090722-P-TS FCDundee-Roman Neustaedter-0520

Roman Petrovich Neustädter (; born 18 February 1988) is a 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 for

Belgian First Division A The Belgian Pro League (; ; ), officially the Jupiler Pro League () for sponsor Jupiler, is a professional association football league in Belgium and the highest level of the Belgian football league system. Contested by 16 clubs from the 2023– ...

club

Westerlo Westerlo () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Antwerp. The municipality comprises seven towns: * Westerlo centrum * * Tongerlo * Heultje * Voortkapel * Oosterwijk * In 2021, Westerlo had a total population of 25,288. Th ...

. Of German heritage, Neustädter played for Germany at various youth levels, then being capped twice by the Germany national team in 2012 and 2013. He switched allegiance to

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

in 2016. Apart from Germany and Russia, Neustädter was also eligible for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Ukraine. Neustädter has often played as a

defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

and

centre back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. While the former is his preferred position, he mostly played as the latter during his stint at Schalke.

Personal life

Neustädter's mother is ethnic Russian. Neustädter's ancestors in the paternal line were ethnic Germans who lived on territories of Russian Empire and later, USSR. Following

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, ethnic Germans were

deported Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people by a state from its Sovereignty, sovereign territory. The actual definition changes depending on the place and context, and it also changes over time. A person who has been deported or ...

by the

Soviet government The Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was the executive and administrative organ of the highest body of state authority, the All-Union Supreme Soviet. It was formed on 30 December 1922 and abolished on 26 December 199 ...

. Neustädter's family was forcibly relocated into

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. His father is Peter Neustädter, a former Kyrgyz-born

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

i footballer for

Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

and former manager of

Mainz 05 II 1. FSV Mainz 05 II is a German association football club from the town of Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. It is the reserve team of 1. FSV Mainz 05. The team's greatest achievement came in 2014 when it won promotion to the 3. Liga for the first time ...

. He was born in

Dnipropetrovsk Dnipro is Ukraine's fourth-largest city, with about one million inhabitants. It is located in the eastern part of Ukraine, southeast of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on the Dnieper River, Dnipro River, from which it takes its name. Dnipro is t ...

Ukrainian SSR The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...

, while his father was playing for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He was raised by his mother and grandparents in

Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...

, while his father was still an active football player. Due to his heritage and birth, he was eligible to represent Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in international competitions. On 30 May 2016, Neustädter was granted Russian citizenship, having received his new

Russian passport The Russian passport () is a biometric travel document issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs to Russian citizens for international travel. This external Russian passport is distinct from the internal Russian passport, which is a mandato ...

at the Russian Consulate in

Bonn Bonn () is a federal city in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, located on the banks of the Rhine. With a population exceeding 300,000, it lies about south-southeast of Cologne, in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ruhr region. This ...

Club career

Neustädter began his career in

's youth team, before being promoted to

in July 2006. After playing in Mainz's first team during the 2008–09 season, he signed a three-year contract with

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...

. With ''die Fohlen'', Neustädter enjoyed a particularly successful 2011–12 season, finishing fourth and qualifying for the

2012–13 UEFA Champions League The 2012–13 UEFA Champions League was the 58th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised by UEFA, and the 21st season since it was renamed from the European Champion Clubs' Cup to the UEFA Champions League. The final was p ...

. At the end of the 2011–12 season, Neustädter left Mönchengladbach and joined

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 a free transfer, signing a four-year contract running until 30 June 2016. In July 2016, after turning down a new contract at Schalke, Neustädter signed a three-year deal at Fenerbahçe of Turkey. On 9 August 2019, he signed a one-year contract with Russian club

Dynamo Moscow MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (), is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first institution created from the All-Union Dynamo Sports Club. Dynamo Mosco ...

. On 15 October 2020, after the first 10 games of the

2020–21 Russian Premier League The 2020–21 Russian Premier League（known as the Tinkoff Russian Premier League, also written as Tinkoff Russian Premier Liga for sponsorship reasons）was the 29th season of the premier football competition in Russia since the dissolution of ...

were played, he returned to Dynamo until the end of the season.

International career

Neustädter played twice for Germany U-20, making his debut as a substitute against Italy U-20 on 9 April 2008. He scored a goal against Switzerland U-20 on 22 April 2008. The

Football Federation of Ukraine The Ukrainian Football Association (, ; UAF) is the governing body of football in Ukraine. Before 2019, it was known as the Football Federation of Ukraine (FFU; ). As a subject of the International Olympic Movement, UAF is a member of the Nation ...

has expressed interest in calling up Neustädter for their

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

. Neustädter, who was born in

, has indicated that he would be likely to accept a call-up if asked. He would first require to obtain a Ukrainian passport in order to be eligible for national team duties. On 9 November 2012, Neustädter was called up for the Germany squad to face

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in a friendly match five days later. He made his debut for Germany in this match as a late substitute for Schalke team-mate Lewis Holtby. In January 2016, Neustädter met with members of the

Russian Football Union The Russian Football Union (, ''Rossiyskiy Futbolnyy Soyuz'' or RFS) is the official governing body of association football in the Russian Federation. With headquarters in Moscow, it organizes Russian amateur and professional football, includi ...

in order to be able to possibly play for the Russia national team in the future. On 21 May 2016, he was called up to represent Russia at

UEFA Euro 2016 The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2016 (stylised as UEFA EURO 2016) or simply Euro 2016, was the 15th UEFA European Championship, the quadrennial international men's association football, football ch ...

. On 1 June 2016, Neustädter made his debut for Russia, in a 2–1 friendly loss to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

, as a 64th-minute substitute. He started Russia's first two games during the final tournament in France, where Russia failed to proceed through the group stage. On 11 May 2018, he was included in Russia's extended

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

squad. He was, however, not included in the final World Cup squad.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Russia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Neustädter goal''.

Honours

Westerlo *

Belgian First Division B The Challenger Pro League, previously known as 1B Pro League is the second-highest division in the Football in Belgium, Belgian football Belgian football league system, league system, one level below the Belgian Pro League. It was created by the ...

: 2021–22

References

External links

* * * *
Roman Neustädter
at Kicker {{DEFAULTSORT:Neustadter, Roman 1988 births Living people Men's association football midfielders Dual internationalists (men's football) Russian men's footballers German men's footballers Russia men's international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Germany men's international footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Footballers from Dnipro Soviet people of German descent Russian people of German descent Russian people of Ukrainian descent Volga German people German people of Ukrainian descent German people of Russian descent 1. FSV Mainz 05 players 1. FSV Mainz 05 II players Borussia Mönchengladbach players FC Schalke 04 players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers FC Dynamo Moscow players K.V.C. Westerlo players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Süper Lig players Russian Premier League players Challenger Pro League players Belgian National Division 1 players German emigrants to Russia Russian emigrants to Germany Naturalized citizens of Russia Naturalised association football players UEFA Euro 2016 players Russian expatriate men's footballers German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey Russian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey German expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium Russian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium German expatriate sportspeople in Belgium 21st-century Russian sportsmen 21st-century German sportsmen