Steffen Karl

Steffen Karl (born 3 February 1970) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Not to be confused with Stefán Karl Stefánsson.

Steffen Karl
Karl (back row, second from right) with Hallescher FC in 1988
Personal information
Date of birth (1970-02-03) 3 February 1970
Place of birth Hohenmölsen, East Germany
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
Medizin Halle-Nietleben
Empor Halle
1982–1987 Hallescher FC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1987–1989 Hallescher FC 31 (2)
1989–1990 Stahl Hettstedt
1990–1994 Borussia Dortmund 72 (2)
1994 → Manchester City (loan) 6 (1)
1994–1995 FC Sion 24 (5)
1995–1998 Hertha BSC 90 (2)
1998–2000 FC St. Pauli 31 (0)
2000–2001 Vålerenga 10 (2)
2001–2003 Lokomotiv Sofia 16 (1)
2003–2005 Chemnitzer FC 51 (2)
International career
1991 Germany U21 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Football career

Born in Hohenmölsen, Saxony-Anhalt, Karl started his professional career in East Germany, representing Hallescher FC and modest BSG Stahl Hettstedt. In January 1990, he moved to the Bundesliga with Borussia Dortmund, making his competition debut on 30 March, playing eight minutes in a 2–0 home win against SV Waldhof Mannheim.

Almost always a backup at Borussia during his four half-year spell (his best output consisted in 28 games in the 1991–92 season), Karl left the club in the 1994 summer, before the club's back-to-back league conquests; following a run-in with coach Ottmar Hitzfeld,[1] before this definitive release, he also played five months with Manchester City, on loan.

Karl played one year in Switzerland with FC Sion, before returning to his country and represent Hertha BSC and FC St. Pauli in the 2. Bundesliga. In his second season at the former, he played 30 matches en route to promotion, but never played again in the top division of his country. In the following three years, he moved abroad again, playing for Vålerenga Fotball (one year) and PFC Lokomotiv Sofia (two). He became the first German to appear in the A PFG.[2]

In 2003, 33-year-old Karl returned to Germany, playing with former East German sides. Two years later, whilst at Chemnitzer FC – he also represented VfB Fortuna Chemnitz until his final retirement in 2008 – he became the first player to be arrested in connection with Germany's match-fixing scandal, being suspected of helping manipulate the results of a May 2004 match between Chemnitz and SC Paderborn 07.[3] He was given a nine-month suspended prison sentence for his role in the affair, and banned for eight months by the German Football Association.[4]

References
  1. "Nichts geht mehr, Steffen Karl!" [End of the line, Steffen Karl!] (in German). CFC. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  2. Lelyov, Momchil (20 July 2006). "“А” група погледна към елита на Европа. За пръв път в първенството ще ритат холандец и испанец" (in Bulgarian). 7sport.net. Archived from the original on 10 December 2015. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  3. "Karl arrested in German scandal". BBC Sport. 11 March 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. "Footballer banned for 8 months for match-fixing". People's Daily Online. 24 December 2005. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
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