Rainer Rauffmann

Football player infobox
playername = Rainer Rauffmann


fullname = Markos Rainer Rauffmann
height =
nickname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1967|2|26
cityofbirth = Amberg
countryofbirth = Germany
currentclub = retired
clubnumber =
position = Striker
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1991-1992
1992-1995
1995-1996
1996
1996-1997
1997-2004
clubs = Blau-Weiss Berlin
SV Meppen
Eintracht Frankfurt
Arminia Bielefeld
LASK (loan)
AC Omonia
Career
caps(goals) = 18 (6)
105 (37)
26 (4)
4 (0)
16 (3)
152 (181)
305 (228)
nationalyears = 2002-2003
nationalteam = Cyprus
nationalcaps(goals) = 5 (3)
pcupdate =
ntupdate =

Rainer Rauffmann (born February 26, 1967 in Amberg, Bavaria), is a German/Cypriot retired football striker, considered the best foreign player ever to play in the Cyprus first division.

He was a striker, known for his speed and his ability to score with both feet. During his seven seasons with Omonia he managed an incredible record, scoring 236 goals in 209 appearances.

Rauffmann became a Cypriot citizen, after a long spell with AC Omonia Nicosia, and played 5 international games before retiring in 2003, scoring 3 international goals. Cyprus changed his personal life as well. Rauffmann baptized himself a Greek Orthodox and married a Cypriot with whom he now has a daughter.

Club career

Rauffmann joined his first team, Simens Amberg, at the age of five. When he turned sixteen, he got a transfer to FC Amberg, a local team playing in the German 3rd Division, but he only managed to stay a season, before moving to the 7th Division. After five seasons in the lower leagues, Rauffmann returned to FC Amberg, as a semi-professional.

In 1991 he signed for Blau-Weiss Berlin, which at the time was playing in the German 2nd Division, which was a big step in his career. However back then he was playing as a right-back, so in 34 games he only managed 7 goals.

For the next three seasons he continued in the German second division, but playing for SV Meppen, where he changed his position, now playing as a striker.

In 1995 Rauffmann made the biggest move of his career when he signed for Eintracht Frankfurt, who were playing in the German Bundesliga. The following season he moved to another Bundesliga team, Arminia Bielefeld.

In 1996 he joined LASK on a loan deal and scored three goals in sixteen appearances.

AC Omonia Nicosia

In the summer of 1997, Rauffmann moved to AC Omonia Nicosia, one of the best teams of CyprusFact|date=June 2007, which, however, was unsuccessful in winning a championship title for four years.

He didn't have a good scoring record in the past, so the fans were sceptical about his transfer Fact|date=June 2007. However, Rauffmann made an immediate impact on his new team, scoring two goals on his debut. He was reborn as a player, and in the 1997/98 season at the age of 30, he scored 42 league goals (47 in total), which was record in European domestic leagues for that year, however he did not win the European Golden Boot because of the level of Cypriot football.

He forged a strong partnership with the teams star and captain Kostas Malekkos. However a penalty-kick miss, on the 25th game of the season by Rauffmann against Anorthosis, cost the team the titleFact|date=June 2007.

The following year, he again had a great season, however his 42 goals (35 in league) in all competitions weren't enough to win Omonia any title. His team lost the Championship trophy on goal difference again to Anorthosis.

It wasn't until the 1999/2000 season that Rauffmann helped his team to a title, winning the Cypriot Cup, after scoring twice in the final against rivals APOEL, in an easy 4-2 win.

In the 2000/01 season with the departure of Malekkos, and a very bad start, Omonia's season looked over by mid-October. Rauffmann, who was now captain, led his team come-back with 30 goals, and Omonia were crowned champions after eight years on the last day of the season.

In all of these seasons in Cyprus, Rauffman was permanent top goal scorer in Cypriot Championships.

However, the 2001/02 season, was Rauffmann's worst with Omonia. He managed to score only 16 goals in the league and was out of form through the whole duration of the season mostly due to outfield problemsFact|date=June 2007.

Rauffmann won his second championship with Omonia the following season. In the 2002/03 season he scored 41 goals in a total of 40 games and at the age of 36 he looked a long way from retiring. However, at the beginning of the 2003/04 season against Doxa Katokopia in Makario Stadium, Rauffmann injured his knee. That would be the final game of his careerFact|date=June 2007. However, he still managed to score 3 goals in the 3 first matches of that season, reaching the total of 286 goals in 378 career games.

Attempt at managing

After the end of his playing career, Rauffmann had a brief spell as manager at Olympiakos Nicosia without much success.

Present

He is currently a member of Omonia's scouting staff as well as some sort of technical director.His main duties include searching for players and talents. At the moment he is looking for a new manager for the club after Giorgos Savvidis resigned in March 2008.

Honours

Club

* Cypriot Championship (2): 2001, 2003
* Cypriot Cup (1): 2000
* Cyprus FA Shield (2): 2001, 2003

Individual

* Cypriot Championship Topscorer (4): 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001