Michael Schulz is a retired German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 soccer player. He played 243 matches in the Bundesliga for Borussia Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund

Ballspielverein Borussia Dortmund, commonly BVB, are a German sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. Dortmund are one of the most successful clubs in German football history. Borussia Dortmund play in the Bundesliga, the top league of German football...

, Werder Bremen and 1. FC Kaiserslautern

1. FC Kaiserslautern

1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern, also known as 1. FCK, FCK or simply Kaiserslautern, is a German association football club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. On 2 June 1900, Germania 1896 and FG Kaiserslautern merged to create FC 1900...

 and scored eight goals.

Schulz played centre-back and had the reputation of being one of the hardest defenders in the Bundesliga. He collected 48 yellow and 2 red cards. He was a great crowd favourite in Bremen, his fans regularly chanting "Schuuuuuuuuuulz" whenever he had the ball. Fellow Bremen player Christian Schulz

Christian Schulz

Christian Schulz is a German footballer, currently with German Bundesliga club Hannover 96 as a centre back....

, who bears no relationship to him, is regularly celebrated like this because of him. In Paninis World Championship collector's cards edition 1994 he is described as "an anchor as header, strong in duels, feared for his wide throw-ins. The Charles Bronson type of guy overdoes toughness."

He played seven times for the German national team from 1992 to 1993. He also competed for West Germany at the 1988 Summer Olympics

1988 Summer Olympics

The 1988 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIV Olympiad, were an all international multi-sport events celebrated from September 17 to October 2, 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. They were the second summer Olympic Games to be held in Asia and the first since the 1964 Summer Olympics...

.

He works as a player agent at the Hamburg based sport management

Sport management

Sport management is a field of education and vocation concerning the business aspect of sport. Some examples of sport managers include the front office system in professional sports, college sports managers, recreational sport managers, sports marketing, event management, facility management,...

 agency Extratime. He's additionally in the field for several German TV channels and since August 2009 also as a field reporter for Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom

Deutsche Telekom AG is a telecommunications company headquartered in Bonn, Germany. It is the largest telecommunications company in Europe....

's football channel Liga total.

Honours

• 1988 Olympics
  Football at the 1988 Summer Olympics
  Final results for the football competition at the 1988 Summer Olympics. The tournament was held from September 17, 1988 to October 1, 1988.-Medal summary:...
  
   bronze.
• UEFA Euro 1992 runner-up.
• UEFA Cup
  UEFA Cup
  The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
  
   finalist: 1993.
• Bundesliga
  Fußball-Bundesliga
  The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
  
   runner-up: 1992 (Borussia Dortmund), 1995 (Werder Bremen).

Curse of Michael Schulz

Although Schulz was one of the best defenders of his generation, top titles eluded him. The special sting in his case was the fact that each team he played for was highly successful after he was transferred away, leading to speculation he was cursed.

• 1. FC Kaiserslautern (1987-1989): in this period, FCK was a scrub team which constantly flirted with relegation. After Schulz was shipped away, FCK won the German Cup in 1990 and the German Championship in 1991.
• Borussia Dortmund (1990-1994): BVB was a midfield team when Schulz was there. But then, Schulz feuded with Matthias Sammer
  Matthias Sammer
  Matthias Sammer is a retired German football player and coach who is now working as technical director of the DFB . He played as a midfielder, and later in his career as a sweeper....
  
   and was sent away, just before BVB won two German Championships in 1995 and 1996 and the UEFA Champions League
  UEFA Champions League
  The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
  
   in 1997.
• Werder Bremen (1995-1997): Schulz joined Bremen just after Werder had won two German Championships and the German Cup. During his period, Werder suffered a drought and won nothing. However, in 1999, Werder won the German Cup again.

In a 1997 issue of the German soccer magazine kicker

Kicker (sports magazine)

kicker Sportmagazin is Germany's leading sports magazine and is focused primarily on football. The magazine was founded in 1920 by German football pioneer Walther Bensemann and is published twice a week, usually Monday and Thursday, in Nuremberg...

, published when Schulz announced his retirement, he was asked in the column Mal ehrlich (Now, seriously), whether Bremen, now that Schulz was stopping, would finally win something. He answered, "This is a sure-fire tip! I'd bet on it anytime", acknowledging the existence of his jinx.