 Serra withHolstein Kiel in 2019 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Janni-Luca Serra | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1998-03-13)13 March 1998 (age 27) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Springe, Germany | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Forward | ||||||||||||||||
| Team information | |||||||||||||||||
Current team | AGF | ||||||||||||||||
| Number | 13 | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| –2008 | FC Bennigsen | ||||||||||||||||
| 2008–2010 | Hannover 96 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2013 | TSV Havelse | ||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Hannover 96 | ||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Borussia Dortmund | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | Borussia Dortmund II | 13 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018 | →VfL Bochum (loan) | 12 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2018–2021 | Holstein Kiel | 80 | (30) | ||||||||||||||
| 2021–2023 | Arminia Bielefeld | 56 | (10) | ||||||||||||||
| 2023– | AGF | 26 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2024–2025 | →1. FC Nürnberg (loan) | 8 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015 | Germany U17 | 10 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Germany U18 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | Germany U19 | 4 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017–2019 | Germany U21 | 16 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 10 December 2025 | |||||||||||||||||
Janni-Luca Serra (born 13 March 1998) is a German professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forDanish Superliga clubAGF.
Janni-Luca Serra was born inSpringe,Lower Saxony, and began playing soccer in the youth teams of SG Bredenbeck-Holtensen, where he is still an honorary member.[1] Initially playing as a defender,[2] he moved to the youth department ofHannover 96 at the age of 10, where he trained for a total of three years, interrupted by a move toTSV Havelse.[1][2] As a 16-year-old, he was signed byBundesliga clubBorussia Dortmund to play for the club's youth teams. After winning one championship with the under-17s and two with the under-19s, Serra made his debut forBorussia Dortmund II on 30 July 2017, in a home game againstRot-Weiss Essen in theRegionalliga West. During his time at Dortmund II, he also began to eventually establish himself as a striker.
During the winter break of the2017–18 season, BVB loaned him to2. Bundesliga clubVfL Bochum, where he gained experience in professional football in twelve brief appearances.[3]
For the2018–19 season, Serra moved permanently to the 2. Bundesliga, joining newly promoted clubHolstein Kiel on a three-year contract until 2021.[4] Under coachTim Walter, Serra became a regular starter right away, making 30 league appearances in his first season (25 of which were starting appearances). He also played in all three cup matches.[5] He scored his first goal in professional football on 22 September 2018, with a last minute header in a 2–2 draw against his former club VfL Bochum.[6] With a total of 11 goals, he was the team's top scorer of the season. He retained his place in the starting XI in the following season under new head coachOle Werner, scoring a total of eight goals in 19 league games and two cup appearances until February 2020. However, a thigh injury kept him out of play until the end of the season, which Kiel finished in 11th place.
In the 2020/21 season, Serra was once again part of the first team. The striker appeared in 31 league games (25 times as starter) in which he scored 13 goals. He finished the season in third place with his team and thus qualified for the promotion playoffs, which were lost to1. FC Köln. In the2020–21 DFB-Pokal, he advanced to the semifinals with Kiel, where the team lost to his youth clubBorussia Dortmund. Serra appeared in all five cup games, scoring three goals.[5]
After fulfilling his contract with Holstein Kiel, Serra moved toBundesliga clubArminia Bielefeld for the2021–22 season. His contract is dated until June 30, 2025.[7] On the first matchday of the season, he made his Bundesliga debut in a goalless draw againstSC Freiburg. He scored his first goal in the top flight on 18 December 2021 in a 2-0 away win againstRB Leipzig.[5]
On 4 July 2023Danish Superliga clubAGF confirmed, that they had signed Serra as a free agent on a 4 year contract.[8]
On 26 July 2024, Serra moved on loan to1. FC Nürnberg in2. Bundesliga, with an option to buy.[9] He returned to AGF at the end of the spell.[10]
Janni Serra has made 31 appearances for four different DFB junior national teams so far, including ten for the German under-17s (with whom he finished second at the2015 European Championship) and four for the under-19s.[1] On 21 July 2016, he tore hisACL during a match at the2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship and underwent a total of four surgeries during the remainder of 2016.[11] He made his comeback on the pitch in April 2017 in the Under-19 Bundesliga.
On 1 September 2017, Serra made his first appearance for a men's national team, playing in theGerman under-21 national team coached byStefan Kuntz againstHungary.
Serra has an older brother (Nikola) and a younger brother (Petja), both of whom are also soccer players. His late father Ralf also used to play low-level soccer and worked for theLower Saxony Football Association as a coach.[2]
Serra is of distantSardinian descent.[11]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Total | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Borussia Dortmund II | 2017–18 | Regionalliga West | 13 | 3 | — | 13 | 3 | |
| VfL Bochum (loan) | 2017–18 | 2. Bundesliga | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 0 |
| Holstein Kiel | 2018–19 | 2. Bundesliga | 30 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 33 | 11 |
| 2019–20 | 2. Bundesliga | 19 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 8 | |
| 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 31 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 36 | 16 | |
| Total | 80 | 30 | 10 | 5 | 90 | 35 | ||
| Career total | 105 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 115 | 38 | ||
