 Linke playing forRB Salzburg in a 2009 charity match | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1969-12-26)26 December 1969 (age 55) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Sömmerda,East Germany | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Centre back | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1977–1983 | Robotron Sömmerda | ||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1988 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1988–1992 | Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 85 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 1992–1998 | Schalke 04 | 175 | (13) | ||||||||||||||
| 1998–2005 | Bayern Munich | 165 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2005–2007 | Red Bull Salzburg | 51 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2007–2008 | Bayern Munich II | 27 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 502 | (21) | |||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1997–2004 | Germany | 43 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||
Thomas Linke (born 26 December 1969) is a retired German professionalfootballer. He played as acentral defender and last worked as thedirector of football ofFC Ingolstadt 04.
Linke was remembered as a hard-nosed tackler with tremendous heading ability, and played in 13Bundesliga seasons in representation ofSchalke 04 andBayern Munich, totalling 340 games. Having gained his firstcap forGermany in his late 20s, Linke went on to represent the nation in oneWorld Cup and oneEuropean Championship.
Born inSömmerda,Bezirk Erfurt,East Germany, Linke began playing football in 1977 with local BSG Robotron Sömmerda. In 1983, he transferred toFC Rot-Weiß Erfurt, eventually making the breakthrough into the first team in 1989; with the latter, he had the opportunity to gain experience by playing in theDDR-Oberliga.
After finishing third in the last year of the competition, the club was placed into the newly consolidated2. Bundesliga in 1991, as part of theGerman reunification process. Linke was a starter throughoutthe season but was ultimately unable to prevent it from being relegated, while also appearing in fourgames in theUEFA Cup.
During Rot-Weiß Erfurt'sGerman Cup win overFC Schalke 04, the latter team's management took notice of Linke and signed him forthe following campaign. He quickly earned his way into the starting line-up and, from 1992 until 1998, appeared in a total of 175Bundesliga games for theRoyal Blues, his debut coming on 1 September 1992 in a 0–0 home draw againstSV Werder Bremen.
Linke's crowning achievement during his tenure with Schalke was thepenalty shootout win overInter Milan, in the1996–97 UEFA Cup. He appeared in 11 matches during the victorious run, scoring twice.[1]
In 1998, Linke joined national giantsFC Bayern Munich, where he would go on to experience the most successful chapter of his professional career. Inhis first season, he scored his first goal for theBavarians in a 3–1derby home win overTSV 1860 München on 7 November, but would also start inthe notoriousUEFA Champions League final againstManchester United.[2]
With Bayern, Linke won five leagues, three German Cups and fourleague cups, in addition to the 2001 editions of theChampions League and theIntercontinental Cup. Inthe final of the former, he scored the final penalty to give his team the victory in the shootout againstValencia CF.[3]
Since first joining Bayern, numerous critics prophesied that Linke would never be able to hold on to his starting spot in the center of defense. The player made it a point to prove his critics wrong by continually impressing with solid, if unspectacular, performances. Not untilhis last year, under coachFelix Magath, did he end up losing his starting role toCroatianRobert Kovač, appearing in only 11 games but helping in another league conquest.[4]
At the beginning of2005–06, 35-year-old Linke made the decision to extend his playing career by transferring to theAustrian Bundesliga, linking up with newly re-tooledFC Red Bull Salzburg alongside former Bayern teammateAlexander Zickler.[5] Soon after arriving, he was appointedteam captain, and became a regular fixture. Duringhis second season, he added one last piece of silverware to his extensive collection by winning the league; on 3 May 2007, the club informed him that his initial two-year contract would not be extended.[6]
On 13 June 2007, aged almost 38, Linke agreed to a Bayern return, linking with the club'samateur side in thethird division. In early 2008, he re-joined Salzburg, serving as assistant todirector of football Heinz Hochhauser and subsequently retiring from playing.[7][8]
Linke's debut with theGermany national side took place in a 3–0 victory overSouth Africa, on 15 November 1997. He represented the nation atUEFA Euro 2000 and the2002 FIFA World Cup.
In the latter competition, Linke played a key role in the team that would eventually finish runner-up after a 0–2 loss inthe final toBrazil. Additionally, he scored his only international goal during the group stage match againstSaudi Arabia, an 8–0 routing.[9]
Linke announced his international retirement after that tournament, but was called up for national duty once more in 2004. After numerous injuries to the defensive line, national coachJürgen Klinsmann personally called the player on the telephone and asked him to temporarily come out of retirement.[10] He appeared, beingbooked, in a 3–1friendly win inAustria on 18 August 2004,[11] and retired immediately after, with 43 caps to his name.[12]
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Europe | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Rot-Weiß Erfurt | 1988–89[13] | DDR-Oberliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1989–90[13] | 22 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 23 | 0 | ||||
| 1990–91[13] | 25 | 1 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 1 | ||||
| 1991–92[13] | 2. Bundesliga | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | – | 4[a] | 0 | 33 | 1 | ||
| Total | 79 | 2 | 7 | 0 | – | 4 | 0 | 90 | 2 | |||
| Schalke 04 | 1992–93 | Bundesliga | 25 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | 2[b] | 0 | 28 | 0 | |
| 1993–94[13] | 31 | 4 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 32 | 4 | ||||
| 1994–95[13] | 31 | 2 | 4 | 0 | – | – | 5 | 2 | ||||
| 1995–96[13] | 27 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | – | 29 | 3 | ||||
| 1996–97[13] | 30 | 1 | 2 | 1 | – | 11[a] | 2 | 43 | 4 | |||
| 1997–98[13] | 31 | 3 | 2 | 0 | – | 7[a] | 0 | 40 | 3 | |||
| Total | 175 | 13 | 12 | 1 | – | 20 | 2 | 207 | 16 | |||
| Bayern Munich | 1998–99[13] | Bundesliga | 27 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9[c] | 0 | 42 | 2 |
| 1999–2000[13] | 27 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11[c] | 1 | 41 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01[13] | 28 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 15[c] | 1 | 44 | 1 | ||
| 2001–02[13] | 20 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 32 | 0 | ||
| 2002–03[13] | 32 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[c] | 1 | 44 | 1 | ||
| 2003–04[13] | 21 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 28 | 0 | ||
| 2004–05[13] | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| Total | 165 | 2 | 20 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 55 | 3 | 249 | 6 | ||
| Bayern Munich II | 2004–05[13] | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | |||
| Red Bull Salzburg | 2005–06 | Austrian Bundesliga | 24 | 3 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 25 | 3 | ||
| 2006–07 | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 6[e] | 0 | 35 | 0 | |||
| Total | 51 | 3 | 3 | 0 | – | 6 | 0 | 60 | 3 | |||
| Bayern Munich II | 2007–08[13] | Regionalliga Süd | 33 | 1 | – | – | – | 33 | 1 | |||
| Career total | 504 | 21 | 43 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 85 | 5 | 640 | 28 | ||
| Germany | ||
| Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 1 | 0 |
| 1998 | 2 | 0 |
| 1999 | 7 | 0 |
| 2000 | 11 | 0 |
| 2001 | 7 | 0 |
| 2002 | 14 | 1 |
| 2003 | 0 | 0 |
| 2004 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | 43 | 1 |
| # | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 1 June 2002 | Sapporo Dome,Sapporo, Japan |  Saudi Arabia | 6–0 | 8–0 | 2002 World Cup |
Schalke 04
Bayern Munich
Red Bull Salzburg
Germany
 | ||
| ||
