Oliver Bierhoff

Oliver Bierhoff (German pronunciation: [ˈbiːɐ̯hɔf]; born 1 May 1968) is a retired German former footballer who scored the first golden goal in the history of major international football, for Germany in the Euro 96 final. A tall, strong and prolific goalscorer, he was mostly renowned for his excellent abilities in the air, and as a target man, being able to deliver pin-point headers towards goal.

The son of a German utility magnate, Bierhoff played for nine different clubs, in four different leagues. He scored a total of 103 goals in Serie A, one of the highest totals for a non-Italian in the league's history. In the 1997–98 season, he was the Serie A top scorer with 27 goals for Udinese.

Bierhoff, however, was never a success in the Bundesliga. After failing to shine in Germany, he got his chance in the Austrian Bundesliga. That gave him the chance at Ascoli in Italy. But it was at Udinese, under Alberto Zaccheroni, that Bierhoff found success and won his place in fame and in the German national team. He then transferred to Milan in 1998, winning the Serie A title in his first season there. After three seasons there, he moved to French Ligue 1 side Monaco in 2001 for one year, before moving back to Serie A to play for Chievo Verona, where he retired at the end of the 2002–03 season. In his last ever game, he scored a hat-trick for Chievo Verona in a 3–4 defeat to Juventus.

Bierhoff made his debut for the German national team in a friendly against Portugal on 21 February 1996. In his second appearance on 27 March 1996, he managed to score his first two international goals in his country's 2–0 win over Denmark. Altogether Bierhoff scored 37 goals in 70 caps, including both goals in the 2–1 win over the Czech Republic in the Euro 1996 final after having come on as a substitute.

In an important qualification match on 20 August 1997, Germany trailed Northern Ireland, 0–1, with 20 minutes left when the manager of the national team, Berti Vogts, decided to send in Thomas Häßler and Oliver Bierhoff. Within seven minutes the former provided the latter with three assists, meaning Bierhoff had scored the fastest hat-trick in the history of the German national team.

In 1998, he was appointed captain of the national team after the retirement of Jürgen Klinsmann.

Bierhoff also played in Euro 2000, and both the 1998 and 2002 FIFA World Cups. He made his last appearance for his country when he was brought on during the second half of the 2002 FIFA World Cup Final against Brazil, but was unable to help the Germans score in the 0–2 loss.

International goals

International goals list
#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	27 March 1996	Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany	Denmark	1–0	2–0	Friendly
2.	27 March 1996	Olympic Stadium, Munich, Germany	Denmark	2–0	2–0	Friendly
3.	4 June 1996	Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany	Liechtenstein	3–0	9–1	Friendly
4.	30 June 1996	Wembley Stadium, London, England	Czech Republic	1–1	2–1 (a.e.t.)	UEFA Euro 1996
5.	30 June 1996	Wembley Stadium, London, England	Czech Republic	2–1	2–1 (a.e.t.)	UEFA Euro 1996
6.	4 September 1996	Ernest Pohl Stadium, Zabrze, Poland	Poland	1–0	2–0	Friendly
7.	30 April 1997	Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany	Ukraine	1–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
8.	20 August 1997	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	1–1	3–1	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
9.	20 August 1997	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	2–1	3–1	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
10.	20 August 1997	Windsor Park, Belfast, Northern Ireland	Northern Ireland	3–1	3–1	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
11.	11 October 1997	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	Albania	2–1	4–3	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
12.	11 October 1997	Niedersachsenstadion, Hanover, Germany	Albania	4–3	4–3	FIFA World Cup 1998 qualifying
13.	15 November 1997	Rheinstadion, Düsseldorf, Germany	South Africa	2–0	3–0	Friendly
14.	30 May 1998	Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany	Colombia	1–0	3–1	Friendly
15.	30 May 1998	Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany	Colombia	2–0	3–1	Friendly
16.	5 June 1998	Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany	Luxembourg	5–0	7–0	Friendly
17.	5 June 1998	Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany	Luxembourg	6–0	7–0	Friendly
18.	21 June 1998	Stade Félix-Bollaert, Lens, France	Yugoslavia	2–2	2–2	FIFA World Cup 1998
19.	25 June 1998	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Iran	1–0	2–0	FIFA World Cup 1998
20.	29 June 1998	Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier, France	Mexico	2–1	2–1	FIFA World Cup 1998
21.	14 October 1998	Chişinău, Moldova	Moldova	3–1	3–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
22.	4 June 1999	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Moldova	1–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
23.	4 June 1999	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Moldova	4–0	6–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
24.	4 June 1999	BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany	Moldova	6–1	6–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
25.	4 September 1999	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	1–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
26.	4 September 1999	Olympic Stadium, Helsinki, Finland	Finland	2–0	2–1	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
27.	8 September 1999	Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany	Northern Ireland	1–0	4–0	UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
28.	3 June 2000	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Czech Republic	2–1	3–2	Friendly
29.	3 June 2000	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Czech Republic	3–2	3–2	Friendly
30.	7 June 2000	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Liechtenstein	1–0	8–2	Friendly
31.	15 August 2001	Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	5–2	5–2	Friendly
32.	13 February 2002	Fritz Walter Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany	Israel	5–1	7–1	Friendly
33.	27 March 2002	Ostseestadion, Rostock, Germany	United States	3–1	4–2	Friendly
34.	9 May 2002	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Kuwait	2–0	7–0	Friendly
35.	9 May 2002	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Kuwait	4–0	7–0	Friendly
36.	9 May 2002	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Kuwait	6–0	7–0	Friendly
37.	1 June 2002	Sapporo Dome, Sapporo, Japan	Saudi Arabia	7–0	8–0	FIFA World Cup 2002

A large and prolific striker, Bierhoff was a strong, physical, and powerful player, who played mainly as a target man in the centre-forward role. Known in particular for his aerial ability, he was able to execute headers with extreme precision, having scored several critical goals in the air throughout his career, for both club and country.

Bierhoff's current involvement with football is as the manager of the German men's national team, a new position created as part of Jürgen Klinsmann's acceptance of the coaching job. Essentially the duties revolve around the public relations aspect of the team as opposed to the coaching responsibilities.

Bierhoff married Klara Szalantzy on 22 June 2001, Klara was a model from Munich and former girlfriend of basketball player Dražen Petrović. She was behind the wheel in the fatal car crash that claimed Petrović's life. Bierhoff and his wife had a daughter on 27 January 2007. Bierhoff is a Roman Catholic.

Bierhoff features in EA Sports' FIFA video game series; he features in the FIFA 14 Ultimate-Team Legends. Bierhoff is a member of the A.C. Milan Hall of Fame.

Bierhoff was one of several celebrities in 2015 who endorsed the tabloid newspaper Bild's petition against anti-Islamisation group PEGIDA.

Club

Milan

• Serie A: 1998–99

International

Germany

• UEFA European Football Championship: 1996
• FIFA World Cup: Runner-up 2002

Individual

• Serie A Top Scorer: 1997–98
• Serie B Top Scorer: 1992–93
• German Footballer of the Year: 1998
• FIFA XI (Reserve): 1998
• A.C. Milan Hall of Fame

• ^ "Oliver Bierhoff Forward". eurosport.yahoo.com. Eurosport. Retrieved 2 April 2015. 
• ^
• "Bierhoff: We have to play our own game". fifa.com. FIFA. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2015. 
• "Italy – Serie B Top Scorers". rsssf.com. RSSSF. Retrieved 2 April 2015. 
• "(West) Germany – Footballer of the Year". rsssf.com. Retrieved 2 April 2015. 
• FIFA XI´s Matches - Full Info