Benedikt Höwedes (born 29 February 1988) 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 ...

who played as a defender. He spent the majority of his playing career for

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 Rhi ...

, which he captained for six seasons, and represented the

Germany national football team The Germany national football team (german: link=no, Deutsche Fußballnationalmannschaft) represents Germany in men's international Association football, football and played its first match in 1908. The team is governed by the German Football ...

from 2011 to 2017. At international level, Höwedes won the

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

with Germany in

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 ...

, and was one of only three players to play every single minute of the tournament. Höwedes described himself as a 'multi-functional player' in the defence, who can play in the

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricit ...

or as both a left or right-sided full back.

Club career

Schalke

Höwedes started playing football for his hometown club TuS Haltern in 1994. In 2001, he was transferred to the youth teams of

FC 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 Rhi ...

. In 2003, he became

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of Schalke's under-19 team and as a member of that team he won the

Under 19 Bundesliga The Under 19 Bundesliga (German: ''A-Junioren Bundesliga'') is the highest level in German Under 19 football. It was created in 2003 and is divided in three divisions (Nord/Nordost, West und Süd/Südwest) with 14 teams each. The winner of each ...

in 2006. In September 2007, the

German Football Association The German Football Association (german: Deutscher Fußball-Bund ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system ...

honoured Höwedes with the Fritz Walter Medal as the best player of his age-group for the 2006–07 season. In January 2007, he signed a professional contract with Schalke, which ran until 30 June 2010, he then joined Schalke's

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 footbal ...

squad in July. Until October 2007, however, he only played for Schalke's second team in the Oberliga (fourth division). Höwedes' first professional match was in the Champions League on 3 October 2007. On 10 December 2008, Höwedes extended his contract which will keep him at the club until 30 June 2014. On 23 July 2011, Höwedes became captain of Schalke. On 9 March 2013, Höwedes extended his contract with Schalke, until 30 June 2017.

Loan to Juventus

On 30 August 2017, Höwedes joined

Juventus Juventus Football Club (from la, iuventūs, 'youth'; ), colloquially known as Juve (), is a professional football club based in Turin, Piedmont, Italy, that competes in the Serie A, the top tier of the Italian football league system. Founded in ...

on a one-year loan deal for €3.5 million plus €3 million variables, with an option to buy for €13M. On 26 November, Höwedes made his

Serie A The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Copp ...

and Juventus debut, in a 3–0 home win over

Crotone Crotone (, ; nap, label= Crotonese, Cutrone or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Calabria, Italy. Founded as the Achaean colony of Kroton ( grc, Κρότων or ; la, Crotona) in Magna Graecia, it was known as Cotrone from the Middle Ages unti ...

. On 15 April 2018, he scored his first goal for Juventus, in his second appearance for the club, in a 3–0 home win over

Sampdoria Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa. The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s ...

Lokomotiv Moscow

On 29 July 2018, Höwedes left Schalke to join

Lokomotiv Moscow FC Lokomotiv Moscow (''FC Lokomotiv Moskva'', russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб "Локомотив" Москва, ) is a Russian professional football club based in Moscow. Lokomotiv have won the Russian Premier League on three o ...

. Lokomotiv announced the signing of a 4-year contract with Höwedes on 31 July 2018. On 7 October 2018, he scored his first goal for Lokomotiv late in a game against

PFC CSKA Moscow Professional Football Club CSKA (russian: link=yes, Профессиональный футбольный клуб – ЦСКА, derived from the historical name 'Центральный спортивный клуб армии', English: ...

, giving his team a 1–0 victory. On 8 June 2020, his contract with Lokomotiv was terminated by mutual consent as he decided to return to Germany for family reasons.

Retirement

On 31 July 2020, Höwedes announced his retirement from professional football. Overall he played more than 275 top-flight matches in Germany, Italy and Russia.

International career

Germany and Argentina face off in the final of the World Cup 2014 14

Höwedes played for the under-18 team and under-19 team and appeared in all matches up to and including the semi-final at the

2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA U-19 Championship 2007 Final Tournament was held in Austria with matches played from 16–27 July 2007. Players born after 1 January 1988 were eligible to participate in this competition. The draw was made on 13 June 2007. The venues wer ...

. On 5 September 2007, he made his first and only under-20 team appearance, due to the fact that he was turning out for the under-21 team on a regular basis. He was a member of the squad which won the

2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2009 UEFA European Under-21 Championship began on 15 June 2009, and was the 17th UEFA European Under-21 Championship. This was the first tournament after the competition reverted to a two-year format, following the single-year 2006–07 compe ...

and started in Germany's 4–0 win 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 ...

in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

. On 29 May 2011, he made his debut for the senior team in a friendly against

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

. On 7 June 2011, he played his first official match against

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...

, Germany won the match 3–1, with Höwedes setting up the first goal, which was scored by

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 ...

. Höwedes was selected for the German squad for

UEFA Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

but did not make an appearance in the tournament. On 15 August 2012, he scored his first goal in a 1–3 friendly defeat at home against

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. After making three appearances during

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...

, Höwedes was named in Germany's squad for the tournament finals. He was named in the starting line-up at left back against

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

in the team's opening match, making his tournament debut. Later on, he won the tournament, along with his team. In the 2014 World Cup final, Höwedes went close to opening the scoring by hitting the goalpost with a header after a corner kick in the last seconds of the first half. Höwedes was also one of three German players who played every minute of all seven World Cup games, alongside goalkeeper

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 ...

and captain

Philipp Lahm Philipp Lahm (; born 11 November 1983) is a German former professional footballer who played as a full-back. Considered by many to be one of the greatest full-backs of all time, Lahm was the captain of Bayern Munich, having led them to numerou ...

. He won his last cap in March 2017. Benedikt Höwedes appeared 44 times for the DFB premium team.

Managerial career

In August 2021, it was announced that Höwedes will begin a trainee program containing the tasks of the Germany national football team's managerial position accompanying his

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs foo ...

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

. The program is scheduled to last until the

2022 FIFA World Cup The 2022 FIFA World Cup is an international 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; it is the first Wo ...

Style of play

A large, versatile, reliable, and tenacious defender, Höwedes was considered a defensive all-rounder, as he could be deployed in any defensive position. Höwedes's main playing position was at

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 ...

, but he could also be deployed as a right or left-sided full back and as a right or left-sided wing-back, which were the main positions that Höwedes was deployed in under

Jens Keller Jens Keller (; born 24 November 1970) is a German football manager and former player who played as a defender. He last coached 1. FC Nürnberg. Playing career Keller played professionally for VfB Stuttgart, TSV 1860 München, VfL Wolfsburg, 1 ...

. In the early phase of his youth career, Höwedes mainly played as a

defensive midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

; after joining Schalke, however, with whom he began his professional football career, he played mainly as a left-back. Höwedes's main defensive strengths lay in his ability to win his oppositional one-on-one

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

s consistently, his fine heading ability, and his no-nonsense style of play. Höwedes's height and high-jumping ability also made him an aerial threat, and saw him both score and set-up goals with his head. Additionally, Höwedes was also known for his well-timed sliding tackles and standing tackles, as well as his good first-time

passing Passing may refer to: Social identity * Passing (sociology), presenting oneself as a member of another sociological group ** Passing (gender), presenting oneself as being cisgender ** Passing (racial identity), presenting oneself as a member ...

, technique, positional sense, and great physical strength. Despite his ability as a defender, he often struggled with injuries throughout his career.

Career statistics

Club

Ref.:

International

Ref.: :''Scores and results lists Germany's goal tally first:''

Honours

Schalke 04 *

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 ...

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

* DFL-Supercup: 2011 Juventus *

: 2017–18 *

Coppa Italia The ("Italy Cup") is an annual knockout cup competition in Italian football organized by the FIGC until the 2009–10 season and the Lega Serie A ever since. History The beginning of the tournament was turbulent, due to the complexity ...

: 2017–18 Lokomotiv Moscow * Russian Cup: 2018–19 Germany U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Germany *

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

Individual * Fritz Walter Medal U19 Gold Medal: 2007

Personal life

Höwedes was born in

Haltern Haltern am See (''Haltern at the lake'', before December 2001 only Haltern) is a town and a municipality in the district of Recklinghausen, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the Lippe and the Wesel–Datteln Canal, approx. nor ...

North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly shortened to NRW (), is a state (''Land'') in Western Germany. With more than 18 million inhab ...

, and he attended

Gesamtschule Berger Feld Gesamtschule Berger Feld is a '' gesamtschule'' in Gelsenkirchen. It is located in the Erle region and has 1325 pupils and 118 teachers. It is known for the fact that a great number of its former students have become professional football players. ...

References

External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Howedes, Benedikt 1988 births Living people People from Haltern Sportspeople from Münster (region) German footballers TuS Haltern players FC Schalke 04 II players FC Schalke 04 players Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Juventus F.C. players Serie A players FC Lokomotiv Moscow players Russian Premier League players German expatriate footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Italy Germany under-21 international footballers Germany international footballers Germany youth international footballers Association football defenders UEFA Euro 2012 players 2014 FIFA World Cup players UEFA Euro 2016 players FIFA World Cup-winning players Expatriate footballers in Italy Expatriate footballers in Russia People educated at the Gesamtschule Berger Feld Footballers from North Rhine-Westphalia