Oliver Patric Neuville (born May 1, 1973) is a German footballer. He was born of a German father and an Italian mother in Locarno, Switzerland. His name (properly pronounced in French – not German – fashion) stems from his Belgian grandfather. He has one son Lars-Oliver (*1997). He is a pacy forward who likes to use his pace and dribbling skills to score goals.

Neuville started his career in his native Switzerland with Servette (1992–96). He also played in Spain for Tenerife (1996–97), before moving to Germany with Hansa Rostock (1997–99) and then on to Bayer Leverkusen (1999–2004), and Borussia Mönchengladbach (2004–).

After electing to represent Germany at international level, he played in the squad that finished second at the 2002 FIFA World Cup, scoring a goal in the second round against Paraguay. Since his debut against Malta on September 2, 1998, he has scored a total of nine goals from 64 international appearances. In his first months training with the national team, he needed an interpreter to understand coach Erich Ribbeck’s message, while getting his across as well.

In 2004, he scored an infamous goal with his hand against 1. FC Kaiserslautern, which was widely reviled and landed him a two-match ban.

In a first round match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup against Poland, Neuville, who came on as a substitute for Lukas Podolski, buried a desperate injury time cross from fellow sub David Odonkor past Polish goalkeeper Artur Boruc leading Germany to a 1–0 victory in the 91st minute.

Honours

Club Titles

• 2. Bundesliga: 2008

National Team

• Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005
• 2002 FIFA World Cup Runner Up
• 2006 FIFA World Cup 3rd Place