Stefan Effenberg

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Stefan Effenberg (born 2 August 1968 in Hamburg, West Germany) is a former German football player. He was an all-round player and leader, possessing great vision, tackling and a hard shot.

[edit] Career

[edit] National

During his youth, Effenberg played for SC Victoria Hamburg before he successfully changed to bigger teams: Borussia Mönchengladbach (1987-90 and 1994-98), Bayern Munich (1990-92 and 1998-2002), AC Fiorentina (1992-94), and VfL Wolfsburg (2002-03). He was the lead player of Bayern Munich when the team of Bayern won the UEFA Champions League in 2001. During the same tournament, Effenberg won also the UEFA Champions League Most Valuable Player for his elegant (and sometimes seemingly lazy style) of play. He ended his career playing in Qatar with Al-Arabi.

[edit] International

Effenberg played 35 games for the German national team and scored five goals. However, his international career ended in disgrace after the DFB decided that Effenberg has to quit the national team. During the 1994 FIFA World Cup match against South Korea, Effenberg had gestured in appropriate manner ("gave the finger") to the whistling crowd at Soldier Field in Chicago after a particularly bland performance. Because of that, coach Berti Vogts decided that Effenberg will not play anymore during and after the tournament for the German National Soccer team right after the match.^[1] He would return four years later for a couple of friendly matches in September, the last two Vogts would manage in the national team, marking the end of the "Nationalmannschaft" for both.

[edit] Other controversies

[edit] Football

Effenberg had a history of attracting attention and ire from both fans and opposition with his behaviour.

In 1991, prior to a UEFA Cup game against then-semi-professional Cork City F.C., 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.

[edit] Personal life

In the late 1990s Effenberg was rarely out of the tabloids when he left his wife Martina and revealed an affair with Claudia Strunz, who at that time was the wife of former team mate Thomas Strunz. Later Effenberg published a controversial autobiography, notorious for its blatant contents and the poor language it was written in. Claudia Strunz and Effenberg were married in 2004.

[edit] References

v • d • e Germany squad - UEFA Euro 1992 Runners-up 1 Illgner • 2 Reuter • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Binz • 6 Buchwald • 7 Möller • 8 Häßler • 9 Völler • 10 Doll • 11 Riedle • 12 Köpke • 13 Thom • 14 Helmer • 15 Frontzeck • 16 Sammer • 17 Effenberg • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Schulz • 20 Wörns • Coach: Vogts

v • d • e Germany squad - 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Illgner • 2 Strunz • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Helmer • 6 Buchwald • 7 Möller • 8 Häßler • 9 Riedle • 10 Matthäus • 11 Kuntz • 12 Köpke • 13 Völler • 14 Berthold • 15 Gaudino • 16 Sammer • 17 Wagner • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Kirsten • 20 Effenberg • 21 Basler • 22 Kahn • Coach: Vogts

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