 Riedle in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1965-09-16)16 September 1965 (age 60) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Weiler im Allgäu,West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TSV Ellhofen | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SV Weiler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1986 | FC Augsburg | 80 | (31) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Blau-Weiß Berlin | 34 | (10) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1990 | Werder Bremen | 86 | (38) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1993 | Lazio | 84 | (30) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | Borussia Dortmund | 87 | (24) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1997–1999 | Liverpool | 60 | (11) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Fulham | 34 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 465 | (150) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | West Germany U21 | 4 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988 | West Germany Olympic | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1994 | Germany | 42 | (16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000 | Fulham | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Karl-Heinz Riedle (German pronunciation:[kaʁlˈhaɪntsˈʁiːdlə]; born 16 September 1965) is a German former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
Despite not being particularly tall, he wasnicknamed "Air" throughout his career, due to his notable heading accuracy, jumping and timing skills in the air, as well as his ability to make runs into the box and get on the end of crosses, and made a name for himself as a traditional yet well-rounded and prolificcentre forward.[2][3][4] He appeared in 207Bundesliga games over the course of eight seasons, scoring 62 of his 72 goals forWerder Bremen andBorussia Dortmund. He also played forLazio in Italy andLiverpool in England.
AGerman international for six years, Riedle represented the country in twoWorld Cups –winning the 1990 edition – andEuro 1992.
Born inWeiler im Allgäu,Swabia, Riedle started his senior career in theBayernliga withFC Augsburg,[5] being club top scorer in the 1985–86 season with a total of 20 goals.[6] His performances attracted interest from newly promotedBundesliga sideSpVgg Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin, who signed him for a fee of 33,000Deutsche Mark;[7] he made his league debut for his new team on 9 August 1986, scoring in a 4–1 home loss against1. FC Kaiserslautern.[8]
After his team'srelegation, as last, Riedle nonetheless signed withSV Werder Bremen, led by legendaryOtto Rehhagel, and netted 18 times inhis first season (second-best in the league behindJürgen Klinsmann, and 24 overall) to help the club win the national title. During his three-year spell with theHanseatic he scored 58 goals all competitions comprised, and appeared in back-to-backGerman Cup finals, losing both and finding the net in the1989 edition – opening the score in a 4–1 defeat toBorussia Dortmund.
In the 1990 summer, Riedle moved toS.S. Lazio of Italy for a transfer fee of 13 million DM. During his stint with theRoman the club failed to win any silverware or reach any final, and his best output occurred in the1991–92 campaign when he scored 13 goals in 29 games[9] for an eventual 10th-place finish inSerie A; for two of his three years, he shared teams with countrymanThomas Doll.
Riedle returned to Germany in 1993 and joinedBorussia Dortmund. He was a starter for most of his spell, often partneringStéphane Chapuisat, but failed to reproduce his previous form, never scoring in double digits; he was however important in the conquest of the1995 and1996 national championships (13 goals combined) and, in the1996–97 UEFA Champions League, netted twice[10] againstJuventus inthe final for a 3–1 success.[11]
In 1997, Riedle joinedLiverpool in thePremier League. He was irregularly used during his stint atAnfield, especially after the phasing-in of 18-year-oldMichael Owen.
In late September 1999, 34-year-old Riedle moved toFulham where, along with his old Liverpool managerRoy Evans, he would serve ascaretaker manager until the end of1999–2000 afterPaul Bracewell's dismissal. Before the end ofthe following season – where he eventually netted once from 14 appearances to help Fulham to top flight promotion – he announced his retirement.[12]
Riedle made his debut forWest Germany on 31 August 1988, playing 15 minutes againstFinland and scoring in a 4–0 away win for the1990 World Cup qualifiers. Selected by coachFranz Beckenbauer for the finals in Italy as a backup to Klinsmann andRudi Völler, he contributed with four games as the national team won its thirdtitle, starting once due to suspension to the latter. In the semi-final againstEngland Völler limped off injured in the first half and Riedle came on as a substitute. The match went to penalties and Riedle converted his attempt as Germany eventually prevailed.[13] However Völler recovered to start thefinal and Riedle remained on the bench.
One of Riedle's most memorable matches for Germany came during theUEFA Euro 1992 semi-final againstSweden, in which he netted two goals in a 3–2 triumph, eventually being the tournament's joint-top scorer. He gained a total of 42caps, scoring on 16 occasions.[14]
Riedle married Gabriele and fathered three children,Alessandro, who is also a professional footballer, Dominic and Vivien-Joana.[15] He owned a hotel and ran a football academy, in the village ofOberstaufen.
On 28 August 2014,UEFA announced Riedle as the ambassador ofthe upcoming Champions League final, which was later held inBerlin.[16][17] He was later named as the ambassador for Borussia Dortmund in the 2024 edition of the tournament final, alongside Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | League Cup | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin | 1986–87 | Bundesliga | 34 | 10 | 3 | 4 | – | – | – | 37 | 14 | |||
| Werder Bremen | 1987–88 | Bundesliga | 33 | 18 | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | 4 | – | 49 | 24 | ||
| 1988–89 | Bundesliga | 33 | 13 | 6 | 5 | – | 5 | 1 | 1[a] | 1 | 45 | 20 | ||
| 1989–90 | Bundesliga | 20 | 7 | 4 | 2 | – | 8 | 6 | – | 32 | 15 | |||
| Total | 86 | 38 | 16 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 23 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 126 | 59 | ||
| Lazio | 1990–91 | Serie A | 33 | 9 | 2 | 0 | – | – | – | 35 | 9 | |||
| 1991–92 | Serie A | 29 | 13 | 4 | 0 | – | – | – | 33 | 13 | ||||
| 1992–93 | Serie A | 22 | 8 | 4 | 2 | – | – | – | 26 | 10 | ||||
| Total | 84 | 30 | 10 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 32 | ||
| Borussia Dortmund | 1993–94 | Bundesliga | 22 | 4 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | – | 27 | 4 | ||
| 1994–95 | Bundesliga | 29 | 6 | 2 | 1 | – | 9 | 6 | – | 40 | 13 | |||
| 1995–96 | Bundesliga | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 4 | 1 | – | 22 | 8 | |||
| 1996–97 | Bundesliga | 18 | 7 | 0 | 0 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 23 | 11 | |||
| 1997–98 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 87 | 24 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 23 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 113 | 36 | ||
| Liverpool | 1997–98 | Premier League | 25 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | – | 34 | 7 | |
| 1998–99 | Premier League | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 1 | – | 40 | 6 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Premier League | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 2 | 2 | ||
| Total | 60 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 76 | 15 | ||
| Fulham | 1999–2000 | Football League First Division | 21 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 22 | 5 | ||
| 2000–01 | Football League First Division | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 14 | 1 | |||
| Total | 35 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 6 | ||
| Career total | 386 | 119 | 34 | 16 | 8 | 2 | 53 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 482 | 162 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | 1988 | 1 | 1 |
| 1989 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1990 | 9 | 1 | |
| 1991 | 5 | 3 | |
| 1992 | 10 | 4 | |
| 1993 | 8 | 5 | |
| 1994 | 6 | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | 16 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 31 August 1988 | Helsinki,Finland |  Finland | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 26 September 1989 | Rotterdam,Netherlands |  Netherlands | 1–0 | 1–1 | |
| 5. | 16 October 1991 | Nuremberg,Germany |  Wales | 3–0 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying |
| 6. | 18 December 1991 | Leverkusen, Germany |  Luxembourg | 3–0 | 4–0 | |
| 7. | 15 June 1992 | Norrköping,Sweden |  Scotland | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1992 |
| 8. | 21 June 1992 | Solna, Sweden |  Sweden | 2–0 | 3–2 | |
| 9. | 3–1 | |||||
| 10. | 13 June 1993 | Chicago,United States |  United States | 2–1 | 4–3 | 1993 U.S. Cup |
| 11. | 3–1 | |||||
| 12. | 4–1 | |||||
| 16. | 27 June 1994 | Dallas, United States |  South Korea | 2–0 | 3–2 | 1994 FIFA World Cup |
Werder Bremen
Borussia Dortmund
Fulham
Germany
Individual
Germany squads | |||||||||||||||||||
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Awards | |||||||
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| International | |
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| Artists | |
