 Wollscheid withBayer Leverkusen in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Philipp Johannes Wollscheid[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1989-03-06)6 March 1989 (age 36) | ||
| Place of birth | Wadern,Saarland,West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.94 m (6 ft4+1⁄2 in)[2] | ||
| Position | Centre-back | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1994–1998 | SV Morscholz | ||
| 1998–2002 | SV Wadrill | ||
| 2002–2004 | VfL Primstal | ||
| 2004–2006 | SV Morscholz | ||
| 2006–2007 | SG Noswendel-Wadern | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn | 18 | (0) |
| 2008–2009 | 1. FC Saarbrücken | 30 | (3) |
| 2009–2010 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 40 | (1) |
| 2010–2012 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 52 | (5) |
| 2012–2015 | Bayer Leverkusen | 51 | (2) |
| 2014–2015 | →1. FSV Mainz 05 (loan) | 5 | (0) |
| 2015 | →Stoke City (loan) | 12 | (0) |
| 2015–2017 | Stoke City | 33 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | →VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 7 | (0) |
| 2017 | →VfL Wolfsburg II (loan) | 2 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Metz | 0 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Metz B | 2 | (0) |
| Total | 252 | (11) | |
| International career | |||
| 2010 | Germany U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013 | Germany | 2 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Philipp Johannes Wollscheid (born 6 March 1989) is a German former professionalfootballer who played as acentre-back.[3]
Wollscheid began his career playing amateur football for various clubs in theSaarland. He progressed to semi-professional level withSV Rot-Weiss Hasborn in 2007 and then1. FC Saarbrücken. He was released by Saarbrücken in the summer of 2009 and then joined1. FC Nürnberg following a successful trial. After spending time playing for thesecond team he broke into the Nürnberg first team and became a regular in theBundesliga. His performances for Nürnberg saw him transfer toBayer Leverkusen in July 2012.
Wollscheid was a regular underSami Hyypiä at Leverkusen in2012–13 and2013–14. However, he fell out of favor with new managerRoger Schmidt and joined1. FSV Mainz 05 on loan in August 2014. Wollscheid joined English sideStoke City on loan in January 2015 which was made permanent at the end of the season. After losing his place at Stoke, Wollscheid had an unsuccessful spell on loan atVfL Wolfsburg in2016–17. His contract with Stoke was terminated by mutual consent in August 2017 and Wollscheid joined French clubMetz. He retired in October 2019.
Born inWadern,Saarland, Wollscheid started his career in the youth teams of various local amateur sides. He made his first team debut in March 2007 for SG Noswendel-Wadern in theLandesliga – then the seventh tier of theGerman football league system.[4] At the start of the 2007–08 season, he joinedSV Rot-Weiss Hasborn in the fifth tierOberliga, appearing 18 times for the club before moving to1. FC Saarbrücken six months later.[5] He struggled to make an impact during his 18-month spell at the club, and made many of his 30 league appearances as a substitute.[6] Following Saarbrücken's promotion to theRegionalliga in 2009, Wollscheid decided to look for a new club.
He arranged a trial with1. FC Nürnberg, and subsequently signed a three-year deal with the club.[7] Having not trained at a youth academy like many other young footballers, Wollscheid admitted to knowing little about tactics before he joined Nürnberg, and had little idea about how aback four operates.[7][8] He spent his first season at the club playing for theclub's reserve team, making 26Regionalliga appearances and scoring one goal.
He rose to prominence during the2010–11 Bundesliga season, making his first team debut in a 3–1 defeat against1. FC Kaiserslautern in November 2010. He soon became a regular starter for Nürnberg and finished the year ranked third among all Bundesliga defenders, according tokicker's player ratings.[9]
In November 2011, Wollscheid agreed a five-year deal withBayer Leverkusen beginning from summer 2012.[10] In the2012–13 season under the management ofSami Hyypiä, Wollscheid played 40 times scoring three goals as Leverkusen finished in third position.[11] He struggled with injury and form in2013–14, making 27 appearances as Hyypiä was sacked in April 2014. His replacementRoger Schmidt opted for the pairing ofEmir Spahić andÖmer Toprak and Wollscheid was free to find another club.[12]
In the summer of 2014, Wollscheid joined1. FSV Mainz 05 on loan for the2014–15 season.[13] He played five times for Mainz before leaving in January 2015.[11]
He ended his loan with Mainz in January 2015 and joined EnglishPremier League sideStoke City, on another temporary deal through to the end of the season, with an option to buy him based on his performances.[14] He made his debut for Stoke on 11 January 2015 in a 3–0 defeat away atArsenal.[15] In his second match againstLeicester City, Wollscheid played alongsideMarc Muniesa as Stoke secured a 1–0 victory.[16] His performance earned him praise from managerMark Hughes.[17] However his performances dropped off and he was criticized for poor performances againstBlackburn Rovers andSunderland.[18] He went and played a total of 14 games for Stoke in2014–15.[19]
On 21 May 2015, Stoke announced that they had taken up their option to buy Wollscheid for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £2.75 million on a three-year contract.[20][21][22] Wollscheid was a key member ofMark Hughes's squad in2015–16, playing 39 times as the Potters finished in ninth position and reached the semi-final of theLeague Cup.[23]
On 31 August 2016, Philipp Wollscheid signed forBundesliga sideVfL Wolfsburg from Stoke City on a season-long loan, with a purchase option at the end of the season.[24] His time at Wolfsburg started terribly after playing just two matches he was suspended by the club for a training ground row with head coachDieter Hecking.[25] After Hecking was sacked Wollschied's return to training was disrupted by a severe case oftinnitus which required ear surgery.[26] He regained his fitness and played some matches forthe reserve team in theRegionalliga.[27] He returned to the first team under new head coachAndries Jonker as Wolfsburg beatEintracht Braunschweig in the relegation play-off to remain in the Bundesliga.[28]
Wollscheid joined French clubMetz on 30 August 2017, after his Stoke contract was cancelled by mutual consent.[29] He left Metz in January 2018 after failing to make aLigue 1 appearance.[30]
Following his release from Metz, Wollscheid returned to his home town ofWadern, and began playing for his friend's successful five-a sidefutsal team. In an interview in October 2019 Wollscheid revealed that he no longer enjoyed being a professional footballer.—“Had I been able to play without emotion, I would probably have carried on for another six years". “But I realised that I would only be going to work to earn money and I said to myself that cannot be right.” "The football business in general is simply wrong. One day you will be praised by everyone to the sky, the next you are not good enough anymore. I have never been able to endure these ups and downs.”[31][32]
He represented theGerman national under-20 football team on one occasion. On 29 May 2013, he made his international debut forGermany national team in a friendly game againstEcuador inBoca Raton,Florida. His second and last cap came three days later in a 3–4 loss against theUnited States inWashington, D.C.[33]
Wollscheid played as acentre-back and has been compared to compatriotPer Mertesacker.
Like Mertesacker, Wollscheid may be big, but he will not strike the fear of God into opposing strikers. At his best, he is a gifted all round defender, with excellent positioning and relatively secure heading and tackling. He can play with both feet, and can mark equally well man to man or zonally, although he can be prone to losses of concentration.
— German sports writer Kit Holden gives his opinion on Philipp Wollscheid.[citation needed]
Wollscheid grew up supporting1. FC Kaiserslautern and stated that his dream is to end his playing career at the club.[34]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn | 2007–08[11] | Oberliga Südwest | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 1. FC Saarbrücken | 2008–09[11] | Oberliga Südwest | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 3 | ||
| 1. FC Nürnberg II | 2009–10[11] | Regionalliga Süd | 26 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 1 | ||
| 2010–11[11] | Regionalliga Süd | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 14 | 0 | |||
| Total | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 40 | 1 | ||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2010–11[11] | Bundesliga | 19 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 3 | ||
| 2011–12[11] | Bundesliga | 33 | 2 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 2 | |||
| Total | 52 | 5 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 57 | 5 | ||||
| Bayer Leverkusen | 2012–13[11] | Bundesliga | 31 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | 7 | 1 | 40 | 3 | |
| 2013–14[11] | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 27 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15[11] | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 51 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | 11 | 1 | 67 | 3 | |||
| Mainz 05 (loan) | 2014–15[11] | Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Stoke City (loan) | 2014–15[19] | Premier League | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 14 | 0 | |
| Stoke City | 2015–16[23] | Premier League | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | — | 39 | 0 | |
| 2016–17[36] | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2017–18[37] | Premier League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| Total | 45 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 56 | 0 | |||
| VfL Wolfsburg (loan) | 2016–17[11] | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0 | |
| VfL Wolfsburg II (loan) | 2016–17[11] | Regionalliga Nord | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Metz | 2017–18[11] | Ligue 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | |
| Metz B | 2017–18[11] | Championnat National 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | |||
| Career total | 252 | 11 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 287 | 12 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | |||
| 2013 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 2 | 0 | |
