Philipp Förster (born 4 February 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 lea ...
who plays as a
midfielder
In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...
for
2. Bundesliga club
Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German professional association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was bri ...
.
After playing youth football with
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...
and
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
, he started his senior career in the
Regionalliga Südwest
The Regionalliga Südwest ('Regional League Southwest') is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with t ...
with
Waldhof Mannheim
SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of ove ...
in 2014. He joined
2. Bundesliga side
1. FC Nürnberg in January 2017, but failed to make a first-team appearance and joined fellow 2. Bumdesliga side
SV Sandhausen
Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a Football in Germany, German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. It is Ger ...
later that year. Two years later, he signed for 2. Bundesliga side
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
, and won promotion to the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
in his first season at the club.
Career
Early career
Förster was born in
Bretten
Bretten (; South Franconian: ''Bredde'') is a town in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route.
Geography
Bretten lies in the centre of a rectangle that is formed by Heidelberg, Karlsruhe, Heilbron ...
,
and grew up there, where his parents ran a gardening business.
He played youth football for
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...
until 2010, and later for
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
between 2010 and 2014.
Waldhof Mannheim
In summer 2014, Förster joined
Regionalliga Südwest
The Regionalliga Südwest ('Regional League Southwest') is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with t ...
side
Waldhof Mannheim
SV Waldhof Mannheim is a multi-sports club, located in Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg. It is most known for its association football team; however, there are also professional handball and table-tennis sides. The club today has a membership of ove ...
on a one-year contract. Shortly before the start of the season, he suffered two muscle tears.
He made his debut for Waldhof Mannheim on 24 September 2014 in a 1–1 draw at home to
1899 Hoffenheim II, He scored his first goals for the club on 11 October 2014 with their second and third goals of a 3–1 victory over
KSV Hessen Kassel
KSV Hessen Kassel is a semi-professional Football in Germany, German football club based in Kassel, Hesse. KSV competes in the German Regionalliga Südwest, the German football league system, fourth tier of German football. Nicknamed "Die Löwe ...
.
He appeared in 22 Regionalliga Südwest matches over the course of the 2014–15 season, and scored 4 goals.
In his second season at Waldhof Mannheim, Förster played more regularly, starting 32 of their 34 Regionalliga Südwest matches, in which he scored 6 goals.
They finished top of the Regionalliga Südwest after amassing 73 points and qualified for the
promotion play-offs
Promotion may refer to:
Marketing
* Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...
. He played in both legs of the promotion play-off against
Sportfreunde Lotte
VfL Sportfreunde Lotte is a German association football club from Lotte, North Rhine-Westphalia. The football team is part of a sports club with approximately 1400 members and departments for handball, walking, gymnastics, and swimming, as well ...
as Waldhof Mannheim lost 2–0 on aggregate and failed to achieve promotion to the
3. Liga
The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga.
The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...
.
The
2016–17 season saw Förster score twice in 20 appearances for Waldhof.
His last appearance for the club came on 13 December 2016 in which he scored as the club defeated
FC Homburg 3–2 away from home.
1. FC Nürnberg
On 31 January 2017, Förster joined
2. Bundesliga side
1. FC Nürnberg for an undisclosed fee. After suffering multiple injuries during his spell at the club, he amassed no first team appearances and just four
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
appearances.
He was released by 1. FC Nürnberg on 17 August 2017 to allow him to join
SV Sandhausen
Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a Football in Germany, German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. It is Ger ...
in his native
Baden-Württemberg
Baden-Württemberg ( ; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a states of Germany, German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million i ...
.
SV Sandhausen
On 17 August 2017, Förster joined fellow 2. Bundesliga side
SV Sandhausen
Sportverein Sandhausen 1916 e.V., commonly known as simply SV Sandhausen or Sandhausen, is a Football in Germany, German association football club that plays in Sandhausen, immediately to the south of Heidelberg in Baden-Württemberg. It is Ger ...
on a three-year contract with the option for a further year. He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat at home to
Fortuna Düsseldorf
Düsseldorfer Turn- und Sportverein Fortuna 1895 e.V., commonly known as Fortuna Düsseldorf (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Düsseldorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, that competes in the 2. Bundesliga.
Founded in 1895, Fo ...
on 27 August 2017. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 February 2018 in 1–0 away victory over
1. FC Kaiserslautern; he scored from 16 metres in the 79th minute despite slipping as he took the shot. He made 28 appearances and scored three goals for Sandhausen in the
2017–18 season.
The 2018–19 season saw Förster start 29 of Sandhausen 34 2. Bundesliga matches, in which he scored five goals.
The first of his five goals came in a 2–1 defeat at home to
1. FC Heidenheim on 2 December 2018 and he scored a brace for the club on 16 March 2019 in a 4–0 victory over
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St. Pauli von 1910 e.V., commonly known as simply FC St. Pauli (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the St. Pauli district of Hamburg. The team plays in the Bundesliga from the 2024–25 Bundesli ...
. On 24 July 2019, he signed a two-year contract extension with Sandhausen, keeping him at the club until summer 2022. He appeared five times and scored once with Sandhausen in the 2019–20 season before joining VfB Stuttgart.
VfB Stuttgart
On 2 September 2019, Förster signed a four-year deal with
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V. (), commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German professional sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's Association football, football team is currently part of Germany's f ...
for a fee estimated to be around €3,000,000. After making his debut for the club on 14 September 2019 in a 3–2 victory over
Jahn Regensburg, he scored his first goal for the club on 21 September 2019 in a 2–0 victory at home to
Greuther Fürth. He appeared in 26 league matches and scored 3 goals for Stuttgart across the
2019–20 season,
as they finished second and were promoted to the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...
.
After suffering an ankle injury during the build-up to the
2020–21 season, Förster made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute in second-half stoppage time of a 1–1 draw with
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as Schalke 04 (), and abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional sports club from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is best known for its football team, w ...
on 30 October 2020. He made his first Bundesliga start on 28 November 2019 as a replacement for the injured
Daniel Didavi in a 3–1 defeat to
Bayern Munich
Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...
.
Bochum
On 1 July 2022, Förster joined
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...
on a two-year contract. Förster left Bochum at the end of the 2023–24 season.
Darmstadt 98
On 23 September 2024, Förster joined 2. Bundesliga club
Darmstadt 98
Sportverein Darmstadt 1898 e.V., commonly known as Darmstadt 98 (), is a German professional association football club based in Darmstadt, Hesse. The club was founded on 22 May 1898 as FC Olympia Darmstadt. Early in 1919, the association was bri ...
.
Career statistics
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, Philipp
1995 births
Living people
German men's footballers
People from Bretten
Footballers from Karlsruhe (region)
Men's association football midfielders
SV Waldhof Mannheim players
1. FC Nürnberg II players
1. FC Nürnberg players
SV Sandhausen players
VfB Stuttgart players
VfB Stuttgart II players
VfL Bochum players
SV Darmstadt 98 players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Regionalliga players
Oberliga (football) players
21st-century German sportsmen