{{short description|German footballer}} {{BLP sources|date=February 2017}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Fredi Bobic | image = Fredi Bobic Champions for Charity (cropped).jpg | caption = Bobic in 2019 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1971|10|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Maribor, SR Slovenia,<br>SFR Yugoslavia | height = 1.88 m | position = Striker | currentclub = Legia Warsaw (head of football operations & sporting director) | youthyears1 = 1978–1980 | youthclubs1 = VfR Bad Cannstatt | youthyears2 = 1980–1986 | youthclubs2 = VfB Stuttgart II | youthyears3 = 1986–1990 | youthclubs3 = Stuttgarter Kickers | years1 = 1990–1992 | clubs1 = TSF Ditzingen | caps1 = 62 | goals1 = 32 | years2 = 1992–1994 | clubs2 = Stuttgarter Kickers | caps2 = 62 | goals2 = 26 | years3 = 1994–1999 | clubs3 = VfB Stuttgart | caps3 = 148 | goals3 = 69 | years4 = 1999–2002 | clubs4 = Borussia Dortmund | caps4 = 56 | goals4 = 17 | years5 = 2002 | clubs5 = → Bolton Wanderers (loan) | caps5 = 16 | goals5 = 4 | years6 = 2002–2003 | clubs6 = Hannover 96 | caps6 = 27 | goals6 = 14 | years7 = 2003–2005 | clubs7 = Hertha BSC | caps7 = 54 | goals7 = 8 | years8 = 2006 | clubs8 = Rijeka | caps8 = 8 | goals8 = 2 | totalcaps = 433 | totalgoals = 172 | nationalyears1 = 1994–2004 | nationalteam1 = Germany | nationalcaps1 = 37 | nationalgoals1 = 10 | medaltemplates = {{Medal|Team|VfB Stuttgart}} {{Medal|W|DFB-Pokal|1997}} {{Medal|RU|DFB Liga-Pokal|1997}} {{Medal|RU|UEFA Cup Winners' Cup|1998}} {{Medal|RU|DFB Liga-Pokal|1998}} {{Medal|Team|NK Rijeka}} {{Medal|W|Croatian Cup|2006}} {{Medal|Team|{{fb|Germany}}}} {{Medal|W|European Championship|1996}} }} '''Fredi Bobic''' ({{langx|sl|Fredi Bobič}}, born 30 October 1971) is a German football executive and former player who played as a striker. He is currently the head of football operations and the sporting director at Ekstraklasa club Legia Warsaw.
==Club career== Bobic was born in Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Slovene father and a Croatian mother. A few months after his birth, his parents emigrated with him to West Germany and settled down first in Ditzingen, then in Stuttgart. There, he started playing football at VfR Bad Cannstatt but soon switched to the youth team of VfB Stuttgart. While in Stuttgart, he also acquired German citizenship.
Bobic reached his prime in the mid-1990s at VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. In his first Bundesliga season (1994–95), he scored a goal in each of his first five games, so he became a candidate for the Germany national team after only a few appearances in the first German league. In 1996, he was the Bundesliga's top scorer with 17 goals.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/players/bobichdata.html | title = Fredi Bobič - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga | author = Matthias Arnhold | date = 17 October 2010 | access-date = 24 January 2012 | publisher = Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation}}</ref> At Stuttgart, he formed part of a successful attacking line-up, along with strike partner Giovane Élber and attacking midfielder Krasimir Balakov, known as the "magic triangle".
After four years in Stuttgart, in 1999 he signed with Borussia Dortmund and was the club's top scorer in both 1999–2000 and 2000–01. However, after the signings of Jan Koller and Márcio Amoroso in the summer of 2001, he soon fell out of favor and played only three games in the first half of 2001–02 season.
Subsequently, Bobic was loaned to the Premier League side Bolton Wanderers, where he had a successful spell, playing a key role in keeping Bolton in the Premiership. His hat-trick in the 4–1 win against Ipswich at the Reebok Stadium<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1911163.stm |title=Bolton rout Ipswich |publisher=BBC Sport |date=6 April 2002 |access-date=16 September 2009}}</ref> ensured Bolton stayed up, and remained the last Bolton hat-trick in a competitive game until Joe Mason in the 2014–15 season. He scored once more for Bolton, in a 3–2 victory over Aston Villa.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/eng_prem/1899909.stm |title=Nolan strike sinks Villa | publisher=BBC Sport |date=30 March 2002 |access-date=16 September 2009}}</ref>
After returning from England, Bobic was signed by newly promoted Bundesliga side Hannover 96 where he reestablished himself as one of the league's top scorers, netting 14 times in 27 games.
In 2003, he was signed by Hertha BSC, where he played for two seasons, scoring 8 goals in 54 games.
He last played for Croatian outfit NK Rijeka before retiring in June 2006, at the end of the 2005–06 season.
==International career== Bobic won 37 caps (10 goals)<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.rsssf.org/miscellaneous/bobic-intlg.html | title = Fredi Bobič - Goals in International Matches | first = Matthias | last = Arnhold | date = 31 July 2007 | access-date = 24 January 2012 | publisher = Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation}}</ref> for the Germany national team and was part of the UEFA Euro 1996 winning squad. He also played at UEFA Euro 2004, having returned to the national team in 2002 after a four-year absence.
==Managerial career== thumb|upright|Bobic with VfB Stuttgart Bobic signed a contract as a managing director of Bulgarian club Chernomorets Burgas on 25 March 2009 and worked in the club with his former teammate Krasimir Balakov.
On 27 July 2010, Bobic became new director of sport of VfB Stuttgart.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://vfb.de/archiv/en/aktuell/news/2010/37539.php |title=Fredi Bobic is director of sport |publisher=VfB Stuttgart |date=27 July 2010 |access-date=27 July 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504232758/http://www.vfb.de/archiv/en/aktuell/news/2010/37539.php |archive-date=4 May 2012 }}</ref> On 20 January 2012, he extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2016.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2011/bobic-schneider-ulreich-vertraege/page/1251-0-1-1327077523.html |title=Triple contract extension |publisher=VfB Stuttgart |date=20 January 2012 |access-date=20 January 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141214094704/http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2011/bobic-schneider-ulreich-vertraege/page/1251-0-1-1327077523.html |archive-date=14 December 2014 }}</ref> He took on the role as board representative for sport of the club on 10 April 2013.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2013/veraenderung-vorstand-vfb-stuttgart/page/2207-1-1-.html |title=Management changes |publisher=VfB Stuttgart |date=10 April 2013 |access-date=10 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140702160629/http://www.vfb.de/en/aktuell/meldungen/news/2013/veraenderung-vorstand-vfb-stuttgart/page/2207-1-1-.html |archive-date=2 July 2014}}</ref> Bobic was sacked on 24 September 2014.
On 1 June 2016, Bobic became sporting director of Eintracht Frankfurt. During his term the club won the DFB-Pokal after beating Bayern Munich in the final (3–1).
On 14 April 2021, Hertha BSC announced its decision to hire Bobic as their new managing director for sport starting 1 July 2021.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.herthabsc.com/en/news/2021/04/fredi-bobic-announcement-2021|title=Announcement from the board |publisher=Hertha BSC|date=14 April 2021 |access-date=21 April 2021}}</ref> Bobic was sacked on 28 January 2023 after a 2–0 loss to 1. FC Union in the Berlin derby.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.herthabsc.com/de/nachrichten/2023/01/abschied-fredi-bobic-2223|title=Fredi Bobic ab sofort nicht mehr Geschäftsführer Sport | publisher=Hertha BSC (in German)|date=28 January 2023 |access-date=31 January 2023}}</ref>
In April 2025, Bobic was appointed head of operations at Polish top-flight club Legia Warsaw.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ptak |first1=Jakub |title=Fredi Bobic podpisał umowę z Legią Warszawa. Został dyrektorem ds. operacji piłkarskich |url=https://sport.tvp.pl/86262787/fredi-bobic-podpisal-umowe-z-legia-warszawa-zostal-dyrektorem-ds-operacji-pilkarskich |website=sport.tvp.pl |access-date=22 April 2025 |language=pl |date=19 April 2025}}</ref> On 31 May 2026, he replaced Michał Żewłakow as Legia's sporting director.<ref>{{cite web |title=Legia Warszawa ma nowego dyrektora sportowego |url=https://www.polsatsport.pl/wiadomosc/2026-05-31/legia-warszawa-ma-nowego-dyrektora-sportowego/ |website=polsatsport.pl |access-date=31 May 2026 |language=pl |date=31 May 2026}}</ref>
==Career statistics==
===Club=== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|National cup{{efn|Includes DFB-Pokal, Croatian Cup}} !colspan="2"|League cup{{efn|Includes Ligapokal}} !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="3"|TSF Ditzingen |1990–91 |Verbandsliga Württemberg |28||13||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||28||13 |- |1991–92 |Oberliga Baden-Württemberg |34||19||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||34||19 |- !colspan="2"|Total !62!!32!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!62!!32 |- |rowspan="3"|Stuttgarter Kickers |1992–93<ref name="wf">{{cite web |title=Fredi Bobic » Club matches |url=https://www.worldfootball.net/person/pe40688/fredi-bobic/club-matches/ |website=worldfootball.net |access-date=19 April 2022}}</ref> |2. Bundesliga |30||10||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||31||10 |- |1993–94<ref name="wf"/> |2. Bundesliga |32||16||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||33||16 |- !colspan="2"|Total !62!!26!!2!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!64!!26 |- |rowspan="6"|VfB Stuttgart |1994–95<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |32||12||3||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||35||13 |- |1995–96<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |26||17||1||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||27||18 |- |1996–97<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |33||19||5||2||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||38||21 |- |1997–98<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |29||13||5||4||2||0||8{{efn|Appearances in UEFA Cup Winners' Cup}}||5||44||22 |- |1998–99<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |28||8||3||0||3||1||4{{efn|name=UEC|Appearance(s) in UEFA Cup}}||3||38||12 |- !colspan="2"|Total !148!!69!!17!!8!!5!!1!!12!!8!!182!!86 |- |rowspan="4"|Borussia Dortmund |1999–2000<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |29||7||1||0||2||1||11{{efn|Seven appearances and three goals in UEFA Champions League, four goals and one goal in UEFA Cup}}||4||43||12 |- |2000–01<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |24||10||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||25||10 |- |2001–02<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |3||0||1||0||1||1||7{{efn|Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, one appearance in UEFA Cup}}||0||12||1 |- !colspan="2"|Total !56!!17!!3!!0!!3!!2!!18!!4!!80!!23 |- |Bolton Wanderers (loan) |2001–02 |Premier League |16||4||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||16||4 |- |Hannover 96 |2002–03<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |27||14||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||27||14 |- |rowspan="3"|Hertha BSC |2003–04<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |32||7||2||0||1||1||2{{efn|name=UEC}}||0||37||8 |- |2004–05<ref name="wf"/> |Bundesliga |22||1||2||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||24||1 |- !colspan="2"|Total !54!!8!!4!!0!!1!!1!!2!!0!!61!!9 |- |NK Rijeka |2005–06 |Prva HNL |8||2||2||1||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||10||3 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !433!!172!!28!!9!!9!!4!!32!!12!!502!!197 |}
{{notelist}}
===International=== :''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Bobic goal.''
{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ List of international goals scored by Fredi Bobic |- !scope="col"|No. !scope="col"|Date !scope="col"|Venue !scope="col"|Opponent !scope="col"|Score !scope="col"|Result !scope="col"|Competition |- | align="center"|1 || 23 August 1995 || King Baudouin Stadium, Brussels, Belgium || {{fb|BEL}} || align="center"|2–1 || align="center"|2–1 || Friendly |- | align="center"|2 || 9 October 1996|| Hrazdan Stadium, Yerevan, Armenia || {{fb|ARM}} || align="center"|4–0 || align="center"|5–1 || 1998 FIFA World Cup qualification |- | align="center"|3 || 20 November 2002 || Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany || {{fb|NLD}} || align="center"|1–1 || align="center"|1–3 || Friendly |- | align="center"|4 || 12 February 2003 || Estadio Son Moix, Mallorca, Spain || {{fb|ESP}} || align="center"|1–1 || align="center"|1–3 || Friendly |- | align="center"|5 || 1 June 2003 || Volkswagen-Arena, Wolfsburg, Germany || {{fb|CAN}} || align="center"|3–1 || align="center"|4–1 || Friendly |- | align="center"|6 || 7 June 2003 || Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland || {{fb|SCO}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|1–1 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |- | align="center"|7 || 11 June 2003 || Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands || {{fb|FRO}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|2–0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |- | align="center"|8 || 10 September 2003 || Westfalenstadion, Dortmund, Germany || {{fb|SCO}} || align="center"|1–0 || align="center"|2–1 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |- | align="center"|9 || 11 October 2003 || Volksparkstadion, Hamburg, Germany || {{fb|ISL}} || align="center"|2–0 || align="center"|3–0 || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |- | align="center"|10 || 27 May 2004 || Dreisamstadion, Freiburg, Germany || {{fb|MLT}} || align="center"|7–0 || align="center"|7–0 || Friendly |}
==Honours== '''VfB Stuttgart''' * DFB-Pokal: 1996–97 * UEFA Cup Winners' Cup runner-up: 1997–98
'''Borussia Dortmund''' * Bundesliga: 2001–02
'''NK Rijeka''' * Croatian Cup: 2005–06
'''Germany''' * UEFA European Championship: 1996
'''Individual''' * Bundesliga top scorer: 1995–96 * ''kicker'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 1995–96<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/bl50/199596/startseite.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121018190454/http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/bundesliga/bl50/199596/startseite.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 October 2012|title=Bundesliga Historie 1995/96|language=de|publisher=kicker}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{cc}} * {{Official website|http://www.fredibobic.de}} * {{Soccerbase}} * {{Fussballdaten|bobicfredi}}
{{1995–96 kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season}} {{Bundesliga top scorers}} {{Navboxes colour |bg= white |fg= black |bordercolor= black |title= Germany squads |list1= {{Germany squad UEFA Euro 1996}} {{Germany squad UEFA Euro 2004}} }}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bobic, Fredi}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:West German men's footballers Category:Footballers from Maribor Category:Footballers from Stuttgart Category:German men's footballers Category:Naturalized citizens of Germany Category:Yugoslav emigrants to Germany Category:Slovenian emigrants to Germany Category:German people of Slovenian descent Category:German people of Croatian descent Category:Slovenian people of Croatian descent Category:Men's association football forwards Category:Germany men's international footballers Category:UEFA European Championship–winning players Category:Kicker-Torjägerkanone Award winners Category:UEFA Euro 1996 players Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:Bundesliga players Category:2. Bundesliga players Category:Premier League players Category:Croatian Football League players Category:Stuttgarter Kickers players Category:VfB Stuttgart players Category:TSF Ditzingen players Category:Borussia Dortmund players Category:Bolton Wanderers F.C. players Category:Hannover 96 players Category:Hertha BSC players Category:HNK Rijeka players Category:German expatriate men's footballers Category:German expatriate sportspeople in England Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Croatia Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Croatia Category:Association football executives Category:German sports executives and administrators Category:VfB Stuttgart non-playing staff Category:Hertha BSC non-playing staff Category:Eintracht Frankfurt non-playing staff Category:Legia Warsaw non-playing staff Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Bulgaria Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Poland