Uli Stein is a football expert and TV commentator.
Uli Stein is a former national soccer goalkeeper. He is a two-time German champion, two-time DFB Cup winner and won the European Cup of Nations with HSV in 1983.
He played as a goalkeeper from 1978 to 1997 512 times in the Bundesliga, 133 times in the 2nd Bundesliga and 57 times in various European Cup competitions. With 645 appearances in the top two divisions, this makes him the player with the most appearances in German professional soccer. He played six times for the German national team.
Uli Stein Lecture Topics
- Uli Stein, the goalkeeper – Between genius and madness
- Klartext: Footballer communication on and off the field
- Extension: Teamwork, Leadership and the Young Generation
- Motivation, Passion & Hard Work: Talent alone is not enough to become a world-class player
Uli Stein was one of the world’s best goalkeepers of his time. He was talented and worked hard for success. But he was also unpredictable in his actions and his communication when he felt something was unfair.
At the World Cup in Mexico, Uli Stein was sent home early by DFB president Hermann Neuberger after team boss Franz Beckenbauer demoted him to third goalkeeper and Stein announced his retirement from the national team for the period after the World Cup because he felt he would not get a chance in the DFB eleven. Together with other players, Uli Stein overstayed the taps by around three hours on one evening during the tournament, but the DFB did not punish him for this after the players in question apologized. In reference to Beckenbauer’s rather wooden soup commercial from the 1960s, Stein called the team manager “S.K.” within the team, as an abbreviation for “Suppenkasper,” and is said to have called the team a “cucumber squad,” whereupon he had to take the flight home.
Hamburger Abendblatt: “Uli Stein keeps everything but his mouth shut.”
In addition to his athletic performance, Stein was conspicuous for many ill-tempered and provocative actions. In December 1977, in a match with Arminia Bielefeld, he deliberately let the ball that had been played back to him roll into the goal. In this way, Stein wanted to show the importance of the goalkeeper. In August 1978, however, he again voluntarily conceded a goal to prove the accuracy of the opposing strikers.
Stein played his last professional soccer match in April 1997 at the end of the 1996/97 season with Arminia Bielefeld against, of all teams, Hamburger SV, where he had celebrated his greatest successes. In 1993, he caused a media stir with his book “Halbzeit,” in which he also reviewed the 1986 World Cup from his perspective. Since 2017, Uli Stein has been a brand ambassador for his former club Eintracht Frankfurt.
Uli Stein does not allow himself to be bent, which did not go down well in the football industry at the time. He was all about principles, fairness and justice. In his talks, he talks openly about his successes, mistakes and how he sees the future of German football.