Product Code Database
Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed Der Schwatte (dialect for Der Schwarze, 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps playing with two different national teams (first for East Germany, then Reunified Germany). Kirsten's biggest success was the victory of the 1992–93 DFB-Pokal.
Kirsten played 154 matches and scored 57 goals for Dynamo Dresden in the DDR-Oberliga. He won the DDR-Oberliga with Dynamo Dresden in two consecutive seasons: 1988–88 and 1989–90. Kirsten became the Footballer of the Year in East Germany in 1990.
Kirsten had an unusual build: measuring only , but weighing . He therefore had an unusually low centre of gravity, which enabled him to protect the ball in the box against much bigger defenders and turn around quickly for close-range shots. His playing style was often compared to that of Gerd Müller. In addition, despite his small height, Kirsten was also a feared header.
Off the pitch, Kirsten was famous for his strong beard growth, which earned him a sponsorship by Braun, who used him to advertise their electrical shavers.
Kirsten scored a total of 34 international goals, 14 of them for East Germany. His only major tournaments came late in his career; Kirsten played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 2000.
Along with several other teammates, Kirsten was allegedly implicated as an Stasi informant during his time at Dynamo Dresden through files recovered from the security service's archives after the fall of East Germany.
| + Including only appearances and goals for Bayer Leverkusen | |||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 1990–91 | Bundesliga | 15 |
| 1991–92 | 13 | ||
| 1992–93 | 23 | ||
| 1993–94 | 19 | ||
| 1994–95 | 25 | ||
| 1995–96 | 11 | ||
| 1996–97 | 22 | ||
| 1997–98 | 27 | ||
| 1998–99 | 24 | ||
| 1999–2000 | 23 | ||
| 2000–01 | 17 | ||
| 2001–02 | 18 | ||
| 2002–03 | 0 | ||
| + Appearances and goals by national team and year | |
| East Germany | 1 |
| 2 | |
| 4 | |
| 0 | |
| 4 | |
| 3 | |
| Germany | 0 |
| 2 | |
| 3 | |
| 1 | |
| 0 | |
| 5 | |
| 5 | |
| 1 | |
| 3 | |
| + International goals by Ulf Kirsten | |||||||||
| 1 | 3 | Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo, Norway | 1–0 | 1–0 | Friendly | ||||
| 2 | 10 | Estádio 1º de Maio, Braga, Portugal | 2–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | ||||
| 3 | 16 | Sportforum Chemnitz, Chemnitz, East Germany | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying | ||||
| 4 | 23 | Stadion der Freundschaft, Gera, East Germany | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | ||||
| 5 | 24 | Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, East Berlin, East Germany | 1–0 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying | ||||
| 6 | 25 | Ernst Grube Stadium, Magdeburg, East Germany | 1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying | ||||
| 7 | 3–1 | ||||||||
| 8 | 37 | Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | ||||
| 9 | 3–0 | ||||||||
| 10 | 42 | Zentralstadion, Leipzig, East Germany | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1990 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 11 | 43 | Steigerwaldstadion, Erfurt, East Germany | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly | ||||
| 12 | 50 | Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, Berlin, Germany | 1–0 | 3–2 | Friendly | ||||
| 13 | 2–0 | ||||||||
| 14 | 3–1 | ||||||||
| 15 | 4 | Ruhrstadion, Bochum, Germany | 1–1 | 6–1 | Friendly | ||||
| 16 | 6 | Wildparkstadion, Karlsruhe, Germany | 4–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | ||||
| 17 | 10 | Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | ||||
| 18 | 11 | Arena Kombëtare, Tirana, Albania | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | ||||
| 19 | 12 | Republican Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova | 1–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | ||||
| 20 | 17 | Frankenstadion, Nuremberg, Germany | 3–1 | 4–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 qualifying | ||||
| 21 | 20 | Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada, Spain | 1–1 | 3–2 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 22 | 2–1 | ||||||||
| 23 | 3–1 | ||||||||
| 24 | 23 | Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 25 | 24 | Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||||
| 26 | 28 | MHPArena, Stuttgart, Germany | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly | ||||
| 27 | 32 | Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany | 1–0 | 7–0 | Friendly | ||||
| 28 | 4–0 | ||||||||
| 29 | 40 | Republican Stadium, Chișinău, Moldova | 1–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | ||||
| 30 | 2–1 | ||||||||
| 31 | 44 | BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany | 2–0 | 6–1 | UEFA Euro 2000 qualifying | ||||
| 32 | 48 | Fritz-Walter-Stadion, Kaiserslautern, Germany | 1–1 | 1–1 | Friendly | ||||
| 33 | 49 | Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany | 5–2 | 8–2 | Friendly | ||||
| 34 | 7–2 |
| Bayer Leverkusen II | 1 July 2005 | 30 June 2011 |
Bayer Leverkusen
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