Stefan Effenberg

Club career

Born and raised in Niendorf, Hamburg on 2 August 1968, Stefan Effenberg started his professional career with Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he became an undisputed first-choice by the age of 20. This attracted the interest of Bundesliga giants FC Bayern Munich, where he scored 19 goals in his first two seasons after his transfer, although the club failed to win any silverware with Effenberg in the lineup.

When Lothar Matthäus, who also represented Mönchengladbach, returned to Bayern in 1992, Effenberg moved to ACF Fiorentina. Despite the presence of Brian Laudrup and Gabriel Batistuta, Fiorentina was relegated from Serie A in his first season. Effenberg stayed on in the second flight, winning promotion back at the first attempt.

In the summer of 1994, Effenberg then moved back to Gladbach, where he appeared in 118 league matches, scoring 23 goals, before Bayern re-signed him in 1998. Effenberg's second spell with the Bavarians was much more successful. He collected three Bundesliga titles in a row, and Bayern also reached two UEFA Champions League finals, the first of which was a 2–1 defeat to Manchester United F.C. in 1999. Bayern returned to the final in 2001 with Effenberg as captain. He scored Bayern's equalising goal from the penalty spot in a victory against Valencia (1–1, penalty shootout win). After the final, Effenberg was named the Most Valuable Player of the 2000–01 UEFA Champions League. After his departure, club fans voted him one of the eleven greatest Bayern players of all time.

After an unsuccessful spell at VfL Wolfsburg, Effenberg ended his career in Qatar with Al-Arabi Sports Club, with Gabriel Batistuta as his teammate. He appeared occasionally as a color commentator for German TV after his retirement as a player.

Managerial career

Effenberg was appointed as the head coach of SC Paderborn on 13 October 2015. He was sacked on 3 March 2016.

On 10 October 2019, KFC Uerdingen 05 presented Effenberg as the new sporting director. Following a few troubled months which included the team briefly staying at an Italian hotel with no football pitch for a mid-season training camp, he stepped back from this position prematurely in May 2020.

International career

Effenberg played 35 games for the Germany national team and scored five goals. His debut came on 5 June 1991, in a Euro 1992 qualifier against Wales, as he played the last 18 minutes of a 1–0 away loss. He would be an everpresent fixture during the final stages, even netting in the second group stage match, a 2–0 win over Scotland.

During a group game against South Korea in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. Effenberg "gave the finger" to German fans at the Cotton Bowl in the 35 °C (95 °F) heat of Dallas when he got substituted after a subpar performance; the Germans were then only one goal up, after leading 3–0. German coach Berti Vogts was so outraged by this incident that he dropped Effenberg from the team on the spot, and declared that he was finished as an international player.

Effenberg did not appear in another international match again until 1998, when he was briefly reinstated to the national team for a couple of friendly matches in Malta in September, which happened to be Vogts' last two matches as national team coach. They turned out to be his last caps for Germany.

Controversies and personal life

Effenberg had a history of attracting attention and ire from fans, managers, and players alike with his behaviour.

In 1991, prior to a UEFA Cup game against then-semi-professional Cork City, Effenberg told the press he was sure of a victory, saying Cork City midfielder Dave Barry was "like (his) grandfather". Barry got his retribution by scoring the opening goal in the team's 1–1 draw at Musgrave Park.

In the late 1990s, Effenberg, already married to Martina, provoked animosity when his affair with Claudia Strunz, the wife of former club and national teammate Thomas Strunz, was revealed. Effenberg published a controversial autobiography, notorious for its blatant contents – which included lashing out at some other football professionals, namely club and national teammate Lothar Matthäus.

In 2001, Effenberg was fined after being found guilty of assaulting a woman in a nightclub. The following year, he implied that unemployed people in Germany were too lazy to look for work, and demanded they took benefit cuts. The interview was issued in Playboy.

Strunz and Effenberg were married in 2004, and the player also had three children from his first marriage; the couple then relocated to Florida.

Career statistics

Club

International

:Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Effenberg goal.

Managerial

Honours

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga: 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01
• DFB-Pokal: 1999–2000
• UEFA Champions League: 2000–01
• Intercontinental Cup: 2001
• DFB-Supercup: 1990
• DFB-Ligapokal: 1998, 1999, 2000

Fiorentina

• Serie B: 1993–94

Borussia Mönchengladbach

• DFB-Pokal: 1994–95

Germany

• UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1992
• U.S. Cup: 1993

Individual

• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1990–91, 1991–92, 1994–95, 1995–96, 1996–97, 1997–98, 1999–2000
• UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 1992
• FIFA XI: 1997
• ESM Team of the Year: 1998–99
• Ballon d'Or nominee: 1999, 2001
• UEFA Club Footballer of the Year: 2001
• Bayern Munich All-time XI: 2005

References

References

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2. Fearon, Matthew. (25 March 2009). "Dream Teams: Bayern Munich". [[The Independent]].
3. Arnhold, Matthias. (2 September 2015). "Stefan Effenberg - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
4. "2000/01: Kahn saves day for Bayern". [[UEFA]].
5. (1 June 2005). "Fans name greatest Reds of all time". FC Bayern.
6. (3 April 2003). "Effenberg quits Wolfsburg with immediate effect". [[ABC News (Australia).
7. "Effenberg neuer Trainer des SC Paderborn".
8. "SC Paderborn trennt sich von Effenberg".
9. Lerch, André. (10 October 2019). "KFC Uerdingen stellt Stefan Effenberg als Manager vor".
10. (15 January 2020). "Hotel hatte keinen Fußballplatz: Effenberg vermasselt KFC-Trainingslager".
11. Hartmann, Ulrich. (20 May 2020). "Aus für Stefan Effenberg: Der Kurzzeit-Funktionär wirft hin". [[Süddeutsche Zeitung.
12. "Stefan Effenberg". 123Football.
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14. (24 June 2002). "Effenberg's day of shame". [[UEFA]].
15. (14 January 2020). "The wagging finger, affairs and rare class of Stefan Effenberg".
16. (20 January 2016). "Forgotten Idols: Stefan Effenberg".
17. "Cork City 1 – Bayern Munich 1".
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19. (18 November 2021). "12 famous players who hated each other after becoming team-mates".
20. (16 August 2001). "Effenberg pays penalty". [[BBC Sport]].
21. (24 April 2002). "Scholl hangs up international boots". BBC Sport.
22. (2 May 2003). "Matthaeus is 'a real quitter,' says Effenberg". [[Sports Illustrated]].
23. (21 July 2005). "Stefan Effenberg bids his final farewell". Monsters and Critics.
24. "Effenberg, Stefan". [[Kicker (sports magazine).
25. Arnhold, Matthias. (2 November 2002). "Stefan Effenberg – International Appearances". [[Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation.
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35. "European Footballer of the Year". [[RSSSF]].
36. (1 June 2005). "Fans name greatest reds of all time". FC Bayern München.