Jens Nowotny

Jens Daniel Nowotny (born 11 January 1974) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender.

Jens Nowotny
Nowotny in 2016
Personal information
Full name Jens Daniel Nowotny[1]
Date of birth (1974-01-11) 11 January 1974
Place of birth Malsch, West Germany
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Defender
Youth career
1979–1985 SV Spielberg
1985–1990 FC Germania Friedrichstal
1990–1991 Karlsruher SC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1996 Karlsruher SC 103 (7)
1996–2006 Bayer Leverkusen 231 (4)
2006–2007 Dinamo Zagreb 10 (0)
Total 344 (11)
National team
1994–1996 Germany U21 12 (0)
1997–2006 Germany 48 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He played in nearly 300 official games with Bayer Leverkusen in one full decade, helping them reach the 2002 Champions League final. In his prime, he is widely regarded as the best defender in Germany.[2]

Internationally, Nowotny appeared for Germany in one World Cup and two European Championships, gaining 48 caps.

Club career

Germany

After playing youth football for two clubs, Nowotny finished his formation with Karlsruher SC. He made his first team – and Bundesliga – on 2 May 1992, playing the entire 1–0 away win against Hamburger SV, and finished the season in the starting eleven, as the club collected three wins in four matches (three goals conceded) and finished in eighth position.

Still not in his 20s, Nowotny became a defensive mainstay for Karlsruhe. On 10 April 1993, he scored a brace for the club in only ten minutes, in a 2–2 draw at VfL Bochum, and went on to collect nearly 150 official appearances during his spell, including four in the 1993–94 UEFA Cup.

Aged 22, Nowotny signed for Bayer 04 Leverkusen, making his league debut on 21 August 1996, a 3–1 away success against MSV Duisburg. An undisputed first-choice from the start, he appeared in 32 matches in his first season, as the club finished in second place, trailing FC Bayern Munich by two points; he continued to appear regularly during his stay, often forming an efficient defensive partnership with Carsten Ramelow.

On 30 October 1998, Nowotny scored his first league goal for Leverkusen, in an 8–2 home demolition of Borussia Mönchengladbach. Additionally, he appeared in 16 games in the club's 2001–02 UEFA Champions League runner-up run; however, he was greatly missed in the following season's league campaign, only appearing once as the club finished in 15th position, narrowly escaping relegation, and having the fourth-worse defensive record in the league, at 56 goals conceded.

On 28 September 2004, Nowotny scored his first and only Champions League goal, in Bayer's 2–4 away defeat against FC Dynamo Kyiv. He left the club in the 2006 summer, with more than 300 official appearances - 231 in the Bundesliga[3] - in 10 years.

Abroad spell

On 18 July 2006, 32-year-old Nowotny agreed to sign a three-year contract with Croatian League champions NK Dinamo Zagreb. He made his debut for Dinamo on 29 July, against NK Slaven Belupo, in the first domestic league match of 2006–07, and also appeared in the club's Champions League qualifying round against Arsenal – the English had tried to sign him in the past[4] – a 0–3 home defeat.[5]

On 19 August 2006, Nowotny suffered an injury during Dinamo's home match against NK Međimurje, a 4–1 win. Even though he was not fully healed and had played all 90 minutes for Germany in a friendly match only three days earlier, he asked to play because his wife and children came to Zagreb to watch him. Coach Josip Kuže, as he later admitted, had his doubts about the player's decision to play; he also had thoughts to substitute him by the end of the match, but changed his mind because of the fans, who had accepted Nowotny with acclamation. After the match, his injury became more serious, and needed surgery, and a one-month layoff (he missed both legs of the side's 2–5 aggregate loss against AJ Auxerre, for the UEFA Cup).

Eventually, on 22 January 2007, Nowotny announced his retirement from football, not being able to fully recover. He said: "To think I may have to wait another 10 months through physiotherapy and returning to training – this is enough.", said the 33-year-old.[6]

International career
Nowotny with Germany in 2006

Nowotny made his debut for the German national team on 30 April 1997, in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Ukraine played in Bremen, replacing striker Fredi Bobic after 15 minutes.

He was subsequently part of the squads at two UEFA European Football Championships, 2000 and 2004, totalling five appearances in two group stage exits; he missed the 2002 World Cup due to a serious injury.

Nowotny was then picked for the 2006 World Cup in his country, after two years of absence from international football. However, the experienced stopper spent the whole tournament as backup to younger Christoph Metzelder and Per Mertesacker, only playing in the third-place play-off against Portugal (3–1 win), as stand-in for the injured Mertesacker. In total he won 48 caps, scoring his only goal in a friendly match, a 7–0 victory over Malta on 27 May 2004.[7]

Career statistics

Club
Source:[8]
Club Season League Cup League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Karlsruher SC 1991–92 Bundesliga 4000——40
1992–93 29330——323
1993–94 20200—4[lower-alpha 1]0242
1994–95 26131——292
1995–96 24141—3[lower-alpha 2]0312
Total 1037102—701209
Bayer Leverkusen 1996–97 Bundesliga 32010——330
1997–98 23030006[lower-alpha 3]0320
1998–99 33100004[lower-alpha 1]0371
1999–2000 33100108[lower-alpha 4]0421
2000–01 28120106[lower-alpha 5]0371
2001–02 290501016[lower-alpha 3]0510
2002–03 1000000010
2003–04 22120——241
2004–05 16000006[lower-alpha 3]1221
2005–06 140000000140
Total 2314130304612935
Dinamo Zagreb 2006–07 Prva HNL 10000—1[lower-alpha 3]0110
Career total 344112323054142414
Notes
  1. Appearances in UEFA Cup
  2. Appearances in UEFA Intertoto Cup
  3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  4. Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, two appearances in UEFA Cup
  5. Five appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Cup

International
Source:[9]
Germany
YearAppsGoals
199740
199860
199960
2000100
200190
200220
200310
200471
200500
200630
Total481

International goal
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
127 May 2004Schwarzwald-Stadion, Freiburg, Germany Malta3–07–0Friendly

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen

Dinamo Zagreb

Germany

Individual

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References
  1. "FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 – List of Players" (PDF). Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA). p. 12. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  2. "Voller's key men". BBC Sport. 28 August 2001. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
  3. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Jens Nowotny - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. "Nowotny still keen on Gunners". BBC Sport. 6 October 2000. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  5. "Dinamo Zagreb 0–3 Arsenal". BBC Sport. 8 August 2006. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  6. "Knee injury ends Nowotny career". BBC Sport. 22 January 2007. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
  7. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "title". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  8. "Jens Nowotny". thefinalball.com. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  9. "Jens Nowotny". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  10. "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker.
  11. "Bundesliga Historie 1999/2000" (in German). kicker.
  12. "Bundesliga Historie 2000/01" (in German). kicker.
  13. "Bundesliga Historie 2001/02" (in German). kicker.
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