 Waldschmidt withBenfica in 2021 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Gian-Luca Waldschmidt[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1996-05-19)19 May 1996 (age 29)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Siegen, Germany | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[3] | ||
| Position | Forward | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | 1. FC Köln | ||
| Number | 9 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2001–2007 | SSV Oranien Frohnhausen | ||
| 2007–2009 | SSC Juno Burg | ||
| 2009–2010 | TSG Wieseck | ||
| 2010–2014 | Eintracht Frankfurt | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2014 | Eintracht Frankfurt II | 2 | (1) |
| 2014–2016 | Eintracht Frankfurt | 15 | (0) |
| 2016–2018 | Hamburger SV | 35 | (2) |
| 2018–2020 | SC Freiburg | 53 | (16) |
| 2020–2021 | Benfica | 29 | (9) |
| 2021–2024 | VfL Wolfsburg | 32 | (5) |
| 2023–2024 | →1. FC Köln (loan) | 22 | (3) |
| 2024– | 1. FC Köln | 42 | (11) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2011–2012 | Germany U16 | 2 | (3) |
| 2012–2013 | Germany U17 | 8 | (4) |
| 2014–2017 | Germany U18 | 1 | (0) |
| 2013 | Germany U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2017–2019 | Germany U21 | 15 | (10) |
| 2019–2020 | Germany | 7 | (2) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 8 February 2026 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21:39, 17 November 2020 (UTC) | |||
Gian-Luca Waldschmidt (born 19 May 1996) is a German professionalfootballer who plays as aforward forBundesliga club1. FC Köln. He developed through the academy ofEintracht Frankfurt and has represented Germany at various levels, including thesenior national team.
Aforward, Waldschmidt began his youth career in 2001 with SSV Oranien Frohnhausen and had youth spells at SSC Juno Burg and TSG Wieseck before joining theEintracht Frankfurt academy in 2010.
On 25 April 2014, Waldschmidt signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal. This saw him promoted to the first team, although he would still appear for the under-19 team.[4] Exactly one year later, on 25 April 2015, Waldschmidt made hisBundesliga debut, as a 73rd-minute substitute forSonny Kittel in a 0–2 home loss toBorussia Dortmund.[5] He scored his first goal for Eintracht Frankfurt on 8 August in a 3–0 win overBremer SV in thefirst round of theGerman cup.
On 30 June 2016, Waldschmidt signed forHamburger SV on a four-year contract.[6][7] He made his first appearance for theHamburg club in the Bundesliga in a 0–4 home loss toRB Leipzig on 17 September, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute, replacingBobby Wood.[8] He scored his first goal for the club a few seconds after coming on, in a 4–0 win overHallescher FC on 24 October, in a second-roundcup fixture.[9] On 20 May 2017, the last round of the2016–17 Bundesliga season, Waldschmidt scored his first Bundesliga-goal, the decisive goal in a 2–1 win over relegation rivalsVfL Wolfsburg, in the 88th minute – two minutes after being substituted in. The goal meant that Hamburger SV avoided Bundesliga relegation play-offs for the first time in four years.[10] In thefollowing season, Waldschmidt made 21 league appearances in which he scored one goal. At the end of the season, Hamburger SV were relegated to the2. Bundesliga for the first time in the Bundesliga's 55-year history.[11][12]
In May 2018,SC Freiburg announced they had signed Waldschmidt for the 2018–19 season fromHamburger SV, newly relegated to the2. Bundesliga.[11] The club reportedly triggered a €5 million release clause.[13] He finished his first campaign for the club with 30 appearances and nine goals.
On 14 August 2020,Benfica announced the signing of Waldschmidt on a five-year deal for 15 million euros.[14] Waldschmidt scored twice on his Benfica debut, a 5–1Primeira Liga win overFamalicão on 18 September 2020.[15]
On 22 August 2021, Waldschmidt returned to Germany, signing a four-year contract withVfL Wolfsburg.[16]
In July 2023, Waldschmidt joined1. FC Köln on a one-year loan.[17] On 19 June 2024, it was announced that he had signed for the club on a permanent basis.[18]
Waldschmidt has represented theGermany national youth football teams (U16 to U21). He finished as the top scorer of the2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship with seven goals, breaking the previous record of his compatriot,Pierre Littbarski, who scored six goals in the1982 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[19]
On 29 August 2019, Waldschmidt was called up to Germany'sUEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers againstNetherlands andCzech Republic.[20] The same year on 9 October, he debuted for theGerman senior squad in afriendly match againstArgentina, playing the whole match.[21] On 7 October 2020, Waldschmidt scored his first senior international goal in a friendly match againstTurkey.[22]
Luca Waldschmidt is the son of Wolfgang Waldschmidt, who made 14 appearances forSV Darmstadt 98 in the1983–84 2. Bundesliga season.[23]
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt II | 2013–14 | Regionalliga Südwest | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | ||||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | 3 | 0 | |||
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 12 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 14 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 17 | 1 | |||||
| Hamburger SV | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 16 | 2 | |||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 22 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 35 | 2 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 38 | 3 | |||||
| Hamburger SV II | 2016–17 | Regionalliga Nord | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 5 | 4 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Regionalliga Nord | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 4 | ||||||
| SC Freiburg | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 30 | 9 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 32 | 9 | |||
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 22 | 5 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | 23 | 6 | ||||
| Total | 52 | 14 | 3 | 1 | — | — | — | 55 | 15 | |||||
| Benfica | 2020–21 | Primeira Liga | 27 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8[c] | 1 | 1[d] | 0 | 41 | 10 |
| 2021–22 | Primeira Liga | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | ||
| Total | 29 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 43 | 12 | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 14 | 1 | — | — | 3[e] | 0 | — | 17 | 1 | |||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 18 | 4 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | 20 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 32 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 37 | 6 | ||||
| 1. FC Köln (loan) | 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 22 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 24 | 3 | |||
| 1. FC Köln | 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | 30 | 8 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | 33 | 10 | |||
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 12 | 3 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 14 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 64 | 14 | 7 | 2 | — | 3 | 0 | — | 71 | 16 | ||||
| Career total | 235 | 49 | 21 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 269 | 56 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | |||
| 2019 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 4 | 2 | |
| Total | 7 | 2 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 7 October 2020 | RheinEnergieStadion,Cologne, Germany |  Turkey | 3–2 | 3–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | 11 November 2020 | Red Bull Arena,Leipzig, Germany |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 1–0 |
1.FC Koln
Germany U21
Individual
