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Oliver Neuville

Oliver Neuville
Neuville in 2014
Personal information
Full name Oliver Patric Neuville[1]
Date of birth (1973-05-01) 1 May 1973 (age 51)
Place of birth Locarno, Switzerland
Height 1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
1979–1990 US Gambarogno
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1992 FC Locarno 14 (8)
1992–1996 Servette 114 (43)
1996–1997 Tenerife 33 (5)
1997–1999 Hansa Rostock 50 (22)
1999–2004 Bayer Leverkusen 165 (42)
2004–2010 Borussia Mönchengladbach 153 (42)
2008–2009 Borussia Mönchengladbach II 2 (0)
2010 Arminia Bielefeld 12 (2)
Total 543 (164)
International career
1998–2008 Germany 69 (10)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2002 Korea/Japan
Third place 2006 Germany
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2008 Austria–Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Oliver Patric Neuville (German pronunciation: [ˈɔlivɐ ˈnøːvɪl]; born 1 May 1973) is a German former footballer who played as a striker.

During an 18-year professional career he played mainly for Bayer Leverkusen (five seasons) and Borussia Mönchengladbach (six), amassing Bundesliga totals of 334 games and 91 goals.

Neuville appeared nearly 70 times for the Germany national team during one full decade, representing Germany in two World Cups and at Euro 2008.

Club career

Neuville with Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2008

Born in Locarno, Switzerland, to a German father from Aachen and Swiss mother of Italian descent, Neuville started his professional career with Servette FC. In only his second season in the Swiss Super League, he scored a career-best 16 goals[2] to help the club win the national championship after a nine-year wait.

In 1996–97, Neuville played in Spain with CD Tenerife, where he was part of a well-balanced attacking line that also featured Juanele (eight goals), Meho Kodro (six), Antonio Pinilla (seven) and Aurelio Vidmar (one),[3] netting five goals in 1,885 minutes as the Canary Islands team easily retained their La Liga status, and also playing a relatively important part in their semi-final run in the UEFA Cup.[4] Subsequently, he moved to Germany and signed for F.C. Hansa Rostock, scoring eight times in only 17 contests in his debut campaign in the Bundesliga, as the side from the former East Germany finished sixth.

Neuville signed for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the 1999 summer, quickly becoming an essential offensive figure for his new club. He scored 28 goals combined from 2000 to 2002 (including a hat-trick against Hamburger SV on 24 November 2001),[5] while also adding five in 15 UEFA Champions League appearances in 2001–02, as Bayer finished second to Real Madrid (he scored one apiece in both legs of the semifinal clash against Manchester United); the club also finished second in the league during this timeframe.

After Klaus Augenthaler's became Leverkusen coach, Neuville's playing time was limited and he was not offered a contract extension. In summer 2004, aged 31, Neuville joined Borussia Mönchengladbach on a free transfer.[6][7] On 17 October 2004 he scored an infamous goal with his hand against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in a 2–0 home win, which was widely reviled and landed him a two-match ban.[8] He netted 22 goals in his first two seasons combined, but appeared scarcely as the Foals dropped down a level in 2007, mainly due to injury.[9][10]

Neuville returned to form in 2007–08, scoring 15 goals to help Borussia return to the top flight the immediate campaign after, the competition's sixth-best. He made his last Bundesliga appearance on the final matchday of the 2009–10 season, against former team Bayer Leverkusen.[11]

It was planned that Neuville would start to work as a youth coach for Borussia Mönchengladbach.[11] Instead, he decided to play one more year and signed for Arminia Bielefeld in the 2. Bundesliga.[12] However, after only a couple of months, he left by mutual consent, retiring at the age of 37.[13]

International career

Neuville with Germany

After electing to represent Germany at international level, Neuville made his international debut on 2 September 1998 against Malta, in a friendly, replacing Mario Basler for the last fifteen minutes of the 2–1 away win. In his first months training with the national team he needed an interpreter to understand coach Erich Ribbeck's message, while getting his across as well.[14]

Subsequently, Neuville went on to collect 69 caps with ten goals.[15] He was picked for the squad that finished second at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Neuville made his first start of the tournament in the round-of-16 win against Paraguay, and scored his first World Cup goal late on, the only goal of the game.[16] In the final against Brazil, Neuville hit the post with a free kick from 30 yards out with the scores at 0-0, before Germany eventually lost the match 2-0.[17]

After missing selection for UEFA Euro 2004, in the second group stage match of the 2006 World Cup against Poland, Neuville, who had replaced Lukas Podolski, buried a desperate injury-time cross from fellow substitute David Odonkor, beating goalkeeper Artur Boruc on the way to a 1–0 victory.[18] He did not score again for the national team until 31 May 2008, when he slid in a Marcell Jansen cross in a Euro 2008 warm-up against Serbia,[19] appearing in the tournament's final stages in the Group B match against Austria as a late substitute, and retiring from international play at the age of 35.

Personal life

Along with Bernd Schneider, Neuville was one of the two known smokers in the Germany national team.[20] His name (properly pronounced in French – not German – fashion) stemmed from his Belgian grandfather.

In 1997, Neuville fathered son Lars-Oliver.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
FC Locarno 1991–92[21] Swiss Challenge League 14 8 – 14 8
Servette 1992–93[21] Nationalliga A 28 4 – 28 4
1993–94[21] 31 16 3 0 34 16
1994–95[21] 21 8 2 0 23 8
1995–96[21] 34 15 – 34 15
Total 114 43 5 0 119 43
Tenerife 1996–97[22] La Liga 33 5 2 0 8 0 43 5
Hansa Rostock 1997–98[21] Bundesliga 17 8 0 0 – 17 8
1998–99[21] 33 14 2 0 2 0 37 14
Total 50 22 2 0 2 0 54 22
Bayer Leverkusen 1999–2000[21] Bundesliga 33 4 1 0 7 2 41 6
2000–01[21] 34 15 2 0 8 1 44 16
2001–02[21] 33 13 5 1 17 7 55 21
2002–03[21] 33 4 5 0 10 0 48 4
2003–04[21] 32 6 3 2 0 0 35 8
Total 165 42 16 3 42 10 223 55
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2004–05[21] Bundesliga 32 12 1 0 0 0 33 12
2005–06[21] 34 10 1 0 0 0 35 10
2006–07[21] 16 4 1 0 – 17 4
2007–08[21] 2. Bundesliga 34 15 2 0 – 36 15
2008–09[21] Bundesliga 25 1 1 0 0 0 26 1
2009–10[21] 12 0 2 0 0 0 14 0
Total 153 42 8 0 0 0 161 42
Borussia Mönchengladbach II 2008–09[21] Regionalliga West 1 0 – – 1 0
2009–10[21] 1 0 – – 1 0
Total 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0
Arminia Bielefeld 2010–11[21] 2. Bundesliga 12 2 1 0 0 0 13 2
Career total 543 164 29 3 57 10 629 177

International

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Neuville goal.
List of international goals scored by Oliver Neuville
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 31 March 1999 Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany  Finland 2–0 2–0 UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying
2 14 November 2001 Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany  Ukraine 2–0 4–1 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification
3 27 March 2002 Ostseestadion, Rostock, Germany  United States 2–1 4–2 Friendly
4 15 June 2002 Jeju World Cup Stadium, Seogwipo, South Korea  Paraguay 1–0 1–0 2002 FIFA World Cup
5 8 October 2005 Atatürk Olympic Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey  Turkey 1–2 1–2 Friendly
6 22 March 2006 Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany  United States 2–0 4–1 Friendly
7 27 May 2006 Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany  Luxembourg 4–0 7–0 Friendly
8 4–0
9 14 June 2006 Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany  Poland 1–0 1–0 2006 FIFA World Cup
10 31 May 2008 Veltins-Arena, Gelsenkirchen, Germany  Serbia 1–1 2–1 Friendly

Honours

Servette[23]

Bayer Leverkusen[24]

Borussia Mönchengladbach[24]

Germany[24]

References

  1. ^ "2006 FIFA World Cup Germany: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 21 March 2014. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 June 2019.
  2. ^ Matthias Arnhold (24 July 2014). "Oliver Neuville – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  3. ^ "El día que el 'EuroTete' goleó a la Lazio" [The day 'EuroTete' routed Lazio]. Marca (in Spanish). 18 February 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  4. ^ "¿Qué fue del CD Tenerife semifinalista de la UEFA?" [What happened to UEFA semi-finalists CD Tenerife?] (in Spanish). Sphera Sports. 18 January 2017. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  5. ^ "Germany: Bayer extend lead". UEFA. 24 November 2001. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  6. ^ "Neuville wants German return". Sky Sports. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  7. ^ "New start for Neuville". UEFA. 24 May 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  8. ^ "Neuvilles Handtor sorgt für Diskussionen" [Neuville's handball generates discussion] (in German). kicker. 15 October 2004. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  9. ^ "Neuville out for two months". UEFA. 8 January 2007. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  10. ^ "Leistenbruch bei Neuville" [Inguinal hernia for Neuville]. UEFA. 28 April 2007. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  11. ^ a b "Neuville bleibt Borusse" [Neuville remains Borusse] (in German). Bundesliga. 12 May 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  12. ^ "Neuville geht nach Bielefeld" [Neuville goes to Bielefeld] (in German). Focus. 18 June 2010. Retrieved 18 June 2010.
  13. ^ "Neuville beendet Kapitel Arminia – und die Karriere!" [Neuville ends Arminia chapter – and career!] (in German). kicker. 7 December 2010. Retrieved 7 December 2010.
  14. ^ "Oliver Neuville". World Soccer News. 2004. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  15. ^ Matthias Arnhold (25 March 2010). "Oliver Neuville – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Germany edge out Paraguay". BBC Sport. 15 June 2002. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  17. ^ "Neuville: It was brutal to be so close to winning the World Cup". FIFA.com. 15 June 2022. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Germany 1–0 Poland". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  19. ^ "Germany beat Serbia in last Euro test". German Football Association. 31 May 2008. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  20. ^ "Wie im Rausch" [Feeling high] (in German). Stern. 18 August 2011. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "Oliver Neuville » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
  22. ^ Oliver Neuville at BDFutbol
  23. ^ "Oliver Neuville Biography". History Of Soccer. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
  24. ^ a b c "O. Neuville". Soccerway. Retrieved 17 August 2014.
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