Niklas Stark (born 14 April 1995) 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 ...

or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Germany national team.

Club career

1. FC Nürnberg

Stark made his Bundesliga debut on 27 April 2013 in a 2–1 loss to

1899 Hoffenheim Turn- und Sportgemeinschaft 1899 Hoffenheim e.V., or simply TSG 1899 Hoffenheim or just Hoffenheim () is a German professional football club based in Hoffenheim, a village of Sinsheim municipality, Baden-Württemberg. Originally founded in 1899 ...

. He made two more appearances for

1. FC Nürnberg 1. Fußball-Club Nürnberg Verein für Leibesübungen e. V., often called 1. FC Nürnberg (, en, 1. Football Club Nuremberg) or simply Nürnberg, is a German association football club in Nuremberg, Bavaria, who currently compete in the 2. Bund ...

in the 2012–13 season. In the 2013–14 season, Stark made appearances for both the first team and second team. He made 21 appearances for the first team and two appearances. He did not score for either team. Again, during the 2014–15 season, Stark made appearances for both the first and second teams. He scored two goals in 26 appearances for the first team. He failed to score in one appearance for the second team. His final match in a Nürnberg jersey proved to be a 2–1 loss to

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seas ...

on 23 August 2015 as he transferred to

Hertha BSC Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC (), and sometimes referred to as Hertha Berlin, Hertha BSC Berlin, or simply Hertha, is a German professional football club based in the locality of Westend of the borough of Charl ...

the following day. He had scored a goal in four league appearances for Nürnberg in the 2015–16 season. He had also made a German Cup appearance prior to the transfer.

Hertha BSC

Stark signed a four-year contract for Hertha BSC on 24 August 2015. He made his debut on 12 September in a 2–1 win over VfB Stuttgart, when he came off the bench for Salomon Kalou in the 73rd minute. He was able to quickly establish himself as a starter, but suffered a setback in October 2015 due to injury, only returning to the starting eleven in February 2016. He scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hertha on 11 March 2016 in a 2–0 victory against Schalke 04. In the following seasons he was also part of the regular team and also made his first European appearances, as Hertha were able to qualify twice for the UEFA Europa League, but both times eliminated from the competition early. At Hertha, he mostly appeared as a

but also as a defensive midfielder. On 31 March 2022, it was announced that Stark's expiring contract would not be renewed, and that he would leave Hertha as a free agent after the 2021–22 season.

Werder Bremen

On 28 May 2022, Werder Bremen, newly promoted to the Bundesliga, announced the signing of Stark for the 2022–23 season. He reportedly signed a four-year contract.

International career

On 15 March 2019, Stark was called up for the Germany national team for the first time in his career by national team coach Joachim Löw. He made his debut on 19 November 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Northern Ireland. He substituted

Lukas Klostermann Lukas Manuel Klostermann (; born 3 June 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a right-back or centre-back for Bundesliga club RB Leipzig and the Germany national team. Career VfL Bochum Born in Herdecke, Germany, Klostermann be ...

in the 65th minute.

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Germany * UEFA European Under-19 Championship:

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 ...

* UEFA European Under-21 Championship:

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 ...

Individual * Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold:

2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship was the 13th edition of the UEFA European Under-19 Championship since its reclassification from an under-18 event in 2002, and the 63rd since the tournament was created in 1948. Hungary was chosen to ho ...

: Team of the Tournament * UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Niklas 1995 births Living people People from Neustadt (Aisch)-Bad Windsheim Footballers from Middle Franconia German men's footballers Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Germany men's international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players 1. FC Nürnberg players 1. FC Nürnberg II players Hertha BSC players SV Werder Bremen players