 Kaiser in 2016 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | (1988-09-16)16 September 1988 (age 37) | ||
| Place of birth | Mutlangen,[1]West Germany | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| TGSV Waldstetten | |||
| –2004 | Normannia Gmünd | ||
| 2004–2007 | VfL Kirchheim/Teck | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2009 | Normannia Gmünd | 61 | (8) |
| 2009–2012 | 1899 Hoffenheim II | 66 | (7) |
| 2010–2012 | 1899 Hoffenheim | 10 | (0) |
| 2012–2018 | RB Leipzig | 158 | (32) |
| 2018–2019 | Brøndby | 52 | (11) |
| 2020–2022 | Hannover 96 | 72 | (4) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dominik Kaiser (born 16 September 1988) is a German former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder.[2][3]
Born inMutlangen,West Germany, Kaiser was raised in Waldstetten and played for various clubs, such as TGSV Waldstetten,Normannia Gmünd andVfL Kirchheim/Teck before re–joining Normannia Gmünd in 2007.[4] Up until he was 17, Kaiser played tennis before decided to quit to fully concentrate on football.[5]
Kaiser made his Normannia Gmünd debut, coming on as a second–half substitute, in a 3–0 loss againstAlemannia Aachen in the first round of the DFB–Pokal.[6] Since making for his debut for Normannia Gmünd, Kaiser became a first team regular for the side in the Oberliga Baden-Württemberg.[5]
In 2009, Kaiser moved to1899 Hoffenheim II, which was largely credited to his brother, who knewMarkus Gisdol at SC Geislingen.[5] Shortly after, he was assigned to the U23 side and then the second team.[5]
At TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II, Kaiser made his debut for the side, where he played 17 minutes after coming on as a second–half substitute, in a 1–0 loss againstTSG Weinheim.[7] He then scored his first goal for TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II, in a 6–3 win overFC Denzlingen on 2 September 2009.[8] He went on to finish his first season at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II, making 32 appearances and scoring five times in all competitions.[4]
At the start of the 2010–11 season, Kaiser was promoted to the first team, where he trained regularly with the squad.[9] He then appeared in the first team as an unused substitute in number of matches, whilst appearing in TSG 1899 Hoffenheim II during the 2010–11 season.[10] Kaiser waited for a long time until on 14 May 2011 when he made his debut at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, coming on as a second–half substitute forEdson Braafheid, in a 3–1 loss againstVfL Wolfsburg.[11]
At some to his TSG 1899 Hoffenheim time there, he signed his first professional contract.[12] At the start of the 2011–12 season, Kaiser was given a handful of first team appearances.[13] His first appearance of the 2011–12 came on 13 August 2011, where he came on as a second–half substitute, in a 1–0 win overBorussia Dortmund.[14] This lasted until late–October when he was replaced by the returningFabian Johnson and appeared on the substitute bench, as well as, the club's second team for the rest of the season.[15] Despite his first team opportunities limited, Kaiser extended his contract with the club, keeping him until 2014, on 3 January 2012.[16] Later in the 2011–12 season, he made two more appearances.[17]
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Kaiser left TSG 1899 Hoffenheim forRB Leipzig, a club based on Regionalliga Nordost, on 11 July 2012, signing a contract until 2016.[18] The move saw Kaiser reunited with ManagerRalf Rangnick, who he knew at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim.[5]
Kaiser made his RB Leipzig debut in the opening game of the season, starting the whole game, in a 1–1 draw againstUnion Berlin II.[19] He then scored his first goal for the club on 23 September 2012, in a 3–0 win overGermania Halberstadt.[20] Kaiser helped the side win theRegionalliga Nordost and won promotion to the 3. Liga, after three seasons in the Regionalliga after beatingSportfreunde Lotte.[21]
In the 2013–14 season, Kaiser started the season well when he scored on Matchday 3, in a 2–1 win overWacker Burghausen.[22] After returning from suspension, Kaiser then scored again on 21 December 2013, in a 2–1 win overHallescher FC.[23] In a follow-up match against Wacker Burghausen on 25 January 2014, he captained RB Leipzig for the first time in his career, which saw RB Leipzig lose 1–0.[24] He later captained RB Leipzig again for the second time this season, which came againstSV Elversberg on 2 March 2014 and scored, as well as, assisting another goal, in a 2–0 win.[25] Then, on 3 May 2014, Kaiser scored a hat–trick, as well as, setting up two goals, in a 5–1 win over1. FC Saarbrücken, a win that help the club reach promotion to 2. Bundesliga after finishing the season in second place and became the first team since the introduction of the 3. Liga to win promotion to the 2. Bundesliga after only one season.[26] Initially playing out as a defensive midfielder position, Kaiser then switched into playing as an attacking midfielder position.[27]
In the 2014–15 season, Kaiser was featured for the first two league matches to the season before suffering a thigh injury.[28] After returning to the first team from injury, he then scored his first goal of the season, as well as, setting up two goals, in a 3–1 win overKarlsruher SC on 24 September 2014.[29] In the next match againstFortuna Düsseldorf, Kaiser captained the side for the first time this season, in a 2–2 draw.[30] Following this, he continued to regain his first team place for the rest of the season.[31] Later in the 2014–15 season, Kaiser captained the side in a number of matches in the absence ofDaniel Frahn.[32] Despite missing two matches later in the 2014–15 season,[33]
Ahead of the 2015–16 season, Kaiser was given a captaincy following the departure of Daniel Frahn to1. FC Heidenheim.[34] He started out playing in the central–midfielder at the start of the 2015–16 season following a tactics change.[35] Kaiser then set up a goal forDavie Selke, who scored a header, in a 2–0 win overEintracht Braunschweig on 15 August 2015.[36] On 4 October 2015, he scored his first goal of the season, in a 3–2 win over1. FC Nürnberg.[37] His goal againstFSV Frankfurt on 13 December 2015 earned him December's Goal of the Month.[38] Under his leadership at RB Leipzig, Kaiser helped the club gain promotion to the Bundesliga after beating Karlsruher SC 2–0 on 8 May 2016.[39] Despite missing four matches in the 2015–16 season,[40]
In the 2016–17 season, Kaiser was the first RB Leipzig to score in theBundesliga.[41] Kaiser started the season at the first team place, but soon lost his first team and was demoted to the substitute bench.[42]
His first appearance of the 2017–18 season came on 27 August 2017, coming on as a second–half substitute, in a 4–1 win overSC Freiburg.[43] He also made his UEFA Champions League debut, where he played 16 minutes after coming on as a second–half substitute, in a 2–1 loss againstBeşiktaş on 6 December 2017.[44] Kaiser, himself, said he wanted to stay at the club until the end of the season.[45]
On 13 May 2018, Kaiser was awarded a testimonial match by RB Leipzig, in honour of him being their longest-serving player after spending six years with the club.[46]
On 1 July 2018, Kaiser signed with Danish Superliga clubBrøndby on a two-year contract, reuniting with former Leipzig coach,Alexander Zorniger.[47] In his first season at Brøndby, he reached theDanish Cup final in which he scored. The final was, however, lost toMidtjylland on penalties.[48]
On 8 August 2019, Kaiser scored two goals as Brøndby lost 4–2 in the first leg of theUEFA Europa League qualification match against Portuguese clubBraga.[49] The first goal was a sensational shot off a clearance from a Brøndby corner.[50]
At the start of the 2019–20 season he was selected as Brøndby 'Player of the Month' four times in a row.[51] In October 2019, with Kaiser's contract set to expire in the summer, the club expressed an interest in a contract extension.[52]
On 18 January 2020, Kaiser signed with 2. Bundesliga clubHannover 96,[53] after failing to reach an agreement over a contract extension with Brøndby.[54] He made his debut on 28 January in a 1–0 away loss toSSV Jahn Regensburg, coming on as a substitute forMarc Stendera in the 59th minute.[55] He managed 16 appearances during his first six months at the club, as Hannover ended in 6th place in the league table, well out of competition for promotion.[3][56]
Before the2020–21 season, Kaiser was appointed the newteam captain of Hannover 96 by head coachKenan Koçak, succeedingMarvin Bakalorz in that role, as the latter had left forDenizlispor.[57] On 14 September 2020, Kaiser scored his first goal for the club in a 3–2 away win overWürzburger Kickers in theDFB-Pokal after an assist byMarvin Ducksch.[58] His first league goal followed shortly after, on 19 September, in a 2–0 win home atNiedersachsenstadion overKarlsruher SC, again after an assist by Ducksch.[59]
After being a free agent for a couple of months, Kaiser announced in German media, that he would retire from professional football.[60]
After a few months he announced that he would indeed return to the world of football, working in the scouting departement ofRB Leipzig, the club where he spent the majority of his career.[61]
Kaiser has an older brother, Steffen, who works as a doctor in Esslingen.[4]
Outside of football, Kaiser also practices Judo.[62]
