Thomas Ritter was promoted to the first team of FC Dynamo Dresden in 1986 and made his professional debut in the 17th round of the 1986/87 season in the GDR Upper League (also known as the Superliga, which was the top league in the GDR), in which Dynamo Dresden defeated Cottbus 5-0 away from home. The young Thomas Ritter came on as a substitute for veteran Reinhard Häfner with 13 minutes to go.
During his time with Dynamo Dresden, Thomas Ritter was selected for the GDR's all-ages
the national team
. In 1986, Thomas Ritter was selected for the GDR youth team, which won the U18 European Youth Football Championships in Yugoslavia. In the GDR's sports awards that year, Thomas Ritter's GDR youth team won both the best team and the best player (captain Carsten Netzel was the winner). The GDR's leading sports magazine had this to say about Thomas Ritter: "The center back has excellent attacking and heading skills and works well with Carsten Netzer in the back line."
In 1987, Thomas Ritter represented the GDR at the U20 World Youth Football Championship in Chile and came third. At that time, Thomas Ritter and his team were considered to be the most important players of the GDR.
national soccer team
In 1988, Thomas Ritter was promoted to the GDR's U21 national youth team and played two matches.
Unfortunately, Thomas Ritter never found favor with manager Eduard Geyer at Dynamo Dresden, the best club in the GDR at the time, and he only made three appearances in the 1986-1988 period.
In the 1988-89 season, Thomas Ritter started to travel frequently between the first and second teams in order to get more playing experience. In this very busy season, Thomas Ritter played 5 Upper League games for Dynamo Dresden, and 30 GDR B games for Dynamo Dresden's second team, scoring 3 goals. And, very fortunately, in this season Thomas Ritter won the Upper League title with Dresden Dynamo.
Although he became a member of the championship team, Thomas Ritter knew that this honor had little to do with him, and in July 1989, Thomas Ritter said goodbye to the giants Dynamo Dresden.
transfer to another club (professional sports)
Join FC Bischofsveda, also in the Upper League. In Thomas Ritter's program, this time
transfer to another club (professional sports)
Should be able to help himself to a starting spot for one game, or at the very least, a solid rotation spot in the starting lineup.
However, the reality remained harsh, during the first half of the 1989-1990 season, as the main task of the Bischofsveda Football Club was to
relegate
The team's entire starting lineup was not easily adjusted, and Thomas Ritter made only six appearances. In the second half of the season, Thomas Ritter was loaned to TSG Meissner in the GDR's second division. Here, Thomas Ritter played 3 games for TSG Meissner and scored 1 goal.
A witness to the great changes of the times
In 1990, the whole of Europe underwent historic changes, with some countries disintegrating, others having civil wars, and still others changing color. And it was a time when Germany reached a turning point in its own history - the official merger of the GDR and the FRG.
Although the GDR was able to keep the league for one year and Thomas Ritter still had a contract with FC Bischofsveda, Thomas Ritter, who was in the midst of this historical whirlwind, had no desire to remain with FC Bischofsveda.
Together with his brother Andreas, Thomas Ritter moved to Baden-Württemberg, which was originally part of West Germany. There, Thomas Ritter worked as a gardener to support himself while submitting his CV to soccer clubs in the West German region, and then had trials. Despite some failures, Thomas Ritter finally impressed manager Rainer Zobel at one of the trials and was offered a contract by Bundesliga 2 club Stuttgart Kickers.
In the 1990-91 season, Thomas Ritter made 35 appearances for Stuttgart Kickers in the Bundesliga B as an absolute starter defender, scoring one goal and helping the team to help them get promoted to the German Bundesliga through the subsequent play-offs.
During the 1991-92 season, Thomas Ritter emerged as the absolute starting guard for the De
national soccer team
Ballon d'Or First Division. During the season, Thomas Ritter represented Stuttgart Kickers in the
Bundesliga
Appeared in 36 games in the league and scored 1 goal. Although unable to prevent 17th-placed Stuttgart Kickers from dropping back into the Bundesliga, Thomas Ritter was widely recognized for his performances. After being
Bundesliga
After being snapped up by the giants Kaiserslautern, Thomas Ritter joined FC Kaiserslautern in the summer of 1992 for DM 900,000 along with manager Rainer Zobel.
The three-year period from 1992 to 1995 would have been the peak of Thomas Ritter's career, as he played 87 games for FC Kaiserslautern
Bundesliga
League and also scored two goals. At the start of his time with the team, Thomas Ritter earned starter status and spent the 1993-94 season with the team winning the
Bundesliga
Runner-up in the league.
The real but short-lived experience of being an international footballer
在
Bundesliga
While the powerhouse club is standing firm, Thomas Ritter has also earned the German
national soccer team
球
the national team
The Concerns. In the early 1990s the German
national soccer team
球
the national team
At the top of his game, having just won the 1990 Italy
World Cup
The championships, coupled with the merger of the two German states, were full of talent. A number of good players from the former GDR have also been selected for the unified German
national soccer team
球
the national team
, such as Matthias Sommer, Marshall, Thomas Doll, Jörg Böhme, Schneider, Kiersten.
In 1992 and 1993, Thomas Ritter, who had already established himself as a starter at Kaiserslautern, was selected several times for the Germany
national soccer team
球
the national team
The company was founded in 1993, and in 1993 it celebrated its
the national team
Debut.
Germany, October 13, 1993
national soccer team
球
the national team
A big 5-0 win at B-B Bank Wild Park over the far-flung Uruguayan soccer team
the national team
Thomas Ritter replaced Stefan Effenberg in the 87th minute. Unfortunately, Thomas Ritter's four-minute performance in this match was his last performance for the German Chariot, after which German manager Fogetz, who is known for his conservatism, never gave him another chance to play, which also gave Thomas Ritter the nickname "four-minute international footballer".
German
national soccer team
球
the national team
s history, Thomas Ritter is second-to-last in minutes played (the bottom one only played 3 minutes), and is kind of an iconic figure.
increasingly mediocre
The 1995-96 season saw some turmoil at FC Kaiserslautern, and the team has been working for the
relegate
And the battle. And Thomas Ritter suffered a broken foot injury in the 8th round of the 1995/96 season. This game was also his last game with FC Kaiserslautern.
in winter
transfer to another club (professional sports)
period, Thomas Ritter joins for DM 575,000
Bundesliga
Team Karlsruhe Sports Club. This time
transfer to another club (professional sports)
It allowed Thomas Ritter to avoid relegation with his team, but it also put Thomas Ritter out of reach of the German Cup trophy.On May 25, 1996, when Thomas Ritter appeared for Sporting Club Karlsruhe in the German Cup
finals (of a competition)
on the field of play when it happened to be across the street from the old owners, Kaiserslautern, although at this point FC Kaiserslautern had moved from the
Bundesliga
Relegated from the league, Kaiserslautern was nevertheless resilient under the command of new manager Eckhard Clauschen (later head coach of China's 08 Stars national youth team) and went to the Bundesliga B with the title of German Cup winners after a 1-0 victory over Karlsruhe.
From 1996 to 1999, Thomas Ritter played a total of 52 games for Karlsruhe Sports Club
Bundesliga
League, 5 Bundesliga games. Over the course of the seasons, though, Thomas Ritter gradually had the team's key rotation player turn into the team's dispensable substitute.
In the 1999-00 season, Thomas Ritter's form continued to decline due to injuries, and he was unable to get a consistent start even in the second division. The constant traveling between the first and second team (the fourth division of the German regional league at that time) was physically and mentally exhausting, and in September 1999, Thomas Ritter finally decided to look for opportunities abroad, but his first stop was Austria, which is geographically and habitually similar to Germany.
transfer to another club (professional sports)
Joined a soccer club called Lustenna.
In the 1999-00 season, Thomas Ritter made 11 appearances in the Austrian Football League First Division for FC Lustenauer.
Former German international who played in China in A B
A stable life in the Austrian league made Thomas Ritter determined to play abroad, when a phone call put him in touch with faraway China.
Thomas Ritter, who was playing in Austria at the time, received a letter from the German agent Schlapner Jr. (formerly of China).
the national team
(son of head coach Klaus Schlapner), when the agent was being commissioned by a German Hong Konger with the surname Chen to act for the new Chinese A-B League side - the
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
The soccer club was looking for a foreigner. Encouraged by Schlapner Jr. and filled with curiosity, Thomas Ritter soon boarded a plane to China.
At that time, although the time has entered the 21st century, but at that time China for the international soccer still lack of understanding, when Thomas Ritter appeared in the Yunnan Ridge training base, many news media simply do not know Thomas Ritter's identity of the former German international footballer, and even his resume are full of doubts. At that time, some domestic net portals introduced Thomas Ritter (many domestic media translated his name as Thomas Lederer), and directly questioned his resume watered down, thinking that a German professional player with such a resume would not condescend to come to China to play in the first B league.
But it wasn't long before Thomas Ritter conquered then with his performance in the tryouts
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
's head coach Yin Tiesheng and, along with Zambian outside linebacker Sidney and Ukrainian outside linebacker Sergei, got the
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
soccer club's six-month contract, officially becoming
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
The first foreign aid in history.
During the 2000 season, Thomas Ritter, wearing No. 29, represented the
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
The soccer club has played all 22 of its A.B. league games and has also participated in 1
soccer league
Cup matches (only one can be confirmed). And on April 1, 2000
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
Beat Guangzhou 2-1 at home
solar
God's game, scoring the
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
The first professional league goal in the history of the soccer club team.
During the season.
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
Changes were also made to the foreigners. Sidney and Sergey, who had been playing in China for many years, were eliminated from the team and replaced by Robert from Cameroon and Peter from Zambia, but Thomas Ritter's position has been very solid from the beginning to the end. With Thomas Ritter's solid defense, the
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
The soccer club claimed fifth place in the 2000 season in the A-B League, which was a great achievement for a new A-B team.
End-of-career and
demobilize
2001.
Changchun Yatai (soccer team)
The soccer club replaced all of its foreign aid. Afterwards, Senegalese foreigner Gaida, who had won the Golden Boot in the 2000 season in the First B League, and several French foreigners joined the team. Thomas Ritter returned to Germany and joined his former parent team, Stuttgart Kickers, who were already mired in the Bundesliga C. Even the addition of Thomas Ritter did not change the situation of Stuttgart Kickers at that time. In the 2000-01 season, Thomas Ritter played 5 Bundesliga games for Stuttgart Kickers, scoring 1 goal.
In the following years, Thomas Ritter moved to Sporting Club Altenstedt in the Bundesliga C (2002-2003), Sporting Club Eidel Büdelsdorf (2003-2005) as well as Falkenbeck II in the German County League (2005-2006) and Sporting Club Lenzburg in the German State League (2009-2010).
In 2010, Thomas Ritter officially
demobilize
.. While playing for Falkirk Baker II, Thomas Ritter did a stint as a youth team coach. But in the official
demobilize
After that Thomas Ritter did not work in soccer. Currently, Thomas Ritter works for a public sports organization in the field of education for children with disabilities (visual, hearing and speech).
