Ulf Kirsten (born 4 December 1965) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. Nicknamed Der Schwatte (dialect for Der Schwarze, 'The Black One'), he is the first player in history to reach a total 100 caps playing with two different national teams (first for East Germany, then Reunified Germany). Kirsten's biggest success was the victory of the 1992–93 DFB-Pokal.
Kirsten's 100 caps are almost evenly split: 49 for East Germany and 51 for the re-unified Germany in a career which spanned 15 years from 1985 until 2000, with the reunified team being formed in late 1990.
Kirsten scored a total of 34 international goals, 14 of them for East Germany. His only major tournaments came late in his career; Kirsten played for his country at the 1994 and 1998 World Cups and Euro 2000.
Kirsten's son Benjamin is also a footballer, and has played as a goalkeeper for Dynamo Dresden and NEC.
German Bundesliga Torjagerkanone 1997-1998 Leverkusen | German Bundesliga Torjagerkanone 1996-1997 Leverkusen | German DFB-Pokal 1992-1993 Leverkusen | German Bundesliga Torjagerkanone 1992-1993 Leverkusen |
1979-1983 |
1983-1990 |
1985-1990 |
1990-2003 |
1990-2000 |
2003-2005 Assistant Manager |
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