Michael Schulz
![]() Schulz playing for a Borussia Dortmund veterans team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Date of birth | 3 September 1961 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Witten,[1] West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position(s) | Centre-back | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1967–1972 | TuS Nettlingen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1972–1980 | TuS Sulingen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1980–1984 | TuS Syke | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1984–1987 | VfB Oldenburg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1987–1989 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 51 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1989–1994 | Borussia Dortmund | 133 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1994–1997 | Werder Bremen | 59 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 243 | (8) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1988 | West Germany Olympic | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1992–1993 | Germany | 7 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Michael Schulz (born 3 September 1961) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He played 243 matches in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and 1. FC Kaiserslautern and scored eight goals.
Club career
[edit]Schulz was born in Witten. He had the reputation of being one of the hardest defenders in the Bundesliga.[2] He collected 48 yellow and 2 red cards. He was a favourite at Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen, his fans regularly chanting "Schuuuuuuuuuulz" whenever he had the ball.[3] Fellow Bremen player Christian Schulz and fellow Dortmund player Nico Schulz,[3] who bear no relationship to him, were regularly celebrated like this because of him. In Panini's World Championship collector's cards edition 1994 he is described as "an anchor as header, strong in duels, feared for his wide throw-ins. The Charles Bronson type of guy overdoes toughness." Michael Schulz made nearly 250 (West) German top-flight appearances.[4]
International career
[edit]He played seven times for the Germany national team from 1992 to 1993.[5] He also competed for West Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[6]
Post-playing career
[edit]Schulz works as a player agent at the Hamburg-based sport management agency Extratime. He's additionally in the field for several German TV channels and since August 2009 also as a field reporter for Deutsche Telekom's football channel Liga total.
"Curse" of Michael Schulz
[edit]![]() | This section possibly contains original research. (April 2010) |
Although Schulz was regarded as one of the best defenders of his generation, top titles eluded him. The special sting in his case was the fact that each team he played for was highly successful after he was transferred away, leading to speculation he was cursed.[2]
- 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1987–1989): in this period, FCK was a scrub team which constantly flirted with relegation. After Schulz was shipped away, FCK won the German Cup in 1990 and the German Championship in 1991.
- Borussia Dortmund (1989–1994): BVB was a midfield team when Schulz was there. But then, Schulz feuded with Matthias Sammer and was sent away, just before BVB won two German Championships in 1995 and 1996 and the UEFA Champions League in 1997.
- Werder Bremen (1994–1997): Schulz joined Bremen just after Werder had won two German Championships and the German Cup. During his period, Werder suffered a drought and won nothing, apart from the 1994 DFB-Supercup. However, in 1999, Werder won the German Cup again after Schulz had left.
In a 1997 issue of the German football magazine kicker, published when Schulz announced his retirement, he was asked in the column Mal ehrlich (Now, seriously), whether Bremen, now that Schulz was stopping, would finally win something. He answered, "This is a sure-fire tip! I'd bet on it anytime", acknowledging the existence of his jinx.
Honours
[edit]Borussia Dortmund
- DFL-Supercup: 1989[7]
- UEFA Cup finalist: 1992–93
Werder Bremen
West Germany Olympic
Germany
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 1992
- 1993 U.S. Cup
References
[edit]- ^ according to most German sources, however, born in Hitzacker
- ^ a b Raack, Alex (24 July 2013). ""Wir sind ja quasi Amok gelaufen..."". 11 Freunde (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ a b Schulz, Michael (29 August 2019). "Michael Schulz lobt den BVB-Fußball - und kritisiert Mario Götze". Ruhr Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
- ^ Arnhold, Matthias (28 November 2019). "Michael Schulz - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ Arnhold, Matthias (28 November 2019). "Michael Schulz - International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
- ^ "Michael Schulz Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
- ^ "Deutscher Supercup, 1989, Finale". dfb.de. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
- ^ "Deutscher Supercup, 1994, Finale". dfb.de. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
External links
[edit]![](http://178.128.105.246/cars-http-upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Michael Schulz at WorldFootball.net
- Michael Schulz at National-Football-Teams.com
- Michael Schulz at Olympics at Sports-Reference.com (archived)
- 1961 births
- Living people
- People from Witten
- Footballers from Arnsberg (region)
- German men's footballers
- Men's association football defenders
- Germany men's international footballers
- VfB Oldenburg players
- 1. FC Kaiserslautern players
- Borussia Dortmund players
- SV Werder Bremen players
- Bundesliga players
- Olympic footballers for West Germany
- West German men's footballers
- Footballers at the 1988 Summer Olympics
- UEFA Euro 1992 players
- Olympic bronze medalists for West Germany
- Olympic medalists in football
- Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics