Thomas Kraft
Encyclopedia
Thomas Kraft is a German
footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Hertha BSC.
and Michael Rensing
. Following Rensing's release in 2010, he was promoted to second choice, and he made his first-team debut at the beginning of that season, in the 2010 DFL-Supercup
.
On 23 November 2010 he made his debut Champions League
match in Rome against AS Roma. Bayern lost 3–2 after going into half-time with a 0–2 lead. The young goalkeeper had a good start and made some outstanding saves. During the 2010–11 winter break, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal
announced that Kraft would replace Hans-Jörg Butt as Bayern's first-choice 'keeper for the second half of the season. Kraft made his debut as Bayern's first-choice keeper in a 1–1 Bundesliga draw to VfL Wolfsburg
. Kraft produced top performance with several impressive saves to help FC Bayern to a 1–0 win on 23 February 2011 in a round of 16 Champions League clash against Inter Milan. However, the decision to replace Butt with Kraft earned the displeasure of the Bayern board, and contributed to Van Gaal losing his job: after an error by Kraft allowed Christian Eigler
to score the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Nuremberg, Van Gaal - who was already due to leave - was sacked early, and replaced by his assistant Andries Jonker
. Jonker reinstated Butt at Kraft's expense in his first game in charge, and shortly afterwards it was announced that Kraft would leave the club at the end of the 2010–11 season. The following week, 2. Bundesliga champions Hertha BSC announced that they had signed a four-year deal with Kraft on a free transfer.
. On 16 October 2011, Kraft returned for the first time with Hertha back to his old club Bayern Munich which turned out to be a quite bitter reunion for Kraft; the Berlin club lost 0–4. Prior to the game, Kraft and two other members of Hertha (Christian Lell
and Andreas Ottl
) were honored with a bouquet of flowers by the Bayern staff and the fans were chanting pro Kraft throughout the game.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Hertha BSC.
Bayern Munich
Kraft made his debut for Bayern's reserve team in 2006, and played in their first game in the newly formed 3rd Liga on 17 July 2008. From 2008 to 2010 he was third-choice goalkeeper for the senior team, behind Hans-Jörg ButtHans-Jörg Butt
Hans-Jörg Butt is a German footballer who plays for FC Bayern Munich in the German League, as a goalkeeper.Known for taking penalty kicks, he netted nearly 30 goals in Germany's top flight...
and Michael Rensing
Michael Rensing
Michael Rensing is a German footballer who currently plays for 1. FC Köln.-Early career:Born of a German father and a Serbian mother, Rensing joined Bayern in 2000 from TuS Lingen, and went on to develop his talent in the club's youth sides.He spent the 2002–03 season in the German Regionalliga...
. Following Rensing's release in 2010, he was promoted to second choice, and he made his first-team debut at the beginning of that season, in the 2010 DFL-Supercup
2010 DFL-Supercup
The 2010 DFL-Supercup marked the return of the German Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. The competition had not been played in an official capacity since 1996, and was replaced by the DFB Liga-Pokal from 1997...
.
On 23 November 2010 he made his debut Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
match in Rome against AS Roma. Bayern lost 3–2 after going into half-time with a 0–2 lead. The young goalkeeper had a good start and made some outstanding saves. During the 2010–11 winter break, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal OON is a Dutch football manager formerly in charge of Ajax, Netherlands, Barcelona, AZ and Bayern Munich...
announced that Kraft would replace Hans-Jörg Butt as Bayern's first-choice 'keeper for the second half of the season. Kraft made his debut as Bayern's first-choice keeper in a 1–1 Bundesliga draw to VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg
VfL Wolfsburg is a professional German association football club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony, who play in the Bundesliga football competition. Wolfsburg have won the Bundesliga once in their history, in the 2008–09 season, and were DFB-Pokal runners-up in 1995. The current head coach is Felix...
. Kraft produced top performance with several impressive saves to help FC Bayern to a 1–0 win on 23 February 2011 in a round of 16 Champions League clash against Inter Milan. However, the decision to replace Butt with Kraft earned the displeasure of the Bayern board, and contributed to Van Gaal losing his job: after an error by Kraft allowed Christian Eigler
Christian Eigler
Christian Eigler is a German footballer who currently plays as a striker for Bundesliga side 1. FC Nuremberg. He was transferred to Nuremberg in 2008, when Thomas von Heesen was coach there. He had previously played in another squad for which von Heesen has had responsibility for some time,...
to score the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Nuremberg, Van Gaal - who was already due to leave - was sacked early, and replaced by his assistant Andries Jonker
Andries Jonker
Andries Jonker is a Dutch football manager currently coaching Bayern Munich II. He came to Bayern as assistant to Louis van Gaal, and took over as head coach on an interim basis from April 2011 until the end of the 2010–11 season...
. Jonker reinstated Butt at Kraft's expense in his first game in charge, and shortly afterwards it was announced that Kraft would leave the club at the end of the 2010–11 season. The following week, 2. Bundesliga champions Hertha BSC announced that they had signed a four-year deal with Kraft on a free transfer.
Hertha BSC
On 1 July 2011, Kraft joined Hertha BSC, which was promoted to the Bundesliga along with FC AugsburgFC Augsburg
FC Augsburg is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. The team was founded as Fußball-Klub Alemania Augsburg in 1907 and played as BC Augsburg from 1921 to 1969....
. On 16 October 2011, Kraft returned for the first time with Hertha back to his old club Bayern Munich which turned out to be a quite bitter reunion for Kraft; the Berlin club lost 0–4. Prior to the game, Kraft and two other members of Hertha (Christian Lell
Christian Lell
Christian Lell is a German football defender who plays for Hertha BSC.-Bayern Munich:Having started his training with FC Alemannia München, Lell earned a place in the Bayern Munich junior team in 1998, and played there for three years.For the 2001–02 season, Lell was a part of Bayern's reserve team...
and Andreas Ottl
Andreas Ottl
Andreas Ottl is a German footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Hertha BSC. He signed his first professional contract for Bayern Munich on 1 July 2005. He was playing for Germany's U-21 Team. Ottl is a highly versatile player being able to play various midfield positions as well as...
) were honored with a bouquet of flowers by the Bayern staff and the fans were chanting pro Kraft throughout the game.
Honours
- BundesligaFußball-BundesligaThe Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
(1): 2009–102009–10 Fußball-BundesligaThe 2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 47th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The last games were played on 8 May 2010... - DFB-PokalDFB-PokalThe DFB-Pokal or DFB Cup is a German knockout football cup competition held annually. 64 teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2nd Bundesliga. It is considered the second most important national title in German football after the Bundesliga...
(1): 20102009–10 DFB-PokalThe 2009–10 DFB-Pokal is the sixty-seventh season of the annual German football cup competition. It commenced on the weekend around 1 August 2009 with the matches of Round 1 and ended on 15 May 2010 with the final which is traditionally held at Olympic Stadium in Berlin... - DFL-Supercup (1): 20102010 DFL-SupercupThe 2010 DFL-Supercup marked the return of the German Supercup, an annual football match contested by the winners of the previous season's Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal competitions. The competition had not been played in an official capacity since 1996, and was replaced by the DFB Liga-Pokal from 1997...
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
runner-up: 2010
External links
- Thomas Kraft at transfermarkt.de
- Thomas Kraft on the official Hertha BSC Website