Rudi Völler


Rudolf "Rudi" Völler, nicknamed "Tante Käthe", is a German former professional footballer and a former manager of the Germany national team. A forward, he won the FIFA World Cup in 1990 as a player. He also scored an equalizing goal to make it 2–2 in the 81st minute of the 1986 FIFA World Cup Final vs Argentina, but it ended up with a 3-2 victory for Argentina.
Along with Mário Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer and Didier Deschamps, Völler has the distinction of reaching a World Cup final as both a player and as a manager.

Club career

Völler started his career with 1860 Hanau, then played for second division sides Kickers Offenbach and TSV 1860 Munich, before joining Bundesliga club Werder Bremen in 1982, winning his first cap for West Germany that same year. Following a successful season in which he was the Bundesliga's top scorer, foreign clubs became interested in the striker, and in 1987 he was transferred to Roma, where he became a mainstay of the team and earned the nickname "er tedesco" and also "il tedesco volante". He won the Coppa Italia in 1991 and was the club's top scorer on several occasions.
In 1992, Roma decided to sell Völler to Marseille, where he was intended as replacement for superstar striker Jean-Pierre Papin. That also allowed Roma to add Claudio Caniggia as its third foreigner to the squad, so both parties were happy to let the deal go through. There he won his biggest club honour in a very successful first season, thanks to the UEFA Champions League won with Olympique de Marseille against AC Milan coached by Fabio Capello, in 1993. Völler started the match, playing 78 minutes. Marseille was then caught in a bribery scandal, however, and was stripped of its 1993 league title, and were relegated despite a second-place finish in 1994. Völler scored 24 league goals for the club but departed after its relegation. Returning to Germany, he joined Bayer Leverkusen in 1994, where he ended his career as a player in 1996 and started a career in the management of the club.

International career

Völler was capped 90 times for the Germany national team, scoring 47 goals, including eight in World Cup final rounds.
Völler also played at three UEFA European Championships, starting with Euro 1984, where he scored twice in a group match against Romania which the Germans won 2–1. A 90th minute defeat against Spain in their next match, however, saw West Germany eliminated when all they needed was a draw.
At the 1986 FIFA World Cup, Völler scored the West Germans' equalizer in a 2–1 win over Scotland in the group stage. He bagged a last minute goal against France in the semi-final to seal a 2–0 win and in the final itself his 80th-minute goal made it 2–2 against Argentina. Germany had recovered from 2–0 down but eventually lost the match 3–2. Völler became the third player to score as a substitute in the World Cup final, after Dick Nanninga in 1978 and Alessandro Altobelli achieved this feat in 1982.
West Germany hosted the Euro 1988, and Völler scored twice in a 2–0 win over Spain but the hosts lost to eventual winners the Netherlands in the semi-final.
Völler was a member of the team that won the 1990 World Cup in Italy. He scored three times in the tournament, including one goal in a 4–1 win over Yugoslavia, and then found the net twice against the United Arab Emirates in a 5–1 win. During the second-round match against the Netherlands, Völler and Dutch player Frank Rijkaard were sent off the field after the Dutchman spit on Völler twice.
Völler came back to play and start for Germany in both the semi-final against England and the final against Argentina, which Germany won 1–0 to claim their 3rd World Cup title.
The unsavoury incident that took place during the second-round match with the Netherlands started when Rijkaard was booked for a bad tackle on Völler. As Rijkaard took up position for the free kick, he spat in Völler's hair. Völler complained to the referee and was booked as well. From the resulting free kick, a furious Völler then jumped up and punched the ball with his hand and then dived to avoid a collision with Dutch goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen, although it did also look as if he dived for a penalty. Van Breukelen was angry at this, but Rijkaard again confronted Völler by twisting his ear and stamping on his foot. The temperamental and tough Argentine referee Juan Carlos Loustau finally had enough of Völler and Rijkaard's antics and he sent both players off. Rijkaard then again spat in Völler's hair as they left the pitch and was rumoured to have repeated this on the touchline. Rijkaard later stated that it was his fault: "That day I was wrong. There was no insult. I always had much respect for Rudi Völler. But I went berserk when I saw that red card. I talked to him after the match and I apologized. I'm very happy that he accepted. I have no bad feeling about him now. We even posed for a very funny advert together, years after.".
Völler was again selected for the Euro 1992 but was sent home when he suffered an injury in the opening game with CIS.
At the 1994 World Cup, Völler was kept out of the starting line up for all three group games by Jürgen Klinsmann and Karl-Heinz Riedle who scored five between them. He made just one sub appearance in the group stages. He did start the second round tie with Belgium and scored twice in a 3–2 win.

Managing career

After a disappointing Euro 2000 for Germany under manager Erich Ribbeck, the German Football Association appointed Völler as new manager, accepting his lack of coaching qualifications at the time. Initially he only planned to take interimistic responsibility for one year, following the decision by Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Völler himself not to make Christoph Daum step down from the national team before 2001. However, Völler extended his contract due to good results, after Daum became involved in a controversial drug scandal. Despite losing to England 5–1 at home and two disappointing draws against Finland during qualification he managed to lead the team to a surprising appearance in the final of the 2002 World Cup against Brazil.
After a first-round exit from Euro 2004, he resigned from his post.
Following his resignation from the German national job, Völler briefly made a comeback at Roma in 2004 as manager. Hired in late August as a last-minute appointment after the shock resignation of Cesare Prandelli, he left the club only one month later after a series of poor results and high-profile disagreements with players, notably Antonio Cassano. He only signed a one-year contract to allow a return of Prandelli the next year, but presided over only one draw and two defeats in the league.
Moving back to the support ranks at Bayer Leverkusen, Völler was named caretaker manager of Leverkusen on 16 September 2005 after the club sacked coach Klaus Augenthaler. Völler served in that role until Michael Skibbe was named as the club's new permanent coach that October. After the arrival of Skibbe, Völler was promoted to become for the second time sports director at Leverkusen.
Völler was very popular in Germany. Even when the national squad achieved only modest results, Völler never lost his popularity as the German public knew he was achieving as much as possible with a relatively limited squad. His predecessor Berti Vogts, by contrast, was widely "slagged off" by everybody even during periods of success with a far more talented German squad. The public even forgave Völler when – during a TV interview after a 0–0 draw against Iceland in September 2003 – he lost his temper and yelled at the presenter Waldemar Hartmann in order to defend his team against, what he thought was, unfair press statements.

Career statistics

Club

International

National teams statistics

Source:

International goals

#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
130 March 1983Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania1–02–1UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
27 September 1983Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary1–11–1Friendly
35 October 1983Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany2–03–0UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
45 October 1983Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany3–03–0UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
526 October 1983Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany1–05–1UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
626 October 1983Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany3–05–1UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying
715 February 1984Spartak Stadium, Varna, Bulgaria2–03–2Friendly
829 February 1984Heysel Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–01–0Friendly
928 March 1984Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany1–12–1Friendly
1017 June 1984Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France1–02–1UEFA Euro 1984
1117 June 1984Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France2–12–1UEFA Euro 1984
1224 February 1985Estádio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal2–02–1FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
1317 April 1985Rosenaustadion, Augsburg, Germany1–04–1Friendly
1417 April 1985Rosenaustadion, Augsburg, Germany4–14–1Friendly
1525 September 1985Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden1–02–2FIFA World Cup 1986 qualifying
1611 May 1986Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany1–11–1Friendly
1714 May 1986Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany1–03–1Friendly
1814 May 1986Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany2–03–1Friendly
198 June 1986Estadio La Corregidora, Santiago de Querétaro, Mexico1–12–1FIFA World Cup 1986
2025 June 1986Estadio Jalisco, Guadalajara, Mexico2–02–0FIFA World Cup 1986
2129 June 1986Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico2–22–3FIFA World Cup 1986
2229 October 1986Prater Stadium, Vienna, Austria1–11–4Friendly
2312 August 1987Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany1–02–1Friendly
2412 August 1987Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany2–02–1Friendly
2523 September 1987Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany1–01–0Friendly
2617 June 1988Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany1–02–0UEFA Euro 1988
2717 June 1988Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany2–02–0UEFA Euro 1988
2831 August 1988Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland1–04–0FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
2931 August 1988Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland2–04–0FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
3022 March 1989Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria1–12–1Friendly
314 October 1989Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany4–06–1FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
3215 November 1989Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, Germany1–12–1FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
3325 April 1990Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, Germany2–13–3Friendly
3430 May 1990Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany1–01–0Friendly
3510 June 1990Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy4–14–1FIFA World Cup 1990
3615 June 1990Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy1–05–1FIFA World Cup 1990
3715 June 1990Stadio Giuseppe Meazza, Milan, Italy5–15–1FIFA World Cup 1990
3810 October 1990Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden2–03–1Friendly
3931 October 1990Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg, Luxembourg3–03–2UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
4019 December 1990Neckarstadion, Stuttgart, Germany1–04–0Friendly
4116 October 1991Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany2–04–1UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
4220 November 1991King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium1–01–0UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
4330 May 1992Parkstadion, Gelsenkirchen, Germany1–01–0Friendly
4414 October 1992Rudolf-Harbig-Stadion, Dresden, Germany1–01–1Friendly
458 June 1994Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada2–02–0Friendly
462 July 1994Soldier Field, Chicago, United States1–03–2FIFA World Cup 1994
472 July 1994Soldier Field, Chicago, USA3–13–2FIFA World Cup 1994

Managing career statistics

Honours

Player

Club

Roma
Marseille
Germany

International

Germany
His son Marco Völler is a professional basketball player currently with the Skyliners Frankfurt.