Marwin Hitz (born 18 September 1987) is a Swiss 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 as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

for Swiss Super League club

Basel , french: link=no, Bâlois(e), it, Basilese , neighboring_municipalities= Allschwil (BL), Hégenheim (FR-68), Binningen (BL), Birsfelden (BL), Bottmingen (BL), Huningue (FR-68), Münchenstein (BL), Muttenz (BL), Reinach (BL), Riehen (BS ...

and the Switzerland national team.

Career

Early career

Born in

St. Gallen , neighboring_municipalities = Eggersriet, Gaiserwald, Gossau, Herisau (AR), Mörschwil, Speicher (AR), Stein (AR), Teufen (AR), Untereggen, Wittenbach , twintowns = Liberec (Czech Republic) , website = ...

, Hitz was signed by his hometown club when he was nine years old. He represented the club at youth level, and regularly played for the reserve team from 2005 to 2007. The closest he got to the first team was as a unused substitute in 2005 and 2006. In the 2007–08 season, he went on loan to Yverdon-Sport, and then to

Winterthur , neighboring_municipalities = Brütten, Dinhard, Elsau, Hettlingen, Illnau-Effretikon, Kyburg, Lindau, Neftenbach, Oberembrach, Pfungen, Rickenbach, Schlatt, Seuzach, Wiesendangen, Zell , twintowns = Hall in Tirol (Austria ...

, ending the season as first-choice goalkeeper at the latter club.

Wolfsburg

On 2 September 2008, Hitz signed 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

Wolfsburg Wolfsburg (; Eastphalian: ''Wulfsborg'') is the fifth largest city in the German state of Lower Saxony, located on the river Aller. It lies about east of Hanover and west of Berlin. Wolfsburg is famous as the location of Volkswagen AG's he ...

. He mainly played for the

reserve team In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players under contract to a club but who do not normally play in matches for the first team. Reserve teams often include back-up players from the first team, young players who need playing time to i ...

, but he was a unused substitute for two matches in early 2009. He made his debut for the first team in a

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...

match against

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

, and made his Bundesliga debut in a match against

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

. While at Wolfsburg, he initially deputised for

André Lenz André Lenz (born 19 November 1973) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career as player Lenz was born in Mülheim an der Ruhr. In 1990 he moved to Wuppertaler SV, where he was a professional from 1992. From 19 ...

and then mid-season signing

Diego Benaglio Diego Orlando Benaglio (born 8 September 1983) is a Swiss former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He spent most of his professional career with Stuttgart and Wolfsburg in Germany's top flight, the Bundesliga, winning the 2009 league champ ...

, who he failed to displace. In fact, the six appearances he made during the 2010–11 season (his personal best at the club), was due to Benaglio tearing his abductor muscle and later, not being in the squad.

Augsburg

Hitz joined

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ...

in the summer of 2013. On 29 March 2014,

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting Jean-Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (born 23 March 1989) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for club Bayern Munich. Born in Germany, he plays for the Cameroon national team. Choupo-Moting began his career with Hamburger SV, making ...

had a shot that was deflected by Matthias Ostrzolek, which Hitz tipped away onto the post. Ostrzolek, under pressure from

Nicolai Müller Nicolai Müller (born 25 September 1987) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger for Hills United. Club career Early career Müller began his career with TSV Wernfeld aged 11. In 1998, he joined Eintracht Frankfurt who h ...

, tried to clear the rebound, but it caught Hitz in the face, resulting in an own goal. On 21 February 2015, Hitz scored a stoppage-time equaliser for Augsburg in a league match against

Bayer 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 ...

in a 2–2 draw. On 5 December, Hitz intentionally sabotaged the ground near the penalty spot after a penalty was awarded to 1. FC Köln in their match against Augsburg. Anthony Modeste missed the penalty, and Augsburg went on to win the match 1–0. Hitz later apologised for his actions. Hitz was billed €122.92 by 1. FC Köln for the damage he caused to the pitch, which he agreed to pay.

Borussia Dortmund

On 18 May 2018, Hitz signed a three-year contract 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 ...

, where he deputised for Roman Bürki. He made two appearances in the league, with his debut on 10 November in a 3–2 win over Bayern Munich, and then late on in the season in a 3–2 win over

Fortuna Düsseldorf Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a German football club in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, which competes in the 2. Bundesliga. Founded in 1895, Fortuna entered the league ...

. On 17 August, the opening day of the season, Hitz started the match against his former club

. Although he conceded in the first minute to Florian Niederlechner's tap-in, Dortmund went on to win 5–1. Hitz came on for the last twenty minutes after Bürki was injured in a 1–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach. He kept his place, as Bürki missed the match due to illness, in a 0–0 draw with

, and again, for a 3–0 win over

. Hitz made his first appearance of the 2020–21 season, in a 4–0 win over

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

, after Bürki was ruled out with an infection. He played in the next match, a 1–0 win over

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentione ...

, before returning to the bench. On 20 October, during Dortmund's Champions League opener against

Lazio it, Laziale , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

, Hitz inadvertently scored an own goal when Luiz Felipe's header was deflected in by the Austrian. From January to May 2021, Hitz had his longest spell as the first-choice goalkeeper, when Bürki had a shoulder injury. His season ended during a 3–2 win against

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 ...

, after suffering a knee injury.

Basel

On 20 May 2022, Hitz returned to Switzerland and signed a three year contract with

under head coach Alexander Frei. After playing in three test games Hitz played his domestic league debut for his new club in the away game in the Schützenwiese on 16 July 2022 as Basel drew 1–1 with

International career

On 10 June 2015, Hitz won his first cap for Switzerland in a 3–0 friendly win over

Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein (german: link=no, Fürstentum Liechtenstein), is a German-speaking microstate located in the Alps between Austria and Switzerland. Liechtenstein is a semi-constitutional monarch ...

Stockhorn Arena Stockhorn Arena (formerly known as Arena Thun) is a football stadium in Thun, Switzerland. It has a capacity of 10,000 spectators and opened in 2011. It is the home of FC Thun of the Swiss Super League. History From 1954 until 2011, Stadion Lac ...

Thun , neighboring_municipalities= Amsoldingen, Heiligenschwendi, Heimberg, Hilterfingen, Homberg, Schwendibach, Spiez, Steffisburg, Thierachern, Uetendorf, Zwieselberg , twintown = , website = www.thun.ch Thun (french: Thou ...

. Hitz was part of the squad for

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's football championship of Europe ...

, but did not play in any matches for Switzerland at the tournament. Ultimately, his side were eliminated in the second round after losing 5–4 on penalties to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

Personal life

Hitz has three children with his wife Patricia.

Career statistics

Club

Honours

Borussia Dortmund *

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 ...

: 2020–21 * DFL-Supercup:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hitz, Marwin 1987 births Living people Sportspeople from St. Gallen (city) Footballers from the canton of St. Gallen Swiss men's footballers Yverdon-Sport FC players FC Winterthur players VfL Wolfsburg players VfL Wolfsburg II players FC Augsburg players Borussia Dortmund players FC Basel players Bundesliga players Swiss Super League players Men's association football goalkeepers Swiss expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Swiss expatriate sportspeople in Germany Switzerland men's under-21 international footballers Switzerland men's international footballers UEFA Euro 2016 players