Thomas Strunz

Thomas Strunz (born 25 April 1968) is a German former professional footballer who played mostly as a defensive midfielder.

Thomas Strunz
Strunz signing autographs in 2010
Personal information
Date of birth (1968-04-25) 25 April 1968
Place of birth Duisburg, West Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Position(s) Midfielder
Youth career
1977–1981 TuRA 88 Duisburg
1981–1986 MSV Duisburg
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1986–1989 MSV Duisburg 94 (30)
1989–1992 Bayern Munich 59 (12)
1992–1995 VfB Stuttgart 79 (9)
1995–2000 Bayern Munich 97 (11)
Total 329 (62)
International career
1990 West Germany U21 2 (0)
1990–1999 Germany 41 (1)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
UEFA European Championship
Winner1996 England
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Over the course of 12 seasons, he amassed Bundesliga totals of 235 games and 32 goals, representing in the competition Bayern Munich and Stuttgart.[2] He won 12 major club titles in his career.

Strunz gained 41 caps for Germany in nine years.[3] He was part of the squad that won Euro 1996.

Club career

Born in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Strunz started his career playing for hometown club MSV Duisburg, but moved to FC Bayern Munich aged 21. He made his Bundesliga debut on 31 August 1989 in a 4–0 home win against Hamburger SV, and proceeded to score five goals in 20 matches in his first season.

Strunz joined VfB Stuttgart for 1992–93, netting five times in his debut campaign before returning to Bayern after three years. In his two spells with the Bavarian side he won four Bundesliga championship medals and two DFB-Pokals, adding the 1995–96 UEFA Cup in which he scored two goals in nine games. In his last full season his team went on to win the league title but he played rarely due to recurrent injuries. He retired from football after leaving the club in late 2000.

International career

Strunz made his debut for Germany on 10 October 1990 in a 3–1 friendly win in Sweden. He went on to represent the nation at the 1994 FIFA World Cup and the victorious UEFA Euro 1996.

During the latter competition, Strunz appeared in five of six matches (being sent off against Italy and subsequently suspended for the quarter-final), converting his penalty shootout attempt in the semi-finals and playing the entire final against the Czech Republic.

Honours

Club

Bayern Munich

VfB Stuttgart

International

Germany

Career statistics

International
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany 199020
199210
199350
1994130
199541
199690
199810
199960
Total411


International goal
Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.7 June 1995Vasil Levski, Sofia, Bulgaria Bulgaria2–02–3Euro 1996 qualifying

Post-playing career

After retiring, Strunz served as general manager at VfL Wolfsburg for nearly a year, being fired on 19 December 2005 – head coach Holger Fach was sacked on the same day, and the former was awarded €2.750.000 in compensation.[6] In April 2008, Strunz enrolled in the same capacity at lowly Rot-Weiss Essen, being fired on 12 September of the following year.

Strunz in 2012

Later, Strunz worked as football pundit for German TV channel Sport1.

Personal life

Strunz's wife, Claudia, left him for fellow German international Stefan Effenberg.[7]

Trivia

On 10 March 1998, Strunz was one of the main targets in an infamous press conference held by a furious Bayern manager Giovanni Trapattoni, who addressed the media in broken German.[8] This gave Strunz the possibility to work as a TV pundit after his football career.[9]

References
  1. "Thomas Strunz - Spielerprofil - DFB" (in German). dfb.de. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  2. Arnhold, Matthias (14 January 2016). "Thomas Strunz - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
  3. Arnhold, Matthias (14 January 2016). "Thomas Strunz - International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
  4. "Deutscher Supercup, 1990, Finale". dfb.de. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 10 November 2020.
  5. "Deutscher Supercup, 1992, Finale". dfb.de. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
  6. "Fach fired by Wolfsburg". UEFA.com. 19 December 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2009.
  7. "Matthaeus is 'a real quitter,' says Effenberg". Sports Illustrated. 2 May 2003. Retrieved 27 May 2008.
  8. "Trapattoni 1998: Die komplette Wutrede im Video". kicker.de (in German). 10 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  9. "Strunz im Interview: "Klingelt's jetzt gleich an der Tür?"". kicker.de (in German). 10 March 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
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