Jürgen L. Born

Jürgen Ludger Born (born 24 September 1940)[1][2] is a German banker and the former chairman of the board of management of the German football team Werder Bremen. He resigned in 2009 when accused of misconduct in connection with a player transfer.

Early life and education

Born was an only child. His father died when he was young.[2] Born in Berlin, he grew up in Bremen,[3] where he played football as a defender for TuS Schwachhausen in the 1960s.[4] He emigrated to Argentina in 1969.[3]

Career

Born worked for more than 30 years in South America with Deutsche Bank, directing the bank's operations in Paraguay, Uruguay and Brazil;[1][3] after his return to Germany, he was made a Uruguayan honorary consul.[5]

In 1999, Born became chairman of the board of management of Werder Bremen,[6] where he was also head of finances and public relations, but did not draw a salary.[7] He played a major role in putting the club on a sound financial footing and also making it successful on the field; he drew on his South American contacts to assist in recruiting players.[1]

In March 2009, Born was accused of accepting unauthorised payments in connection with the transfer of the Peruvian forward Roberto Silva to Werder Bremen in 2001.[4][8] After Peruvian sources reported accusations of corruption in other player transfers,[9][10] he resigned his positions with the club for the sake of its reputation.[5][7][11] Accountants from PricewaterhouseCoopers, engaged by Werder Bremen to investigate the allegations, exonerated Born in their report, released in August 2009.[11][12] The following month, the club awarded him a lifetime season pass to mark his official retirement;[13] in 2011 they awarded him their Goldene Ehrennadel ('gold needle of honour').[3]

In 2012, he published his autobiography, Die Born Identität,[14] with the proceeds from its sales to be donated to charity.[15] In the book and elsewhere, he accuses Willi Lemke, who succeeded him as chairman of the board at Werder Bremen, of presuming he was guilty of corruption.[2][3][16]

References
  1. Bähr, Christoph (24 September 2020). "'Er lebt Werder Bremen'". Weser-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  2. Knips, Björn (16 September 2015). "'Ich bin ein Glückspilz'". Kreiszeitung (interview) (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  3. "Das ist Jürgen L. Born". Weser-Kurier (photo gallery) (in German). 5 May 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  4. Bremer, Sven (18 March 2009). "Ein immenser Imageschaden". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  5. Bogena, Kai Niels (24 April 2009). "Born kämpft um seinen Ruf". Die Welt (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  6. "Jürgen L. Born neuer Klubchef bei Werder Bremen". Der Spiegel (in German). 1 July 1999. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  7. "Werder-Chef gibt auf". Die Tageszeitung (in German). 13 March 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  8. Hardt, Andreas (9 March 2009). "Die Born-Identität". 11 Freunde (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  9. "Neue Vorwürfe gegen Club-Chef Born". Stern (in German). 13 March 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  10. Cáceres, Javier (17 May 2010) [16 March 2009]. "Die Rache der Ehefrau". Süddeutsche Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  11. Hagedorn, Marc (5 May 2014). "Die 'Affäre Born' bei Werder Bremen". Weser-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  12. Hagedorn, Marc (5 May 2014) [9 August 2009]. "Abschlussbericht spricht Born von jeder Schuld frei". Weser-Kurier (in German). Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  13. "'Lebenslange Dauerkarte' für Ex-Werder-Chef Born". Fussball.com (in German). 9 September 2009. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016.
  14. Born, Jürgen L.; Kruse, Michael (2012). Die Born Identität. Ein Bremer Junge erzählt aus seinem Leben (in German). Bremen: Asendorf. OCLC 934947233.
  15. "Jürgen L. Born liest Biografie". Weser-Kurier (in German). 12 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
  16. "Ex-Werder-Boss tritt gegen Lemke nach". Bild (in German). 18 December 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
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