Lars Ricken

Lars Ricken (born 10 July 1976) is a German retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Since 2008, he has been a youth coordinator at Borussia Dortmund.

Lars Ricken
Ricken training with Borussia Dortmund (2006)
Personal information
Full name Lars Ricken
Date of birth (1976-07-10) 10 July 1976
Place of birth Dortmund, West Germany
Height 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Borussia Dortmund (youth coordinator)
Youth career
1982–1986 TuS Eving-Lindenhorst
1986–1990 Eintracht Dortmund
1990–1993 Borussia Dortmund
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1993–2007 Borussia Dortmund 301 (49)
2007–2009 Borussia Dortmund II 39 (8)
Total 340 (57)
National team
1995–1998 Germany U21 17 (8)
1997–2002 Germany 16 (1)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He represented Borussia Dortmund during his entire professional career, which spanned 15 years, being the youngest player to ever appear for the club in an official match, a record later broken by Nuri Şahin.

A German international for five years, Ricken represented the country at the 2002 World Cup and the 1999 Confederations Cup.

Football career

Born in Dortmund, Ricken joined local BV Borussia at an early age, and made his Bundesliga debut on 8 March 1994 in a 1–2 home defeat against VfB Stuttgart, aged not yet 18. From the following season onwards, he became a regular.[1]

Ricken scored a memorable long-distance goal in the final of the 1996–97 edition of the UEFA Champions League against Juventus F.C., which stood as the fastest in a final of the competition by a substitute, finding the net after just 16 seconds on the field.[2][3] He also contributed with 8 goals in 47 matches in the team's back-to-back national titles (1994–96).

In the following years, Ricken's success was hampered by a series of injuries. He gained his first cap for Germany on 10 September 1997,[4] in a 1998 FIFA World Cup qualifier against Armenia, but missed that major international tournament as well as UEFA Euro 2000. Later, he restored his form, helping Dortmund to claim the league title in 2002 by scoring a career-best six goals and being selected by national coach Rudi Völler for the squad at that year's World Cup; he did not play in the competition, however, as Germany emerged runners-up.

Ricken's injury woes returned after the World Cup and, as a consequence, he failed to earn recognition at both European or international level. In early April 2007, he was demoted to the reserve team by manager Thomas Doll, due to substandard performance.[5]

In November 2007, Ricken announced his retirement from football. In an attempt to return to football, he briefly attended a training camp in February 2008 with the Columbus Crew of the Major League Soccer, but returned to Germany and Dortmund after a few days.

On 11 June 2008, Borussia Dortmund sport director Michael Zorc, also a former club footballer, announced that Ricken was to be hired as youth coordinator with immediate effect, while still appearing for the amateur side in Regionalliga West. However, on 16 February 2009, he announced his retirement from professional football.[6]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[7]
ClubSeasonLeagueCupLeague CupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Borussia Dortmund1993–94Bundesliga 5100—2[lower-alpha 1]1—72
1994–95Bundesliga 21200—7[lower-alpha 1]1—283
1995–96Bundesliga 26631—7[lower-alpha 2]2—369
1996–97Bundesliga 23210—9[lower-alpha 2]41[lower-alpha 3]0346
1997–98Bundesliga 25223205[lower-alpha 2]02[lower-alpha 4]0365
1998–99Bundesliga 28520———305
1999–2000Bundesliga 294102011[lower-alpha 5]0—434
2000–01Bundesliga 29631———327
2001–02Bundesliga 286102015[lower-alpha 5]4—4610
2002–03Bundesliga 244101111[lower-alpha 2]0—375
2003–04Bundesliga 23220205[lower-alpha 5]2—324
2004–05Bundesliga 17510—2[lower-alpha 6]0—205
2005–06Bundesliga 10410———114
2006–07Bundesliga 13010———140
Total301491958174143040569
Borussia Dortmund II2002–03Regionalliga Nord 10————10
2003–04Regionalliga Nord 10————10
2004–05Regionalliga Nord 42————42
2006–07Regionalliga Nord 115————115
2007–08Regionalliga Nord 191————191
2008–09Regionalliga West 30————30
Total398————398
Career Total340571958174143044467
  1. Appearances in the UEFA Cup.
  2. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League.
  3. Appearances in the German Super Cup.
  4. Appearances in the UEFA Super Cup.
  5. Appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.
  6. Appearances in the UEFA Intertoto Cup.

Honours
Borussia Dortmund

See also

References
  1. Arnhold, Matthias (12 November 2015). "Lars Ricken – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. "Fantastic finals". ESPN FC. 20 May 2010. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  3. "Dortmund 3–1 Juventus". UEFA.com. 28 May 1997. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
  4. Arnhold, Matthias (12 November 2015). "Lars Ricken – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. Urban, Alois (15 January 2007). "Ricken rocking on his heels". UEFA.com. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  6. "Ricken announces retirement". UEFA.com. 16 February 2009. Retrieved 30 April 2013.
  7. "Lars Ricken » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 4 February 2021.


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