Dirk Hebel

Dirk Josef Hebel (born 24 November 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. As a player, he played professionally in Germany, Turkey and England. He notably won the 1998–99 Third Division championship with Brentford. After retiring as a player, Hebel became an agent and a youth coach

Dirk Hebel
Personal information
Full name Dirk Josef Hebel[1]
Date of birth (1972-11-24) 24 November 1972
Place of birth Cologne, Germany
Position(s) Midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
0000–1997 1. FC Köln 0 (0)
1995 1. FC Köln II 0 (0)
1997 Bursaspor 14 (1)
1997–1998 Tranmere Rovers 0 (0)
1998–1999 Brentford 15 (0)
1999–2000 Bonner SC 19 (1)
2000–2001 SCB Preußen Köln 26 (5)
2001–2002 VfL Köln 99
2002–2003 FC Junkersdorf
2003–2005 SF Troisdorf
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Playing career

Germany and Turkey

Hebel began his career at hometown club 1. FC Köln.[2] He moved to Turkey to join 1. Lig club Bursaspor in January 1997.[3] Hebel made 14 appearances and scored one goal during the 1996–97 season and helped the Green Crocodiles to a fifth-place finish in the league.[3][4] One Turkish newspaper voted him the 1996–97 1. Lig Player Of The Season.[5] Hebel left the club after the season.[6]

Tranmere Rovers

After interest from Grasshoppers Zürich, Southampton and a failed trial at Norwich City,[5][7] Hebel transferred to English First Division club Tranmere Rovers on 3 September 1997.[8] He failed to make an appearance for the first team during the 1997–98 season, but was a regular for the reserves and departed the club in May 1998.[5][8] Looking back in 2005 on his lack of appearances for Tranmere, Hebel said "I think it was a problem of the way I play football, which didn't compare to the way our coach Aldo wanted me to play. It is difficult to change a style you played for 20 years of your life".[5]

Brentford

Hebel signed for Third Division club Brentford on a free transfer on 25 August 1998.[6][8] He made regular appearances until Boxing Day 1998 and made his final appearance for the club in a 3–1 victory over Brighton & Hove Albion before injury ended his season.[6][9] Hebel made 19 appearances during the Bees' Third Division championship-winning 1998–99 season.[9][10] A family situation saw Hebel turn down a new contract in 1999, in order to return to Germany.[5]

Return to Germany

Hebel signed for Oberliga Nordrhein club Bonner SC during the 1999 off-season.[11] He made 19 appearances during the 1999–00 season and scored one goal.[11] Hebel joined Oberliga Nordrhein club SCB Preußen Köln during the 2000 off-season.[11] He made 26 appearances and scored five goals during the 2000–01 season, helping the club to a second-place finish behind Bayer Leverkusen II.[11] Hebel wound down his career with spells at VfL Köln 99, FC Junkersdorf and SF Troisdorf, before retiring in 2005.[5][7] During the 2003–04 season, he helped SF Troisdorf win promotion to the Verbandsliga Mittelrhein.[7]

Post-retirement

While a player for FC Junkersdorf, Hebel held the role of Director of Football.[7] In 2002, Hebel became a FIFA-registered agent and set up the Fussballmarkt agency with friend Dominik Kaesberg and lawyer Nortbert Nasse.[5] He has represented players such as Mario Götze,[12] Sunday Oliseh, Goran Sablić and Patrick Weiser.[5] In 2018, Hebel joined SC Fortuna Köln as an U14 coach.[11][13]

Personal life

Hebel is married to Nicole and has two sons named Darren (named after former Brentford teammate Darren Freeman) and Liam.[5]

Career statistics
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bursaspor 1996–97[3] 1. Lig 14 1 — — — 14 1
Tranmere Rovers 1997–98[14] First Division 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Brentford 1998–99[9] Third Division 15 0 3 0 0 0 1[lower-alpha 1] 0 19 0
Bonner SC 1999–00[11] Oberliga Nordrhein 19 1 — — — 19 1
SCB Preußen Köln 2000–01[11] Oberliga Nordrhein 26 5 — — — 26 5
Career total 74 7 3 0 0 0 1 0 78 7
  1. Appearance in Football League Trophy

Honours

Brentford

References
  1. "Dirk Hebel". Barry Hugman's Footballers. Retrieved 21 October 2016.
  2. Dirk Hebel at WorldFootball.net
  3. "Dirk Josef Hebel (Bursaspor) @". Mackolik.com. 24 November 1972. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  4. "Turkey – Final Tables". www.rsssf.com. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  5. "Series I – Dirk Hebel". Thecowsheds.co.uk. 18 February 2005. Archived from the original on 15 July 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  6. Croxford, Mark; Lane, David; Waterman, Greville (2013). The Big Brentford Book Of The Nineties. Sunbury, Middlesex: Legends Publishing. p. 433. ISBN 9781906796723.
  7. "Dirk Hebel". Flown From the Nest. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  8. Dirk Hebel at Soccerbase
  9. "Games played by Dirk Hebel in 1998/1999". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
  10. Brentford F.C. at the Football Club History Database
  11. "Dirk Hebel – Spielerprofil". FuPa. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  12. "Agent – United chasing Gotze | Football News". Sky Sports. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
  13. "Dirk Hebel". S.C. Fortuna Köln e.V. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  14. "Games played by Dirk Hebel in 1997/1998". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
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