Carsten Ramelow

Carsten Ramelow
Ramelow in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth (1974-03-20) 20 March 1974 (age 50)
Place of birth West Berlin, West Germany
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Youth career
1980–1987 Tasmania Berlin
1987–1988 Tennis Borussia Berlin
1988–1989 Hertha Zehlendorf
1989–1991 SC Siemensstadt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1995 Hertha BSC 80 (5)
1995–2008 Bayer Leverkusen 333 (23)
Total 413 (28)
International career
1993–1996 Germany U21 18 (2)
1998–2004 Germany 46 (3)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2002 Korea/Japan
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Carsten Ramelow (German pronunciation: [ˈkaʁstn̩ ˈʁaməlo]; born 20 March 1974) is a German former professional footballer who played as either a central defender or a defensive midfielder.

Known for his tough tackling and defensive positioning, he played professionally for Hertha BSC and Bayer Leverkusen, for 17 years. The recipient of nearly 50 caps with Germany, he represented the nation at one World Cup and one European Championship.

Club career

Born in Berlin, Ramelow grew as a player at local Hertha BSC, playing five second division matches in his first two years combined, and five seasons in total: his debut came on 25 April 1992 (aged 18), in a 0–5 home loss against Bayer Uerdingen. In 1992–93, he helped the reserve squad reach the domestic cup final, where they lost to Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

In January 1996, Ramelow moved to the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen,[1] being a major part of the squads that never finished lower than fourth until the 2003–04 season (except for 2002–03, where they would rank only 15th, the last place before the relegation zone); a defensive-minded player, he scored twice in his top flight debut, a 2–0 home win against F.C. Hansa Rostock on 19 March, and contributed with 16 matches (15 complete) in Bayer's 2001–02 UEFA Champions League runner-up run, including the final loss against Real Madrid.

On 3 November 2004, Ramelow was involved in an incident with A.S. Roma's Francesco Totti, during a 1–1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome in the Champions League: the Italian Totti jumped on a sliding Ramelow, stomping on his shoulder and back, and receiving a yellow card. From 2006 to 2008, he appeared rarely due to injuries, and announced his retirement from football in March, at the age of 34.[2]

International career

Ramelow first appeared for the Germany national team on 10 October 1998, in a 1–0 loss in Turkey for the UEFA Euro 2000 qualifiers. He went on to win 46 caps,[3] and was summoned for the squads at that tournament (not leaving the bench in an eventual group stage exit) and the 2002 FIFA World Cup (appearing five times for the losing finalists, and receiving a red card in the 2–0 group stage win against Cameroon).[4]

Ramelow was poised to be selected by manager Rudi Völler for Euro 2004 in Portugal, but announced his international retirement one week before the squad was picked.[5]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal DFB-Ligapokal Europe Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Hertha BSC 1991–92 2. Bundesliga 2 0 – – – 2 0
1992–93 3 1 2 1 – – 5 2
1993–94 27 2 1 0 – – 28 2
1994–95 31 2 1 0 – – 32 2
1995–96 17 0 1 2 – – 18 2
Total 80 5 5 3 – – 85 8
Bayer Leverkusen 1995–96 Bundesliga 15 2 1 0 – – 16 2
1996–97 32 2 1 0 – – 33 2
1997–98 33 2 4 0 1 0 9 1 47 3
1998–99 27 4 1 0 – 4 0 32 4
1999–00 26 0 1 0 2 0 8 0 37 0
2000–01 32 2 3 1 – 7 2 42 5
2001–02 32 2 6 0 1 0 16 1 55 3
2002–03 32 1 5 2 – 9 0 46 3
2003–04 31 2 – – – 31 2
2004–05 31 1 1 0 1 0 10 0 43 1
2005–06 25 2 1 0 1 0 2 0 29 2
2006–07 13 2 1 0 1 0 6 2 21 4
2007–08 4 1 – – 1 0 5 1
Total 333 23 25 3 7 0 72 6 437 32
Career total 413 28 30 6 7 0 72 6 522 40

Honours

Bayer Leverkusen

Germany

Individual

Musical career

In 2005, Ramelow published one music album, Sing when you're winning.[7][8] It was not distributed commercially, only being made available to his family and friends.

References

  1. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (12 November 2015). "Carsten Ramelow – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  2. ^ "Ende einer schönen Karriere" [The end of a beautiful career] (in German). Kicker. 13 March 2008. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  3. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (12 November 2015). "Carsten Ramelow – International Appearances". Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation. Retrieved 25 November 2015.
  4. ^ Carsten Ramelow – FIFA competition record (archived)
  5. ^ "Voeller names Germany squad". BBC Sport. 25 May 2004. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  6. ^ "Bundesliga Historie 1998/99" (in German). kicker. Archived from the original on 18 October 2012.
  7. ^ "Singende Fußballer" [Singing footballers] (in German). RP-Online. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
  8. ^ Bandini, Nicky; Dart, James (15 August 2007). "Most goals on the opening weekend". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 January 2013.