Oliver Neuville

Oliver Neuville

Neuville training with the German national team
Personal information
Full name	Oliver Patric Neuville
Date of birth	1 May 1973 (1973-05-01) (age 38)
Place of birth	Locarno, Switzerland
Height	1.71 m (5 ft 7 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1979–1990	FC Gambarogno
1991–1992	FC Locarno
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1992–1996	Servette	108	(41)
1996–1997	Tenerife	33	(5)
1997–1999	Hansa Rostock	50	(22)
1999–2004	Bayer Leverkusen	165	(42)
2004–2010	Borussia M'gladbach	151	(42)
2010	Arminia Bielefeld	12	(2)
National team
1998–2008	Germany	69	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Oliver Patric Neuville (born 1 May 1973) is a retired German 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 gained almost 70 caps for the German national team during one full decade, representing his adopted nation in two World Cups and at Euro 2008.

Club career

Born in Locarno, Switzerland to a German father with Belgian roots from Aachen and an Italian mother from the Calabria region, Neuville started his professional career with Servette FC. In only his second season in the top division, he scored a career-best 16 goals as the club won 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 offensive line that also featured Juanele (eight goals), Meho Kodro (six), Antonio Pinilla (seven) and Aurelio Vidmar (one), scoring five goals in 1,885 minutes as the Canary Islands side easily retained its La Liga status, and also playing a relatively important part in the club's UEFA Cup semifinal run. Subsequently, he moved to Germany and signed for F.C. Hansa Rostock, netting eight goals in only 17 contests in his first season 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 2000–02 (including a hat-trick against Hamburger SV on 24 November 2001^[1]), 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.

Aged 31, Neuville joined Borussia Mönchengladbach for 2004–05, on a free transfer.^[2] 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.^[3] 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.^[4][5]

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.^[6]

It was planned that Neuville would start to work as a youth coach for Borussia Mönchengladbach.^[6] Instead, he decided to play one more year and signed for Arminia Bielefeld in the 2. Bundesliga.^[7] However, after only a couple of months, he left by mutual consent, retiring at the age of 37.^[8]

International career

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.^[9]

Subsequently, Neuville went to collect 69 caps with ten goals, being picked for the squad that finished second at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, and scoring the game's only goal in the round of 16 win against Paraguay.^[10]

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.^[11]

He didn't 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, 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.

International goals

Scores and results table. Germany's goal tally first:

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	31 March 1999	Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany	Finland	2–0	2–0	Euro 2000 qualifying
2.	14 November 2001	Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund, Germany	Ukraine	2–0	4–1	2002 World Cup qualification - Play-off
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	6–0	7–0	Friendly
8.	27 May 2006	Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany	Luxembourg	7–0	7–0	Friendly
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

Club statistics

Club performance			League		Cup		Continental		Total
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Switzerland			League		Schweizer Cup		Europe		Total
1992–93	Servette	Swiss League	28	4	-		-		28	4
1993–94			32	16	-		-		32	16
1994–95			14	6	-		-		14	6
1995–96			34	15	-		-		34	15
Spain			League		Copa del Rey		Europe		Total
1996–97	Tenerife	Spanish League	33	5	-		-		33	5
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Europe		Total
1997–98	Hansa Rostock	German League	17	8	-		-		17	8
1998–99			33	14	8	1	-		41	15
1999–00	Bayer Leverkusen	German League	33	4	5	0	5	2	43	6
2000–01			34	15	6	0	7	1	47	16
2001–02			33	13	9	2	16	7	58	22
2002–03			33	4	5	0	10	0	48	4
2003–04			32	6	3	0	0	0	35	6
2004–05	Borussia Mönchengladbach	German League	32	12	1	0	0	0	33	12
2005–06			34	10	1	0	0	0	35	10
2006–07			16	4	2	0	-		18	4
2007–08		Second Division	34	15	2	1	-		36	16
2008–09		German League	23	1	1	0	0	0	24	1
2009–10			12	0	2	0	0	0	14	0
2010–11	Arminia Bielefeld	Second Division	12	2	1	0	0	0	13	2
Total	Switzerland		108	41	-		-		108	41
	Spain		33	5	-		-		33	5
	Germany		378	108	46	4	38	10	462	122
Career total			519	154	46	4	38	10	603	168

Honours

Club

• Servette:
  • Swiss League: 1993–94

• Bayer Leverkusen:
  • UEFA Champions League: Runner-up 2001–02
  • German Cup: Runner-up 2001–02

• Borussia Mönchengladbach:
  • Second Division: 2007–08

Country

• FIFA World Cup: Runner-up 2002; Third place 2006
• UEFA European Football Championship: Runner-up 2008
• FIFA Confederations Cup: Third place 2005

Personal

• Along with Bernd Schneider, Neuville was one of the two known smokers on the German national team.
• His name (properly pronounced in French – not German – fashion) stems from his Belgian grandfather.
• He has one son, Lars-Oliver (born in 1997).

References

1. ^ "Germany: Bayer extend lead". UEFA.com. 24 November 2001. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=12451.html#germany+bayer+extend+lead. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
2. ^ "New start for Neuville". UEFA.com. 24 May 2004. http://en.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=181568.html#new+start+neuville. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
3. ^ "Neuvilles Handtor sorgt für Diskussionen [Neuville's handball generates discussion]" (in German). Kicker (sports magazine). 15 October 2004. http://www.kicker.de/fussball/bundesliga/spieltag/spielpaarungsbericht/object/677738/saison/2004-05/naviindex/1. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
4. ^ "Leistenbruch bei Neuville [Inguinal hernia for Neuville]". UEFA.com. 28 April 2007. http://www1.de.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=532873.html. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
5. ^ "Neuville out for two months". UEFA.com. http://www.uefa.com/memberassociations/news/newsid=495195.html. Retrieved 10 June 2010. 
6. ^ ^{a b} "Neuville bleibt Borusse [Neuville remains Borusse]" (in German). Fußball-Bundesliga. 12 May 2010. http://www.bundesliga.de/de/liga/news/2009/index.php?f=0000153460.php. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
7. ^ "Neuville geht nach Bielefeld [Neuville goes to Bielefeld]" (in German). Focus. 18 June 2010. http://www.focus.de/sport/fussball/bundesliga2/zweite-liga-neuville-geht-nach-bielefeld_aid_520931.html. Retrieved 18 June 2010. 
8. ^ "Neuville beendet Kapitel Arminia - und die Karriere! [Neuville quits Arminia - and career!]" (in German). Kicker. 7 December 2010. http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/2bundesliga/startseite/545873/artikel_Neuville-beendet-Kapitel-Arminia---und-die-Karriere.html. Retrieved 7 December 2010. 
9. ^ "Oliver Neuville". World Soccer News. http://www.wldcup.com/euro/2004/players_present/419_oliver_neuville.html. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
10. ^ "Germany edge out Paraguay". BBC Sport. 15 June 2002. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport3/worldcup2002/hi/matches_wallchart/germany_v_paraguay/default.stm. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 
11. ^ "Germany 1-0 Poland". BBC Sport. 14 June 2006. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/4852960.stm. Retrieved 15 September 2011. 

External links

• Oliver Neuville at fussballdaten.de (German)
• Leverkusen who's who
• Oliver Neuville at National-Football-Teams.com
• BDFutbol profile

Persondata
Name	Neuville, Oliver
Alternative names
Short description	German footballer
Date of birth	1 May 1973
Place of birth	Locarno, Switzerland
Date of death
Place of death