Toni Kroos has been the symbol of Real Madrid's German excellence in the past decade. That title used to be owned by another German football legend from Madrid's late 70's era, and he is none other than Uli Stielike.
Stielike usually played as a central midfielder, but his versatile nature also saw him operate as a sweeper in certain games. He was a physical and imposing player that excelled in terms of work-rate, positioning, and footballing IQ.
We will be having a look at his splendid career in this article.
Club career
Uli Stielike was a West Germany youth international who played for German club
SpVgg Ketsch. The youngster caught the attention of UEFA Cup runner-up Borussia Mönchengladbach in 1973, who eventually signed him.
He began his Gladbach stint as a full back, but eventually settled in defensive midfield. Stielike became a part of Gladbach's golden generation, who won three consecutive Bundesliga titles (1975, 1976,1977), and a UEFA Cup (1975). The German side had also reached the 1977 European Cup final, but suffered a 3-1 loss to Liverpool. He took part in a total 105 Bundesliga matches during his 5 seasons with the club.
It was in the very same year that Real Madrid came calling for Stielike, who eventually established himself as a fan favorite among Madrid fans. His first three seasons at Madrid ended in La Liga glory, as Los Blancos dominated Spanish football at the time.
They also managed to win the Copa del Rey twice (1980, 1982), and even achieved European success with the UEFA Cup.
Stielike was nothing short of excellent during this period, which led to Spanish paper Don Balón awarding their Best La Liga foreign player accolade to the German for 4 consecutive years. He eventually departed from Madrid after 8 stellar years in 1985.
In 1985, Stielike joined Neuchâtel Xamax and won two Swiss Super League trophies in 1987 and 1988 with the club. He announced his retirement from football in 1988.
Germany Career: International Success and Heartbreak
Stielike had a 9 year association with the German national side, which lasted from 1975 to 1984. He earned 42 caps during this period, and also achieved silverware success with the 1980 UEFA European Football Championship.
The 1982 World Cup semi-final was a talking point of his career as well, as Germany and France took part in a classic that ended 3-3 after extra-time. Stielike missed his penalty in the following shootout, but Germany ultimately won the match. However, Stielike and Germany endured heartbreak in the final with a 3-1 loss against eventual champions Italy.
Prior to this, Stielike did not take part for Germany in the 1978 World Cup due to political factors. The German Football Association under Hermann Neuberger had decided to force their national coaches to not select players playing their club football outside the Bundesliga.
An underwhelming factor of his German run is that Stielike was never able to replicate his Real Madrid excellence with the national side. Many had seen him as a replacement to the legendary Franz Beckenbauer, but he was unable to fill those shoes. He played his final international game against Argentina (3–1 loss) in September 1984, in what was Beckenbauer's first match in charge of West Germany.
Stielike overall had a special career in football. His glorious run with both club and country makes him a rare member ( alongside Rainer Bonhof and Manfred Kaltz ) as the only three players to have played in all three European club finals (the European Cup, European Cup Winners' Cup and UEFA Cup), the FIFA World Cup Final and the UEFA European Championship Final.
