Mehmet Scholl

German football manager and former player, known for his technical ability and creative playmaking.

Mehmet Tobias Scholl (born Mehmet Tobias Yüksel; 16 October 1970) is a German football manager and former player. He played most of his career as an attacking midfielder for Bayern Munich. During his career he won the UEFA Cup in 1996 (scoring a goal in each leg of the final), Euro 1996, and the UEFA Champions League in 2001, as well as eight German Championships (all with Bayern Munich). He retired at the end of the 2006–07 Bundesliga season as one of the most successful German football players of all time.

Quick Facts

Full name: Mehmet Tobias Scholl
Birth name: Mehmet Tobias Yüksel
Born: 16 October 1970
Birthplace: Karlsruhe, West Germany
Height: 1.77 m / 5 ft 10 in
Position: Attacking midfielder
Total caps: 420
Total goals: 105

Lore & Background

Scholl played for SV Nordwest Karlsruhe (from 1976 to 1982) and Karlsruher SC (from 1982 to 1992) before joining Bayern Munich in July 1992. He stayed at Bayern for the rest of his career, wearing the number 7 shirt. Scholl retired from professional football after the 2006–07 season. In 15 seasons at Bayern he played in 468 competitive matches for Bayern, scoring 116 goals – 88 of these appearances were in European cup competitions (18 goals).

He was one of the Bundesliga's most successful players, winning the championship eight times. Aged 19, he made his Bundesliga debut on 21 April 1990, coming on for Karlsruher SC in the 78th minute of their away match against 1. FC Köln, and promptly scored his team's fifth goal in the 90th minute. He scored 98 goals (11 for Karlsruhe, 87 for Bayern) in 392 Bundesliga matches (58 for Karlsruhe, 334 for Bayern).

Scholl has been praised for his technical ability, his creative playmaking, his dribbling skills, and his free kicks. In early 2001, he was voted Player of the Year 2000 by the professional players of the First and Second Bundesliga, and in May 2005, fans voted him one of the eleven greatest Bayern players of all time. Scholl played 36 matches for the German national team between 1995 and 2002, scoring eight goals. He was part of Germany's winning team at Euro 96 where he played in the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final.

In the 69th minute of the final when the Czech Republic was leading 1–0, he was substituted for the then relatively unknown Oliver Bierhoff who went on to score the two goals that turned the match around for Germany, catapulting Bierhoff to national and international fame. Scholl also played in all three of Germany's games at Euro 2000, scoring Germany's only goal in the tournament against Romania. Scholl repeatedly suffered injuries throughout his career, preventing him from maintaining a regular spot on the national team and eventually prompting him to retire from the national team prior to the 2002 FIFA World Cup, making him one of Germany's most successful players never to have played in a World Cup.

Among German football fans, Scholl was one of the most popular footballers because of his character and his unique skills.

Reader's Guide

On 27 April 2009, he was named as interim head coach for Bayern Munich II. He replaced Hermann Gerland who became assistant coach under Jupp Heynckes and continued to work as under-13 head coach. In July 2009 he was appointed as permanent manager of Bayern II and left the team on 30 June 2010 for a year, working on his coaching licence. Scholl returned to Bayern Munich II as head coach. In January 2013, Scholl announced that he would leave the team at the end of the 2012–13 season because he wanted to focus on his job as a TV pundit and that it conflicted with his work as coach.