Eugen Bopp (born 5 September 1983) is a German former professional
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
who played as a
midfielder
A midfielder is an outfield position in association football.
Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...
. Born in Ukraine, he represented the
Germany national under-19 team.
Early life
Bopp was born in
Kyiv
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Kyi ...
,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic ( uk, Украї́нська Радя́нська Соціалісти́чна Респу́бліка, ; russian: Украи́нская Сове́тская Социалисти́ческая Респ ...
to an ethnic German father and a
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
mother.
His brother
Viktor Bopp is also a
footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...
.
Club career
Nottingham Forest
Bopp played in the
Bayern Munich youth system
In sporting terminology, a youth system (or youth academy) is a youth investment program within a particular team or league, which develops and nurtures young talent in farm teams, with the vision of using them in the first team in the future if t ...
before joining the Academy of English club
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Tren ...
as a 16-year-old on 20 June 2000.
He signed for Forest after Academy manager
Paul Hart
Paul Anthony Hart (born 4 May 1953) is an English football manager, coach, and former professional player who made 567 appearances in the Football League as a defender.
The son of Johnny Hart, who played for and managed Manchester City, ...
persuaded him, despite there being interest from other European clubs.
He progressed through the ranks and signed his first professional contract with Forest on 11 September 2000.
Bopp was an important member of the Forest under-19 side, playing alongside
Jermaine Jenas
Jermaine Anthony Jenas ( ; born 18 February 1983) is an English television presenter, football pundit and former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder for English club sides Nottingham Forest, Newcastle United, Tottenham Ho ...
, that comfortably won their league in the
2000–01 season.
He eventually played 77 games for the Forest first team, but only half of those were in the starting line-up. In his four years at the club he scored eight goals and despite some strong reserve performances, he struggled to ever truly establish himself in the first team. His best spell of form at the club was during the 2002–03 season, this was abruptly ended by a rash challenge from
Derby County
Derby County Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Derby, Derbyshire, England. In 2022, it was announced that DCFC was acquired by Clowes Developments (UK) Ltd, a Derbyshire-based property group.
Founded in 188 ...
's
Craig Burley
Craig William Burley (born 24 September 1971) is a Scottish former professional footballer and sports television pundit and co-commentator for ESPN.
As a player he was a midfielder from 1989 until 2004, notably playing in the Premier League for ...
from which he suffered a serious knee injury. Bopp never returned to those heady heights and was eventually released at the end of the 2005–06 season. He is probably best known during his time at Forest for his thrilling late equaliser against
Gillingham on the last day of the 2004–05 season which ultimately relegated the opposition, dragging them down with Forest and
Rotherham United
Rotherham United Football Club, nicknamed The Millers, is a professional football club based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The club's colours were initially yellow and black, but changed to red and white around 1 ...
.
Rotherham United
Following his release from Nottingham Forest, he was taken on trial by Rotherham United for the majority of the
South Yorkshire
South Yorkshire is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and metropolitan county, metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and Humber Region of England. The county has four council areas which are the cities of City of Doncaster, Doncaster and City of Sh ...
club's pre-season. After an impressive trial spell he signed a short-term contract on 3 August 2006. As a result of his continued excellent performances on the pitch (and one spectacular goal against
Scunthorpe United), Bopp was offered a contract extension until the end of the season. He played in 30 games for Rotherham and scored five goals.
Crewe Alexandra
Bopp was signed by
Crewe Alexandra
Crewe Alexandra Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, that competes in League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' because of ...
on 30 May 2007.
He initially struggled to fit into the team, and was available for transfer during the January 2008 transfer window.
However, he returned to the side for a match against
Brighton, and did well enough to retain his place. Once again, speculation about Bopp's future arose as he struggled to maintain his place in the squad, and on 7 May Crewe announced that Bopp's contract had been terminated by mutual consent.
Trial at Portsmouth
Bopp was included in the
Portsmouth
Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council.
Portsmouth is the most dens ...
squad for the first 2009–10 pre-season friendly away to Havant and Waterlooville. Bopp played the entire second half and scored both of Portsmouth's goals in a 2–2 draw. After an injury crisis, Portsmouth were eager to sign Bopp ahead of a
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
match against
Wigan Athletic
Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system.
Founded in 1932, ...
on 31 October. However, the Premier League refused to register the player because of Portsmouth's debts and a transfer embargo was placed on the club. Bopp continued, however, to play games for the reserve team.
Carl Zeiss Jena
Bopp signed with German
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for th ...
club
Carl Zeiss Jena on 7 December 2010. Bopp played his debut for Carl Zeiss Jena in the match on 11 December against
Dynamo Dresden
Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Ka ...
.
He made 16 appearances for the club before he was released in June 2011.
York City
Bopp returned to England after signing for
Conference Premier
The National League, known as the Vanarama National League for sponsorship reasons, is the highest level of the National League System and fifth-highest of the overall English football league system. It is the highest league that is semi-professi ...
club
York City
York City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of York, North Yorkshire, England. As of the 2022–23 season, the team compete in the National League, at the fifth tier of the English football league sys ...
on a contact until the end of the
2011–12 season on 22 March 2012.
His debut came as a 69th-minute substitute for Jon Challinor in a 2–1 victory away at
Luton Town
Luton Town Football Club () is a professional association football club based in the town of Luton, Bedfordshire, England, that competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1885, it is nicknam ...
on 30 March 2012,
before dislocating his shoulder on his full debut in his following appearance, a 1–0 defeat at home to
Fleetwood Town
Fleetwood Town Football Club is an English professional association football club based in the town of Fleetwood, Lancashire. Established in 1997, the current Fleetwood Town F.C. is the fourth incarnation of the club; it was originally formed in ...
on 7 April 2012.
This ruled him out for the rest of the season,
which York finished with
promotion
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
to
League Two
The English Football League Two (often referred to as League Two for short or Sky Bet League Two for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League Two from 2004 until 2016) is the third and lowest division of the English Football Lea ...
through the
play-offs
The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...
.
Having made two appearances he was released by York on 3 July 2012.
Later career
In the summer of 2014, after two years of being unattached, Bopp went on trial at League Two side
Hartlepool United
Hartlepool United Football Club is a professional association football club based in Hartlepool, County Durham, England. The team competes in EFL League Two, League Two, the fourth tier of the English football league system.
They were founded i ...
.
A year later he came out of retirement to sign for
Midland League Premier Division club
Dunkirk as a
player-coach
A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the sq ...
during June 2015.
Bopp joined
Basford United of the
Northern Premier League Division One South
The Northern Premier League is an English football league that was founded in 1968. It has four divisions: the Premier Division (which stands at level 7 of the English football league system), Division One East, Division One West and Divisio ...
in October 2015, as part of a swap deal with Dan Fletcher.
International career
Bopp was
capped
In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the ea ...
twice by Germany at
under-19 level,
making his debut as a 65th minute
substitute in a 4–0 victory over
Sweden on 4 September 2001.
His second and final cap came after starting a 2–2 draw with
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...
on 11 October 2001, in which he was substituted at half-time for
Philipp Lahm
Philipp Lahm (; born 11 November 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played as a full-back. Considered by many to be one of the greatest full-backs of all time, Lahm was the captain of Bayern Munich, having led them to numerous ...
.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bopp, Eugen
1983 births
Living people
Footballers from Kyiv
Ukrainian people of German descent
Ukrainian emigrants to Germany
German men's footballers
Men's association football midfielders
Germany men's youth international footballers
3. Liga players
English Football League players
National League (English football) players
Midland Football League players
FC Bayern Munich footballers
Nottingham Forest F.C. players
Rotherham United F.C. players
Crewe Alexandra F.C. players
FC Carl Zeiss Jena players
York City F.C. players
Dunkirk F.C. players
Basford United F.C. players
German expatriate men's footballers
German expatriate sportspeople in England
Expatriate men's footballers in England