Stefan Kuntz (born 30 October 1962) is a German professional football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently the head coach of the Turkish national team.
Kuntz in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Stefan Kuntz[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1962-10-30) 30 October 1962 (age 61) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Neunkirchen, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1970–1981 | Borussia Neunkirchen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1980–1983 | Borussia Neunkirchen | 89 | (28) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1986 | VfL Bochum | 100 | (41) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1989 | Bayer 05 Uerdingen | 94 | (32) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1995 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 170 | (75) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–1996 | Beşiktaş | 30 | (9) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1996–1998 | Arminia Bielefeld | 65 | (25) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1998–1999 | VfL Bochum | 20 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2003 | SV Furpach | 22 | (22) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2005 | FC Palatia Limbach | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 600 | (239) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1983–1985 | West Germany U-21 | 4 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1986 | West Germany B | 1 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1993–1997 | Germany | 25 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1999–2000 | Borussia Neunkirchen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Karlsruher SC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | Waldhof Mannheim | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | LR Ahlen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2016–2021 | Germany U21 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Germany U23 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Turkey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2024– | Hamburger SV (Sporting Director) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Kuntz represented the Germany national team between 1993 and 1997, reaching the 1994 FIFA World Cup quarter-finals and winning UEFA Euro 1996. He scored six goals from 25 full caps, including in the Euro 1996 semi-final elimination of England.
Kuntz's playing career lasted from 1983 until 1999. He made 449 appearances and scored 179 goals in the Bundesliga.[2] Kuntz played for VfL Bochum, Bayer 05 Uerdingen, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Arminia Bielefeld and also played in Turkey for Beşiktaş J.K. In 1986 and 1994, Kuntz was the top scorer in the Bundesliga.[3]
In 1995, Kuntz joined Turkish side Beşiktaş following request of his compatriot coach Christoph Daum.[4] Kuntz made his 1.Lig debut on 13 August 1995 in an away game against Kayserispor that ended 1–1.[5] On 24 September 1995, he scored his first goal at week 5 home encounter against Istanbulspor which ended 5–2.[6]
He took part in the 1994 FIFA World Cup, but he played only one single match, the round of sixteen fixture against Belgium as Germany were knocked out at the quarter-finals by Bulgaria.
At the UEFA Euro 1996, Kuntz played a key role in the 1–1 draw with England in the semi-final, scoring the equalizer soon after England took the lead, as well as scoring the fifth German penalty in the shootout which took it into sudden death. During his international career, Kuntz obtained 25 caps, scoring six goals.[7] None of these caps ended in a defeat for Germany (20 wins, one win after penalty shootout and four draws), which is the German record for most caps without defeat.[8]
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 18 December 1993 | Oakland Coliseum, Oakland, United States |  United States |
2–0 | 3–0 | Friendly |
| 2. | 7 September 1994 | Luzhniki Stadium, Moscow, Russia |  Russia |
1–0 | 1–0 | |
| 3. | 4 June 1996 | Carl-Benz-Stadion, Mannheim, Germany |  Liechtenstein |
2–0 | 9–1 | |
| 4. | 9–1 | |||||
| 5. | 26 June 1996 | Wembley Stadium, London, England |  England |
1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 1996 |
| 6. | 9 October 1996 | Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia |  Armenia |
5–0 | 5–1 | 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |
From 2006 to 2008, Kuntz was the athletic director of VfL Bochum. Between 2008 and 2016, he was the board chairman of 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[citation needed]
As coach of Germany U21 he gained an impressive record by reaching the UEFA European Under-21 Championship final thrice: in 2017, 2019 and 2021; his side won two out of three finals, first beat Spain 1–0 in the final, and in 2021, Germany defeated Portugal by the same scoreline.[9]
On 19 September 2021, he was appointed the new head coach of the Turkey national team.[10] He was then fired from the position on 20 September 2023, after two poor games against Armenia and Japan and a rather underwhelming performance at the UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying, despite at the time, Turkey were in second place with three wins, one draw and one loss; it was largely believed due to Kuntz's increasing unpopularity for many Turkish football fans that led to his dismissal.[11][12]
| Team | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | |||
| Borussia Neunkirchen | 18 November 1999 | 30 June 2000 | 22 | 15 | 2 | 5 | 068.18 |
| Karlsruher SC | 1 July 2000 | 25 September 2002 | 79 | 30 | 20 | 29 | 037.97 |
| Waldhof Mannheim | 3 April 2003 | 30 June 2003 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 012.50 |
| LR Ahlen | 1 July 2003 | 13 November 2003 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 030.77 |
| Germany U21 | 1 September 2016 | 19 September 2021 | 53 | 38 | 7 | 8 | 071.70 |
| Germany Olympic | 1 June 2021 | 7 August 2021 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 033.33 |
| Turkey | 19 September 2021 | 20 September 2023 | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 060.00 |
| Total | 198 | 101 | 35 | 62 | 051.01 | ||
Kaiserslautern
Germany
Individual
Germany U21
1995-96 sezonunda vatandaşı Christoph Daum'un isteği üzerine Beşiktaşımız'a transfer oldu. Siyah-beyaz formayla, ligdeki ilk golünü 24 Eylül 1995'de Beşiktaşımız'ın 5-2 kazandığı maçta İstanbulspor filelerine gönderdi.
