Thomas Häßler

Thomas Häßler
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Häßler
Date of birth	30 May 1966 (1966-05-30) (age 44)
Place of birth	West Berlin, West Germany
Height	1.66 m (5 ft 5 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1984–1990 1990–1991 1991–1994 1994–1998 1998–1999 1999–2003 2003–2004	Köln Juventus Roma Karlsruhe Borussia Dortmund 1860 Munich SV Salzburg	149 (17) 032 0(1) 088 (11) 118 (28) 018 0(2) 115 (21) 019 0(1)
National team
1986 1988–2000	Germany U-21 Germany	001 0(0) 101 (11)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. * Appearances (Goals)

Olympic medal record
Competitor for  West Germany
Men's Football
Bronze	1988 Seoul	Team Competition

Thomas Häßler (born 30 May 1966 in West Berlin) is a former German football midfielder and is currently a coach for 1. FC Köln. He was formerly a coach for the Nigeria national team.

With the German national team, Häßler won the 1990 World Cup and Euro 96.

Club career

1. FC Köln (1984-1990)

Häßler spent his early playing days in the youth team of Reinickendorfer Füchse. He began his professional career in 1984 with 1. FC Köln of the Bundesliga, for whom he played six successful years, helping the club to become German vice-champion in 1989 and 1990.^[1]

Juventus (1990-1991), AS Roma (1991-1994)

Soon after winning the 1990 World Cup with the German national team in Italy, Häßler transferred to Juventus for a sum of DM15 million. He spent only one year in Turin before he decided to join another Italian club, AS Roma, for a fee of DM14 million. This time he stayed for three years, making 88 appearances and scoring 11 goals.

Karlsruher SC (1994-1998)

In 1994, however, Häßler wanted to return to the Bundesliga. In spite of offers from some of the biggest German clubs, he decided to sign with Karlsruher SC in a DM7 million deal, the highest transfer sum the club has ever spent. In the following three years, Karlsruhe and its new key player managed to achieve positions in the upper third of the table which resulted in UEFA Cup participations in 1996-1997 and 1997-1998.

Through winning the UEFA Intertoto Cup in 1996, Karlsruhe not only reached the UEFA Cup but also accomplished to throw out Häßler's former club AS Roma in the second round of the tournament. In the first leg of the third round, Häßler scored twice in his team's 3-1 win over Brøndby IF in Copenhagen. However, only a short time after this win Häßler received the first big injury in his career when he broke his leg in a league match against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Without its captain, Karlsruhe played a catastrophic second leg and was eliminated from the tournament through a 0-5 home defeat. With a recovered Häßler, Karlsruhe saved the 1996/97 season by achieving a sixth place in the Bundesliga which meant another year of international football competition. In the end, the club failed once again to survive the third round after losing against Spartak Moscow.

At the end of the 1997/98 season, the club's situation had worsen significantly. For the first time in his career, Häßler had to fight to avoid relegation. Feeling the squeeze, he once more showed his extraordinary skills and scored four goals in the last three matches of the season. Despite Häßler's great performances, Karlsruhe lost its last match in a dramatic season final and was relegated from the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund (1998-1999)

Due to a contract clause, Häßler could leave Karlsruhe immediately on a free transfer. He decided to join Borussia Dortmund, which had won the UEFA Champions League in 1997. There he met the later assistant of the German national team, Michael Skibbe, then with 32 years the youngest head coach in the history of the Bundesliga. In the course of the season, there were some serious disputes between Häßler and Skibbe because the latter entrusted the midfield leadership to Andreas Möller whereby Häßler had often to take place on the bench. In the end, he made only 18 appearances and never played over the full 90 minutes.

1860 Munich (1999-2003)

Disappointed about his season in Dortmund, Häßler left the club towards Bavaria and signed a contract with 1860 Munich. He spent four very successful years in Munich and became an important part of the team. Already in his first season the club reached a sensational fourth place in the Bundesliga. After they failed to win against Leeds United in the qualification for the UEFA Champions League, Häßler and his team participated in the UEFA Cup. But also with 1860 Munich he failed to overcome the competition's third round. In the following two years, the club took part in the UEFA Intertoto Cup but didn't manage to succeed. After the 2002-03 season, Häßler left Munich to finish his career in Austria.

SV Salzburg (2003-2004)

In 2003, Häßler signed a one-year contract with the Austrian club SV Salzburg. He made 19 appearances and reached a seventh place in the 2003-04 season before he announced his retirement.

Overall, Häßler chalked up an entertaining 539 games and a total of 81 goals throughout a football career in which he was voted Germany's footballer of the year in 1989 and 1992. Although he is considered as one of the best German footballers of all time, he didn't win a single major club title, having lost the UEFA Cup final with 1. FC Köln in 1986, the Coppa Italia final with AS Roma in 1993 and the DFB-Pokal final with Karlsruhe in 1996.

Career statistics

International career

For Germany, Häßler was capped 101 times, scoring 11 goals. Other than the two major tournament wins, he also played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, Euro 92, and Euro 2000.^[2]

He also won a bronze medal for West Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics. He was the dominant figure of the Euro 92, displaying performances that were reminiscent of Diego Maradona's 1986 World Cup exploits. He displayed a specialty for scoring spectacular free kicks, tireless stamina and dazzling dribbling sprees.

International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	November 15, 1989	Müngersdorfer Stadion, Cologne, Germany	Wales	2-1	2-1	FIFA World Cup 1990 qualifying
2.	December 18, 1991	Ulrich-Haberland-Stadion, Leverkusen, Germany	Luxembourg	4-0	4-0	UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying
3.	April 22, 1992	Stadion Eden, Prag, Czechoslovakia	Czechoslovakia	1-0	1-1	Friendly
4.	June 12, 1992	Idrottsparken, Norrköping, Sweden	CIS	1-1	1-1	UEFA Euro 1992
5.	June 21, 1992	Råsunda Stadium, Stockholm, Sweden	Sweden	1-0	3-2	UEFA Euro 1992
6.	December 20, 1992	Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay	Uruguay	3-0	4-1	Friendly
7.	June 23, 1995	Wankdorf Stadium, Berne, Switzerland	Switzerland	1-0	2-1	Friendly
8.	November 15, 1995	Olympic Stadium, Berlin, Germany	Bulgaria	2-1	3-1	UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying
9.	October 9, 1996	Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	1-0	5-1	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
10.	October 9, 1996	Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia	Armenia	3-0	5-1	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
11.	September 10, 1997	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Armenia	3-0	4-0	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying

Coaching career

Häßler is an assistant coach at Köln.^[3] He previously served as an assistant coach to Berti Vogts when he was head coach of Nigeria.^[3] but both were later sacked by the Nigerian FA.

Häßler interviewed for the managerial position at Scottish Premier League club Kilmarnock in June 2010.^[3]

Honours

Club

• UEFA Cup Runner-Up: 1986
• Bundesliga Runner-Up: 1989, 1990
• Coppa Italia Runner-Up: 1993
• DFB-Pokal Runner-Up: 1996

National Team

• FIFA World Cup: 1990
• European Championship 1996
• European Championship Runner-Up: 1992

Indvidual

• German Footballer of the Year: 1989,1992
• FIFA World Player of the Year: 3rd, 1992

Other information

Häßler's nickname is "Icke" – awarded to him for his pronunciation of "Ich" (German for "I") in typical Berlin dialect. He founded the music label MTM Music in March 1996.

References

Germany squads West Germany squad – 1988 Olympic Bronze Medalists 1 Reck • 2 Schulz • 3 Görtz • 4 Funkel • 5 Hörster • 6 Janßen • 7 Bommer • 8 Fach • 9 Klinsmann • 10 Wuttke • 11 Mill • 12 Kamps • 13 Grahammer • 14 Häßler • 15 Schreier • 16 Walter • 17 Sievers • 18 Kleppinger • 19 Riedle • 20 Sauer • Coach: Löhr West Germany squad – 1990 FIFA World Cup Winners (3rd Title) 1 Illgner • 2 Reuter • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Augenthaler • 6 Buchwald • 7 Littbarski • 8 Häßler • 9 Völler • 10 Matthäus(c) • 11 Mill • 12 Aumann • 13 Riedle • 14 Berthold • 15 Bein • 16 Steiner • 17 Möller • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Pflügler • 20 Thon • 21 Hermann • 22 Köpke • Coach: Beckenbauer Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1992 Runners-up 1 Illgner • 2 Reuter • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Binz • 6 Buchwald • 7 Möller • 8 Häßler • 9 Völler • 10 Doll • 11 Riedle • 12 Köpke • 13 Thom • 14 Helmer • 15 Frontzeck • 16 Sammer • 17 Effenberg • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Schulz • 20 Wörns • Coach: Vogts Germany squad – 1994 FIFA World Cup 1 Illgner • 2 Strunz • 3 Brehme • 4 Kohler • 5 Helmer • 6 Buchwald • 7 Möller • 8 Häßler • 9 Riedle • 10 Matthäus(c) • 11 Kuntz • 12 Köpke • 13 Völler • 14 Berthold • 15 Gaudino • 16 Sammer • 17 Wagner • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Kirsten • 20 Effenberg • 21 Basler • 22 Kahn • Coach: Vogts Germany squad – UEFA Euro 1996 Winners (3rd title) 1 Köpke • 2 Reuter • 3 Bode • 4 Freund • 5 Helmer • 6 Sammer • 7 Möller • 8 Scholl • 9 Bobic • 10 Häßler • 11 Kuntz • 12 Kahn • 13 Basler • 14 Babbel • 15 Kohler • 16 Schneider • 17 Ziege • 18 Klinsmann • 19 Strunz • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Eilts • 22 Reck • 23 Todt • Coach: Vogts Germany squad – 1998 FIFA World Cup 1 Köpke • 2 Wörns • 3 Heinrich • 4 Kohler • 5 Helmer • 6 Thon • 7 Möller • 8 Matthäus • 9 Kirsten • 10 Häßler • 11 Marschall • 12 Kahn • 13 Jeremies • 14 Babbel • 15 Freund • 16 Hamann • 17 Ziege • 18 Klinsmann(c) • 19 Reuter • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Tarnat • 22 Lehmann • Coach: Vogts Germany squad – UEFA Euro 2000 1 Kahn(c) • 2 Babbel • 3 Rehmer • 4 Linke • 5 Bode • 6 Nowotny • 7 Scholl • 8 Häßler • 9 Kirsten • 10 Matthäus • 11 Rink • 12 Lehmann • 13 Ballack • 14 Hamann • 15 Wosz • 16 Jeremies • 17 Ziege • 18 Deisler • 19 Jancker • 20 Bierhoff • 21 Ramelow • 22 Butt • Coach: Ribbeck