Uli Stielike

Club career

Stielike was a West Germany youth international for hometown club SpVgg Ketsch when he got signed by UEFA Cup runner-up Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1973, first coming to action as a full back for the then two-times German Bundesliga champion. Playing in defensive midfield for his club, he was part of the Mönchengladbach team that won the Bundesliga titles in 1975, 1976 and 1977 and the UEFA Cup in 1975, and he gained a runner-up medal in the European Cup in 1977 following a 3–1 loss to Liverpool in the final. In five seasons he amassed 109 Bundesliga matches. Ahead of the 1977–78 season, Stielike moved on to join Real Madrid. His first three seasons at Santiago Bernabéu all ended in Real winning La Liga. In 1980 and 1982, he was part of the side winning Copa del Rey, in 1985 he added the Copa de la Liga, and finished off his Madrid years with the UEFA Cup victory of the same summer.

Based on the votes of representatives of Spanish sports paper Don Balón, Stielike was selected 'Best Foreign Player' in La Liga four times in a row between 1978 and 1981. In 1985, Stielike joined Neuchâtel Xamax and won two Swiss Super League trophies in 1987 and 1988 with the club. Stielike retired from playing in 1988. He had appeared for Mönchengladbach, Real Madrid and Xamax in 83 matches in the European cup competitions.

International career

Stielike was capped in 42 internationals with West Germany from 1975 to 1984 with whom he won 1980 UEFA European…

Stielike usually played as a central midfielder, although he was also capable of playing as a sweeper. A combative and imposing player, he was well known for his stamina, positioning, commitment, and footballing intelligence, as well as his personality and forcefulness in midfield.

Early career

After his retirement from his playing career, Stielike was the coach of the Switzerland national football team from 1989 to 1991 as successor of Daniel Jeandupeux and predecessor of Roy Hodgson. From 1994 to 1996, Stielike also had managerial spells at club level with UD Almería in Spain and SV Waldhof Mannheim in the 2. Bundesliga in Germany.

Germany

In 1998, Stielike had been interviewed by Egidius Braun, the then chairman of the German Football Association, following a vacancy occurred through the resignation of Berti Vogts from the head coaching job of Germany in 1998. He believed Braun would offer him the succession of Vogts, consequently heading into an interview with kicker (Sports magazine) in this (mistaken) belief. After further talks with Braun had disclosed that Stielke would only be appointed assistant coach rather than head coach, Stielike had to retract some remarks (e.g. concerning Andreas Möller). From 9 September 1998 to 7 May 2000, Stielike had been the assistant to then Germany coach Erich Ribbeck. Shortly before 2000 UEFA European Championship, which ended in a disaster for the Germans, Stielike stepped down from his role as assistant due to differences in some respects with Ribbeck. He was replaced by Horst Hrubesch for the tournament. Stielike spent six years working with different youth teams (i.e. the U21 side until 2004) of Germany and manager of Germany national under-20 football team of 2001 FIFA World Youth…

As a player

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Bundesliga: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77 DFB-Pokal: 1972–73 UEFA Cup: 1974–75 European Cup runner-up: 1976–77 Real Madrid

La Liga: 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80 Copa del Rey: 1979–80, 1981–82 Copa de la Liga: 1985 UEFA Cup: 1984–85 European Cup runner-up: 1980–81 European Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1982–83 Neuchâtel Xamax

Swiss Super League: 1986–87, 1987–88 West Germany

UEFA European Championship: 1980 FIFA World Cup runner-up: 1982 Individual

La Liga Team of The Year: 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982 La Liga: Don Balón Award for Best Foreign Player: 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982

As a manager

Al-Sailiya

Qatargas League: 2011–12 South Korea

EAFF East Asian Cup: 2015 AFC Asian Cup runner-up: 2015