Richard Golz

Richard Golz (born 5 June 1968 in Berlin) is a German former football goalkeeper. He has had a long career in German football, spending the vast majority of which at just two clubs, Hamburger SV and SC Freiburg. He works as goalkeeper coach for Hamburger SV II.

Golz was discovered by Hamburger SV youth coach Gerd-Volker Schock and joined the club in 1985, studying at the Gymnasium Heidberg, like many HSV youngsters. He made his professional debut on 1 August 1987 in a 2–5 defeat to FC Schalke 04 and managed five appearances in his debut season. By the October of his second season, he had claimed the number one jersey that he would retain for almost a decade.

Although the club didn't manage to win any trophies during this period, Golz achieved several top five finishes here and enjoyed European action in the 1991–92 UEFA Cup where Hamburg reached the third round (their exit at the hands of Sigma Olomouc was a doubly unhappy occasion for Golz as he was sent off).

It wasn't until the 1997–98 season that Golz lost his first choice position, as Hamburg signed Hans-Jörg Butt. Golz was relegated to reserve status at this point, making just one final appearance for the HSV on 31 January 1998 in a 0–3 defeat at Bayern Munich. After over 10 years and 273 Bundesliga games, Golz's time at Hamburg was up and he moved onto newly-promoted SC Freiburg.

Golz immediately got back into first team action with his new club, as they enjoyed four years at the top level, before sliding back down to the 2.Bundesliga in 2002. However, Golz was an ever-present as they immediately won promotion back as champions. He and the club survived for two further seasons before again being relegated in 2005.

The following year saw Golz activate a clause he had previously put in his contract guaranteeing him a one-year position in the club's marketing department. He made only six further appearances for the team as new signing Alexander Walke replaced him after 219 games for the club.

Golz added to his new off the field role by gaining the German Football Association football coaching licence (A-list), which built upon the sports management open university course he had competed in 2000. However, his position within the club wasn't extended beyond the initial year and he seized the chance to reactivate his playing career by joining top flight Hannover 96 in August 2006 as a backup goalkeeper, but he made no appearances until his contract ran out in 2008.