Hans-Jörg Butt (; born 28 May 1974), often simply called Jörg Butt, is a German former

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 lea ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), 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 i ...

. Known for taking

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

s, and for often running into the opposing penalty box in an attempt to find a winner whenever his team were trailing, he scored 26 goals in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

. He played for

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), or HSV (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its Association football, football department. Though the current HSV was founde ...

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

and

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

in his country, having arrived at Munich already aged 34. Butt represented

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

in two

World Cups A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

and at

Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

Personal life

Butt was born in Oldenburg and raised in nearby Großenkneten, where his father Jochen ran a company manufacturing loading ramps and industrial doors. As a youngster, he played for the junior teams of his local football club, TSV Großenkneten, as a striker. Butt is married to Katja. As of November 2010, the couple had three children – a daughter and two sons.

Club career

Hamburg/Leverkusen

Butt started his professional career with modest Oldenburg, achieving promotion to the second division in 1996. He moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

in the 1997 summer and, in his second season, scored seven goals for the team – all from the penalty spot – adding nine in similar fashion the following campaign. Butt joined

on a free transfer in 2001, being the side's undisputed starter in the subsequent campaigns (he only missed one

match in his first five seasons combined and added seven goals), and appeared in all the games (17) for a team that lost to

Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional Football club (association football), football club based in Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, th ...

in the

2001–02 UEFA Champions League The 2001–02 UEFA Champions League was the 47th season of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA's premier club football tournament, and the 10th since its rebranding from the "European Champion Clubs' Cup" or "European Cup". The tournament was won by ...

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

, scoring a penalty in a 3–1 home win against

Juventus Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

in the second group stage. In 2003–04, after scoring a penalty in an away match against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...

on 17 April 2004, Butt turned away from midfield and began to enthusiastically celebrate with his teammates. He did not notice the whistle for the restart of the game and continued to celebrate. Schalke player Mike Hanke took the opportunity to shoot from the halfway line and scored while Butt was still jogging back to his position.

Benfica

After losing Leverkusen's nets to the young René Adler during the 2006–07 season, Butt decided to cancel the contract that linked him to the club until 2009, activating a clause that allowed him to leave the club should he fail to appear in more than half of the games during the second half of the campaign. In July 2007, he signed a two-year deal with Portuguese club Benfica. Butt made his ''Eagles'' debut in the summer tournament of '' Torneio de Guadiana'', held between Benfica,

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

and

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in Seville, Andalusia, Spain. It plays in La Liga, the Spanish football league system, top flight of Spanish football. It plays home ...

. In the competition, he saved a penalty against Betis, helping Benfica with the final win. At the

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

outfit, however, he played understudy to Portuguese international Quim, being used in the domestic cup matches. He only made one league appearance for Benfica, coming on as a substitute after Quim was sent off against C.S. Marítimo in October 2007 – in this match, he saved a penalty from

Ariza Makukula Ariza Makukula (born 4 March 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a centre-forward. He amassed Primeira Liga totals of 26 matches and nine goals over three seasons for Marítimo, Benfica and Vitória de Setúbal, spending ...

with his first touch of the game, and his team eventually won 2–1.

Bayern Munich

On 4 June 2008, Butt signed a two-year contract with reigning champions

and was expected to act as backup to

Oliver Kahn Oliver Rolf Kahn (; born 15 June 1969) is a German football executive and former professional player who played as a goalkeeper. He started his career in the Karlsruher SC Junior team in 1975. Twelve years later, Kahn made his debut match in t ...

's heir, highly rated young

Michael Rensing Michael Rensing (born 14 May 1984) is a German former Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. He has played for FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich, 1. FC Köln, Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Bayer Lever ...

. He made his official debut for the club in the Champions League round-of-16 second leg against

Sporting CP Sporting Clube de Portugal (), otherwise referred to as Sporting CP or simply Sporting (particularly within Portugal), or as Sporting Lisbon in other countries,

in a 7–1 home drubbing, on 10 March 2009. With Rensing dropped to the bench following a 5–1 loss at

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian language, Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth-largest city in the Germany, German state of Lower Saxony, on the river Aller (Germany), Aller east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the locat ...

, he also started the remaining games of the season, as the initial first-choice was also nursing a

hand A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the Koala#Characteristics, koala (which has two thumb#O ...

injury. After the team's poor start to the 2009–10 season with Rensing in goal, Butt was reinstated as the first-choice. On 8 December 2009, he scored his first goal for the club, a crucial penalty in the club's last Champions League group stage match at Juventus, coming from behind to a 4–1 victory – after this feat, he has managed to score a goal against Juventus in the Champions League for all three major German clubs he represented. On 30 January 2010, Butt missed out on the opportunity to score his first league goal for Bayern as his penalty was saved by

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

's Heinz Müller, but it proved to be of no detriment to the club as it won 3–0. On 16 February, he was rewarded for an outstanding season with a contract extension until 2011. He was also in goal for the Champions League final, where his team was denied an historic treble after losing 0–2 to

Inter Milan Football Club Internazionale Milano, commonly referred to as Internazionale () or simply Inter, and colloquially known as Inter Milan in English-speaking countries, is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football ...

. Midway through the 2010–11 season, 36-year-old Butt lost his starting place to another club youth graduate,

Thomas Kraft Thomas Kraft (born 22 July 1988) is a German former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper. Club career Bayern Munich Born in Kirchen, West Germany, Kraft began playing in a ...

. However, a series of unconvincing displays by the youngster, including a 2–3 home loss against Inter Milan in the Champions League Round of 16 on 15 March 2011, and a 1–1 away draw with 1. FC Nürnberg on 9 April, paved the way for the veteran to return to the starting line-up, which happened on 17 April, in a 5–1 home victory over former club Bayer Leverkusen, and he still appeared in 30 official games during the campaign (23 in the league), as his team finished in third position. On 3 May 2011, Butt signed a one-year extension to his contract with Bayern, backing up newly signed

Manuel Neuer Manuel Peter Neuer (; born 27 March 1986) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for and captain (association football), captains club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munic ...

. He retired at the end of the season at the age of 38, after a friendly with the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

on 22 May 2012 in which he acted as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

International career

Butt was

's third-choice goalkeeper, behind

and Jens Lehmann, at both the

UEFA Euro 2000 The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, also known as Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Championship, a football tournament held every four years and organised by UEFA, the sport's governing body in Europe. The finals tournament was ...

and 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 ...

, remaining an unused substitute in both tournaments. He won three international

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Java ...

for Germany in friendly matches, his debut coming against

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...

on 7 June 2000, where he appeared for the second half of an 8–2 routing. Butt,

and Tim Wiese were chosen as Germany's goalkeepers for the

2010 World Cup The 2010 FIFA World Cup was the 19th FIFA World Cup, the world championship for List of men's national association football teams, men's national Association football, football teams. It took place in South Africa from 11 June to 11 July 2010. ...

, with Butt taking the place of former Leverkusen teammate René Adler, who had to withdraw due to a

rib In vertebrate anatomy, ribs () are the long curved bones which form the rib cage, part of the axial skeleton. In most tetrapods, ribs surround the thoracic cavity, enabling the lungs to expand and thus facilitate breathing by expanding the ...

injury. He made his only competitive international appearance on 10 July, appearing in the 3–2 win against

Uruguay Uruguay, officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast, while bordering the Río de la Plata to the south and the A ...

in the tournament's third-place playoff.

Post-retirement

Butt was appointed head of the

Bayern Munich Junior Team The FC Bayern Munich Junior Team is the youth academy for German football club FC Bayern Munich. The Junior Team was created in 1902 and restructured in 1995. It has educated many players who have become regulars in the Bundesliga and Germany. ...

on 1 July 2012. He left the position on 7 August, stating "I misjudged this field of activity, for which I've had responsibility for a few weeks now. I approached my new appointment with great enthusiasm, but I have realised that the task does not offer the satisfaction and passion I wanted. This is the reason for my decision. I would like to thank FC Bayern for their understanding."

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

VfB Oldenburg *

Regionalliga Nord The Regionalliga Nord () is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Lower Saxony, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen and Hamburg. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with the Regionalliga Bayern, Regionalliga N ...

: 1995–96 Bayer Leverkusen *

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

runner-up: 2001–02 *

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

runner-up: 2001–02 Bayern Munich *

: 2009–10 * DFB-Pokal: 2009–10 *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

* UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2009–10, 2011–12 Germany *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

runner-up:

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

, third place

Individual * '' kicker'' : 2009–10 * ''kicker''

Team of the Season: 1999–2000, 2009–10

References

External links

* * *
Leverkusen-who's who
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butt, Hans-Jorg 1974 births 2. Bundesliga players 2002 FIFA World Cup players 2010 FIFA World Cup players 3. Liga players Men's association football goalkeepers Bayer 04 Leverkusen players Bundesliga players Expatriate men's footballers in Portugal FC Bayern Munich footballers FC Bayern Munich II players FC Bayern Munich non-playing staff Footballers from Lower Saxony German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Portugal German men's footballers Germany men's B international footballers Germany men's international footballers Hamburger SV players Living people Sportspeople from Oldenburg Primeira Liga players S.L. Benfica footballers UEFA Euro 2000 players VfB Oldenburg players West German men's footballers