Hans-Jörg Butt

Football player infobox
playername= Hans-Jörg Butt
fullname = Hans-Jörg Butt
nickname =


dateofbirth = birth date and age|1974|5|28
cityofbirth = Oldenburg
countryofbirth = West Germany
height = height|m=1.91
currentclub = Bayern Munich
clubnumber = 22
position = Goalkeeper
youthyears =
youthclubs = TSV Großenkneten
years = 1994–1997
1997–2001
2001–2007
2007–2008
2008–
clubs = VfB Oldenburg
Hamburg
Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica
Bayern Munich
caps(goals) = 087 0(5)
133 (19)
191 0(7)
001 0(0)
000 0(0)
nationalyears = 2000–2003
nationalteam = Germany
nationalcaps(goals) = 003 0(0)
pcupdate = May 5, 2008
ntupdate = May 5, 2008

Hans-Jörg Butt (born May 28, 1974 in Oldenburg) is a German goalkeeper who plays for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga.

Club career

Butt is known for taking penalty kicks, scoring 26 goals in Bundesliga. He started his career with modest VfB Oldenburg, achieving promotion to the 2. Bundesliga. He moved to Hamburger SV in 1997 and, in 1998–99, hit seven goals for the team – all from the penalty spot, adding nine in similar fashion the following season.

Butt joined Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer in 2001, and was their number one goalkeeper until the end of 2006–07. He was a member of the team that lost to Real Madrid in the 2002 UEFA Champions League Final.

In a hilarious situation, in 2003–04, after scoring a penalty in an away match against Schalke 04, on April 17, 2004, Butt was busy celebrating with his teammates and, as he went back into his goal he found the ball in the net. A Schalke player (Mike Hanke) shot the ball from the halfway line, after a quick kick-off. [ [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R96j711uSIM Two goals in 30 seconds] ]

After losing Leverkusen's nets to the young René Adler, Butt decided to cancel the contract that linked him to the club until 2009. The German goalie activated a clause that allowed him to leave the club should he fail to appear in less of the games during the second half of the season. [cite web | url = http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=533325.html | title = Butt logs off at Leverkusen | publisher = uefa.com | accessdate = 2008-05-28 | date = 2007-04-30] In July 2007, he signed a two-year deal with Portuguese giants SL Benfica. Butt made his "Reds" debut in the Summer tournament of "Torneio de Guadiana", held between Benfica, Sporting CP and Real Betis. In the tournament, he saved a penalty against Betis, helping Benfica with the final win. At Benfica, he played understudy to Portugal international Quim, and was used in the cup matches. He only made one league appearance for Benfica, coming on as a substitute after Quim was sent off against C.S. Marítimo in October 2007. In this match, he saved a penalty from Ariza Makukula with his first touch of the game and Benfica eventually won 2-1.

On June 4, 2008, it was confirmed that Butt signed a two-year contract with Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich. He is expected to be the understudy to Oliver Kahn's heir, highly rated young Michael Rensing. [cite web | url = http://www.fcbayern.t-com.de/de/aktuell/news/2008/16523.php?fcb_sid=ebf930e8499b3f0653c75c7a3d96770c | title = Hans-Jörg Butt wechselt zum FC Bayern | publisher = fcbayern.de | accessdate = 2008-06-04 | date = 2008-06-04]

International career

Butt was Germany's third-choice goalkeeper, behind Oliver Kahn and Jens Lehmann, at both the Euro 2000 and the 2002 World Cup, remaining an unused substitute in both tournaments. He has won three international caps for Germany in friendly matches, with his debut coming against Liechtenstein in June 2000.

References

External links

* [http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/butthansjoerg/ Career stats at Fussballdaten.de] de icon
* [http://www.leverkusen.com/whoiswho/whoiswho.php4?view=Butt_HJ Leverkusen-who's who] de icon
* [http://www.footballdatabase.com/site/players/index.php?dumpPlayer=785 footballdatabase.com stats]