Franz Bernhard Wohlfahrt (; born 1 July 1964) is an Austrian 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 ...
who played as a
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
.
Club career
Born in
Sankt Veit an der Glan
Sankt Veit an der Glan (; sl, Šentvid ob Glini) is a town in the Austrian state of Carinthia, the administrative centre of the Sankt Veit an der Glan District. It was the historic Carinthian capital until 1518. The famous chef Wolfgang Puck was ...
,
Carinthia
Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost States of Austria, Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German language, German. Its regional dialects belong to t ...
, Wohlfahrt started his career at hometown outfit
SV Sankt Veit. He turned professional at
FK Austria Wien
Fußballklub Austria Wien AG (; known in English as Austria Vienna, and usually shortened to Austria (German: Österreich) in German-speaking countries, is an Austrian association football club from the capital city of Vienna. It has won the mo ...
, where he would spend almost 20 years in two spells, winning six
league
League or The League may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band
* ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football
Sports
* Sports league
* Rugby league, full contact footba ...
titles and four
domestic cups.
In 1996, aged 32, he finally moved abroad, joining Germany's
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB Stu ...
, and being essential as the club reached the final of the
1997–98 Cup Winner's Cup, lost 1–0 to
Chelsea FC
Chelsea Football Club is an English professional football club based in Fulham, West London. Founded in 1905, they play their home games at Stamford Bridge. The club competes in the Premier League, the top division of English football. Th ...
. Subsequently, he returned to his first club, retiring a few years later with amateurs
SC Untersiebenbrunn.
Incident at Ajax–Austria Wien
On 27 September 1989, Wohlfahrt made the sports headlines when he was hit and injured by a bar, thrown by a home supporter at an
Ajax
Ajax may refer to:
Greek mythology and tragedy
* Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea
* Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris
* ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...
–Austria Wien
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 ...
match. Ajax subsequently was banned from
European competition The European Competition is a student competition in which students of all ages submit creative, artistic, or written pieces of work on the activities of the European Union. Tendered by European Movement Germany, it is the oldest student competition ...
for a year.
International career
In 1983, Wohlfahrt was selected by Austria U-20's to play at the
1983 FIFA World Youth Championship
The 1983 FIFA World Youth Championship was the fourth edition FIFA World Youth Championship tournament, hosted from 2 June to 19 June 1983 in seven venues in Mexico — Guadalajara, Irapuato, León, Mexico City, Monterrey, Puebla and Toluca — wh ...
. He made his debut for
the senior side in an August 1987 friendly match against
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
, and was a participant at the
1998 FIFA World Cup
The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...
, where he was a reserve behind
Michael Konsel
Michael Konsel (born 6 March 1962) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Club career
Born in Vienna, Konsel started his professional career with First Vienna and moved to local rivals Rapid Wien in 1985. He t ...
.
In total, Wohlfahrt earned 59 caps,
Austria - Record International Players
RSSSF his final international being in November 2001, a 2002 World Cup qualification match against Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
, which Austria lost 5–0. He also has the unfortunate distinction of having netted nine goals in a single match, a 9–0 loss to Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
at Valencia's Mestalla
Mestalla Stadium ( es, Estadio de Mestalla , ca-valencia, Estadi de Mestalla ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia Club de Fútbol and has a capacity of 48,600 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium i ...
Stadium on 27 March 1999.
Coaching and managerial career
In July 2006, Wohlfahrt began a coaching career, training goalkeepers at SK Schwadorf 1936,