Gunnar Sauer (born 11 June 1964) is a German retired professional footballer who played as a central defender, most notably with Werder Bremen.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 11 June 1964 | ||
| Place of birth | Cuxhaven, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Libero, centre back | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1982–1985 | Werder Bremen II | 126 | (12) |
| 1984–1996 | Werder Bremen | 134 | (8) |
| 1996–1998 | Hertha BSC | 8 | (0) |
| 1998 | VfB Leipzig | 12 | (0) |
| 1998–1999 | VfB Oldenburg | 11 | (0) |
| Total | 303 | (8) | |
| International career | |||
| 1987 | West Germany U21 | 4 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Over the course of 13 seasons (12 with his main club), he amassed Bundesliga totals of 134 games and eight goals despite being plagued by injuries which kept him out of action for long periods.[1]
Sauer represented West Germany at Euro 1988, but did not gain an international cap.
Club career
editWerder Bremen
editBorn in Cuxhaven, Lower Saxony, most of Sauer's career was spent at SV Werder Bremen. His best years came between 1986–91.
He contributed greatly to Werder Bremen's championship in the 1987–88 Bundesliga season, commanding the "club's probably best ever defence" which conceded just 22 goals.[1]
On 13 September 1988, in a home match against Bayern Munich he injured his foot.[1]
From 1991 injuries kept Sauer out of action for long periods and he was mainly used a backup, making only 17 Bundesliga appearances for Werder Bremen.
During the 1991 DFB-Pokal final against 1. FC Köln, which Werder Bremen won after penalties, Sauer again sustained an injury, hurting his Achilles tendon. This injury required four operations for him to play football again and he made his comeback in April 1994.[1]
Later years
editIn 1996, Sauer left Werder Bremen having spent 15 years at the club joining Hertha BSC.[1] He helped the club promote from the second division, although he played very little. After one campaign each with VfB Leipzig (second level) and VfB Oldenburg (regional leagues) he retired in 1999 at the age of 35.
International career
editSauer was summoned by the West Germany national team to the UEFA Euro 1988 tournament, but did not leave the bench for the hosts, never being recalled afterwards.
Also in 1988, he was called up for the 1998 Summer Olympics. Due to an injury he did not make an appearance but received a bronze medal.[1]
Style of play
editConsidered "perhaps the best libero" in his time, Sauer was known for his "elegant ball control" and great range of passing.[1]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| Werder Bremen II | 1983–84 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | [2] | |||||
| Werder Bremen | 1984–85 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 1 | 0 | [2] | ||
| 1985–86 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 2 | 0 | [2] | ||||
| 1987–88 | 25 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | – | 29 | 1 | [2] | |||
| 1987–88 | 33 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 3 | – | 46 | 5 | [2] | |||
| 1988–89 | 19 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 24 | 2 | [2] | ||
| 1989–90 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 26 | 4 | [2] | ||
| 1990–91 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 0 | [2] | ||
| 1993–94 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | [2] | ||
| 1994–95 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | [2] | ||
| 1995–96 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | [2] | ||
| Total | 134 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 171 | 13 | – | ||
| Hertha BSC | 1996–97 | 2. Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | [2] |
| VfB Leipzig | 1997–98 | 2. Bundesliga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 | [2] |
| VfB Oldenburg | 1998–99 | ||||||||||||
| Career total | 154 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 19 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 191 | 13 | – | ||
- ^ One appearance in DFL-Supercup
Honours
editWerder Bremen
- Bundesliga: 1987–88,[1] 1992–93[1]
- DFB-Pokal: 1990–91,[1] 1993–94; runner-up 1988–89, 1989–90
- DFL-Supercup: 1988[3]
Germany
- 1988 Summer Olympics: third place[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Bähr, Christoph (7 October 2017). "Bremens Beckenbauer". Weser Kurier (in German). Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Gunnar Sauer » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
- ^ "Deutscher Supercup, 1988, Finale". dfb.de. 16 October 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2020.
External links
edit- Gunnar Sauer at DFB (also available in German)
- Gunnar Sauer at fussballdaten.de (in German)