Tobias Rau

Tobias Rau (born 31 December 1981) is a German former professional footballer who played as a left back.

Tobias Rau
Rau in 2015
Personal information
Full name Tobias Rau
Date of birth (1981-12-31) 31 December 1981
Place of birth Braunschweig, West Germany
Height 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Position(s) Left back
Youth career
1986–1996 Sportfreunde Ölper
1996–1999 Eintracht Braunschweig
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2001 Eintracht Braunschweig 60 (1)
2001–2003 VfL Wolfsburg 48 (1)
2003–2005 Bayern Munich 13 (0)
2005–2009 Arminia Bielefeld 32 (0)
Total 153 (2)
National team
2002 Germany U21 9 (1)
2003 Germany 7 (1)
2005 Germany Team 2006 1 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

In a career blighted by injuries, he retired from professional play at only 27.

Club career

Wolfsburg

Rau was born in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. After making his professional debut in the lower leagues with hometown club Eintracht Braunschweig, he moved to the professionals with VfL Wolfsburg.

Rau amassed 51 official appearances for the latter side. His Bundesliga debut came on 18 August 2001, starting and featuring 52 minutes in a 1–1 home draw against SC Freiburg.

Bayern Munich

In June 2003, Rau's solid performances caught the attention of powerhouse FC Bayern Munich. However, several serious injuries[1] and stiff competition from Frenchmen Willy Sagnol and Bixente Lizarazu[2] restricted his chances to 19 games across all competitions (with a further seven for the reserve team).

Arminia Bielefeld

In the summer of 2005, Rau signed with Arminia Bielefeld, where he would also be a backup and suffer severely with injuries – only an average of eight league matches in four years – being released on 30 June 2009[3] before announcing his retirement on 6 July.[4]

International career

Rau played seven times for Germany, all in 2003. His debut came on 12 February in a friendly with Spain played in Palma, Majorca, and his only goal contributed to a 4–1 home defeat of Canada on 1 June.[5]

Personal life

In July 2009, shortly after retiring, Rau announced his return to school to start a career as a teacher despite having offers from clubs abroad and from the 2. Bundesliga.[6][7]

Rau returned to playing football in 2012, joining Kreisliga amateurs TV Neuenkirchen.

References
  1. "Rau ruled out for Bayern". UEFA. 6 April 2005. Retrieved 25 November 2009.
  2. "Vom Shootingstar zum Lehrling" [From shooting star to apprentice]. Die Welt (in German). 15 June 2003. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  3. "Rau verlässt Arminia Bielefeld" [Rau leaves Arminia Bielefeld)] (in German). Deutsche Fußball Liga. 30 June 2009. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  4. "Die harte Reise ist vorbei" [The hard journey is over]. Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (in German). 25 December 2009. Retrieved 29 December 2016.
  5. "Germany topples Canada in men's soccer friendly". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 1 June 2003. Retrieved 18 December 2015.
  6. "Lehrer statt Fußballprofi" [Teacher instead of football pro] (in German). Focus. 13 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
  7. "Sprung ins Lehramt" [Leap into teaching]. Die Zeit (in German). 13 August 2009. Retrieved 19 August 2009.
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