Thomas Ernst

Thomas Ernst (born 23 December 1967) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

Thomas Ernst

Personal information
Date of birth	(1967-12-23) 23 December 1967
Place of birth	Wiesbaden, West Germany
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1974–1981	FV Biebrich
1981–1986	Eintracht Frankfurt
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1986–1991	Eintracht Frankfurt II	126	(0)
1987–1994	Eintracht Frankfurt	5	(0)
1994–1995	FSV Frankfurt	27	(0)
1995–2000	VfL Bochum	71	(0)
2001–2003	VfB Stuttgart	19	(0)
2003–2006	1. FC Kaiserslautern	30	(0)
2004–2005	→ 1. FC Kaiserslautern II	1	(0)
Total		279	(0)
Managerial career
2007–2008	FSV Frankfurt
Medal record Eintracht Frankfurt Winner DFB-Pokal 1987–88 VfL Bochum Winner 2. Bundesliga 1995–96 Runner-up 2. Bundesliga 1999–00 VfB Stuttgart Runner-up Bundesliga 2002–03
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Ernst was born in Wiesbaden, Hesse. He started playing professionally with Eintracht Frankfurt. At the Hessian club, he could only amass five Bundesliga appearances in seven years combined, being barred by legendary Uli Stein. In 1994, he moved clubs but stayed in the city, joining FSV Frankfurt in the second division.

After one season, Ernst joined VfL Bochum also in level two, only appearing twice in his first two seasons combined. His best individual year happened in 1998–99, when he appeared in 32 league games, but the North Rhine-Westphalia side suffered top flight relegation, as second from bottom.

From 2000 to 2006, Ernst remained in the top division, with VfB Stuttgart and 1. FC Kaiserslautern, but again appeared almost exclusively as a backup, until his retirement at the age of 38. In 19 professional seasons, he appeared in 152 league games, 106 of those in the first division.

Ernst moved into managing immediately after retiring, working as a goalkeeper coach with Germany women's national team. The following year, he had his first head coach experience, with former club FSV Frankfurt, and returned to Bochum in 2008, as director of football.

Personal life

Ernst's wife, Kerstin Pohlmann, was also a professional footballer. His son Tjark is currently a football goalkeeper with the German club Hertha BSC.

Career statistics

Club	Season	League			DFB-Pokal		Europe		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Eintracht Frankfurt II	1986–87	Oberliga Hessen	5	0	–		–		5	0
	1987–88		30	0	–		–		30	0
	1988–89		33	0	–		–		33	0
	1989–90		30	0	–		–		30	0
	1990–91		28	0	–		–		28	0
	Total		126	0	0	0	0	0	126	0
Eintracht Frankfurt	1987–88	Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	1988–89		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1989–90		0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	1990–91		0	0	0	0	–		0	0
	1991–92		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1992–93		0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	1993–94		4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	Total		5	0	0	0	0	0	5	0
FSV Frankfurt	1994–95	2. Bundesliga	27	0	0	0	–		27	0
VfL Bochum	1995–96	2. Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	1996–97	Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	1997–98		18	0	0	0	1	0	19	0
	1998–99		32	0	2	0	–		34	0
	1999–00	2. Bundesliga	18	0	3	0	–		21	0
	2000–01	Bundesliga	1	0	0	0	–		1	0
	Total		71	0	5	0	1	0	77	0
Stuttgart	2000–01	Bundesliga	2	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	2001–02		3	0	0	0	–		3	0
	2002–03		14	0	1	0	4	0	19	0
	Total		19	0	1	0	4	0	24	0
Kaiserslautern	2003–04	Bundesliga	6	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	2004–05		21	0	2	0	–		23	0
	2005–06		3	0	1	0	–		4	0
	Total		30	0	3	0	0	0	33	0
Kaiserslautern II	2004–05	Oberliga Südwest	1	0	–		–		1	0
Career total			279	0	9	0	5	0	293	0

Honours

VfB Stuttgart

• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2002

External links

• Thomas Ernst at fussballdaten.de (in German)