Rudi Voller

At 64 years old, Rudi Voller has this physical status:

Rudolf "Rudi" Völler (pronounced [ˈfœlɐ]; born 13 April 1960), nicknamed "Tante Käthe" ("Aunt Käthe"), is a German former professional football player and manager who serves as the sporting director for Bayer Leverkusen.

A forward, Völler won the FIFA World Cup in 1990 as a player. He also scored an equalizing goal to make it 2–2 in the 81st minute of the 1986 FIFA World Cup Final vs Argentina, but it ended up with a 3–2 victory for Argentina. Along with Mário Zagallo, Franz Beckenbauer and Didier Deschamps, Völler has the distinction of reaching a World Cup final as both a player (1986 and 1990) and as a manager (2002).

Personal life

He had two children from a former relationship with a German woman; one of them was Marco, a professional basketball player. Later on in 1995, he married a local woman from Rome during his stay in Italy, adopting her daughter from a previous relationship and having one more son with her.

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Club career

Völler began his career with Hanau, then played for second division teams Kickers Offenbach and TSV 1860 Munich, before moving to Werder Bremen in 1982, winning his first cap for West Germany the same year. Following a fruitful season in which he was the Bundesliga's top scorer, foreign clubs became keen on the striker, and in 1987, he was transferred to Roma, where he became a mainstay of the team and earned the nickname "er tedesco" ("the flying German") as well as "the flying German" ("the flying German"). In 1991, he won the Coppa Italia and was the club's top scorer on several occasions.

Roma decided to move Völler to Marseille, where he was supposed to be a replacement for superstar striker Jean-Pierre Papin in 1992. Roma was also able to welcome Claudio Caniggia as the team's third foreigner, so both teams were content to let the agreement go through. He gained his first club honour in a fruitful first season with Olympique de Marseille, coached by Fabio Capello in 1993 (1–0, goal scored by Basile Boli), and Milan defeated AC Milan in a UEFA Champions League. Viöller started the game, but only lasted 78 minutes. Marseille was then embroiled in a bribery scandal, was stripped of its 1993 league crown, and was relegated despite a second-place finish in 1994. Völler scored 24 goals for the team in the league, but relegated after the club's relegation. He returned to Germany in 1994, where he began his career as a player in 1996 and began working in the club's administration.

International career

Völler was capped 90 times for Germany's national team, scoring 47 goals, eight of whom were in World Cup final rounds, including eight.

Völler appeared in three UEFA European Championships, beginning with Euro 1984, where he scored twice in a group match against Romania, which the Germans won 2–1. West Germany was eliminated after a 90th minute loss to Spain in their next match, but they didn't need a draw.

In a 2–1 victory over Scotland in the group stage, Völler scored the West Germans' equalizer in the 1986 FIFA World Cup. In the final itself, he scored a last-minute goal against France to win by 2–0, but his 80th-minute victory made it 2–2 against Argentina. Germany had recovered from 2–0 down, but the match was eventually lost 3–2. After Dick Nanninga in 1978 and Alessandro Altobelli's 1982 triumph, Völler became the third player to score as a substitute in the World Cup final.

Völler scored twice in a 2–0 victory over Spain, but the hosts lost to eventual winners the Netherlands in the semi-finals.

Völler was a member of the 1990 World Cup in Italy. In the tournament, he scored three times, including one goal in a 4–1 victory over Yugoslavia, and then found the net twice against the UAE in a 5–1 victory. After the Dutchman spat on Völler twice, both players were dismissed from the field during a second-round match against the Netherlands. Völler was wounded in the first half and was replaced by Karl-Heinz Riedle in the semi-finals against England. However, Völler recovered to begin the final against Argentina, which Germany defeated 1–0 to earn their third World Cup title.

Rijkaard was suspended for a bad tackle on Völler during a second-round match against the Netherlands. He spat in Völler's hair as Rijkaard took the free kick. The referee called me, and the referee was arrested as well. From the resulting free kick, a tumultuous Völler hopped up and punched the ball with his hand, then spun around to avoid a collision with Dutch goalkeeper Hans van Breukelen, though it seemed he had dived for a penalty. Van Breukelen was furious over the situation, but Rijkaard confronted Völler once more by twisting his head and stamping on his foot. Juan Carlos Loustau, the tenacious and tenacious Argentine referee, finally had enough of Völler's and Rijkaard's antics to boot, and he sent both players away. As they left the pitch, Rijkaard spat in Völler's hair, and it was rumoured to have repeated this on the touchline. Later, Rijkaard argued that it was his fault: "I was wrong the day before." There was no insult. Rudi Völler had a great deal of respect for him. However, I went berserk when I saw that red card. After the match, I talked to him, and I apologised. I'm so glad he accepted. I have no bad feeling about him right now. Years ago, we even posed for a very funny commercial together. (Rijkaard had family issues at the time)

Völler was again selected for the Euro 1992, but he was forced to return home after suffering an injury in the first game with CIS.

Völler was kept out of the starting line up for all three group games by Jürgen Klinsmann and Karl-Heinz Riedle, who scored five among them at the 1994 World Cup. He appeared only once in the group stages. He did start the second round tie with Belgium and scored twice in a 3–2 victory.

Managerial career

The German Football Association (DFB) appointed Völler as the new manager after a disappointing Euro 2000 under former coach Erich Ribbeck, acknowledging the lack of coaching experience at the time. He only planned to take interimistic responsibility for one year after Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Völler's (as sporting director of the club)'s decision not to allow Christoph Daum to step down from the national team before 2001. However, Völler's contract was extended due to good results after Daum was involved in a controversial drug scandal. Despite losing to England 5-1 at home and two frustrating draws against Finland during qualification, he helped lead the team to a thrilling appearance in the 2002 World Cup against Brazil against Brazil.

He resigned from his post after a first-round departure from Euro 2004.

Völler made a comeback at Roma in 2004 as manager after being resigned from the German national service. After Cesare Prandelli's surprise departure, he joined the club in late August as a last-minute replacement, including Antonio Cassano, who left the team just one month after a string of poor results and high-profile rivalry. He only signed a one-year deal to guarantee the return of Prandelli next year, but the league has only seen one draw and two losses.

Völler, who rose to the support team at Bayer Leverkusen, was appointed as the club's caretaker boss of Leverkusen on September 16, 2005, after the club fired coach Klaus Augenthaler. Völler was in that position until Michael Skibbe was named as the club's new permanent coach in October. Völler was promoted to Leverkusen for the second time after the arrival of Skibbe.

In Germany, Völler was (and still is) extremely popular. And though the national squad produced only modest progress, Völler maintained his name as the German public knew he was still achieving as much as possible with a small squad. Berti Vogts, his predecessor, was widely criticized, even during times of triumph with a much more capable German team. The general even condemned Völler after a 0–0 draw against Iceland in September 2003, but the public erupted when the presenter yelled at his team against, what he considered unfair press comments.

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