Frank Baumann (born 29 October 1975) 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 le ...

, best known for his spell at

SV Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

, and the current sporting director of Werder Bremen. Either a

defensive 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 ...

or a

centre-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...

, he was well known for his tough tackling and defensive positioning. A German international on nearly 30 occasions, he represented his country at one

UEFA European Championship The UEFA European Football Championship, less formally the European Championship and informally the Euro, is the primary association football tournament organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA). The competition is contes ...

and one

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

, reaching the

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

in the latter tournament.

Club career

1. FC Nürnberg

Born in

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, Bavaria, Baumann began his career in his youth at TSV Grombühl. In 1991 he then switched to the youth team of 1. FC Nürnberg. Having started out 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 ...

, his talents were soon recognized in a

defensive position Defense or defence may refer to: Tactical, martial, and political acts or groups * Defense (military), forces primarily intended for warfare * Civil defense, the organizing of civilians to deal with emergencies or enemy attacks * Defense industr ...

. On 3 October 1994, he began his professional career at the club on the seventh game day of the

1994–95 2. Bundesliga The 1994–95 2. Bundesliga season was the twenty-first season of the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system. This was the last season in which two points were awarded for a win. From the following season onwards the ...

in the starting line-up in the home game against

SG Wattenscheid 09 SG Wattenscheid 09 is a German association football club located in Wattenscheid, Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club claimed an official founding date of 18 September 1909 as Ballspiel-Verein Wattenscheid out of the merger of two earlier ...

. That same season he played in four other games and by the beginning of the following season he developed into a regular player. He proved loyalty to the club when he accompanied them to the

1996–97 Regionalliga The 1996–97 Regionalliga was the third season of the Regionalliga as the third tier of German football. The league was organised in four regional divisions, Nord, Nordost, West-Südwest and Süd. FC Energie Cottbus, SG Wattenscheid 09, 1. ...

. There he was immediately promoted again and a year later moved up to the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

. Baumann became a tragic figure in the season final of the

1998–99 Bundesliga The 1998–99 Bundesliga was the 36th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 14 August 1998 and ended on 29 May 1999. 1. FC Kaiserslautern were the defending champions. Competition modus Every team played two g ...

season. Before the final game day, 1. FC Nürnberg thought that they would stay in the league. but then they were relegated. Baumann missed a big chance late in the game and the club was relegated. After amassing more than 150 overall appearances and having represented the club in all three major levels of

German football Association football, Football (or "soccer") is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund, link=no or ) is the sport's national governing body, with 6.6 million members (roughly eight ...

, he moved in 1999 to

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are be ...

Werder Bremen

At Werder Bremen, Baumann was the first player to be signed by the new coach

Thomas Schaaf Thomas Schaaf (born 30 April 1961) is a German professional football manager, who last managed Werder Bremen and former player who played as a defender currently assistant coach of Laos national football team. A ' one-club man', Schaaf spent hi ...

and became an instant first choice, netting five goals in his first season; even though the club only finished ninth, it qualified for the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

via the second place in the domestic cup, after losing the final to

FC Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which play ...

. He became team captain in 2000, which he remained until the end of his career. Due to his calm demeanor and his clear style of play, he enjoyed a high reputation within the team. He was an important building block for the

2003–04 Bundesliga The 2003–04 Bundesliga was the 41st season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 1 August 2003 and concluded on 22 May 2004. Teams Eighteen teams competed in the league – the top fifteen teams from the previo ...

and the

2003–04 DFB-Pokal The 2003–04 DFB-Pokal was the 61st season of the annual German football cup competition. 64 teams competed in the tournament of six rounds which began on 29 August 2003 and ended on 29 May 2004. In the final Werder Bremen defeated second-tier ...

. In his last active years, he was repeatedly set back by injuries, especially to his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

. He was only able to play 19 and 17 games in the Bundesliga in the 2005–06 and 2006–07 seasons. In the 2008–09 season Baumann continued to feature regularly for Werder, although he struggled with injuries in his later years. Baumann scored the goal that took Bremen to the

2009 UEFA Cup Final The 2009 UEFA Cup Final was the final match of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, the 38th season of the UEFA Cup, UEFA's second-tier club football tournament. It was also the last final to be held under the UEFA Cup name, as the competition was rebranded as ...

, in the second leg of the semifinal against

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

, from a

corner Corner may refer to: People *Corner (surname) *House of Cornaro, a noble Venetian family (''Corner'' in Venetian dialect) Places *Corner, Alabama, a community in the United States *Corner Inlet, Victoria, Australia *Corner River, a tributary of ...

conceded by after the ball had deflected off a crumpled up piece of paper thrown from the home supporters. He announced his retirement in May 2009 with his contract set to expire the following month. On 16 December 2009, Baumann was named the seventh honorary captain of

International career

Baumann featured in 28 internationals, scoring two goals. His debut for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

came in a 1–0 victory against

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

in Oslo, on 14 November 1999, becoming the 800th player to be capped by the German national team. He scored his two goals as a national player in 2001 in

friendlies An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

against

Slovakia Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...

and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

. He was picked for the squads for the

2002 FIFA World Cup The 2002 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Korea Japan 2002, was the 17th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial Association football, football world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams organized by ...

(appearing in the round-of-16 match against

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

) and

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial association football, football competition contested by the List of men's national associatio ...

(two matches). At the

in Portugal, Baumann played in the first group game against the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

and in the second group game against

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

; the team was eliminated after the group stage. Baumann played his last game on 26 March 2005 against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

Managerial career

In May 2009, Baumann became

's assistant

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

, joining another former player,

Klaus Allofs Klaus Allofs (born 5 December 1956) is a German former professional Association football, football player, manager, and executive. A Forward (association football)#Striker, striker, Allofs was a prolific goalscorer for club and country. He ama ...

, in his staff. At the end of the 2014–15 season, he left his position as "director of first-team football and scouting" after years. Following his career as a professional footballer, Baumann switched to

's management at the beginning of 2010 after taking a six-month "break". At the end of 2011 he also became head of the

Scout (sport) In professional sports, scouts are experienced talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout ...

department. In November 2012 he was promoted to director of professional football and scouting. In this position, created especially for him, he worked directly for the managing director of professional football Thomas Eichin. After the 2014–15 season, he resigned from the position. On 19 May 2016, Baumann was announced as the new sporting director of Werder Bremen, replacing Thomas Eichin, who was removed from the club immediately due to differing views on future sporting development. On 27 May 2016, Baumann was announced as

Sporting director A sporting director, or director of sport, is an executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many types of sports. The sport ...

by the club at a press conference. The contract ran until 30 June 2019. In September 2018, his contract was extended for three years to 30 June 2021.

Personal life

Baumann is a member of the Board of Trustees of the "Stiftung Jugendfußball" (Youth Football Foundation). The foundation was founded in 2000 by

Jürgen Klinsmann Jürgen Klinsmann (, born 30 July 1964) is a German professional football manager and former player. Klinsmann played for several prominent clubs in Europe including VfB Stuttgart, Inter Milan, Monaco, Tottenham Hotspur, and Bayern Munich. He ...

, other successful national players and the lecturers of the football teacher special course. Baumann is a trained social security clerk and sports specialist. He is married to Stefanie. They have a daughter, Louisa, and a son, Moritz.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Baumann goal.''

Honours

Werder Bremen *

: 2003–04 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considere ...

: 2003–04, 2008–09; runner-up 1999–00 *

DFB-Ligapokal The DFL-Ligapokal (, officially Premiere Ligapokal , previously DFB-Ligapokal ) or the ''German League Cup'' was a German football competition that took place before the start of the Bundesliga season, featuring the top five teams of the previous ...

: 2006; runner-up 1999, 2004 *

runner-up: 2008–09 Germany *

runner-up:

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Baumann, Frank 1975 births Living people Sportspeople from Würzburg Footballers from Bavaria German footballers Association football defenders Association football midfielders Association football utility players Germany international footballers Germany B international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers 1999 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2002 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2004 players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players 1. FC Nürnberg players SV Werder Bremen players West German footballers