Ulf Kirsten
Kirsten in 2019
Personal information
Date of birth (1965-12-04) 4 December 1965
Place of birth Riesa, East Germany
Height 1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1972–1978 BSG Chemie Riesa
1978–1979 BSG Stahl Riesa
1979–1983 Dynamo Dresden
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1983–1990 Dynamo Dresden 154 (57)
1990–2003 Bayer Leverkusen 350 (181)
Total 504 (238)
International career
1984–1986 East Germany U21 10 (4)
1985–1990 East Germany 49 (14)
1990–2000 Germany 51 (20)
Managerial career
2003–2005 Bayer Leverkusen (assistant)
2005–2011 Bayer Leverkusen II
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker.[1] Nicknamed Der Schwatte (dialect for Der Schwarze, 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps playing with two different national teams (first for East Germany, then Reunified Germany). Kirsten's biggest success was the victory of the 1992–93 DFB-Pokal.

Club career

Dynamo Dresden

Kirsten began playing football for local team BSG Chemie Riesa in 1972. He joined BSG Stahl Riesa in 1978 before joining the youth academy of Dynamo Dresden in 1979. Dynamo Dresden was a center of excellence (German: Leistungszentrum) and the most prominent club in Bezirk Dresden. It was also the most successful club in East Germany at the time. Kirsten made his professional debut for Dynamo Dresden in the 1983-84 DDR-Oberliga season.

Kirsten played 154 matches and scored 57 goals for Dynamo Dresden in the DDR-Oberliga. He won the DDR-Oberliga with Dynamo Dresden in two consecutive seasons: 1988-88 and 1989-90. Kirsten became the Footballer of the Year in East Germany in 1990.

Kirsten had an unusual build: measuring only 172 cm (5'8"), but weighing 81 kg (179 lbs). He therefore had an unusually low centre of gravity, which enabled him to protect the ball in the box against much bigger defenders and turn around quickly for close-range shots. The playing style was often compared to that of Gerd Müller. In addition, despite his small height, Kirsten was also a feared header.

Bayer Leverkusen

Kirsten in 1997

Kirsten was one of the first East German men's footballers to enter the Bundesliga after the German reunification. In the German Bundesliga he played 350 matches for Bayer 04 Leverkusen and scored 182 goals (ranked #7 in the all-time top scorer list). He established himself as one of the most dangerous strikers in the Bundesliga, but Bayer Leverkusen regularly ended as runner-up to either Bayern Munich or Borussia Dortmund. He stayed there until his retirement in 2003. He also played in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final, although his team lost to Real Madrid. In the 1999–2000 season, Kirsten won the EFFIFU award for being the most efficient striker in the league.

Off the pitch, Kirsten was famous for his strong beard growth, which earned him a sponsorship by Braun, who used him to advertise their electrical shavers.

International career

East Germany squad photo from 1986 – Kirsten is seated third from left in the front row

Kirsten's 100 caps are almost evenly split: 49 for East Germany and 51 for the re-unified Germany in a career which spanned 15 years from 1985 until 2000, with the reunified team being formed in late 1990.[2]

Kirsten scored a total of 34 international goals, 14 of them for East Germany. His only major tournaments came late in his career; Kirsten played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 2000.

Personal life

Kirsten's son Benjamin is also a footballer, and has played as a goalkeeper for Dynamo Dresden and NEC.[3]

Along with several other teammates, Kirsten was allegedly implicated as an Stasi informant during his time at Dynamo Dresden files recovered from the security service's archives after the fall of East Germany.[4][5]

Career statistics

Club

Including only appearances and goals for Bayer Leverkusen
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Bayer Leverkusen1990–91Bundesliga321122523915
1991–92231211—2413
1992–93332073—4023
1993–9428123145361191
1994–952715109103725
1995–9629832213411
1996–97292210—3022
1997–9827223292402272
1998–9931192232383243
1999–20002717—64354234
2000–0129122143365175
2001–0232115314452618
2002–033010—570
Total 35018131175633446237

International

International goals for East Germany

Score and results list East Germany's goal tally first.[6]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.19 February 1986Estádio 1º de Maio, Braga, Portugal Portugal
2–0
3–1
Friendly
2.29 October 1986Ernst-Thälmann-Stadion, Karl-Marx-Stadt, East Germany Iceland
2–0
2–0
UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
3.23 September 1987Stadion der Freundschaft, Gera, East Germany Tunisia
2–0
2–0
Friendly
4.10 October 1987Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East Germany Soviet Union
1–0
1–1
UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying
5.28 October 1987Ernst-Grube-Stadion, Magdeburg, East Germany Norway
1–0
3–1
6.
3–1
7.13 February 1989Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Egypt
1–0
4–0
Friendly
8.
3–0
9.20 May 1989Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany Austria
1–1
1–1
1990 FIFA World Cup qualifying
10.23 August 1989Georgij-Dimitroff-Stadion, Erfurt, East Germany Bulgaria
1–0
1–1
Friendly
11.28 March 1990Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East Germany United States
1–0
3–2
12.
2–0
13.
3–1

International goals for Germany

Score and results list Germany's goal tally first.[7]
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.14 April 1993Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany Ghana
1–1
6–1
Friendly
2.13 October 1993Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe, Germany Uruguay
4–0
5–0
3.27 April 1994Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates
1–0
2–0
4.16 November 1994Qemal Stafa Stadium, Tirana, Albania Albania
2–1
2–1
UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
5.14 December 1994Stadionul Republican, Chişinău, Moldova Moldova
1–0
3–0
6.6 September 1995Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany Georgia
3–1
4–1
7.2 April 1997Estadio Nuevo Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain Albania
1–1
3–2
1998 FIFA World Cup qualifying
8.
2–1
9.
3–1
10.6 September 1997Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany Portugal
1–1
1–1
11.10 September 1997Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany Armenia
4–0
4–0
12.25 March 1998Gottlieb-Daimler-Stadion, Stuttgart, Germany Brazil
1–1
1–2
Friendly
13.5 June 1998Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany Luxembourg
1–0
7–0
14.
4–0
15.14 October 1998Stadionul Republican, Chişinău, Moldova Moldova
1–1
3–1
UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
16.
2–1
17.4 June 1999BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany
2–0
6–1
18.26 April 2000Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany  Switzerland
1–1
1–1
Friendly
19.7 June 2000Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany Liechtenstein
4–2
8–2
20.
6–2

Managerial statistics

As of 25 May 2012
Team From To Record
G W D L GF GA GD Win %
Bayer Leverkusen II 1 July 2005 30 June 2011 209 72 50 87 292 313 −21 034.45
Total 209 72 50 87 292 313 −21 034.45

Honours

Club

Dynamo Dresden

Bayer Leverkusen

Individual

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Kirsten, Ulf" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ulf Kirsten – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 14 June 2016.
  3. ↑ "Kirsten vor 3. Liga-Debüt" (in German). kicker.de. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  4. ↑ "Mielkes Rächer unbestraft - WELT". DIE WELT (in German). 16 November 2011. Retrieved 23 February 2023.
  5. ↑ McDougall, Alan, ed. (2014), "Football and the Stasi", The People's Game: Football, State and Society in East Germany, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 123–146, doi:10.1017/CBO9781107280311.007, ISBN 978-1-107-05203-1, retrieved 23 February 2023
  6. ↑ "Ulf Kirsten (Player)". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  7. ↑ "Ulf Kirsten (Player)". national-football-teams.com. Retrieved 14 June 2022.
  8. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1996/97" (in German). kicker.
  9. ↑ "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker.
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