Fredi Bobic was born in Maribor, SFR Yugoslavia, to a Slovene father and a Croatian mother. A few months after his birth his parents emigrated with him to Germany and settled down first in Ditzingen, then in Stuttgart. There, he started playing football at VfR Bad Cannstatt but soon switched to the youth team of VfB Stuttgart. While in Stuttgart, he also acquired German citizenship. Bobic reached his prime in the mid-1990s at VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. In his first Bundesliga season, he scored a goal in each of his first five games, so he became a candidate for the German national football team after only a few appearances in the first German league. In 1996, he was the Bundesliga's top scorer with 17 goals. At Stuttgart, he formed part of a successful attacking line-up, along with strike partner Giovane Élber and attacking midfielder Krasimir Balakov, known as the "magic triangle". After four years in Stuttgart, in 1999 he signed with Borussia Dortmund and was the club's top scorer in both 1999–2000 and 2000–01. However, after the signings of Jan Koller and Márcio Amorosoin the summer of 2001, he soon fell out of favor and played only three games in the first half of 2001–02 season. Subsequently, he was loaned to the Premier League side Bolton Wanderers, where he had a successful spell, playing a key role in keeping Bolton in the Premiership. His hat-trick in the 4–1 win against Ipswich at the Reebok Stadium ensured Bolton stayed up, and remained the last Bolton hat-trick in a competitive game until Joe Mason in the 2014–15 season. He scored once more for Bolton, in a 3–2 victory over Aston Villa. After returning from England he was signed by newly promoted Bundesliga side Hannover 96 where he reestablished himself as one of the league's top scorers, netting 14 times in 27 games. In 2003, he was signed by Hertha BSC, where he played for two seasons, scoring 8 goals in 54 games. He last played for Croatian outfit NK Rijeka before retiring in June 2006, at the end of the 2005–06 season.
International career
He won 37 caps for Germany and was part of the UEFA Euro 1996 winning squad. He also played at UEFA Euro 2004, having returned to the national team in 2002 after a four-year absence.
Coaching career
Bobic signed a contract as a managing director of Bulgarian Chernomorets Burgas on 25 March 2009 and worked in the club with his former teammate Balakov. On 27 July 2010, he became new director of sport of VfB Stuttgart. On 20 January 2012, Bobic extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2016. Bobic took on the role as board representative for sport of the club on 10 April 2013. Bobic was sacked on 24 September 2014. On 1 June 2016, he became the director of sport of Eintracht Frankfurt.
Personal life
Bobic is married to his wife Britta. They have 2 daughters, Tyra and Celine Bobic. Before he played football, he was learning to become a salesman. Bobic speaks fluent Slovenian, German and French. His current residence is in Berlin, Germany.
