Roman Weidenfeller (born 6 August 1980) is a German former 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 played 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
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 ...
clubs
1. FC Kaiserslautern and
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 ...
, as well as the
German national team.
Weidenfeller spent 16 seasons with Dortmund and managed to win both the Bundesliga and
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 ...
twice. In 2014, he won the
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 ...
with Germany.
Club career
Early career
During his youth years, Weidenfeller played for
Sportfreunde Eisbachtal
Eisbachtaler Sportfreunde is a German association football club based in Nentershausen, Rhineland-Palatinate.
__TOC__
History
Eisbachtaler Sportfreunde were formed in 1966 as a merger of local teams SC Großholbach, TuS Girod-Kleinholbach, ...
. He then made his professional debut in 1997, after his performances at the
1997 FIFA U-17 World Championship
The FIFA U-17 World Championship 1997, the seventh edition of the tournament, was held in the cities of Cairo, Ismailia, Alexandria, and Port Said in Egypt between 4 September and 21 September 1997. Players born after 1 January 1980 could particip ...
.
Kaiserslautern
In 1998, Weidenfeller transferred to the
1. FC Kaiserslautern youth team and later was used in the second team. For the 2000/01 Bundesliga season he was promoted to the first team but made only six league appearances in two years.
Borussia Dortmund
Weidenfeller moved to
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 ...
in 2002 on a
free transfer as a possible replacement for
Jens Lehmann
Jens Gerhard Lehmann (; born 10 November 1969) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He was a member of Arsenal's " Invincibles", playing every match of their unbeaten title-winning season. He holds the UEFA Ch ...
, who had moved to
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
in 2003. Weidenfeller had reportedly been unhappy at Kaiserslautern, where he was used mainly as a backup to
Georg Koch
Georg Koch (born 3 February 1972) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.
Career
Born in Bergisch Gladbach, Koch started his career playing at amateur club SpVgg Erkenschwick before becoming a professional in J ...
. His debut for Dortmund came on 17 December 2003 against his former club, Kaiserslautern, in a 1–0 loss.
In 2005, Weidenfeller underwent surgery following a
meniscus
Meniscus may refer to:
*Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity
*Meniscus (liquid)
The meniscus (plural: ''menisci'', from the Greek for "crescent") is the curve in the upper surface ...
tear in his left knee during training.
Early in the 2007–08 season, Weidenfeller was given a three match ban and fined €10,000 for racist insults leveled 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 ...
striker
Gerald Asamoah
Gerald Asamoah (; born 3 October 1978) is a German football manager and former professional player who works as the first-team manager of Schalke 04.
During his playing career, Asamoah played as a forward, and he was mainly known for his pace, ...
.
Asamoah originally reported Weidenfeller after a match on 18 August 2007 between the two clubs, where the incident occurred after a clash between the two in the 51st minute. Weidenfeller offered an apology to Asamoah following the news reports but denied making the statement.
Weidenfeller won the Bundesliga with Dortmund in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
and went on to win the Bundesliga and
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 ...
double with the club in
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, saving a penalty taken by
Arjen Robben
Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Winger (football), winger. He was known for his Dribbling#Association football, dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long ...
in the Bundesliga-clinching match. In the DFB-Pokal final, he was substituted in the 33rd minute due to a collision with
Mario Gómez
Mario Gómez García (; born 10 July 1985) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. He represented the Germany national team over a period of 11 years between 2007 and 2018.
Gómez began his professional career with ...
.
On 6 May 2013, Weidenfeller signed a contract extension with Borussia Dortmund, keeping him at the club until 2016.
On 27 July 2013, Weidenfeller won the
2013 DFL-Supercup with Dortmund 4–2 against rivals
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 ...
.
However, with manager
Jürgen Klopp
Jürgen Norbert Klopp (; born 16 June 1967) is a German professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Liverpool. He is widely regarded as one of the best managers in the world.
Klopp spent most of his playing c ...
leaving at the end of the
2014/15 season, the replacement manager
Thomas Tuchel
Thomas Tuchel (; born 29 August 1973) is a German professional football manager and former player who last managed Premier League club Chelsea.
Born in Krumbach, Tuchel retired at age 25 after a chronic knee cartilage injury; in 2000, he b ...
chose new signing
Roman Bürki
Roman Bürki (born 14 November 1990) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Major League Soccer club St. Louis City SC. From 2014 to 2018, he played for the Switzerland national team.
Club career Switzerland
Bürki ...
as his first choice goalkeeper as Dortmund began the season in excellent form, winning their first eleven games under Tuchel. Weidenfeller would continue to play in the club's European matches.
On 5 February 2016, Weidenfeller signed a new one-year deal with Borussia, keeping him at the club until 2017. On 9 May 2017, he extended his contract until 2018. At the end of the season
2017–18, he finished after his substitution for goalkeeper Bürki on 34 Matchday his active career, but will continue to work in another capacity at Dortmund. His farewell match took place on September 7, 2018 in the
Signal Iduna Park
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 na ...
where Roman & Friends won against the BVB All Stars and Weidenfeller scored two goals.
Following Weidenfeller's retirement, he remained at Borussia Dortmund as an international ambassador.
International career
In November 2013, Weidenfeller was called up to the German national squad for his first time for the friendlies against
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
and
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 ...
. He received his first cap when he started against England at the
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
on 19 November 2013, making him the oldest ever German goalkeeper débutant. He then appeared for the game against
Cameroon
Cameroon (; french: Cameroun, ff, Kamerun), officially the Republic of Cameroon (french: République du Cameroun, links=no), is a country in west-central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west and north; Chad to the northeast; the C ...
, where the game ended tied at 2–2. He made his third appearance in the next game against
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...
where Germany won 6–1. Both games were
international friendlies.
He was nominated as a reserve keeper behind
Manuel Neuer
Manuel Peter Neuer (; born 27 March 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper and captains both club Bayern Munich and the Germany national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers in the history of the ...
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 ...
in Brazil, where the German team won the title a fourth time, but Weidenfeller wasn't used in any match. Weidenfeller made his first appearance for the German national team in a competitive match against
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
during the
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
The UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying tournament was a football competition that was played from September 2014 to November 2015 to determine the 23 UEFA member men's national teams joining the automatically qualified host team France in the UEFA Euro 2 ...
in June 2015. His international farewell came with this match after winning five caps in total.
Honours
Borussia Dortmund
*
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 ...
:
2010–11,
2011–12
*
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 ...
:
2011–12,
2016–17
*
DFL-Supercup:
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
*
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
runner-up:
2012–13
Germany U16
*
UEFA European Under-16 Championship
The UEFA European Under-17 Championship or simply UEFA Under-17 Championship, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-17 national teams of the member associations of UEFA.
Spain national under ...
third place:
1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of t ...
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 ...
:
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 ...
Career statistics
Club
*1.Includes German Cup
*2.Includes UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, and UEFA Intertoto Cup
*3.Includes German League Cup and German Super Cup
International
:Source:
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
Roman Weidenfeller football profilefrom
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. Bef ...
UK
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidenfeller, Roman
1980 births
Living people
Association football goalkeepers
German footballers
Germany under-21 international footballers
Germany B international footballers
Borussia Dortmund players
1. FC Kaiserslautern players
1. FC Kaiserslautern II players
Bundesliga players
Germany international footballers
2014 FIFA World Cup players
FIFA World Cup-winning players
German Roman Catholics
Borussia Dortmund non-playing staff