- Maik Franz
-
Not to be confused with Mike Frantz.
Maik Franz 
Personal information Full name Maik Franz Date of birth 5 August 1981 Place of birth Merseburg, East Germany Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Playing position Centre back / Defensive midfielder Club information Current club Hertha BSC Number 7 Youth career 1987–1997 SV Langenstein Senior career* Years Team Apps† (Gls)† 1997–1998 Germania Halberstadt 1998–2001 1. FC Magdeburg 29 (3) 2001–2006 VfL Wolfsburg 91 (2) 2006–2009 Karlsruher SC 75 (6) 2009–2011 Eintracht Frankfurt 50 (6) 2011– Hertha BSC 6 (0) National team‡ 2002–2004 Germany U-21 19 (1) * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 5 November 2011.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 29 October 2010Maik Franz (born 5 August 1981 in Merseburg, East Germany) is a German footballer currently playing for Hertha BSC.[1]
Contents
Career
Franz grew up in Langenstein near Halbstadt, and began his football career there with SV Langenstein/Harz. In 1997, he transferred to VfB Germania Halberstadt, before joining 1. FC Magdeburg's youth division in the summer of 1998. As part of the A-Youth team, Franz won the DFB-Youth-Cup in 1999.
Franz played defence for 1. FC Magdeburg until 2001, when he transferred to VfL Wolfsburg, where played the same position in the Bundesliga. In Wolfsburg, Franz distinguished himself through his strong tackling, winning 63 percent of his challenges, making him the clubs best played in this respect. He played 91 Bundesliga-matches during his time in Wolfsburg, scoring twice.
In July 2006, Franz transferred to the 2nd Bundesliga, joining Karlsruher SC. Together with Mario Eggimann, he formed the central defence of Karlsruhe's starting eleven, and with his Bundesliga experience, he played a crucial role in the club's promotion to the top flight. After a strong start in the 2008–09 season, both for Franz and his club, he extended his contract until 2011. After Eggimann transferred to Hannover 96 in the summer of 2008, Franz took over the captain's armband at Karlsruher SC.
Having sustained a serious injury to his right foot in October 2008, Franz had to undergo surgery in January of the following year, and was unable to play for three months. In April 2009, he celebrated his comeback in a home match against 1899 Hoffenheim.
After the KSC was relegated at the end of the 2008–09 season, Franz signed a contract with Eintracht Frankfurt[2], valid only for the Bundesliga. When Eintracht Frankfurt were also relegated to years later, Franz and the club were unable to agree on a contract that was also valid for the 2nd division.
On 24 June 2011, Hertha BSC announced they had signed Franz on a three year deal.[3]
Attributes
In the 2007–08 season, Franz was openly criticised for his play style, distinguished by hard challenges and continuous provocation of opposing players. The criticism reached its height in February 2008, following the match between VfB Stuttgart, and Karlsruher SC. Stuttgart-star Mario Gómez grossly insulted Franz for his player style. He later retracted his words, but maintained his criticism of Franz. As a result, both the criticism and support for Franz (KSC fans nicknamed him "Iron Maik") intensified. Following the release of an official report on the incident, the discussion faded out over the following weeks. In April 2011, Werder Bremen captain Torsten Frings and manager Thomas Schaaf criticised Franz for having elbowed Denni Avdić in the face during an aerial challenge.
Due to his play style, Franz is frequently booked. In the 2009–10 season, he donated 500 Euro to charity for each of his eleven yellow cards. In 2010–11, Franz was booked thirteen times in twenty-three matches.
International Career
On 12 February 2002, Franz made his debut for the German U21 national team against Northern Ireland. He was part of the German squad for the 2004 U21 European Championship, making his only appearance in against Sweden.
References
- ^ "Franz, Maik" (in German). kicker.de. http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/2bundesliga/vereine/2-bundesliga/2011-12/vereinslos-0/25961/spieler_maik-franz.html. Retrieved 16 June 2011.
- ^ "Eintracht Frankfurt verpflichtet Maik Franz" (in German). transfermarkt.de. 3 June 2009. http://www.transfermarkt.de/de/news/28043/eintracht-frankfurt-verpflichtet-maik-franz.html. Retrieved 25 July 2009.
- ^ "Hertha BSC verpflichtet Maik Franz [Hertha BSC sign Maik Franz]" (in German). official website. Hertha BSC. 24 June 2011. http://www.herthabsc.de/index.php?id=413&tx_ttnews%5Btt_news%5D=10343&cHash=c0df05c3006c5dfbdfc6100a6119c3bc. Retrieved 24 June 2011.
External links
- Official website (German)
- Maik Franz at worldfootball.net
Germany squad – 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship 
Hertha BSC – current squad 1 Aerts · 2 Lell · 3 Kobiashvili · 4 Hubník · 5 Mijatović · 6 Janker · 7 Franz · 8 Ottl · 9 Ramos · 10 Raffael · 11 Torun · 12 Ronny · 13 Rukavytsya · 14 Neumann · 17 Ben-Hatira · 18 Niemeyer · 19 Lasogga · 20 Ebert · 21 Burchert · 23 Perdedaj · 24 Brooks · 25 Djuricin · 26 Schulz · 27 Morales · 28 Lustenberger · 33 Kargbo · 35 Kraft · Manager: Babbel
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