Jürgen Kohler

Jürgen Kohler (born 6 October 1965) is a World Cup-winning German footballer and manager, who played as a centre-back. Since 2018, he is in charge of the youth team of Viktoria Köln.

Jürgen Kohler
Kohler in 2005
Personal information
Full name Jürgen Kohler
Date of birth (1965-10-06) 6 October 1965
Place of birth Lambsheim, West Germany
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Club information
Current team
 Viktoria Köln U-19 (manager)
Youth career
1975–1981 TB Jahn Lambsheim
1982–1983 Waldhof Mannheim
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1987 Waldhof Mannheim 95 (6)
1987–1989 1. FC Köln 57 (2)
1989–1991 Bayern Munich 55 (6)
1991–1995 Juventus 102 (8)
1995–2002 Borussia Dortmund 191 (14)
Total 500 (36)
National team
1983–1984 West Germany U-18 8 (1)
1985–1987 West Germany U-21 11 (0)
1986–1998 Germany 105 (2)
Teams managed
2002–2003 Germany U-21
2005–2006 MSV Duisburg
2008 VfR Aalen
2012 Bonner SC U-19
2013–2015 SpVgg EGC Wirges
2015–2016 SC Hauenstein[1]
2016–2017 VfL Alfter
2018– Viktoria Köln U-19
2019 Viktoria Köln (caretaker)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Kohler enjoyed a lengthy career at the highest level with exactly 500 top flight league matches,[2] playing primarily as a centre back in the German Bundesliga, and in the Italian Serie A, achieving notable success both at domestic and international level with FC Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Juventus.

Kohler's professional career began at Waldhof Mannheim, where he made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in April 1984. His first professional goal came in a 5–2 defeat of FC Schalke 04 on 26 January 1985.[3]

A two-year spell at 1. FC Köln preceded a transfer to Bayern Munich, with the Bavarian club winning the Bundesliga championship in his first season at the club.[4]

In 1991, Kohler transferred to Italian club Juventus. After being named Serie A's best foreign player for 1992,[5] he went on to be part of the team that won the 1992–93 UEFA Cup against Borussia Dortmund, as well as a league and cup double in the 1994–95 season.[4]

Returning to Germany to play for Dortmund in 1995, Kohler won another league championship in 1996 and helped the club to the 1997 UEFA Champions League Final. In a reversal of Kohler's previous continental final, Dortmund defeated his former club Juventus to become European Champions for the first time. As a result of this success, Kohler was named German Footballer of the Year for 1997. In the 2001–02 season, the last of his career, Kohler won his third Bundesliga title with Dortmund and reached the final of the UEFA Cup.[4]

In his final professional appearance, the 2002 UEFA Cup Final against Feyenoord, Kohler was sent off for a foul on Jon Dahl Tomasson in the 31st minute of the match.[6] After losing possession to Tomasson on the edge of Dortmund's penalty area, Kohler tripped the Danish forward inside the area to concede a penalty kick and was given a straight red card by referee Vítor Melo Pereira. Pierre van Hooijdonk scored the opening goal from the resulting penalty and BVB went on to lose the match 3–2.[7]

At international level, Kohler made over 100 appearances for the German national team, playing at three FIFA World Cups and three UEFA European Championships, winning the 1990 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1996.[4]

Style of play

Regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, Kohler was a physically strong centre-back, who was famed for his defensive perception, anticipation, quick reactions, marking, and prowess in the air, which also made him a goal threat during set-pieces; he was also known for his composure when in possession, and his ability to play the ball out of defence.[6]

Coaching career

After his playing career was over, he has managed the German under-21 side, and became sports director of Bayer Leverkusen on 31 March 2003, quitting this post on 29 June 2004.

On 17 December 2005, he was appointed the coach of MSV Duisburg.

In August 2006, he turned down the opportunity to coach the Ivory Coast national team.[8]

On 28 August 2008, Kohler signed a three-year contract as manager of German 3. Liga club VfR Aalen. However, on 16 November 2008, he retired due to a heart condition from the coaching job. He continued to work as director of sports for Aalen, but was sacked on 5 May 2009.

In April 2013, he started to work as director of sports for his former club SV Waldhof Mannheim.

Personal life

After his retirement from professional sports, Kohler occasionally played for Alemannia Adendorf in the Kreisliga C (the 11th tier of German club football).[9]

Career statistics

Club
Source:[10]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Waldhof Mannheim1983–84Bundesliga50
1984–85262
1985–86321
1986–87323
Total 956
1. FC Köln1987–88Bundesliga303
1988–89270
Total 573
Bayern Munich1989–90Bundesliga262
1990–91294
Total 556
Juventus1991–92Serie A273
1992–93291
1993–94273
1994–95191
Total 1028
Borussia Dortmund1995–96Bundesliga295
1996–97302
1997–98233
1998–99292
1999–00302
2000–01280
2001–02220
Total 19114
Career total 50036

International
Source:[11]
Germany
YearAppsGoals
198620
198790
1988110
198920
1990100
199160
1992100
1993100
1994130
199550
1996101
199770
1998101
Total1052

International goals
Source:[11]
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.4 June 1996Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim Liechtenstein6–09–1Friendly
2.18 February 1998Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex, Muscat Oman2–02–0Friendly

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich

Juventus

Borussia Dortmund

International

Germany

Individual
gollark: If being normal means using worse software/hardware/basically everything, I am okay with not being "normal".
gollark: > implying normal things are necessarily good
gollark: Yes, stop arguing and switch to Linux, it is the best way.
gollark: I think a vaguely desktop-Linux-like networking stack.
gollark: And some Linux utilities and stuff.

References
  1. "Kohler wird trainer bei Oberligist Hauenstein" (in German). DFB. 23 March 2015.
  2. Matthias Arnhold (26 July 2012). "Jürgen Kohler – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  3. "Der FC Schalke 04 in der Saison 1984/1985". FC Schalke 04 (in German). Archived from the original on 25 March 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  4. "Jürgen Kohler". UEFA. 31 August 2011.
  5. "Autogramme", Sport-Bild 24 February 1993, p.43
  6. Stefano Bedeschi (7 October 2013). "Gli eroi in bianconero: Jürgen KOHLER" (in Italian). Tutto Juve. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  7. "Feyenoord fired by Van Hooijdonk". The Guardian. 9 May 2002.
  8. "Kohler lehnt Angebot der Elfenbeinküste ab". Die Welt (in German). 30 August 2006. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  9. "Irre! Weltmeister Jürgen Kohler kickt jetzt in der Kreisliga C". Bild (in German). 15 July 2009. Retrieved 8 October 2011.
  10. Jürgen Kohler at National-Football-Teams.com
  11. Roberto Mamrud (9 November 2002). "Jürgen Kohler – Century of International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 2 August 2012.
  12. "Bundesliga Historie 1986/87" (in German). kicker.
  13. "Bundesliga Historie 1987/88" (in German). kicker.
  14. "Bundesliga Historie 1988/89" (in German). kicker.
  15. "Bundesliga Historie 1990/91" (in German). kicker.
  16. "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker.
  17. "Bundesliga Historie 2000/01" (in German). kicker.
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