Stefan Kuntz

Stefan Kuntz (born 30 October 1962) is a German professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the head coach of the Turkish national team.

Stefan Kuntz
Kuntz in 2018
Personal information
Full name Stefan Kuntz[1]
Date of birth (1962-10-30) 30 October 1962
Place of birth Neunkirchen, West Germany
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1970–1981 Borussia Neunkirchen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1983 Borussia Neunkirchen 89 (28)
1983–1986 VfL Bochum 100 (41)
1986–1989 Bayer 05 Uerdingen 94 (32)
1989–1995 1. FC Kaiserslautern 170 (75)
1995–1996 Beşiktaş 30 (9)
1996–1998 Arminia Bielefeld 65 (25)
1998–1999 VfL Bochum 20 (6)
2002–2003 SV Furpach 22 (22)
2004–2005 FC Palatia Limbach 10 (1)
Total 600 (239)
International career
1983–1985 West Germany U-21 4 (3)
1986 West Germany B 1 (2)
1993–1997 Germany 25 (6)
Managerial career
1999–2000 Borussia Neunkirchen
2000–2002 Karlsruher SC
2003 Waldhof Mannheim
2003 LR Ahlen
2016–2021 Germany U21
2021 Germany U23
2021–2023 Turkey
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany (as player)
UEFA European Championship
Winner1996
Representing  Germany (as manager)
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Winner2017
Winner2021
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kuntz represented the Germany national team between 1993 and 1997, reaching the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals and winning UEFA Euro 1996. He scored six goals from 25 full caps, including in the Euro 1996 semi-final elimination of England.

Club career

Kuntz's playing career lasted from 1983 until 1999. He made 449 appearances and scored 179 goals in the Bundesliga.[2] Kuntz played for VfL Bochum, Bayer 05 Uerdingen, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Arminia Bielefeld and also played in Turkey for Beşiktaş J.K. In 1986 and 1994, Kuntz was the top scorer in the Bundesliga.[3]

In 1995, Kuntz joined Turkish side Beşiktaş following request of his compatriot coach Christoph Daum.[4] Kuntz made his 1.Lig debut on 13 August 1995 in an away game against Kayserispor that ended 1–1.[5] On 24 September 1995, he scored his first goal at week 5 home encounter against Istanbulspor which ended 5–2.[6]

International career

At Euro 1996, Kuntz played a key role in the 1–1 draw with England in the semi-final, scoring the equalizer soon after England took the lead, as well as scoring the fifth penalty later in the shootout. During his international career, Kuntz obtained 25 caps, scoring six goals.[7] None of these caps ended in a defeat for Germany (20 wins, one win after penalty shootout and four draws), which is the German record for most caps without defeat.[8]

Post-playing career

From 2006 to 2008, Kuntz was the athletic director of VfL Bochum. Between 2008 and 2016, he was the board chairman of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

As coach of Germany U21 he won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship twice: in 2017, his side beat Spain 1–0 in the final, and in 2021, Germany defeated Portugal by the same scoreline.[9]

On 19 September 2021, he was appointed the new head coach of the Turkey national team.[10] He was then fired from the position on 20 September 2023, after two poor games against Armenia and Japan and a rather underwhelming performance at the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying.[11][12]

Managerial statistics
As of 12 September 2023
Team From To Record
GWDLWin %
Borussia Neunkirchen 18 November 1999 30 June 2000 22 15 2 5 068.18
Karlsruher SC 1 July 2000 25 September 2002 79 30 20 29 037.97
Waldhof Mannheim 3 April 2003 30 June 2003 8 1 1 6 012.50
LR Ahlen 1 July 2003 13 November 2003 13 4 1 8 030.77
Germany U21 1 September 2016 19 September 2021 53 38 7 8 071.70
Germany Olympic 1 June 2021 7 August 2021 3 1 1 1 033.33
Turkey 19 September 2021 20 September 2023 20 12 3 5 060.00
Total 198 101 35 62 051.01

Honours

Player

Kaiserslautern

Germany

Individual

Manager

Germany U21

References
  1. "Squad List: Men's Olympic Football Tournament Tokyo 2020: Germany (GER)" (PDF). FIFA. 22 July 2021. p. 7. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  2. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Stefan Kuntz – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  3. Arnhold, Matthias (4 June 2015). "(West) Germany – Top Scorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  4. "Amatör Ruhla Oynayan Bir Alman: Stefan Kuntz" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 20 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019. 1995-96 sezonunda vatandaşı Christoph Daum'un isteği üzerine Beşiktaşımız'a transfer oldu. Siyah-beyaz formayla, ligdeki ilk golünü 24 Eylül 1995'de Beşiktaşımız'ın 5-2 kazandığı maçta İstanbulspor filelerine gönderdi.
  5. "Kayserispor – Beşiktaş Maç Detayları – TFF" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  6. "Beşiktaş – Istanbulspor A.Ş. Maç Detayları – TFF" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  7. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Stefan Kuntz – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  8. "Stürmer, Trainer, Manager – Die Stationen des Stefan Kuntz". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). 7 April 2008. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  9. "Germany beat Portugal to win European U21 Championship". Bundesliga. 6 June 2021. Retrieved 6 June 2021.
  10. "Stefan Kuntz named new Turkey head coach". tff.org. 19 September 2021. Retrieved 19 September 2021.
  11. Sabah, Daily (17 September 2023). "Türkiye sack national team coach Kuntz after underwhelming stint". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
  12. "Stefan Kuntz'a Teşekkür Ederiz" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Reuters. 20 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  13. "Deutscher Supercup, 1991, Finale". dfb.de. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
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