Jörg Albertz

Jörg Albertz (German pronunciation: [ˈjœʁk ˈʔalbɛʁts];[1] born 29 January 1971 in Mönchengladbach) is a retired German professional footballer. Between 1996 and 1998 he played three international games for the German national football team.[2]

Jörg Albertz
Albertz with Shanghai Shenhua in 2003
Personal information
Full name Jörg Albertz
Date of birth (1971-01-29) 29 January 1971
Place of birth Mönchengladbach, West Germany
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in)
Playing position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1993 Fortuna Düsseldorf 58 (4)
1993–1996 Hamburger SV 99 (22)
1996–2001 Rangers 156 (58)
2001–2003 Hamburger SV 28 (6)
2003–2004 Shanghai Shenhua 47 (13)
2004–2005 Greuther Fürth 13 (3)
2005–2007 Fortuna Düsseldorf 51 (7)
2008 Clyde 7 (2)
Total 459 (115)
National team
1996–1998 Germany 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Career

As both a youth player and apprentice he played for PSV Mönchengladbach and Borussia Mönchengladbach. His first professional contract was signed in 1990 for Fortuna Düsseldorf, where he earned himself the nickname The Hammer for his powerful long range shots. When the team from the Rhineland were relegated to the second tier of the Bundesliga, Albertz moved to Hamburg where he soon became the public hero of the team.[3] Two seasons later he became the club captain.

In 1996, Albertz signed for Rangers for £4m, and he helped them to their ninth Scottish league championship title in a row and scored a famous free-kick against rivals Celtic in January 1997. Albertz became a huge favourite with the Rangers fans, but after the departure of manager Walter Smith in June 1998, he was frequently left out of the starting line-up by the incoming Dick Advocaat. Despite this, he also won league championship medals in 1999 and 2000.

He returned to Hamburg in 2001. Despite the hype of his return, he was unable to live up to the hopes that people had on his shoulders, and before the beginning of season 2002–03 he transferred to Chinese club Shanghai Shenhua. He initially gained success with them when he won the 2003 league title. Unfortunately in 2003 the Chinese Football Association would revoke the league title after it was discovered the Shenhua General manager Lou Shifang had bribed officials to give favourable decisions to Shenhua in games that season.[4][5]

Having had a moderately successful spell in China, Albertz moved back to Germany in 2004, his re-initiation into the German game coming with Greuther Fürth.[6] On the receiving end of many injuries, he switched to Fortuna Düsseldorf once again, where he retired at the end of the 2006–07 season.

On 11 March 2008, Albertz confirmed he was training with Clyde with a view to a short-term move, to help out Clyde manager and former Rangers teammate John Brown.[7] Albertz signed for Clyde on 14 March 2008.[8] He made his debut the following day, scoring a trademark free kick in a 1–1 draw with Stirling Albion.[9] He scored Clyde's winning goal with another free kick in an important 2–1 victory over St Johnstone on 25 March, to lift Clyde out of the relegation play-off zone.[10] After helping Clyde stay in the Scottish First Division via the playoffs, Albertz went into retirement once again, after making eight appearances for the club, scoring twice.

Club statistics

[11][12]

Club performance League FA Cup League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
1990–91Fortuna DüsseldorfBundesliga121??——121
1991–92110??——110
1992–932. Bundesliga353??——353
1993–94Hamburger SVBundesliga314??——314
1994–95349??——349
1995–96349??——349
1996–97Rangers F.C.Scottish Premier Division32103053704713
1997–9831105310524115
1998–99Scottish Premier League341151431045319
1999–2000351751101225320
2000–0124101011843415
2001–02Hamburger SVBundesliga244??——244
2002–0342??——42
2003Shanghai ShenhuaChinese Jia-A League/CSL276??——276
2004207??????207
2004–05SpVgg Greuther Fürth2. Bundesliga133??——133
2005–06Fortuna DüsseldorfRegionalliga233??——233
2006–07284??——284
2007–08Clyde F.C.Scottish First Division72????—72
Career total 459115????????

Honours
Rangers
Shanghai Shenhua
Personal awards

References
  1. Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 301, 628. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
  2. Arnhold, Matthias (24 August 2017). "Jörg Albertz - International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  3. "Albertz heads east". BBC Sport website. 19 February 2003. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  4. "Details of soccer referee investigation released to public". chinadaily.com.cn. 31 March 2011. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  5. "China Strips Shenhua of 2003 League Title, Bans 33 People for Life". english.cri.cn. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 20 May 2014.
  6. Arnhold, Matthias (24 August 2017). "Jörg Albertz - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 24 August 2017.
  7. "Albertz keen to join up at Clyde". BBC Sport website. 11 March 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  8. "It's Hammer Time".
  9. "Stirling Albion 1–1 Clyde". BBC Sport website. 15 March 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  10. "St Johnstone 1–2 Clyde". BBC Sport website. 25 March 2008. Retrieved 14 January 2010.
  11. McElroy, Robert; Ferrier, Bob (2005). Rangers The Complete Record. Breedon Books. p. 586. ISBN 1-85983-481-7.
  12. Halliday, Stephen (2002). The Essential History of Rangers. Headline. p. 289. ISBN 0-7553-1145-0.
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