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After three years at Arminia Bielefeld and FC Saarbrücken, his path led him back to Kaiserslautern. In 1990, he won the DFB Pokal with Lauterer and moved to Bayer 04 at the end of the season. Franco played mainly as a sweeper for the next four years and captained the Werkself to DFB Pokal victory in 1993. He made a total of 140 appearances for Bayer 04 and scored ten goals along the way.
Another trophy came in 1997: He also won the DFB Pokal with VfB Stuttgart. His career then took him abroad, where Franco played for FC Basel in Switzerland and SK Sturm Graz in Austria, among others. He won the Austrian league title twice with Sturm Graz and took part in the UEFA Champions League with the club.
After the end of his playing career, Franco Foda remained closely connected to football. He began his coaching career at SK Sturm Graz as a youth coach, but took on the role of assistant coach of the first team just one year later and was appointed head coach on 1 June 2006. In this role, he led the club to the Austrian league title in 2010/11. Further coaching positions followed, including at FC Kaiserslautern, before he returned to Sturm Graz as head coach in September 2014.
From 30 October 2017, Franco Foda was in the Austria dugout. He was regarded as a coach with a clear approach who placed discipline, consistency and professionalism at the centre of his work. Under his leadership, Austria qualified for the Round of 16 of the Euros for the first time in 2021 - a significant sporting milestone.
In addition to sport, Franco Foda is also particularly committed to social causes. He volunteers in the city of Graz on several occasions and initiates charity campaigns for Graz foster families and their children, among other things. As a speaker on the Day of Volunteering, he emphasises the central importance of voluntary work for the functioning of society. He also supported initiatives around corona tests and was an ambassador for youth sport. In 2021, Franco took on a central role as a broad-based ambassador for exercise and sport, thus having an impact far beyond professional football.
After his time as Austria national coach from 2017 to 2022, he took on further international roles, including at FC Zurich. Since 2024, the father of two has been the Kosovo coach, continuing his successful coaching career at international level.
Dear Franco, I wish you all the best for your 60th birthday. Stay healthy and have a good one!
Michael Ballack was born on 26 September 1976 in Görlitz, in what was then East Germany. His talent for football became apparent at an early age. After his family moved to Karl-Marx-Stadt – now Chemnitz – he began playing football for BSG Motor ‘Fritz Heckert’ Karl-Marx-Stadt, where he steadily developed his skills. From Year 7 onwards, he attended the Children’s and Youth Sports School and received systematic sporting support, which, in 1988 – due to his growing skill as a player – led to a move to FC Karl-Marx-Stadt. At the age of 16, he had to take a six-month break due to growth problems, but after that, Michael was unstoppable.
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José Elias Moedim Júnior, known as Zé Elias, was born on 25 September 1976 in São Paulo. He received his football training at Sport Club Corinthians Paulista, or Corinthians for short, and was promoted to the first team at the age of just 17. PSV Eindhoven had already taken notice of him by this stage, but the move to Europe was still too early for him. The tenacious defensive midfielder established himself in the first team over the following three years. With Corinthians, Zé Elias won the São Paulo City Championship and the Brazilian Cup in 1995. With his excellent vision, his determination and his assured ball control, he made a significant contribution to his team’s success.
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In their second season in Bundesliga 2 North, the Werkself face Fortuna Köln at their home ground, the Ulrich Haberland Stadium, on matchday 7. Both teams are level on seven points, sitting eighth and ninth in the table.
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In this video you can see impressive and important goals in the history of Bayer 04 from the month of September. It's not always about the beauty of the goals, but also a reminder of special games and players.
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September gets off to a disastrous start, though not for the Werkself: the German national team, featuring Bayer 04 players Jens Nowotny, Michael Ballack and Oliver Neuville, suffer a 5-1 thrashing at the hands of England in a World Cup qualifier at the Olympic Stadium in Munich. Jens Nowotny, in particular, came in for sharp criticism. With this defeat, Germany’s direct qualification is now hanging in the balance.
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