Richard Golz

Football player infobox| playername= Richard Golz
fullname =
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1968|6|5
cityofbirth = Berlin
countryofbirth = Germany
height = height|m= 1.99
weight = weight|kg=94
currentclub = Retired
position = Goalkeeper
clubnumber = 20
youthyears = 1975-1979
1979-1981
1981-1983
1983-1985
1985-1987
youthclubs = Wacker 04 Berlin
SC Tegel Berlin
Wacker 04 Berlin
SC Tegel Berlin
Hamburg SV
years = 1987-1998
1998-2006
2006-2007
clubs = Hamburg SV
SC Freiburg
Hannover 96
caps(goals) = 273 00(0)
219 00(0)
000 00(0)
nationalyears =
nationalteam =
nationalcaps(goals) =
manageryears = 2008-
managerclubs = Hamburger SV II (Assistant Coach)
pcupdate = 1 July 2007
ntupdate = 1 July 2007

Richard Golz (born June 5, 1968 in Berlin) is a German football goalkeeper. He has had a long career in German football, spending the vast majority of which at just two clubs, Hamburg SV and SC Freiburg.
He is currently signed to Bundesliga side Hamburger SV II he works as Assistant Coach.

Golz was discovered by Hamburg SV youth coach Gerd-Volker Schock and joined the club in 1985, studying at the Gymnasium Heidberg, like many HSV youngsters. He made his professional debut on August 1, 1987 in a 2-5 defeat to FC Schalke 04 and managed 5 appearances in his debut season. By the October of his second season, he had claimed the number one jersey that he would retain for almost a decade.

Although the club didn't manage to win any trophies during this period, Golz achieved several top 5 finishes here and enjoyed European action in the 1991/92 UEFA Cup where Hamburg reached the third round (their exit at the hands of Sigma Olomouc was a doubly unhappy occasion for Golz as he was sent off).

It wasn't until the 1997/98 season that Golz lost his first choice position, as Hamburg signed Hans-Jörg Butt. Golz was relegated to reserve status at this point, making just one final appearance for the HSV on January 31, 1998 in a 0-3 defeat at Bayern Munich. After over 10 years and 273 Bundesliga games, Golz's time at Hamburg was up and he moved onto newly-promoted SC Freiburg.

Golz immediately got back into first team action with his new club, as they enjoyed four years at the top level, before sliding back down to the 2.Bundesliga in 2002. However, Golz was an ever-present as they immediately won promotion back as champions. He and the club survived for two further seasons before again being relegated in 2005.

The following year saw Golz activate a clause he had previously put in his contract guaranteeing him a one-year position in the club's marketing department. He made only 6 further appearances for the team as new signing Alexander Walke replaced him after 219 games for the club.

Golz added to his new off the field role by gaining the DFB football coaching licence (A-list), which built upon the sports management open university course he had competed in 2000. However, his position within the club wasn't extended beyond the initial year and he seized the chance to reactivate his playing career by joining top flight Hannover 96 in August 2006 as a backup goalkeeper. Although he has yet to appear for the club, his contract has been extended to June 2008.

Trivia

* He is married with two children.
* He is nicknamed "Richi" (or sometimes "Langer" due to his height)
* He played 6 times for the German Under-21 team.
* He undertook a traineeship at a Hamburg radio station in 1989.
* He has made more Bundesliga appearances (452) than any player still active, apart from Oliver Kahn.

External links

* [http://www.richardgolz.de Official site]