Karl-Heinz Riedle

Germany

Born in Weiler im Allgäu, Swabia, Riedle started his senior career in the Bayernliga with FC Augsburg, being club top scorer in the 1985–86 season with a total of 20 goals. His performances attracted interest from newly promoted Bundesliga side SpVgg Blau-Weiß 1890 Berlin, who signed him for a fee of 33,000 Deutsche Mark; he made his league debut for his new team on 9 August 1986, scoring in a 4–1 home loss against 1. FC Kaiserslautern. After his team's relegation, as last, Riedle nonetheless signed with SV Werder Bremen, led by legendary Otto Rehhagel, and netted 18 times in his first season (second-best in the league behind Jürgen Klinsmann, and 24 overall) to help the club win the national title. During his three-year spell with the Hanseatic he scored 58 goals all competitions comprised, and appeared in back-to-back German Cup finals, losing both and finding the net in the 1989 edition – opening the score in a 4–1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

Lazio and return home

In the 1990 summer, Riedle moved to S.S. Lazio of Italy for a transfer fee of 13 million DM. During his stint with the Roman the club failed to win any silverware or reach any final, and his best output occurred in the 1991–92 campaign when he scored 13 goals in 29 games for an eventual 10th-place finish in Serie A; for two of his three years, he shared teams with countryman Thomas Doll. Riedle returned to Germany in 1993 and joined Borussia Dortmund. He was a starter for most of his…

Riedle made his debut for West Germany on 31 August 1988, playing 15 minutes against Finland and scoring in a 4–0 away win for the 1990 World Cup qualifiers. Selected by coach Franz Beckenbauer for the finals in Italy as a backup to Klinsmann and Rudi Völler, he contributed with four games as the national team won its third title, starting once due to suspension to the latter. In the semi-final against England Völler limped off injured in the first half and Riedle came on as a substitute. The match went to penalties and Riedle converted his attempt as Germany eventually prevailed. However Völler recovered to start the final and Riedle remained on the bench. One of Riedle's most memorable matches for Germany came during the UEFA Euro 1992 semi-final against Sweden, in which he netted two goals in a 3–2 triumph, eventually being the tournament's joint-top scorer. He gained a total of 42 caps, scoring on 16 occasions.

Club

International

Riedle married Gabriele and fathered three children, Alessandro, who is also a professional footballer, Dominic and Vivien-Joana. He owned a hotel and ran a football academy, in the village of Oberstaufen. On 28 August 2014, UEFA announced Riedle as the ambassador of the upcoming Champions League final, which was later held in Berlin. He was later named as the ambassador for Borussia Dortmund in the 2024 edition of the tournament final, alongside Real Madrid legend Zinedine Zidane.