Dieter Eilts

Dieter Eilts
Personal information
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder

Dieter Eilts (born December 13, 1964 in Upgant-Schott) was an acclaimed German football (soccer) player and is currently the trainer of the German U21 squad. His nickname was the Alemão of East Frisia, for his similarity with to Brazilian midfielder Alemão. Ironically, the word Alemão means "German" in Portuguese (but then again, the Brazilian player earned his nickname precisely because of his blond "German" appearance).

Player career

Eilts, a native of East Frisia, had the reputation of being the quintessential midfield blue-collar worker. He played 390 matches in the Bundesliga for Werder Bremen, his only club during his whole professional career, and scored seven goals. He was also lauded as one of the most responsible and sensible players of the league, never appearing in the yellow press and always leading by example. Eilts is regarded as one of the finest discoveries of legendary coach Otto Rehhagel.

Eilts also was a regular with the German squad, collecting 31 caps. His finest games came in the 1996 European Championship, when he, Matthias Sammer and Thomas Helmer formed the defensive backbone of the team that won the trophy.

Dieter Eilts went to EURO '96™ with the reputation of an outstanding club servant with Werder Bremen under future competition hero Otto Rehhagel, but at international level he was relatively inexperienced and had never previously participated in a major tournament. There were doubts in the German media over the wisdom of handing him the midfield anchorman role in England, but the wiry East Frisian surprised everybody with the class and composure of his play. It was his tactical appreciation and willingness to drop back into defence that enabled sweeper Matthias Sammer to make many dangerous sorties into enemy territory as his team let in just three goals, one of which came in the final after Eilts had been forced off due to injury. He closed his international career in 1997 with 31 caps, six of those coming in England, but captained Bremen until 2002, clocking up 390 Bundesliga appearances over a 17-year period. He won two German championships, three German Cups and, in 1992, the UEFA European Cup Winners' Cup. Since retirement he has coached the Germany Under-19 and U21 squads.

Trainer career

After his player career, Eilts trained the German U19 squad, and since 6.8.04, he is trainer of the German U21 squad. Until now, he has been highly successful with his teams and has earned a lot of praise for his work, he was fired on 5 November 2008 [showUid=16276].

Accolades

Template:Germany under-21 football team 2006 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship Squad