Hans-Peter Briegel - Club Career

Club Career

Two years after that he was picked up by Erich Ribbeck and Ribbeck took him to training with 1. FC Kaiserslautern, being impressed by the power and stamina the youngster had to offer. Ribbeck was aware that Briegel struggled to combine football need with his physical power and presence, but as practice makes perfect, Briegel was improving. Failing to cope the needs as striker, he did a lot better as defender. On 10 April 1976, Ribbeck brought him on as a sub in a 4–3 win over FC Bayern Munich. Until 1984 he stayed with local side 1. FC Kaiserslautern before he moved on to Hellas Verona in Italy. It should be seen as one of the best efforts of his career that he also gained his sort of reputation and importance in a league such as the Italian Serie A, largely seen as one of the most technical in Europe. Briegel was an immediate key to success for his new club, surprisingly capturing the Serie A title in 1985 with the Gialloblu. The same year Briegel was named Fußballer des Jahres (Footballer of the Year) in Germany, remarkable as he was the first foreign-based awardee in the history of the award.

Subsequent to the end of his contract at Hellas Verona, Briegel changed clubs to join fellow Italian top division outfit U.C. Sampdoria of Genoa with whom he won the Coppa Italia before his retirement as a player in 1988. Hans-Peter Briegel's success in football, based on his physical constitution, his speed and his tireless running, made him the clearest symbol for the soldier-like reputation of German football in between the years. His nickname Die Walz von der Pfalz (literally "The steamroller from Palatinate") is referring to both, his playing style as well as to his origin. Briegel, who scored 47 goals in 240 Bundesliga matches, was a keen proponent of the idea of playing without shin pads and did not wear any in his career.