Rudi Völler

Rudolf 'Rudi' Völler (born April 13 1960 in Hanau) is a former German football striker, and a former manager of the German national team.

Völler joined the Bundesliga team Werder Bremen in 1982 and got his first game for the national selection in the same year. In 1987 he was transferred to A.S. Roma where he won the Italian Cup in 1991.

In 1992, Völler joined Olympique Marseille. He won the Champions League with this team in 1993. Returning to Germany, he joined Bayer Leverkusen in 1994, where he ended his career as a player in 1996 and started a career in the management of the club.

Völler played 90 games for the national team, scoring 47 goals. He was a member of the team that won the 1990 World Cup and also played in Euro 84, the 1986 World Cup, Euro 88, Euro 92, and the 1994 World Cup.

After a disappointing 2000 European Championship for the national team under manager Erich Ribbeck, the DFB appointed Völler as new manager, even though he does not have the coaching licence. At first only planned to do the job for one year, he extended his contract when his planned successor Christoph Daum was involved in a drug scandal. He led the team to a surprising second place in the 2002 World Cup. After a first-round exit from the 2004 European Championship he resigned from his post. A late replacement for Cesare Prandelli, Völler briefly coached A.S. Roma in 2004 but resigned after a series of poor results and disagreements with players, notably Antonio Cassano.