Gunnar Sauer (born 11 June 1964) is a German retired 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
central defender
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 ...
, most notably with
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, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
.
Over the course of 13 seasons (12 with his main club), he amassed
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 ...
totals of 134 games and eight goals despite being plagued by injuries which kept him out of action for long periods.
Sauer represented
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
at
Euro 1988
The 1988 UEFA European Football Championship final tournament was held in West Germany from 10 to 25 June 1988. It was the eighth UEFA European Championship, which is held every four years and supported by UEFA.
The tournament crowned the Nethe ...
, but did not gain an international
cap
A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...
.
Club career
Werder Bremen
Born in
Cuxhaven
Cuxhaven (; ) is an independent town and seat of the Cuxhaven district, in Lower Saxony, Germany. The town includes the northernmost point of Lower Saxony. It is situated on the shore of the North Sea at the mouth of the Elbe River. Cuxhaven has ...
,
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, most of Sauer's career was spent at
SV Werder Bremen. His best years came between 1986–91.
He contributed greatly to Werder Bremen's championship in the
1987–88 Bundesliga
The 1987–88 Bundesliga was the 25th season of the Bundesliga, the premier football league in West Germany. It began on 31 July 1987 and ended on 21 May 1988. FC Bayern Munich were the defending champions.
Competition modus
Every team played t ...
season, commanding the "club's probably best ever defence" which conceded just 22 goals.
On 13 September 1988, in a home match against
Bayern Munich he injured his foot.
From 1991 injuries kept Sauer out of action for long periods and he was mainly used a backup, making only 17
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 ...
appearances for Werder Bremen.
During the 1991
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 considered ...
final against
1. FC Köln, which Werder Bremen won after penalties, Sauer again sustained an injury, hurting 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 ( ...
. This injury required four operations for him to play football again and he made his comeback in April 1994.
Later years
In 1996, Sauer left Werder Bremen having spent 15 years at the club joining
Hertha BSC.
He helped the club promote from the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, although he played very little. After one campaign each with