Michael Schulz
Schulz playing for a Borussia Dortmund veterans team
Personal information
Date of birth (1961-09-03) 3 September 1961
Place of birth Witten,[1] West Germany
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1967–1972 TuS Nettlingen
1972–1980 TuS Sulingen
1980–1984 TuS Syke
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1984–1987 VfB Oldenburg
1987–1989 1. FC Kaiserslautern 51 (3)
1989–1994 Borussia Dortmund 133 (4)
1994–1997 Werder Bremen 59 (1)
Total 243 (8)
International career
1988 West Germany Olympic 7 (0)
1992–1993 Germany 7 (0)
Medal record
Borussia Dortmund
WinnerDFB-Supercup1989
Runner-upUEFA Cup1993
Werder Bremen
WinnerDFB-Supercup1994
 Germany
Bronze medal – third placeOlympics1988
Runner-upEuropean Championship1992
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael Schulz (born 3 September 1961) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central defender. He played 243 matches in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund, Werder Bremen and 1. FC Kaiserslautern and scored eight goals.

Club career

Schulz was born in Witten. He had the reputation of being one of the hardest defenders in the Bundesliga.[2] He collected 48 yellow and 2 red cards. He was a favourite at Borussia Dortmund and Werder Bremen, his fans regularly chanting "Schuuuuuuuuuulz" whenever he had the ball.[3] Fellow Bremen player Christian Schulz and fellow Dortmund player Nico Schulz,[3] who bear no relationship to him, were regularly celebrated like this because of him. In Panini's World Championship collector's cards edition 1994 he is described as "an anchor as header, strong in duels, feared for his wide throw-ins. The Charles Bronson type of guy overdoes toughness." Michael Schulz made nearly 250 (West) German top-flight appearances.[4]

International career

He played seven times for the German national team from 1992 to 1993.[5] He also competed for West Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics.[6]

Post-playing career

Schulz works as a player agent at the Hamburg-based sport management agency Extratime. He's additionally in the field for several German TV channels and since August 2009 also as a field reporter for Deutsche Telekom's football channel Liga total.

"Curse" of Michael Schulz

Although Schulz was one of the best defenders of his generation, top titles eluded him. The special sting in his case was the fact that each team he played for was highly successful after he was transferred away, leading to speculation he was cursed.[2]

  • 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1987–1989): in this period, FCK was a scrub team which constantly flirted with relegation. After Schulz was shipped away, FCK won the German Cup in 1990 and the German Championship in 1991.
  • Borussia Dortmund (1989–1994): BVB was a midfield team when Schulz was there. But then, Schulz feuded with Matthias Sammer and was sent away, just before BVB won two German Championships in 1995 and 1996 and the UEFA Champions League in 1997.
  • Werder Bremen (1994–1997): Schulz joined Bremen just after Werder had won two German Championships and the German Cup. During his period, Werder suffered a drought and won nothing, apart from the 1994 DFB-Supercup. However, in 1999, Werder won the German Cup again after Schulz had left.

In a 1997 issue of the German football magazine kicker, published when Schulz announced his retirement, he was asked in the column Mal ehrlich (Now, seriously), whether Bremen, now that Schulz was stopping, would finally win something. He answered, "This is a sure-fire tip! I'd bet on it anytime", acknowledging the existence of his jinx.

Honours

Borussia Dortmund

Werder Bremen

West Germany Olympic

Germany

References

  1. ↑ according to most German sources, however, born in Hitzacker
  2. 1 2 Raack, Alex (24 July 2013). ""Wir sind ja quasi Amok gelaufen..."". 11 Freunde (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  3. 1 2 Schulz, Michael (29 August 2019). "Michael Schulz lobt den BVB-Fußball - und kritisiert Mario Götze". Ruhr Nachrichten (in German). Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  4. ↑ Arnhold, Matthias (28 November 2019). "Michael Schulz - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  5. ↑ Arnhold, Matthias (28 November 2019). "Michael Schulz - International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  6. ↑ "Michael Schulz Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2009.
  7. ↑ "Deutscher Supercup, 1989, Finale". dfb.de. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  8. ↑ "Deutscher Supercup, 1994, Finale". dfb.de. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
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