Bodo Illgner
Encyclopedia
Bodo Illgner is a retired German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 footballer, who played as a goalkeeper.

During his career, he played for 1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....

 and Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

, and helped West Germany
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

 to the 1990 World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

, where he became the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

 final.

Club career

Born in Koblenz
Koblenz
Koblenz is a German city situated on both banks of the Rhine at its confluence with the Moselle, where the Deutsches Eck and its monument are situated.As Koblenz was one of the military posts established by Drusus about 8 BC, the...

, Illgner was a product of 1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln
1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....

's youth system, and made his debut in the first division
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

 on February 22, 1986, in a 3–1 away loss to FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich
FC Bayern Munich , is a German sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional football team, which is the most successful football club in Germany, having won 22 national titles and 15 cups....

. From 1987–88 onwards, he became the side's undisputed starter (as successor of Harald Schumacher
Harald Schumacher
Harald Anton Schumacher , commonly known as Toni Schumacher, is a German former football goalkeeper, and a member of the West German national team. He won the 1980 European Championship and lost two World Cup finals, in 1982 and 1986...

), being voted as Best European Goalkeeper
Best European Goalkeeper
The Best European Goalkeeper award is a football award given annually since 1990 to the most outstanding Goalkeeper in Europe, as voted by the UEFA magazine, in 2009 the ESM become the donor of the award .- List of winners :*1990 – Walter Zenga...

 in 1991.

On August 30, 1996, already having started the season with Köln, Illgner was signed by Real Madrid
Real Madrid C.F.
Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

, and played 40 league matches in his first season, helping the capital
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

 side to the league
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

 conquest. In the following, he lost his place to Santiago Cañizares
Santiago Cañizares
José Santiago Cañizares Ruiz is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a goalkeeper.After playing with Real Madrid, mostly as a backup, he finished his career at Valencia CF, where he appeared in more than 400 official games since 1998.In his prime, he was regarded as one of the best...

, but regained it in time to play in the 1998 UEFA Champions League Final
1998 UEFA Champions League Final
The 1998 UEFA Champions League Final took place at the Amsterdam ArenA in Amsterdam on 20 May 1998. Spanish club Real Madrid defeated Italian side Juventus 1–0 to clinch their seventh European title, the sixth being in 1966.-Match details:...

 against Juventus FC
Juventus F.C.
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. , commonly referred to as Juventus and colloquially as Juve , are a professional Italian association football club based in Turin, Piedmont...

 (1–0 win).

In 1999–2000, Illgner would be succeeded by 18-year old Iker Casillas
Íker Casillas
Iker Casillas Fernández is a Spanish football goalkeeper who plays for the Spanish La Liga club Real Madrid and the Spanish national team, being the captain of both...

, after which he retired from football altogether.

International career

On September 23, 1987, Illgner made his debut for the West Germany national football team
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....

 in a 1–0 friendly home win against Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...

, and went on to back Eike Immel
Eike Immel
Eike Immel is a former German football goalkeeper and manager.A leading youth international goalkeeper for West Germany in 1978, Eike Immel was still seventeen years of age when he succeeded Horst Bertram as Borussia Dortmund's first-choice...

 during UEFA Euro 1988.

At the 1990 FIFA World Cup
1990 FIFA World Cup
The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

, Illgner, by now national side first-choice, was in exceptional form, and superbly commanded the backline, which then consisted of the experienced Klaus Augenthaler
Klaus Augenthaler
Klaus "Auge" Augenthaler is a former football player and now manager.-Playing years:...

, Andreas Brehme
Andreas Brehme
Andreas "Andy" Brehme is a German football coach and former football defender. He is best known for scoring the winning goal for Germany in the 1990 FIFA World Cup Final against Argentina on a 85th minute penalty kick....

, Thomas Berthold
Thomas Berthold
Thomas Berthold is a German football coach and former defender.-Career:Berthold was born in Hanau, Hesse.He played 332 games in the Bundesliga, scoring 22 goals. He began his career in 1982 with Eintracht Frankfurt and played for them until 1987. From 1987 until 1991 he played in Italy: for Hellas...

, Guido Buchwald
Guido Buchwald
Guido Ulrich Buchwald is a German former football defender and manager.The best game of Buchwald's career was probably the final of the 1990 FIFA World Cup when he effectively marked the skilled footballer, Diego Maradona, earning him the nickname "Diego"...

 and Jürgen Kohler
Jürgen Kohler
Jürgen Kohler is a World Cup-winning German centre back football player and football manager. Kohler has retired from professional sports, but still occasionally plays for Alemannia Adendorf in the Kreisliga C...

 (with Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer
Matthias Sammer is a retired German football player and coach who is now working as technical director of the DFB . He played as a midfielder, and later in his career as a sweeper....

 taking Augenthaler's place at Euro 1992). Illgner was almost unbeatable in a 1-on-1 situation and handled crosses extremely well.

In the semifinal, Illgner saved a Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce
Stuart Pearce OBE is an English football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of the England national under-21 team and the Great Britain and Northern Ireland Olympic football team...

 shot in the penalty shootout against England
England national football team
The England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...

, and West Germany would overcome Argentina
Argentina national football team
The Argentina national football team represents Argentina in association football and is controlled by the Argentine Football Association , the governing body for football in Argentina. Argentina's home stadium is Estadio Monumental Antonio Vespucio Liberti and their head coach is Alejandro...

 in the deciding game, where he would keep a clean sheet (1–0).

Overall, Illgner appeared 54 times for his country, and also played at the 1994 World Cup
1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...

, surprisingly retiring after the quarterfinal loss against Bulgaria
Bulgaria national football team
The FIFA Bulgaria national football team is an association football team fielded by the Bulgarian Football Union, a member association of UEFA. The team's home ground is Vasil Levski in Sofia and Luboslav Penev is in charge manager after replacement of Lothar Matthäus...

, although he was only 27.

Club

  • Köln
    1. FC Köln
    1. FC Köln is a German association football club based in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 as a merger of the clubs Kölner Ballspiel-Club 1901 and SpVgg Sülz 07....

    :
    • DFB-Pokal
      DFB-Pokal
      The DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...

      : Runner-up 1990–91
    • UEFA Cup: Runner-up 1985–86

  • Real Madrid
    Real Madrid C.F.
    Real Madrid Club de Fútbol , commonly known as Real Madrid, is a professional football club based in Madrid, Spain. The club have won a record 31 La Liga titles, the Primera División of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional , 18 Copas del Rey, 8 Spanish Super Cups, 1 Copa Eva Duarte and 1 Copa de la...

    :
    • La Liga
      La Liga
      The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...

      : 1996–97, 2000–01
    • UEFA Champions League
      UEFA Champions League
      The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...

      : 1997–98, 1999–2000
    • Intercontinental Cup
      Intercontinental Cup (football)
      The European/South American Cup, commonly referred to as the World Club Championship, Intercontinental Cup or Toyota Cup, was a football competition endorsed by UEFA and CONMEBOL, contested between the winners of the European Cup and the South American Copa Libertadores...

      : 1998
      1998 Intercontinental Cup
      The 1998 Intercontinental Cup was a football match played on 1 December 1998 between Real Madrid, winners of the 1997-98 UEFA Champions League, and Vasco da Gama, winners of the 1998 Copa Libertadores. The match was played at the neutral venue of the National Stadium in Tokyo in front of 51,514 fans...

    • Supercopa de España
      Supercopa de España
      The Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...

      : 1997
      1997 Supercopa de España
      The 1997 Supercopa de España was a two-leg Spanish football match played on 20 August and 23 August 1997. The contestants were FC Barcelona, who were Spanish Cup winners in 1996–97, and Real Madrid who won the 1996–97 Spanish League. Real Madrid won 5–3 on aggregate.-First leg:-Second...


International

  • FIFA World Cup
    FIFA World Cup
    The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...

    : 1990
    1990 FIFA World Cup
    The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event twice. Teams representing 116 national football associations from all six populated...

  • UEFA European Football Championship
    UEFA European Football Championship
    The UEFA European Football Championship is the main football competition of the men's national football teams governed by UEFA . Held every four years since 1960, in the even-numbered year between World Cup tournaments, it was originally called the UEFA European Nations Cup, changing to the current...

    : Runner-up 1992
  • Under-16 European Championship: 1984

Individual

  • German Goalkeeper of the Year: 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992
  • European Goalkeeper of the Year: 1991

External links

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