Karl-Heinz Riedle

Forward Karl-Heinz Riedle was on the West German football team that won the third-place match against Italy 3-0, and took the bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. Therefore, the team and all players were awarded the Silver Bay Leaf, Germany’s highest sports award. Riedle won 42 full international caps scoring 16 goals. He played with the Olympic team in only one match. With the German national team, Riedle won the FIFA World Cup in 1990, and also played in the 1994 tournament. He also played on the 1992 UEFA European Championship side that finished second. He was also on the squad that won the US Cup in 1993.

Domestically, Riedle played with FC Augsburg (1983-86), Blau-Weiß 90 Berlin (1986-87), Werder Bremen (1987-90), and Borussia Dortmund (1993-97). In between, he played in Italy with Lazio Roma (1990-93), and in England with FC Liverpool (1997-99) and FC Fulham (1999-2001). In total, Riedle played 207 Bundesliga matches and scored 42 goals. He also played 84 matches in Italy (30 goals) and 93 in England (17 goals). He helped Bremen win the German Championship in 1988, and Dortmund win it in 1995 and 1996.

With Dortmund in 1997, Riedle reached the UEFA Champions League final against Juventus Turin. He scored two goals as Dortmund won 3-1, and became the first German winners of the tournament since its name change to Champions League. Riedle won the man of the match award.

Riedle was a trained butcher but later became sporting director with the Swiss club Grasshopper Zürich and owned a four-star hotel. He also led a football youth camp at Oberstaufen and a sporting and events management agency. His son Alessandro also became a soccer professional.