Toni Tapalović (born 10 October 1980) 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 ...

who played as a goalkeeper, and is currently the goalkeeping coach of

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 pla ...

Club career

Throughout his career he played for lower clubs or for the reserve teams. Tapalovic began his career in 1986 at Fortuna Gelsenkirchen. In 1990, he moved to the youth squad of

FC Schalke 04 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 Rhi ...

. In 1999, he was promoted to the "A" youth and amateur team. He later received a professional contract for two years, lasting until 2001, but withdrew in August 1999 because of a knee injury in the inner meniscus. In 2002, he moved to

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

, where he was under contract until January 2004. In both teams he played for in the Bundesliga, he was a substitute goalkeeper without Bundesliga match practice. In January 2004, he joined the

KFC Uerdingen 05 KFC Uerdingen 05 is a German football club in the Uerdingen district of the city of Krefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. The former Bundesliga side enjoyed its greatest successes in the 1980s but now plays in the fifth-level Oberliga. History The ...

in the Regionalliga West. He played there until June 2005. During his time at KFC Uerdingen 05 he made 26 appearances for the team. In December 2005, Tapalovic joined the then second division side Kickers Offenbach, but did not play. In 2006, he returned to FC Schalke 04. After the departure of

Frank Rost Frank Rost (born 30 June 1973) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He comes from a sporting family background; his father Peter won a gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in handball, and his mother Christi ...

in January 2007, Tapalovic was again the substitute goalkeeper for the team. In 2010, he joined the German Bundesliga team

FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

's second team. In October 2010, Tapalovic retired after a test confirmed a

torn ACL An anterior cruciate ligament injury occurs when the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is either stretched, partially torn, or completely torn. The most common injury is a complete tear. Symptoms include pain, an audible cracking sound during inju ...

and a tear of the medial collateral ligament which would force him to be out for six months.

Coaching career

On 1 July 2011, he was appointed as the goalkeeping coach of

. He has a contract with Bayern Munich till 30 June 2021. He later extended his contract until 2023, due to success of working with Manuel Neuer.

Personal life

His brother Filip Tapalović is also a former footballer who played for Croatia national team.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tapalovic, Toni 1980 births Sportspeople from Gelsenkirchen FC Schalke 04 II players FC Schalke 04 players VfL Bochum II players Living people German people of Croatian descent Association football goalkeepers Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia German footballers FC Bayern Munich non-playing staff