (14 April 2010). ""Ich fand die Matte einfach geil"". spox.com (in German). München: Mediasports Digital GmbH. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  10. "ZWEI HANSA-LEGENDEN KEHREN AUF DEN RASEN ZURÜCK". fc-hansa.de (in German). Rostock: F.C. Hansa Rostock e.V. 11 October 2010. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  11. Oldörp, Steffen (12 July 2017). "Mike Werner wird Co-Trainer bei Pommern Stralsund". Sportbuzzer (in German). Hannover: Sportbuzzer GmbH. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
  12. Buß, Jule; Kunkel, Niklas (5 October 2020). "Hitzige Duelle und Rot nach Abpfiff: Landesklasse-Derby ohne Sieger". Sportbuzzer (in German). Hannover: Sportbuzzer GmbH. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
  13. "Haarige Karrir: Hansa-Legende Mike Werner". NDR (in German). Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  14. "Legendäre Fußball-Sticker: Klebende Klassiker". Spiegel (in German). Hamburg: Der Spiegel GmbH & Co. KG. 8 November 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2022.