 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Marcel Schäfer | ||
| Date of birth | (1984-06-07)7 June 1984 (age 41) | ||
| Place of birth | Aschaffenburg, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position | Left wingback | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1996 | SV Eintracht Straßbessenbach | ||
| 1996–2000 | Viktoria Aschaffenburg | ||
| 2000–2003 | 1860 Munich | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2003–2007 | 1860 Munich | 91 | (3) |
| 2007–2017 | VfL Wolfsburg | 256 | (13) |
| 2014 | VfL Wolfsburg II | 2 | (1) |
| 2017–2018 | Tampa Bay Rowdies | 43 | (5) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2005–2008 | Germany B | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | Germany | 8 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 13 July 2018 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 21 September 2014 | |||
Marcel Schäfer (born 7 June 1984) is a retired German professionalfootballer. He is currently the managing director for sport atRB Leipzig.[1]
Schäfer made his debut in theBundesliga on matchday 11, 1 November 2003, asTSV 1860 Munich defeatedVfL Bochum 3–1.[2] After descending to the 2. Bundesliga at the end of that season, he established himself in the following years as a regular player. On 4 March 2005, Schäfer scored his first goal for 1860, helping the club to a 3–0league win overWacker Burghausen.[3] On the final day of the 2004–05 season, he opened the scoring for 1860 in the 12th minute, but his side fell to a 4–3 defeat toLR Ahlen.[4]
His only goal of the2005–06 2. Bundesliga season came on the third matchday, heading in 1860's second goal of their 2–2 draw withSpVgg Greuther Fürth on 29 August 2005.[5] In the2006-07 campaign he appeared in 31 of the 34 scheduled matches.[6]
On 1 July 2007 he returned to the Bundesliga, signing forVfL Wolfsburg in a €1.2 million deal.[7] He made hisBundesliga debut for Wolfsburg inFelix Magath's managerial debut on 11 August 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–3 defeat toArminia Bielefeld.[8] His first goal for the club came on 4 November, scoring on a pass fromMarcelinho in the 49th minute, but Wolfsburg fell in an entertaining 3–5 defeat to Bochum.[9]
He opened the scoring for Wolfsburg and provided two assists in their match againstBorussia Dortmund on 15 December, scoring on the volley after 'keeperRoman Weidenfeller parried an initial shot fromAshkan Dejagah to Schäfer's feet, sending Wolfsburg on their way to a 4–0 victory.[10] In his next appearance for the club, a league match againstMSV Duisburg on 9 February 2008, Schäfer scored Wolfsburg's equalizer after an assist fromSascha Riether, helping the Wolves to a 2–1 comeback victory.[11] On matchday 32, he picked up a pass fromChristian Gentner and scored from the edge of the penalty-box to put Wolfsburg up 2–1 in the 28th minute overEintracht Frankfurt, and a lateEdin Džeko strike secured a 3–2 win for the Wolves, their first in five games.[12] On the final day of the Bundesliga season, 17 May 2008, Schäfer received the ball fromGrafite and hammered the ball into the goal from twenty yards out to score the game winner in the Wolves' 4–2 defeat of Dortmund and secure a spot for Wolfsburg in theUEFA Cup.[13]
On 18 September 2008, Schäfer made his first appearance inEuropean football, helping his side keep a clean sheet in the first round first-leg 1–0 victory overRapid București.[14] On 24 September, he scored his firstDFB-Pokal goal for Wolfsburg, netting with his left foot after a cross fromMahir Sağlık, and also provided an assist to Džeko as the Wolves comfortably defeatedFC Oberneuland 7–0.[15] Down 0–2 againstMilan at theSan Siro on 17 December, he picked outCristian Zaccardo for Wolfsburg's first goal and a late Sağlık strike completed the comeback, securing a point and top spot inGroup E.[16] On 4 March 2009, he provided the assist for Džeko's first goal as Wolfsburg came from 0–2 down to draw level at half-time, but two second-half goals fromClaudio Pizarro and aDiego strike secured a 5–2 win forWerder Bremen and a spot in the semi-finals of the German Cup.[17]
On 4 April 2009, Schäfer assisted the go-ahead goal to Džeko in the 63rd minute, as Wolfsburg notched an eighth successive victory and completed an historic 5–1 defeat ofBayern Munich.[18][19] On 2 May, he provided his eighthBundesliga assist of the season, picking out Grafite for Wolfsburg's final goal of their 4–0 win overHoffenheim.[20] On 23 May, Schäfer played the entire match as Wolfsburg defeated Bremen 5–1 at theVolkswagen Arena, securing the club and the player their first Bundesliga title.[21][22][23]
In his firstChampions League match, Schäfer provided an assist for one of Grafite's three goals as the Wolves dispatchedCSKA Moscow 3–1 to topGroup B after the first round of fixtures.[24][25] Schäfer received the first red card of his professional career in the second round of theDFB-Pokal on 23 September 2009, picking up two yellow cards in stoppage time as Wolfsburg fell to a 2–3 defeat to1. FC Köln.[26]
He made his first appearance of the2014–15 season in theleague on 21 September 2014, coming on as a late substitute forJunior Malanda in the Wolves' 4–1 defeat ofBayer Leverkusen.[27][28] Schäfer made his first start of the campaign on matchday 3 of theEuropa League, playing the entirety of Wolfsburg's 4–2 win overKrasnodar on 23 October.[29][30] Schäfer continued to deputize inRicardo Rodríguez's absence, providing an assist forNaldo and helping keep a clean-sheet in a 3–0 win overMainz on 26 October.[31]
In March 2017, Schäfer signed a contract withTampa Bay Rowdies.[32]
He made his international debut forGermany on 19 November 2008 in a friendly againstEngland, replacingMarvin Compper in the 2–1 loss.[33] He made his full debut for Germany on 29 May 2009, playing the entirety of their 1–1 draw withChina at theShanghai Stadium.[34][35] On 12 August 2009, Schäfer participated in his first competitive game for the national side, a 2–0 win overAzerbaijan in aWorld Cup qualifying match in Baku.[36][37] His 8th and last international was a friendly againstDenmark in August 2010.[38]
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club | League | Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | |||||||
| 1860 Munich | Bundesliga | 2003–04 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | [39] | |
| 2. Bundesliga | 2004–05 | 27 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 2 | [40] | |||
| 1860 Munich II | Regionalliga Süd | 2004–05 | 7 | 3 | — | 7 | 3 | [40] | |||
| 1860 Munich | 2. Bundesliga | 2005–06 | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 35 | 1 | [41] | ||
| 2006–07 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 32 | 0 | [42] | ||||
| 1860 Munich totals | 91 | 3 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 96 | 3 | — | ||
| 1860 Munich II totals | 7 | 3 | — | 7 | 3 | — | |||||
| VfL Wolfsburg | Bundesliga | 2007–08 | 29 | 6 | 3 | 0 | — | 32 | 6 | [43] | |
| 2008–09 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 0 | 46 | 1 | [44] | ||
| 2009–10 | 32 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 12 | 0 | 46 | 0 | [45] | ||
| 2010–11 | 34 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | 36 | 1 | [46] | |||
| 2011–12 | 34 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 35 | 5 | [47] | ||||
| 2012–13 | 31 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 35 | 0 | [48] | ||||
| 2013–14 | 21 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 25 | 2 | [49] | ||||
| 2014–15 | 16 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | [50] | ||||
| 2015–16 | 21 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 0 | [50] | ||||
| VfL Wolfsburg II | Regionalliga Nord | 2013–14 | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | [49] | |||
| VfL Wolfsburg totals | 223 | 12 | 21 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 268 | 15 | — | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg II totals | 2 | 1 | — | 2 | 1 | — | |||||
| Career totals | 323 | 19 | 26 | 3 | 25 | 0 | 373 | 22 | — | ||
