Matthias Lukas Ginter (born 19 January 1994) 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 as a

centre-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 ...

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

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 ...

and the Germany national team.

Club career

Early career

Ginter began his career with SV March before he moved to the youth squad of

for the 2005–06 season. With the under-19 team he won the Under-19

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 considere ...

in 2011 and 2012. In January 2012, Ginter trained with Freiburg's first team due, in part, to a loss of several players from the roster during the winter transfer window. On 21 January 2012, Ginter made his professional debut when he was substituted in for

Anton Putsila Anton Kanstantsinavich Putsila ( be, Анто́н Канстанці́навіч Пуці́ла; russian: Анто́н Константи́нович Пути́ло, Anton Konstantinovich Putilo; born 23 June 1987) is a Belarusian professional ...

in the 70th minute against fellow relegation battlers

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 ...

. In the 88th minute of the game, he scored the winning goal from a free-kick by Michael Lumb for his team in the 1–0 victory. The goal, which came two days after Ginter's 18th birthday, made him SCF's youngest Bundesliga goalscorer in the club's history. The record was previously held by

Dennis Aogo Dennis Aogo (born 14 January 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a left back and midfielder. Early life Born to a German mother and a Nigerian father, Aogo grew up in Oberreut, a suburb in the south-west of Karlsruhe, ...

. Two days later, on 23 January, Ginter signed a contract to join the first team of SC Freiburg.

Borussia Dortmund

On 17 July 2014 Ginter signed for

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 footb ...

on a five-year deal. He made his debut on 13 August, playing the full match as they won the DFL-Supercup 2–0 against

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), also known as FC Bayern (), Bayern Munich, or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. It is best known for its professional men's football team, which pla ...

at the

Westfalenstadion Westfalenstadion (, ) is a football stadium in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, which is the home of Borussia Dortmund. Officially called Signal Iduna Park for sponsorship reasons and BVB Stadion Dortmund in UEFA competitions, the n ...

Borussia Mönchengladbach

On 4 July 2017, Ginter signed with Dortmund rivals Mönchengladbach on a four-year deal. The move was worth around €17 million.

Return to SC Freiburg

On 4 May 2022, Freiburg announced the transfer of Ginter on a free transfer from Mönchengladbach, the club where he began his career. Ginter will move ahead of the 2022–23 season.

International career

Youth

Ginter represented the under-21 team at the 2015 European Championship in the Czech Republic, starting all four matches. In their second group match at the

Eden Arena Fortuna Arena (formerly known as Sinobo Stadium, Eden Aréna and Synot Tip Arena) is a football stadium, in Prague-Vršovice, Czech Republic. The stadium has a capacity of 19,370 people and it is the biggest and the most modern football stadiu ...

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

against

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

, following two

Kevin Volland Kevin Volland (born 30 July 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays as a striker or a winger for Ligue 1 club Monaco and the Germany national team. He gained prominence at the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship where he was ...

goals, Ginter rounded off the scoring by heading in

Amin Younes Amin Younes (born 6 August 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger for Dutch club Utrecht, on loan from Saudi Arabian club Al-Ettifaq, and the Germany national team. Younes started his youth career at SG Unterrath, bef ...

' cross in the 53rd minute, leading to a 3–0 victory.

Senior

On 5 March 2014, he earned his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the senior national team of his country after coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for

Mesut Özil Mesut Özil (, ; born 15 October 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Özil is known for his technical skills, creativity, passing skills, and vision. He can ...

in the 1–0 win over

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

in a

friendly match An exhibition game (also known as a friendly, a scrimmage, a demonstration, a preseason game, a warmup match, or a preparation match, depending at least in part on the sport) is a sporting event whose prize money and impact on the player's or ...

at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. He became the 900th player to be capped by the German national team. In June 2014, he was named as the youngest player in Germany's 23-man squad for the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

, which went on to win the tournament, although he did not enter the field of play at any point. He was part of the squad for the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, where Germany won the silver medal. Along with fellow World Cup-winner

Shkodran Mustafi Shkodran Mustafi (; born 17 April 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Segunda División club Levante. Mustafi began his career in the youth ranks of Hamburger SV and English club Everton, where he made o ...

and

Julian Draxler Julian Draxler (born 20 September 1993) is a German professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Primeira Liga club Benfica, on loan from Ligue 1 club Paris Saint-Germain, and the Germany national team. Draxler is known ...

, Ginter won the

2017 FIFA Confederations Cup The 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup was the 10th and final edition of the FIFA Confederations Cup, a quadrennial international men's football tournament organised by FIFA. It was held in Russia, from 17 June to 2 July 2017, as a prelude to the 20 ...

. On 4 June 2018, Ginter was selected in Germany's final 23-man squad for the

2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national Association football, football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awa ...

. He would not play, making him the only outfield player in German football history who participated in two World Cup campaigns without playing a single minute. Ginter scored his first goal for Germany on 16 November 2019 in a match against

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

. 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 ...

. In November 2022, he was named in the final squad for the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international association football, football tournament contested by the men's national teams of FIFA's member associations. The 22nd FIFA World Cup is taking place in Qatar from 20 November to 18 December 2022 ...

in Qatar. On 1 December, he made his World Cup debut in his third tournament, coming on as a substitute to

Niklas Süle Niklas Süle (born 3 September 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for club Borussia Dortmund and the Germany national team. Club career Early career Süle started his career with Rot-Weiß Walldorf. In J ...

in the 90+3 minute, in a 4–2 win over

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

in the last group stage match.

Personal life

In May 2018, Ginter married his wife Christina. His son was born on Ginter's own birthday, 19 January 2020. In October 2021, the home stadium of SV March, the team where Ginter started his career, renamed their stadium "Matthias-Ginter-Sportpark".

Career statistics

Club

International

:''As of match played 14 November 2020. Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Ginter goal.''

Honours

Borussia Dortmund *

: 2016–17 * DFL-Supercup:

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

Germany *

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...

FIFA Confederations Cup The FIFA Confederations Cup was an international association football tournament for men's national teams, held every four years by FIFA. It was contested by the holders of each of the six continental championships ( AFC, CAF, CONCACAF, CONMEBOL, ...

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

Germany Olympic *

Summer Olympic Games The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

silver medal:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Individual *

Fritz Walter Friedrich "Fritz" Walter (, ; 31 October 1920 – 17 June 2002) was a German footballer who spent his entire senior career at 1. FC Kaiserslautern. He usually played as an attacking midfielder or inside forward. In his time with the Germany a ...

U18 Gold Medal: 2012 *Fritz Walter U19 Gold Medal: 2013 * Germany national team Player of the Year: 2019 *''

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 ...

'' Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2019–20 *

Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards The Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards (also known as the KCAs or Kids' Choice) is an annual American children's awards ceremony show that is produced by Nickelodeon. Usually held on a Saturday night in late March or early April, the show honors ...

– Favorite Football Player (Germany, Austria, & Switzerland) nominee: 2020

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ginter, Matthias 1994 births Living people Sportspeople from Freiburg im Breisgau Footballers from Baden-Württemberg German footballers Germany youth international footballers Germany under-21 international footballers Germany international footballers Association football defenders SC Freiburg players Borussia Dortmund players Borussia Dortmund II players Borussia Mönchengladbach players Bundesliga players 3. Liga players 2014 FIFA World Cup players 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup players 2018 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2020 players 2022 FIFA World Cup players FIFA World Cup-winning players FIFA Confederations Cup-winning players Olympic footballers of Germany Footballers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic silver medalists for Germany Olympic medalists in football