Ulf Kirsten

Last updated

Ulf Kirsten
Ulf Kirsten 2019.jpg
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 (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1972–1978 BSG Chemie Riesa
1978–1979 BSG Stahl Riesa
1979–1983 Dynamo Dresden
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1983–1990 Dynamo Dresden 154 (57)
1990–2003 Bayer Leverkusen 350 (181)
Total504(238)
International career
1984–1986 East Germany U21 10 (4)
1985–1990 East Germany 49 (14)
1990–2000 Germany 51 (20)
Managerial career
2003–2005 Bayer Leverkusen (assistant)
2005–2011 Bayer Leverkusen II
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. [1] 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.

Contents

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 ft 8 in), but weighing 81 kg (179 lb). 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 Ulf Kirsten.jpg
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 Bundesarchiv Bild 183-1986-1119-031, Leipzig, Mannschaftsfoto DDR-Nationalmannschaft.jpg
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. [2]

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. [3]

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. [4] [5]

Career statistics

Club

Including only appearances and goals for Bayer Leverkusen
ClubSeasonLeague DFB-Pokal DFB-Ligapokal EuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayer Leverkusen 1990–91 Bundesliga 321122—5 [a] 2—3915
1991–92 231211———2413
1992–93 332073———4023
1993–94 281231—4 [b] 51 [c] 13619
1994–95 271510—9 [a] 10—3725
1995–96 29832—2 [d] 1—3411
1996–97 292210———3022
1997–98 272232119 [e] 2—4027
1998–99 311922213 [a] 2—3824
1999–2000 271700226 [e] 4—3523
2000–01 2912211143—3617
2001–02 3211531014 [e] 4—5218
2002–03 301010——50
Career total350181311785563311446237
  1. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. ↑ Appearances in European Cup Winners' Cup
  3. ↑ Appearance in DFB-Supercup
  4. ↑ Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  5. 1 2 3 Appearances in UEFA Champions League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [6]
National teamYearAppsGoals
East Germany 198571
1986102
198794
1988100
1989114
199053
Total5214
Germany 199230
199362
199443
199541
199610
199775
1998165
199951
200053
Total5120
Career total10334
International goals by Ulf Kirsten
No.TeamCapDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetitionRef
1Flag of East Germany.svg  East Germany 314 August 1985 Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, NorwayFlag of Norway.svg  Norway 1–01–0 Friendly [7]
21019 February 1986 Estádio 1º de Maio, Braga, PortugalFlag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 2–03–1Friendly [8]
31629 October 1986 Sportforum Chemnitz, Chemnitz, East GermanyFlag of Iceland.svg  Iceland 2–02–0 UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying [9]
42323 September 1987 Stadion der Freundschaft, Gera, East GermanyFlag of Tunisia.svg  Tunisia 2–02–0Friendly [10]
52410 October 1987 Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East GermanyFlag of the Soviet Union.svg  Soviet Union 1–01–1UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying [11]
62528 October 1987 Ernst Grube Stadium, Magdeburg, East GermanyFlag of Norway.svg  Norway 1–03–1UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying [12]
73–1
83713 February 1989 Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, EgyptFlag of Egypt.svg  Egypt 1–04–0Friendly [13]
93–0
104220 May 1989 Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East GermanyFlag of Austria.svg  Austria 1–11–1 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification [14]
114323 August 1989 Steigerwaldstadion, Erfurt, East GermanyFlag of Bulgaria (1971-1990).svg  Bulgaria 1–01–1Friendly [15]
125028 March 1990Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, Berlin, GermanyFlag of the United States.svg  United States 1–03–2Friendly [16]
132–0
143–1
15Flag of Germany.svg  Germany 414 April 1993 Ruhrstadion, Bochum, GermanyFlag of Ghana.svg  Ghana 1–16–1Friendly [17]
16613 October 1993 Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe, GermanyFlag of Uruguay.svg  Uruguay 4–05–0Friendly [18]
171027 April 1994 Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab EmiratesFlag of the United Arab Emirates.svg  United Arab Emirates 1–02–0Friendly [19]
181116 November 1994 Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, AlbaniaFlag of Albania.svg  Albania 2–12–1 UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying [20]
191214 December 1994 Republican Stadium, Chișinău, MoldovaFlag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 1–03–0UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying [21]
20176 September 1995 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, GermanyFlag of Georgia (1990-2004).svg  Georgia 3–14–1UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying [22]
21202 April 1997 Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada, SpainFlag of Albania.svg  Albania 1–13–2 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification [23]
222–1
233–1
24236 September 1997 Olympiastadion, Berlin, GermanyFlag of Portugal.svg  Portugal 1–11–11998 FIFA World Cup qualification [24]
252410 September 1997 Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, GermanyFlag of Armenia.svg  Armenia 4–04–01998 FIFA World Cup qualification [25]
262825 March 1998 Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, GermanyFlag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 1–11–2Friendly [26]
27325 June 1998 Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, GermanyFlag of Luxembourg.svg  Luxembourg 1–07–0Friendly [27]
284–0
294014 October 1998Republican Stadium, Chișinău, MoldovaFlag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 1–13–1 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying [28]
302–1
31444 June 1999 BayArena, Leverkusen, GermanyFlag of Moldova.svg  Moldova 2–06–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying [29]
324826 April 2000 Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, GermanyFlag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg   Switzerland 1–11–1Friendly [30]
33497 June 2000 Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, GermanyFlag of Liechtenstein.svg  Liechtenstein 5–28–2Friendly [31]
347–2

Managerial statistics

As of 25 May 2012
TeamFromToRecord
GWDLGFGAGDWin %
Bayer Leverkusen II 1 July 200530 June 2011209725087292313−21034.45
Total209725087292313−21034.45

Honours

Club

Dynamo Dresden

Bayer Leverkusen

Individual

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kirsten, Ulf" (in German). Kicker. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ulf Kirsten – International Appearances". RSSSF . Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kirsten vor 3. Liga-Debüt" (in German). Kicker. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Mielkes Rächer unbestraft - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). 16 November 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  5. ↑ McDougall, Alan, ed. (2014), "Football and the Stasi" , The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 123–146, doi:10.1017/CBO9781107280311.007, ISBN   978-1-107-05203-1 , retrieved 23 February 2023
  6. ↑ "Ulf Kirsten". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Norway vs. East Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  8. ↑ "Portugal vs. East Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  9. ↑ "East Germany vs. Iceland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  10. ↑ "East Germany vs. Tunisia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  11. ↑ "East Germany vs. Soviet Union". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  12. ↑ "East Germany vs. Norway". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  13. ↑ "Egypt vs. East Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  14. ↑ "East Germany vs. Austria". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  15. ↑ "East Germany vs. Bulgaria". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  16. ↑ "East Germany vs. USA". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  17. ↑ "Germany vs. Ghana". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  18. ↑ "Germany vs. Uruguay". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  19. ↑ "United Arab Emirates vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  20. ↑ "Albania vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  21. ↑ "Moldova vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  22. ↑ "Germany vs. Georgia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  23. ↑ "Albania vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  24. ↑ "Germany vs. Portugal". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  25. ↑ "Germany vs. Armenia". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  26. ↑ "Germany vs. Brazil". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  27. ↑ "Germany vs. Luxembourg". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  28. ↑ "Moldova vs. Germany". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  29. ↑ "Germany vs. Moldova". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  30. ↑ "Germany vs. Switzerland". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  31. ↑ "Germany vs. Liechtenstein". National Football Teams. Retrieved 5 December 2024.
  32. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1996/97" (in German). kicker. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
  33. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
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