Fredi Bobic

Fredi Bobic (Slovene: Fredi Bobič, born 30 October 1971) is a German football executive and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the sporting director of Bundesliga club Hertha BSC.

Fredi Bobic
Bobic in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1971-10-30) 30 October 1971
Place of birth Maribor, SR Slovenia,
SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1978–1980 VfR Bad Cannstatt
1980–1986 VfB Stuttgart II
1986–1990 Stuttgarter Kickers
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1992 TSF Ditzingen 62 (32)
1992–1994 Stuttgarter Kickers 62 (26)
1994–1999 VfB Stuttgart 148 (69)
1999–2002 Borussia Dortmund 56 (17)
2002 → Bolton Wanderers (loan) 16 (4)
2002–2003 Hannover 96 27 (14)
2003–2005 Hertha BSC 54 (8)
2006 Rijeka 8 (2)
Total 433 (172)
International career
1994–2004 Germany 37 (10)
Managerial career
2009–2010 Chernomorets Burgas (managing director)
2010–2014 VfB Stuttgart (sporting director)
2016–2021 Eintracht Frankfurt (sporting director)
2021–2023 Hertha BSC (sporting director)
Medal record
VfB Stuttgart
WinnerDFB-Pokal1997
Runner-upDFB Liga-Pokal1997
Runner-upUEFA Cup Winners' Cup1998
Runner-upDFB Liga-Pokal1998
NK Rijeka
WinnerCroatian Cup2006
 Germany
WinnerEuropean Championship1996
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Bobic was born in Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Slovene father and a Croatian mother. A few months after his birth, his parents emigrated with him to Germany and settled down first in Ditzingen, then in Stuttgart. There, he started playing football at VfR Bad Cannstatt but soon switched to the youth team of VfB Stuttgart. While in Stuttgart, he also acquired German citizenship.

Bobic reached his prime in the mid-1990s at VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. In his first Bundesliga season (1994–95), he scored a goal in each of his first five games, so he became a candidate for the Germany national team after only a few appearances in the first German league. In 1996, he was the Bundesliga's top scorer with 17 goals.[1] At Stuttgart, he formed part of a successful attacking line-up, along with strike partner Giovane Élber and attacking midfielder Krasimir Balakov, known as the "magic triangle".

After four years in Stuttgart, in 1999 he signed with Borussia Dortmund and was the club's top scorer in both 1999–2000 and 2000–01. However, after the signings of Jan Koller and Márcio Amoroso in the summer of 2001, he soon fell out of favor and played only three games in the first half of 2001–02 season.

Subsequently, Bobic was loaned to the Premier League side Bolton Wanderers, where he had a successful spell, playing a key role in keeping Bolton in the Premiership. His hat-trick in the 4–1 win against Ipswich at the Reebok Stadium[2] ensured Bolton stayed up, and remained the last Bolton hat-trick in a competitive game until Joe Mason in the 2014–15 season. He scored once more for Bolton, in a 3–2 victory over Aston Villa.[3]

After returning from England, Bobic was signed by newly promoted Bundesliga side Hannover 96 where he reestablished himself as one of the league's top scorers, netting 14 times in 27 games.

In 2003, he was signed by Hertha BSC, where he played for two seasons, scoring 8 goals in 54 games.

He last played for Croatian outfit NK Rijeka before retiring in June 2006, at the end of the 2005–06 season.

International career

Bobic won 37 caps (10 goals)[4] for the Germany national team and was part of the UEFA Euro 1996 winning squad. He also played at UEFA Euro 2004, having returned to the national team in 2002 after a four-year absence.

Managerial career
Bobic with VfB Stuttgart

Bobic signed a contract as a managing director of Bulgarian club Chernomorets Burgas on 25 March 2009 and worked in the club with his former teammate Krasimir Balakov.

On 27 July 2010, Bobic became new director of sport of VfB Stuttgart.[5] On 20 January 2012, he extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2016.[6] He took on the role as board representative for sport of the club on 10 April 2013.[7] Bobic was sacked on 24 September 2014.

On 1 June 2016, Bobic became sporting director of Eintracht Frankfurt. During his term the club won the DFB-Pokal after beating Bayern Munich in the final (3–1).

On 14 April 2021, Hertha BSC announced its decision to hire Bobic as their new managing director for sport starting 1 July 2021.[8] Bobic was sacked on 28 January 2023 after a 2–0 loss to 1. FC Union in the Berlin derby.[9]

Career statistics

Club
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
TSF Ditzingen 1990–91 Verbandsliga Württemberg 2813–––2813
1991–92 Oberliga Baden-Württemberg 3419–––3419
Total 62320000006232
Stuttgarter Kickers 1992–93[10] 2. Bundesliga 301010––3110
1993–94[10] 321610––3316
Total 62262000006426
VfB Stuttgart 1994–95[10] Bundesliga 321231––3513
1995–96[10] 261711––2718
1996–97[10] 331952––3821
1997–98[10] 29135420854422
1998–99[10] 2883031433812
Total 148691785112818286
Borussia Dortmund 1999–2000[10] Bundesliga 29710211144312
2000–01[10] 241010––2510
2001–02[10] 30101170121
Total 561730321848023
Bolton Wanderers (loan) 2001–02 Premier League 16400––164
Hannover 96 2002–03[10] Bundesliga 271400––2714
Hertha BSC 2003–04[10] Bundesliga 327201120378
2004–05[10] 22120––241
Total 548401120619
NK Rijeka 2005–06 Prva HNL 8221––103
Career total 433172289943212502197

International
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bobic goal.
List of international goals scored by Fredi Bobic
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
123 August 1995King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium Belgium2–12–1Friendly
29 October 1996Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia Armenia4–05–11998 World Cup qualifying
320 November 2002Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany Netherlands1–11–3Friendly
412 February 2003Estadio Son Moix, Mallorca, Spain Spain1–11–3Friendly
51 June 2003Volkswagen-Arena, Wolfsburg, Germany Canada3–14–1Friendly
67 June 2003Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland Scotland1–01–1UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
711 June 2003Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands2–02–0UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
810 September 2003Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany Scotland1–02–1UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
911 October 2003Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany Iceland2–03–0UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying
1027 May 2004Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany Malta7–07–0Friendly

Honours

VfB Stuttgart

Borussia Dortmund

NK Rijeka

Germany

Individual

References
  1. Matthias Arnhold (17 October 2010). "Fredi Bobič - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  2. "Bolton rout Ipswich". BBC Sport. 6 April 2002. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
  3. "Nolan strike sinks Villa". BBC Sport. 30 March 2002. Retrieved 16 September 2009.
  4. Arnhold, Matthias (31 July 2007). "Fredi Bobič - Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 24 January 2012.
  5. "Fredi Bobic is director of sport". VfB Stuttgart. 27 July 2010. Archived from the original on 4 May 2012. Retrieved 27 July 2010.
  6. "Triple contract extension". VfB Stuttgart. 20 January 2012. Archived from the original on 14 December 2014. Retrieved 20 January 2012.
  7. "Management changes". VfB Stuttgart. 10 April 2013. Archived from the original on 2 July 2014. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  8. "Announcement from the board". Hertha BSC. 14 April 2021. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
  9. "Fredi Bobic ab sofort nicht mehr Geschäftsführer Sport". Hertha BSC (in German). 28 January 2023. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  10. "Fredi Bobic » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 19 April 2022.
  11. "Bundesliga Historie 1995/96" (in German). kicker.
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