Stefan Kuntz

Stefan Kuntz (born 30 October 1962) is a German former professional football striker. He played for the German national team between 1993 and 1997, reaching the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals and winning UEFA Euro 1996. He scored six goals from 25 full caps including in the Euro 96 semi-final elimination of England. He has coached the German under-21 team since 2016.[1][2]

Stefan Kuntz
Kuntz 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1962-10-30) 30 October 1962
Place of birth Neunkirchen, West Germany
Height 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)
Position(s) Striker
Club information
Current team
 Germany U21 (Manager)
Youth career
1970–1981 Borussia Neunkirchen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1980–1983 Borussia Neunkirchen 89 (28)
1983–1986 VfL Bochum 100 (41)
1986–1989 Bayer 05 Uerdingen 94 (32)
1989–1995 1. FC Kaiserslautern 170 (75)
1995–1996 Beşiktaş 30 (9)
1996–1998 Arminia Bielefeld 65 (25)
1998–1999 VfL Bochum 20 (6)
2002–2003 SV Furpach 22 (22)
2004–2005 FC Palatia Limbach 10 (1)
Total 600 (239)
National team
1983–1985 West Germany U-21 4 (3)
1986 West Germany B 1 (2)
1993–1997 Germany 25 (6)
Teams managed
1999–2000 Borussia Neunkirchen
2000–2002 Karlsruher SC
2003 Waldhof Mannheim
2003 LR Ahlen
2016– Germany U21
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

Kuntz's playing career lasted from 1983 until 1999. He made 449 appearances and scored 179 goals in the Bundesliga.[3] Kuntz played for VfL Bochum, Bayer 05 Uerdingen, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Arminia Bielefeld and also played in Turkey for Beşiktaş J.K. In 1986 and 1994, Kuntz was the top scorer in the Bundesliga.[4]

In 1995, Kuntz joined Turkish side Beşiktaş following request of his compatriot coach Christoph Daum.[5] Kuntz made his 1.Lig debut on 13 August 1995 in an away game against Kayserispor that ended 1–1.[6] On 24 September 1995, he scored his first goal at week 5 home encounter against Istanbulspor which ended 5–2.[7]

International career

At Euro '96, Kuntz played a key role in the 1–1 draw with England in the semi-final, scoring the equalizer soon after England took the lead, as well as scoring the fifth penalty later in the shootout. During his international career, Kuntz obtained 25 caps, scoring six goals.[8] None of these caps ended in a defeat for Germany (20 wins and five draws), which is the German record for most caps without defeat.

Post-playing career

From 2006 to 2008, Kuntz was the athletic director of VfL Bochum. Between 2008 and 2016, he was the chairman of the board of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.

On 11 August 2017, Kuntz signed a new contact until 2020.[9]

Managerial career

As a coach of Germany U21 he won the UEFA European Under-21 Championship 2017 as Germany beat Spain in the final by 1–0.[10]

Honours

Player

Kaiserslautern

Germany

Manager

Germany U21'

Individual

Trivia
  • Kuntz's father, Günter Kuntz, played for Borussia Neunkirchen between 1964 and 1968.
  • Kuntz is a first cousin of singer Andy Kuntz of progressive metal band Vanden Plas.
  • The video to the 1998 version of the song "Three Lions" portrays a match between a group of English fans and their German equivalents, most of whom have the name "Kuntz" printed on the back of their football shirts (except for one, who instead has "Klinsmann") because of its similarity to the disparaging vulgarity "cunts"; the segment was often cut by broadcasters.

References
  1. "Kuntz, Stefan" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. "Vereinsführung" (in German). 1. FC Kaiserslautern. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  3. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Stefan Kuntz – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  4. Arnhold, Matthias (4 June 2015). "(West) Germany – Top Scorers". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 14 October 2015.
  5. "Amatör Ruhla Oynayan Bir Alman: Stefan Kuntz" (in Turkish). Beşiktaş J.K. 20 January 2016. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019. 1995-96 sezonunda vatandaşı Christoph Daum’un isteği üzerine Beşiktaşımız’a transfer oldu. Siyah-beyaz formayla, ligdeki ilk golünü 24 Eylül 1995’de Beşiktaşımız’ın 5-2 kazandığı maçta İstanbulspor filelerine gönderdi.
  6. "Kayserispor - Beşiktaş Maç Detayları - TFF" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  7. "Beşiktaş - Istanbulspor A.Ş. Maç Detayları - TFF" (in Turkish). Turkish Football Federation. Archived from the original on 7 September 2019. Retrieved 7 September 2019.
  8. Arnhold, Matthias (1 October 2015). "Stefan Kuntz – Goals in International Matches". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
  9. "DFB extend Kuntz's contract until 2020". DFB. 11 August 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
  10. "Under-21 2017 - History - Germany-Spain". Uefa.com. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
  11. "Deutscher Supercup, 1991, Finale". dfb.de. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
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