Jürgen Ludger Born (born 24 September 1940)[1][2] is a German banker and the former chairman of the board of management of the German football team Werder Bremen. He resigned in 2009 when accused of misconduct in connection with a player transfer.
Early life and education
editBorn was an only child. His father died when he was young.[2] Born in Berlin, he grew up in Bremen,[3] where he played football as a defender for TuS Schwachhausen in the 1960s.[4] He emigrated to Argentina in 1969.[3]
Career
editBorn worked for more than 30 years in South America with Deutsche Bank, directing the bank's operations in Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil;[1][3] after his return to Germany, he was made a Uruguayan honorary consul.[5]
In 1999, Born became chairman of the board of management of Werder Bremen,[6] where he was also head of finances and public relations, but did not draw a salary.[7] He played a major role in putting the club on a sound financial footing and also making it successful on the field; he drew on his South American contacts to assist in recruiting players.[1]
In March 2009, Born was accused of accepting unauthorised payments in connection with the transfer of the Peruvian forward Roberto Silva to Werder Bremen in 2001.[4][8] After Peruvian sources reported accusations of corruption in other player transfers,[9][10] he resigned his positions with the club for the sake of its reputation.[5][7][11] Accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers, engaged by Werder Bremen to investigate the allegations, exonerated Born in their report, released in August 2009.[11][12] The following month, the club awarded him a lifetime season pass to mark his official retirement;[13] in 2011 they awarded him their Goldene Ehrennadel ('gold needle of honour').[3]
In 2012, he published his autobiography, Die Born Identität,[14] with the proceeds from its sales to be donated to charity.[15] In the book and elsewhere, he accuses Willi Lemke, who succeeded him as chairman of the board at Werder Bremen, of presuming he was guilty of corruption.[2][3][16]
References
edit- ^ a b c Bähr, Christoph (24 September 2020). "'Er lebt Werder Bremen'". Weser-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ a b c Knips, Björn (16 September 2015). "'Ich bin ein Glückspilz'". Kreiszeitung (interview) (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Das ist Jürgen L. Born". Weser-Kurier (photo gallery) (in German). 5 May 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ a b Bremer, Sven (18 March 2009). "Ein immenser Imageschaden". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ a b Bogena, Kai Niels (24 April 2009). "Born kämpft um seinen Ruf". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Jürgen L. Born neuer Klubchef bei Werder Bremen". Der Spiegel (in German). 1 July 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ a b "Werder-Chef gibt auf". Die Tageszeitung (in German). 13 March 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Hardt, Andreas (9 March 2009). "Die Born-Identität". 11 Freunde (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Neue Vorwürfe gegen Club-Chef Born". Stern (in German). 13 March 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Cáceres, Javier (17 May 2010) [16 March 2009]. "Die Rache der Ehefrau". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ a b Hagedorn, Marc (5 May 2014). "Die 'Affäre Born' bei Werder Bremen". Weser-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ Hagedorn, Marc (5 May 2014) [9 August 2009]. "Abschlussbericht spricht Born von jeder Schuld frei". Weser-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "'Lebenslange Dauerkarte' für Ex-Werder-Chef Born". Fussball.com (in German). 9 September 2009. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
- ^ Born, Jürgen L.; Kruse, Michael (2012). Die Born Identität. Ein Bremer Junge erzählt aus seinem Leben (in German). Bremen: Asendorf. OCLC 934947233.
- ^ "Jürgen L. Born liest Biografie". Weser-Kurier (in German). 12 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
- ^ "Ex-Werder-Boss tritt gegen Lemke nach". Bild (in German). 18 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2023.