Denis Epstein (born 2 July 1986) is a German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays for

TSG Balingen TSG Balingen is a German football club from the city of Balingen, Baden-Württemberg. With over 1,800 members, it is the largest sports club in the city and has departments for athletics, basketball, fencing, fistball, gymnastics, handball, j ...

II.

Career

Youth clubs

Epstein played for three youth clubs, ranging from 1995 to 2005, including the youth teams of

Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

Fortuna Köln Fortuna ( la, Fortūna, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at ...

, and 1. FC Köln. In the 1998–99 season, he made a rivalry switch from Bayer Leverkusen to 1. FC Köln. He was picked up as a senior team member for 1. FC Köln II in 2005, playing 31 games for the third division reserve team and scoring three goals.

1. FC Köln

Epstein made his senior debut for 1. FC Köln in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

in a 4–1 loss against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), Hannover, HSV or simply 96, is a German professional football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years betwe ...

. He scored his first Bundesliga goal against

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...

after he being substituted on for

Dimitrios Grammozis Dimitrios Grammozis (; born 8 July 1978) is a Greek-German professional football manager and former player who last coached Schalke 04. During his playing years, he was known as a versatile defender and defensive midfielder. Playing career Earl ...

. He ended a seven-game losing streak for the relegation-threatened club. After that, he rarely started a match for Köln, scoring only one goal in the 2006–07 season.

Rot-Weiss Essen

Epstein was loaned out to

Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club currently plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 195 ...

on 20 January 2007 until the end of the 2. Bundesliga season by Köln coach

Christoph Daum Christoph Paul Daum (born 24 October 1953) is a German professional football manager and former player. Daum played as a midfielder and was a junior for several clubs from the region of Duisburg. He began his senior career with Hamborn 07 and E ...

, to gain more match experience.

Greece

On 24 June 2008, Epstein signed a contract with

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. He appeared in 24 matches for Iraklis during the 2008–09 season. After another equally successful season (with four goals in 26 appearances), his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 18 June 2010. In summer 2011, Epstein became the first of

Ernesto Valverde Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Over ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 264 games and 68 ...

's 'unwanted list' at

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

to leave the club, after a year-long loan to

Kerkyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. On 18 July 2011, Epstein signed a three-year contract with

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

for an undisclosed fee. For the Athenian club, he made 64 appearances scoring 4 goals across all competitions. On 9 April 2013, he terminated his contract with the club.

FSV Frankfurt

In summer 2013, Epstein returned to Germany signing a three-year contract with

FSV Frankfurt Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt also fielded a rather successfu ...

, returning to the 2. Bundesliga.

Return to Greece

In June 2016, Epstein returned to former

PAE Kerkyra PAE Kerkyra ( el, ΠΑΕ Κέρκυρα), was a Greek football club based in Corfu, Greece. The club played in the Gamma Ethniki, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system, following changes to the league structure in 2019. It played ...

having agreed a two-year contract. On 6 June 2018, after having been released by Kerkyra, he signed a contract with

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

until the summer of 2020. On 24 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 away draw against

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

. On 12 October 2018, he opened the score in an eventual 2–1 away loss against

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

for the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

. On 20 October 2018, he scored against AEL, completing his team's comeback and helping to a 2–1 away win.

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Denis 1986 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Men's association football wingers German men's footballers German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Greece Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Super League Greece players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players 1. FC Köln players 1. FC Köln II players Rot-Weiss Essen players Kickers Offenbach players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players A.O. Kerkyra players Atromitos F.C. players FSV Frankfurt players PAS Lamia 1964 players Olympiacos F.C. players Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Germany men's youth international footballers Footballers from Cologne