Kevin Dennis Kurányi Rodríguez (, ; born 2 March 1982) 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 ...

. He played as a striker and possessed great aerial ability and finishing skills. From 2003 to 2008, Kurányi was part of the German national team, for which he scored 19 goals in 52 games. He participated in two

UEFA Euro 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

Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships (AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

Early life

Kurányi was born in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil, to a German father of Hungarian descent and a Panamanian mother. He eventually opted to play for the German national team after being also qualified to play for

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...

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 ...

Club career

Early career

Kurányi began playing football in 1988 for

Petrópolis Petrópolis (; ), also known as The Imperial City, is a Municipalities of Brazil, municipality in the Southeast Region, Brazil, Southeast Region of Brazil. It is located in the state of Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro, northeast of the ci ...

-based Serrano FC in Brazil, when he was six years old. In 1993, he transferred to Panamanian club Las Promesas, where he played for one year before going back to Serrano FC. Kurányi returned to Las Promesas in 1996 for a further year.

VfB Stuttgart

In 1997, Kurányi moved to Germany, enlisting at

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 ...

's B youth team. After playing a few games in the

Germany national under-21 football team The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association (DFB), the governing body of football in Germany. Before the ...

, he signed his first professional contract for VfB in 2001. Following on from his 33 matches and 10 goals for the amateur team, Kurányi played 99 matches for VfB Stuttgart's professional team, scoring 40 goals. He also took part in 22 European team championship games, scoring 10 goals. In the 2002–03 season of 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 ...

, he was the top German goal-scorer and one of the main reasons for Stuttgart's second-place finish in the league. That year, VfB and its "Junge Wilde" ("young wild ones"), comprising

Timo Hildebrand Timo Hildebrand (born 5 April 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Hildebrand holds a Bundesliga record for keeping a clean sheet for the most consecutive minutes (884 minutes), which he set during the ...

Andreas Hinkel Andreas Hinkel (born 26 March 1982) is a German football coach and a former player. Hinkel played as a right-back and earned 21 caps for the Germany national team. He was known for his attacking play on the flanks and defensive solidity. He st ...

Alexander Hleb Aliaksandr Paulavich Hleb ( be, Аляксандр Паўлавіч Глеб, ; russian: Александр Павлович Глеб; born 1 May 1981), commonly referred to in English as Alexander Hleb, is a Belarusian former professional foot ...

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 ...

Imre Szabics Imre Szabics (born 22 March 1981) is a Hungarian football manager and former professional footballer. Szabics was born in Szeged where he played as a youngster. He was spotted by Ferencváros and signed for them in 1990, making his profession ...

and Kurányi, delighted Stuttgart fans with superb attacking football.

Schalke 04

Kurányi left Stuttgart during the 2005 summer transfer window to join

Schalke Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rh ...

, signing to 2009–10. At

Gelsenkirchen Gelsenkirchen (, , ; wep, Gelsenkiärken) is the 25th most populous city of Germany and the 11th most populous in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia with 262,528 (2016) inhabitants. On the Emscher River (a tributary of the Rhine), it lies ...

, he finished top goalscorer for the team from 2005–08, while the team achieved three consecutive

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...

berths. On 15 April 2008, Kurányi scored four goals in Schalke's 5–0 win over

Energie Cottbus FC Energie Cottbus ( Lower Sorbian: ''Energija Chóśebuz'') is a German football club based in Cottbus, Brandenburg. It was founded in 1963 as SC Cottbus in what was East Germany. After the reunification of Germany, Energie played six seasons i ...

in a league match, the other being an own goal. Three days earlier, incidentally, Schalke were beaten 5–1 at

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 ...

, with Kurányi also netting.

Dynamo Moscow

On 9 May 2010, it was announced that Kurányi would move to

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...

on 1 July 2010 and signed a three-year contract. After renewing his contract with Dynamo until 2015, he became captain of the team in July 2012. He netted two goals for Dynamo on 9 December 2012, to lift the capital club to a 2–1 victory over

Terek Grozny Republican Football Club Akhmat ( ce, футболан клуб Ахмат Соьлжа-ГӀала; russian: Республиканский футбольный клуб Ахмат Грозный), commonly known as Akhmat Grozny, is a Russian ...

1899 Hoffenheim

After his contract with Dynamo expired in the summer of 2015, Kurányi returned to Germany and signed for 1899 Hoffenheim on 24 July 2015, on a one-year deal. Kurányi announced his retirement on 24 March 2017.

International career

Kurányi made 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 ...

during the

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 football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...

qualifier against

Lithuania Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...

on 29 March 2003. In his sixth appearance, the young striker netted Germany's final qualifying goal in their 3–0 defeat of

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

. He played for his adopted country at the tournament's finals and at the 2005 Confederations Cup but was not selected for the 2006 World Cup in Germany. Kevin Kuranyi 2005

In 2006–07, Kurányi regained his touch and after an absence of 15 months, he was recalled to the national team, scoring during Germany's 3–1 win 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 ...

on 7 February 2007, in a friendly in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in th ...

. In Germany's Euro 2008 qualifying match against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

on 24 March, he scored both goals in the 2–1 victory. He was brought on during the second half of the

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

final against

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 ...

for

Thomas Hitzlsperger Thomas Hitzlsperger (born 5 April 1982) is a German director of football and former footballer who played as a midfielder. In February 2019, he was appointed Head of Sport of VfB Stuttgart and was subsequently promoted to CEO. In March 2022, he ...

, but was unable to score in the 0–1 loss, receiving a yellow card in the process. Incidentally, the appearance in the final marked his 50th cap for Germany. On 11 October 2008, Kurányi was left out of the 18-man squad to face

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

. After watching the first half from the stands with other unselected players, he left the stadium during the half-time interval and failed to return to the German team hotel. After this incident, German team coach

Joachim Löw Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...

said that he would never again select Kurányi for the national team. One of his advisors said of the incident to reporters "He decided what he for himself found to be right, which was to say I'm going home."

Personal life

Due to his mixed descent, Kurányi holds German, Panamanian and Brazilian citizenships. Kurányi has stated that he is an avid supporter of his favorite team, Brazilian side

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; English: ''Flamengo Rowing Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea, best known for their professional football ...

. Apart from his native

Brazilian Portuguese Brazilian Portuguese (' ), also Portuguese of Brazil (', ) or South American Portuguese (') is the set of varieties of the Portuguese language native to Brazil and the most influential form of Portuguese worldwide. It is spoken by almost all of ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

, Kurányi also speaks conversational

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

, and Hungarian. Kurányi's wife, Viktorija Peličić, is Croatian. They married on 28 April 2007 in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the ...

. On 27 September 2005, Kurányi and his wife had their first child, a son named Karlo. Their second child, a daughter named Vivien Carmen, was born on 6 January 2008.

Career statistics

Club

International

International goals

Honours

VfB Stuttgart *

UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from (football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foot ...

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 ...

Schalke 04 *

DFL-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 B ...

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Germany *

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

third place:

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 ...

runner-up:

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Individual *''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the word used i ...

Team of the Season: 2006–07, 2009–10

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kuranyi, Kevin 1982 births Living people Footballers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian people of German descent Brazilian people of Hungarian descent Brazilian people of Panamanian descent German people of Hungarian descent German people of Panamanian descent German people of Brazilian descent Panamanian people of German descent Panamanian people of Brazilian descent Association football forwards Brazilian footballers German footballers Brazilian emigrants to Germany Citizens of Germany through descent Brazilian expatriate footballers German expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Russia Expatriate footballers in Panama Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Russia German expatriate sportspeople in Russia Bundesliga players Russian Premier League players Serrano Football Club players VfB Stuttgart players VfB Stuttgart II players FC Schalke 04 players FC Dynamo Moscow players TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players Germany international footballers Germany B international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers UEFA Euro 2004 players 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup players UEFA Euro 2008 players