Marcel Schäfer (born 7 June 1984) is a retired German professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

. He is currently the managing director for sport at

RB Leipzig RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig or informally as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional association football, football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company ...

Career

1860 Munich

Schäfer made his debut in the

Bundesliga The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany and the highest level of the German football league system. The Bundesliga comprises 18 teams ...

on matchday 11, 1 November 2003, as

TSV 1860 Munich , commonly known as TSV 1860 München (; ''sechzig'' locally ; lettered as ) or 1860 Munich, is a sports club based in Munich. The club's association football, football team plays in the 3. Liga, the third tier of German football league system ...

defeated

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as VfL Bochum (), is a Football in Germany, German professional association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. They currently play ...

3–1. 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 3–0

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football * ''League of Legends'', a 2009 multiplayer online battle a ...

win over

Wacker Burghausen SV Wacker Burghausen is a German football club based in Burghausen, Bavaria and is part of one of the nation's largest sports clubs with some 6,000 members participating in two dozen different sports. History The club was founded on 13 Novemb ...

. 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 to

LR Ahlen Rot Weiss Ahlen is a football in Germany, German football club based in Ahlen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Until 2006 the club was known as ''LR Ahlen'' for its major sponsor, but underwent a name change when the sponsor withdrew its support after th ...

. His only goal of the

2005–06 2. Bundesliga The 2005–06 2. Bundesliga was the 32nd season of the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system. VfL Bochum, Alemannia Aachen, and Energie Cottbus were promoted to the Bundesliga while Dynamo Dresden, 1. FC Saarbrück ...

season came on the third matchday, heading in 1860's second goal of their 2–2 draw with

SpVgg Greuther Fürth Spielvereinigung Greuther Fürth (), commonly known as Greuther Fürth (), is a Football in Germany, German football club based in Fürth, Bavaria. They play in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of the German football league system, following r ...

on 29 August 2005. In the 2006-07 campaign he appeared in 31 of the 34 scheduled matches.

Wolfsburg

On 1 July 2007 he returned to the Bundesliga, signing for

VfL Wolfsburg Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg (), is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of Wolfsburg. I ...

in a €1.2 million deal. He made his

debut for Wolfsburg in

Felix Magath Wolfgang Felix Magath (; born 26 July 1953) is a German football manager and former player. The most notable spell of his playing career was with Hamburger SV, with whom he won three Bundesliga titles, the 1977 European Cup Winners' Cup Final a ...

's managerial debut on 11 August 2007, playing the full 90 minutes in the 1–3 defeat to

Arminia Bielefeld DSC Arminia Bielefeld (; full name: ; commonly known as Arminia Bielefeld (), also known as ''Die Arminen'' or ''Die Blauen'' ), or just Arminia (), is a German sports club from Bielefeld, North Rhine-Westphalia. Arminia is most well known as ...

. His first goal for the club came on 4 November, scoring on a pass from

Marcelinho Marcelinho is a diminutive form of the given name Marcelo, and may refer to: Sports Football *Marcelinho Carioca (born 1971), born ''Marcelo Pereira Surcin'', Brazilian attacking midfielder * Marcelinho Paulista (born 1973), born ''Marcelo José d ...

in the 49th minute, but Wolfsburg fell in an entertaining 3–5 defeat to Bochum. He opened the scoring for Wolfsburg and provided two assists in their match against

Borussia Dortmund Ballspielverein Borussia 09 e. V. Dortmund, often known simply as Borussia Dortmund () or by its initialism BVB (), or just Dortmund by International fans, is a German professional sports club based in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia. It is ...

on 15 December, scoring on the volley after 'keeper

Roman Weidenfeller Roman Weidenfeller (born 6 August 1980) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as a goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Bundesliga clubs 1. FC Kaiserslautern and Borussia Dortmund, as well a ...

parried an initial shot from

Ashkan Dejagah Seyed Ashkan Dejagah (, born 5 July 1986), known as Ashkan Dejagah, is an Iranian former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He represented Germany at youth levels between 2001 and 2009, going on to win the 2009 UEFA European U ...

to Schäfer's feet, sending Wolfsburg on their way to a 4–0 victory. In his next appearance for the club, a league match against

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jer ...

on 9 February 2008, Schäfer scored Wolfsburg's equalizer after an assist from

Sascha Riether Sascha Riether (; born 23 March 1983) is a German former professional association football, footballer who played as a right-back. In addition to playing in the right back position, Riether has also played in defensive midfield, center back and r ...

, helping the Wolves to a 2–1 comeback victory. On matchday 32, he picked up a pass from

Christian Gentner Christian Gentner (born 14 August 1985) is a German professional football official and a former player who played as a midfielder. He works as a head of the professional player department at VfB Stuttgart. He won the Bundesliga twice, with VfB S ...

and scored from the edge of the penalty-box to put Wolfsburg up 2–1 in the 28th minute over

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a German professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The club currently plays in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German footb ...

, and a late

Edin Džeko Edin Džeko (; born 17 March 1986) is a Bosnian professional footballer who plays as a striker for and captains both Süper Lig club Fenerbahçe and the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. He is the all-time top goalscorer and most capped ...

strike secured a 3–2 win for the Wolves, their first in five games. On the final day of the Bundesliga season, 17 May 2008, Schäfer received the ball from

Grafite Edinaldo Batista Libânio (born 2 April 1979), commonly known as Grafite (pronounced ), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a striker. He currently works as a pundit for TV Globo and SporTV. In 2005, Grafite won the C ...

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 the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

. On 18 September 2008, Schäfer made his first appearance in

European football UEFA competitions (), referred improperly by the mass media as European football, are the set of tournaments organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA), generally in professional and amateur association football and futsal. T ...

, helping his side keep a clean sheet in the first round first-leg 1–0 victory over

Rapid București Rapid(s) or RAPID may refer to: Hydrological features * Rapids, sections of a river with turbulent water flow * Rapid Creek (Iowa River tributary), Iowa, United States * Rapid Creek (South Dakota), United States, namesake of Rapid City Sport ...

. On 24 September, he scored his first

DFB-Pokal The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English language, English, is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competiti ...

goal for Wolfsburg, netting with his left foot after a cross from

Mahir Sağlık Mahir Sağlık (born 18 January 1983) is a Turkish former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), striker. Career Sağlık signed a three-year deal for VfL Wolfsburg in September 2008. On ...

, and also provided an assist to Džeko as the Wolves comfortably defeated

FC Oberneuland FC Oberneuland Bremen von 1948 is a Football in Germany, German association football club from the Oberneuland quarter of Bremen, founded on 13 April 1948 in the local inn ''Zum Dorfkrug'' as ''Fußball-Club Oberneuland von 1948''. In addition to ...

7–0. Down 0–2 against

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

at the

San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...

on 17 December, he picked out

Cristian Zaccardo Cristian Zaccardo (; born 21 December 1981) is an Italian former footballer who played as a defender. He mainly played as a centre back, although he was also capable of playing as a full-back or in midfield. He began his club career with Ita ...

for Wolfsburg's first goal and a late Sağlık strike completed the comeback, securing a point and top spot in

Group E Group E may refer to: * E-Group: E-Groups are unique architectural complexes found among a number of ancient Maya settlements * Group E (vase painting), a group of Attic vase painters of the black-figure style, active between 560 and 540 BC. * On ...

. 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 from

Claudio Pizarro Claudio Miguel Pizarro Bosio (; born 3 October 1978) is a Peruvian former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker. He is currently serving as club ambassador for Bayern Muni ...

and a

Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. ...

strike secured a 5–2 win for

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

and a spot in the semi-finals of the German Cup. 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 of

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

. On 2 May, he provided his eighth

assist of the season, picking out Grafite for Wolfsburg's final goal of their 4–0 win over

Hoffenheim Hoffenheim () is a village in Rhein-Neckar-Kreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It belongs to the municipality of Sinsheim and, as of 2020, it has a population of 3,191. History The village, settled since prehistoric times, and first mentioned ...

. On 23 May, Schäfer played the entire match as Wolfsburg defeated Bremen 5–1 at the

Volkswagen Arena Volkswagen Arena (; also known as the VfL Wolfsburg Arena due to UEFA sponsorship regulations) is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium in the Germany, German city of Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. It was opened in 2002 and named after the auto ...

, securing the club and the player their first Bundesliga title. In his first Champions League match, Schäfer provided an assist for one of Grafite's three goals as the Wolves dispatched

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow () is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet Union, Soviet era, it was the central part of the Armed Forces (sports ...

3–1 to top

Group B Group B was a set of regulations for Grand tourer, grand touring (GT) cars used in sports car racing and rallying introduced in 1982 by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). Although permitted to enter a GT class of the World S ...

after the first round of fixtures. Schäfer received the first red card of his professional career in the second round of the

on 23 September 2009, picking up two yellow cards in stoppage time as Wolfsburg fell to a 2–3 defeat to

1. FC Köln 1. Fußball-Club Köln 01/07 e. V., better known as simply 1. FC Köln () or FC Cologne in English language, English, is a German professional association football, football club based in Cologne in North Rhine-Westphalia. It was formed in 1948 ...

. He made his first appearance of the 2014–15 season in the

on 21 September 2014, coming on as a late substitute for

Junior Malanda Bernard Malanda-Adje (28 August 1994 – 10 January 2015) known as his nickname Junior Malanda, was a Belgian professional footballer who last played for German club VfL Wolfsburg as a defensive midfielder. He was a youth team player at Brussels ...

in the Wolves' 4–1 defeat of

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen, officially known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH () and commonly known as Bayer Leverkusen or simply Leverkusen, is a German professional football club based in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia. It competes in the B ...

. Schäfer made his first start of the campaign on matchday 3 of the

Europa League The UEFA Europa League (UEL), usually known simply as the Europa League, is an annual association football, football club competition organised since 1971 by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European footb ...

, playing the entirety of Wolfsburg's 4–2 win over

Krasnodar Krasnodar, formerly Yekaterinodar (until 1920), is the largest city and the administrative centre of Krasnodar Krai, Russia. The city stands on the Kuban River in southern Russia, with a population of 1,154,885 residents, and up to 1.263 millio ...

on 23 October. Schäfer continued to deputize in Ricardo Rodríguez's absence, providing an assist for

Naldo Naldo may refer to: * Ronaldo Aparecido Rodrigues (born 1982), Brazilian football defender * Edinaldo Gomes Pereira (born 1988), Brazilian football defender * Marinaldo dos Santos Oliveira (born 1990), commonly known as Naldo, Brazilian footballer ...

and helping keep a clean-sheet in a 3–0 win over

Mainz Mainz (; #Names and etymology, see below) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, and with around 223,000 inhabitants, it is List of cities in Germany by population, Germany's 35th-largest city. It lies in ...

on 26 October.

Tampa Bay Rowdies

In March 2017, Schäfer signed a contract with

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Championship in the second tie ...

International career

He made his international debut for

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on 19 November 2008 in a friendly against

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

, replacing Marvin Compper in the 2–1 loss. He made his full debut for Germany on 29 May 2009, playing the entirety of their 1–1 draw with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

at the

Shanghai Stadium The Shanghai Stadium () is a football-specific stadium in Shanghai, China. Between 2009 and 2019, the stadium hosted home matches of the Chinese Super League team Shanghai SIPG, and has been the current home of Shanghai Shenhua since 2023. ...

. On 12 August 2009, Schäfer participated in his first competitive game for the national side, a 2–0 win over

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

in a World Cup qualifying match in Baku. His 8th and last international was a friendly against

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

in August 2010.

Career statistics

Honours

Club

;VfL Wolfsburg *

: 2008–09 *

: 2014–15 *

DFL-Supercup The Franz Beckenbauer Supercup or ''German Super Cup'' is a one-off association football, football match in Germany that features the winners of the Bundesliga championship and the DFB-Pokal. The competition is run by the Deutsche Fußball Liga (E ...

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

Individual

* Lower Saxony Footballer of the Year: 2009 * United Soccer League Best XI: 2017

References

External links

Bundesliga profile
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Schafer, Marcel 1984 births Living people German men's footballers Germany men's international footballers Germany men's B international footballers TSV 1860 Munich players TSV 1860 Munich II players VfL Wolfsburg players Tampa Bay Rowdies players Men's association football defenders Viktoria Aschaffenburg players Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players USL Championship players Footballers from Aschaffenburg VfL Wolfsburg non-playing staff 21st-century German sportsmen