Hans-Peter Briegel

German defender/midfielder, Euro 1980 winner, Serie A champion with Verona, and Albania's most successful coach by points per match.

Hans-Peter Briegel (born 11 October 1955) is a German former professional football player and manager who played as a defender or midfielder.

Quick Facts

Club tenure

1976–1984 (1. FC Kaiserslautern)
1984–1986 (Hellas Verona)
1986–1988 (U.C. Sampdoria)

Major trophy

UEFA Euro 1980 (West Germany)
Serie A Champion (1985 with Hellas Verona)
Coppa Italia (1988 with U.C. Sampdoria)

Lore & Background

Briegel's original sport was athletics, being successful in events such as long jump (personal best: 7 metres 44 cm, aged 16), triple jump and pentathlon. He also ran 100 metres in 10.8 seconds (hand-timed), aged 16. At age 17, he left athletics and played club football with SV Rodenbach. He was picked up by Erich Ribbeck and trained with 1.

FC Kaiserslautern, making his debut on 10 April 1976 as a sub in a 4–3 win over FC Bayern Munich. He stayed with Kaiserslautern until 1984, then moved to Hellas Verona in Italy, winning the Serie A title in 1985. He later played for U.C. Sampdoria, winning the Coppa Italia before retiring in 1988. He scored 47 goals in 240 Bundesliga matches.

He did not wear shin pads in his career. His nickname was 'Die Walz von der Pfalz'. He played for West Germany, winning Euro 1980 and being runner-up at the 1982 and 1986 World Cups. He earned 72 caps.

As a manager, he coached FC Glarus, SV Edenkoben, SG Wattenscheid 09, Beşiktaş J.K., Trabzonspor, Albania (2002–2006), Bahrain (dismissed January 2007), and Ankaragücü (until end of 2006–07 season). He is the most successful coach of Albania of all times because of the number of points per match in the two qualifiers UEFA Euro 2004 Qualifications and the FIFA World Cup 2006 Qualification.

Reader's Guide

Briegel usually played as a left back and defensive midfielder. He was known for his physical, technical and goal scoring abilities. He was a keen proponent of playing without shin pads.