Marcel Halstenberg (born 27 September 1991) 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 ...
who plays for
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 ...
club
RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...
and the
Germany national team. In addition to playing to the
left-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either s ...
position, he plays in the
centre-back position.
Club career
Hannover 96 II
Born in
Laatzen
Laatzen is a town in the district of Hanover, in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated directly south of Hanover.
Division of the town
In 1964, the municipalities of Laatzen (nowadays about 22,000 inhabitants) and Grasdorf (3,500 inh.) were merge ...
, Germany, Halstenberg grew up in
Hannover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
and started his career at SV Germania Grasdorf before joining
Hannover 96.
After spending eleven years progressing through the Hannover 96 youth system, he was eventually promoted to
Hannover 96 II
Hannover 96 II is a German association football team from the city of Hannover, Lower Saxony. It is the reserve team of Hannover 96. The team's greatest success has been winning the now defunct German amateur football championship on three occa ...
. Halstenberg initially started out as a striker before moving to defence. He went on to make nineteen appearances for Hannover 96 II during the 2010–11 season.
Borussia Dortmund II
On 8 April 2011, it was announced that Halstenberg joined
Borussia Dortmund II.
He made his Borussia Dortmund II debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win over
1. FC Kaiserslautern II
1. FC Kaiserslautern II is the German reserve football teams, reserve team of Football in Germany, German association football club 1. FC Kaiserslautern, based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. Historically the team has played as 1. FC Kaise ...
in the opening game of the season. Since joining the club, Halstenberg became a regular in the starting eleven at Borussia Dortmund II. Following his performance in a 4–0 win over
rivals
A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant ...
’
FC Schalke 04 II
FC Schalke 04 II are the reserve team of German association football club FC Schalke 04. Until 2005 the team played as FC Schalke 04 Amateure.
The team has qualified for the first round of the DFB-Pokal, the German Cup, on two occasions. They cu ...
, Manager
David Wagner praised his performance for playing in the unfamiliar position for the first time. It wasn't until on 28 March 2012 when he scored his first goal for Borussia Dortmund II, in a 4–2 win over
Eintracht Trier
SV Eintracht Trier 05 is a German association football club based in Trier, Rhineland-Palatinate. It was formed on 11 March 1948 out of the merger of Westmark 05 Trier and Eintracht Trier 06, on the 43rd anniversary of the establishment of pred ...
. Halstenberg later added more goals to his tally, scoring against
TuS Koblenz
TuS Koblenz is a German association football club, located in Koblenz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Fussball Club Deutschland Neuendorf, which was formed in 1911, is viewed as the foundation of the modern club.
History
Nazi era (1933–1945)
The or ...
and
SC Verl
SC Verl is a German association football club based in Verl, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club was founded on 6 September 1924, and since 1970 has consistently played in the higher echelons of amateur football. The club was promoted to the profe ...
. Despite suffering from injuries during the 2011–12 season, Halstenberg finished his first season, making 32 appearances and scoring three times for Borussia Dormund II.
In the 2012–13 season, Halstenberg began to play in the left–back position since the start of the season. It wasn't until on 3 August 2012 when he scored his first Borussia Dortmund II goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw against
Alemannia Aachen. His performance attracted interests from Borussia Dortmund's first team and saw him promoted to the senior team in January 2013. However, he appeared three times as an unused substitute in the club's first team matches: two coming from the league and one coming from the UEFA Champions League. Despite this, Halstenberg continued to feature for the Borussia Dortmund II side for the remainder of the 2012–13 season. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he went on to make thirty–six appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
Halstenberg reflected his time at Borussia Dortmund, saying: "They are nice memories. David Wagner brought me back then. We moved up to the 3rd league in the first year and held the class there in the second year. That was a great time. I was allowed to practice with the pros from time to time. That helped me a lot and my athletic career."
FC St. Pauli
Halstenberg signed a three-year contract with
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St Pauli (), is a German professional football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
The football department is part of a larger sp ...
as a free agent, after his contract had expired with
Borussia Dortmund
Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, commonly known as Borussia Dortmund (), BVB (), or simply Dortmund (), is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its men's professional fo ...
at the end of the 2012–13 Bundesliga campaign.
Halstenberg made his FC St. Pauli debut in the opening game of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–0 win over
TSV 1860 Munich
, commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's football team currently plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football.
1860 Munich was one of the founding members o ...
. Since making his FC St. Pauli debut, he quickly established himself in the starting eleven, where he faced competition from another left–back position player,
Sebastian Schachten
Sebastian Schachten (born 6 November 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender.
Career
Schachten was born in Bad Karlshafen. After his expiring contract with 2. Bundesliga side FC St. Pauli had not been renewed, ...
. He continued to start in the left–back position until Schachten's return in December 2013 and found himself, coming on as a substitute on two occasions and at one point, played in the left–midfield position. It wasn't until on 23 February 2014 when Halstenberg scored his first goal for the club, scoring from a direct free kick, in a 2–1 win over
Dynamo Dresden
Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Ka ...
. In a follow up match against
Union Berlin
1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin.
The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...
, he played a vital role when he set up two goals, as FC St. Pauli won 2–1. Halstenberg then set up another two goals, setting up the first and second goal, as FC St. Pauli beat
SV Sandhausen 3–2 on 5 April 2014. Towards the end of the 2013–14 season, he then began to play in the midfield positions following Schachten regaining his left–back position. At the end of the 2013–14 season, Halstenberg went on to make thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
In the 2014–15 season, Halstenberg, however, suffered an injuries that saw him missed the start of the season. After returning to the reserve team from injuries, he made his first appearance of the season, starting the whole game, in a 4–1 loss against RB Leipzig. In a follow–up match against
1. FC Kaiserslautern
1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern () or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to football, the club also operates in sev ...
, Halstenberg scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–1 loss. Since returning to the first team, he regained his first team place in the left–back position, competing with
Daniel Buballa
Daniel Buballa (born 11 May 1990) 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 footb ...
throughout the season. Halsternberg later two more goals later in the 2014–15 season against 1. FC Kaiserslautern and
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...
. Despite being sidelined for one more game later in the 2014–15 season, he went on to make twenty–two appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Halstenberg was linked with a move away from the club, with his hometown club, Hannover 96 interested. Hastlenberg, himself, stated he wanted to leave the club, describing it as the next step. Despite, Halstenberg continued to regain his first team place. He scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher SC is a German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football. Domestically, the club was crowned German champion in 1909, and won the DF ...
on 2 August 2015. This was followed up by scoring his second goal of the season, in a 3–2 win over
Greuther Fürth. However, he suffered an injury once again that saw him sidelined throughout August. By the time of his departure, Halstenberg made three appearances and scoring once for the side.
RB Leipzig
He joined
RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...
on 31 August 2015, signing on a four–year contract for an undisclosed fee (it was reported to have cost three million euros). However, his move to RB Leipzig caused outrage among FC St. Pauli supporters.
Halstenberg made his RB Leipzig debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 win over
Paderborn 07 on 11 September 2015. In a follow–up match, he scored his first goal for the club, in a 1–1 draw against
1. FC Heidenheim. Since joining the club, he became a first team regular for the side and found himself in a competition in the left–back position with
Anthony Jung. Halstenberg then scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over SV Sandhausen on 1 November 2015. He later set up two goals, setting up the first goal and the third goal, in a 4–2 win over
MSV Duisburg
Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jerseys, the club was on ...
on 6 December 2015. Despite being sidelined later in the 2015–16 season, Halstenberg remain featured in the first team, as he played nearly every minute of Leipzig's successful campaign in the
2. Bundesliga
The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...
, and as a left-back, was instrumental in Leipzig's league-leading defense. In his first season at RB Leipzig, Halstenberg made twenty–five appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
In the 2016–17 season, Halstenberg made his Bundesliga debut, starting the whole game, in a 2–2 draw against
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim in the opening game of the season. He continued to remain a first team regular, playing in the left–back position. His performance soon earned himself praised by the German media. After suffering from an injury in December, he returned to the starting lineup against
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
on 21 January 2017, setting up two goals: the first goal and the third goal, in a 3–0 win. Halstenberg started in every match since the start of the season until he was sidelined with injury in early April. He returned to the starting line-up, playing in the left–back position, in a 4–0 win over
SC Freiburg
Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...
on 15 April 2017. After returning from injury, he missed the last three matches of the season, due to substitute bench. At the end of the 2016–17 season, Halstenberg went on to make thirty–one appearances in all competitions.
In the 2017–18 season, Halstenberg continued to remain a first team regular, playing in the left–back position at the start of the season. Halstenberg set up a goal, setting up the first one, in a 4–1 win over SC Freiburg on 27 August 2017. He made his UEFA Champions League debut, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw against
AS Monaco
Association Sportive de Monaco Football Club SA, commonly referred to as AS Monaco () or Monaco, is a professional football club based in Monaco that is member of French Football Federation (FFF) and competes in Ligue 1, the top tier of Frenc ...
on 13 September 2017. It wasn't until on 12 December 2017 when Halstenberg scored his first goal of the season, in a 1–1 draw 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 ...
. This was followed up by scoring his second goal of the season, in a 3–2 loss against
Hertha BSC. However, Halstenberg was later plagued with injuries and eventually sidelined for the rest of the 2017–18 season. While on the sidelines, he signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2022. At the end of the 2017–18 season, Halstenberg went on to make twenty–three appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2018–19 season, Halstenberg was sidelined with injuries, as he returned to training in July. It wasn't until on 23 September 2018 when he made his first appearance of the season, coming on as a late substitute, in a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt. Since returning to the first team, Halstenberg regained his first team place, playing in the left–back position. In addition to playing in the left–back position, he also plays in the left–midfield position in a number of matches. It wasn't until on 1 February 2019 when Halstenberg scored his first goal of the season, as well as, setting up the second goal, in a 3–1 win over Hannover 96. In the
quarter–finals of DFB-Pokal, he scored his second goal of the season, in a 2–1 win over
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...
on 2 April 2019. Eighteen days later, on 20 April 2019, Halstenberg scored twice for the side, in a 2–1 win over
Borussia Mönchengladbach. He started the whole game in the final against
Bayern Munich, as RB Leipzig lost 3–0. At the end of the 2018–19 season, Halstenberg went on to make thirty–seven appearances and scoring four times in all competitions.
International career
On 3 November 2017, it was announced that Halstenberg was called up by
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
for the first time. It was described as a "surprise" by ''
kicker
Kicker or The Kicker may refer to:
Sports
* Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football
* ''Kicker'' (sports magazine), in Germany
* Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player
* Kicker, the word used i ...
''.
Halstenberg made his international debut on 10 November 2017 for Germany in a friendly match against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, starting as a left back and played the whole game, as they drew 0–0. It wasn't until on 20 March 2019 when he made another appearance for Germany, coming on as a substitute, in a 1–1 draw against
Serbia
Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
.
On 9 September 2019 he scored his first goal for Germany in a 2–0 away win against Northern Ireland.
On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad for the
UEFA Euro 2020
The 2020 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2020 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2020) or simply Euro 2020, was the 16th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...
.
Personal life
Halstenberg has a brother, Benjamin Halstenberg, who is also a footballer. The pair played against each other, as Borussia Dortmund II won 7–1 against his brother's team,
SC Wiedenbrück on 29 August 2011. Growing up, he supported Borussia Dortmund.
In February 2016, while on the sidelines due to injury, Halstenberg caused controversy when he took a selfie with his girlfriend at
the Holocaust Memorial. In response, he apologised for his actions. In June 2017, Halstenberg married his long-term girlfriend, Franziska Dzienziol, who is also from Hannover.
The couple first met when they were thirteen. In January 2019, their daughter was born.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Halstenberg goal''.
Honours
RB Leipzig
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
:
2021–22
Individual
*
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 ...
Team of the Season:
2018–19
References
External links
Profileat the RB Leipzig website
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Halstenberg, Marcel
1991 births
Living people
German footballers
Germany international footballers
Hannover 96 II players
Borussia Dortmund II players
FC St. Pauli players
RB Leipzig players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
3. Liga players
Regionalliga players
UEFA Euro 2020 players
Association football fullbacks