Uli Stielike

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Personal information
Ulrich Stielike
Full name	Ulrich Stielike
Date of birth	November 15, 1954
Place of birth	Ketsch, Germany
Nickname	Uli
Position	(midfielder), sweeper
Club information
Current club	retired
Youth clubs
1962-1973	SpVgg Ketsch
Professional clubs*
Years	Club	Apps (goals)
1973-1977 1977-1985 1985-1988	Borussia Mönchengladbach Real Madrid Neuchatel Xamax	109 (12) 215 (41) 66 (0)
National team**
1975-1984	West Germany	42 (3)
* Professional club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of June 30, 1988. ** National team caps and goals correct as of June 30, 1988.

Ulrich "Uli" Stielike (born November 15, 1954 in Ketsch, Germany) is a former German football player, and the current manager of the Ivory Coast national football team.

1 Player bio
- 1.1 Career with West Germany
2 Manager bio
3 Trivia

[edit] Player bio

Stielike was a West Germany youth international for hometown club SpVgg Ketsch when he got signed by UEFA Cup runner-up Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1973, first coming to action as a full back for the then two times German Bundesliga champion. Playing in defending midfield for his club, afterwards, he was part of the Mönchengladbach team that won the Bundesliga titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977, the UEFA Cup in 1975 and gained a runner-up medal in the European Cup in 1977 following a 1-2 against Liverpool F.C. in Rome. Ahead of the 1977-1978 season the then 22-year-old sweeper moved on to join Real Madrid to become a reliable fan-favourite in his eight years with Los Merengues. His first three seasons at Santiago Bernabeu all ended in Real winning La Liga. In 1980 and 1982 he was part of the side winning Copa del Rey, in 1985 the Copa de la Liga and finished off his Madrid years with the UEFA Cup triumph of the same summer. Thirty-one years of age and with a reputation as one of the best sweeper's in the game, Stielike joined Neuchatel Xamax of Switzerland to bring his career to a close after two Swiss Super League trophies (in 1987 & 1988) in 1988. At the end of his illustrious career he had played 109 times (12 goals) for Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Bundesliga, 215 times (41 goals) for Real Madrid in La Liga and 66 times for Xamax in the Swiss League.

[edit] Career with West Germany

Uli Stielike showed up in 42 internations with West Germany from 1975 to 1984 with the won 1980 UEFA European Football Championship and the runner-up medal at the 1982 FIFA World Cup his biggest success. Stielike did not feature for his country in the 1978 FIFA World Cup after the German Football Association under Hermann Neuberger had temporarily decided to force their coaches not to select players playing their club football outside the Bundesliga. A miserable decision that was undone soon after results did not go the West Germans way. A central figure for the defence of Real Madrid in the late 1970's and the early 1980's, Stielike could just partially live up to those expectations in his duties for West Germany. Early hopes had been that he could be the ideal successor of legendary sweeper Franz Beckenbauer, with whom he played in a few internationals in the 1970's. His final appearance for his country took place against Argentina (1-2) in September 1984 in Franz Beckenbauer's first match in charge of West Germany. Over those years Stielike scored three, the latest in a 3-2 win over Bulgaria in Varna in February 1984, shortly before he was part of Jupp Derwall's squad for the 1984 UEFA European Football Championship.

[edit] Manager bio

On September 14, 2006, Stielike penned a contract with Côte d'Ivoire to take over the Côte d'Ivoire national football team in succession of Frenchman Henri Michel subsequent to the elimination of the team at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and, also, subsequent to Stielike ending his ties with the German Football Association after six years working with different youth teams (i.e. the U21 side until 2004) of Germany. The Côte d'Ivoire is Stielike's second spell at the helm of a country, having lead Switzerland from 1989 to 1991 as successor of Paul Wolfisberg and as predecessor of Roy Hodgson. From September 9, 1998 to May 7, 2000, Stielike had been the assistant to then Germany coach Erich Ribbeck. Shortly before 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, which ended in a desaster for the Germans, Stielike stepped down from his role as assistant due to differences in some respects with Ribbeck. Horst Hrubesch was Stielike's replacement for the tournament then.

On club level Stielike had spells with UD Almería in Spain and SV Waldhof Mannheim (1994-1996) in the 2nd Bundesliga in native Germany.

[edit] Trivia

Stielike is still the only and (!) latest (West) German international that failed to score from the spot in a World Cup match. Stielike missed his in the shoot-out of the 1982 FIFA World Cup semi-final encounter against France on July 8. After Manfred Kaltz and Paul Breitner had equalised the penalties of Alain Giresse and Manuel Amoros respectively, Stielike failed to get the ball past French goalkeeper Jean-Luc Ettori. To his delight, Harald Schumacher saved the penalties of Didier Six and Maxime Bossis later on, guiding West Germany to victory at Estadio Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán.

Following representatives votes of Spanish paper Don Balón Stielike was 'Best Foreign Player' in La Liga for those four consecutive seasons in between 1978 and 1982

Stielike had been interviewed by Egidius Braun, the then chairman of the German Football Association, following a vacancy occurred through the resignation of Berti Vogts from the headcoach job of Germany in 1998. Stielike believed Braun would offer him the succession of Vogts, consequently heading into an interview with Kicker (Sports magazine) in this (mistaken) belief. After further talks with Braun had proved Stielike wrong and let him just end up as assistant coach, Stielike had to take some remarks (e.g. concerning Andreas Möller) back.

	West Germany squad - 1982 World Cup Runner-up
1 Schumacher \| 2 Briegel \| 3 Breitner \| 4 K. Förster \| 5 B. Förster \| 6 Dremmler \| 7 Littbarski \| 8 Fischer \| 9 Hrubesch \| 10 Müller \| 11 Rummenigge \| 12 Hannes \| 13 Reinders \| 14 Magath \| 15 Stielike \| 16 Allofs \| 17 Engels \| 18 Matthäus \| 19 Hieronymus \| 20 Kaltz \| 21 Franke \| 22 Immel \| Coach: Derwall