Sidney Sam (; born 31 January 1988) is a German former 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 ...

who played as a forward or winger. He was known for his explosive

speed In everyday use and in kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude Magnitude may refer to: Mathematics *Euclidean vector, a quantity defined by both its magnitude and its direction *Magnitude (ma ...

and

dribbling In sports, dribbling is maneuvering a ball by one player while moving in a given direction, avoiding defenders' attempts to intercept the ball. A successful dribble will bring the ball past defenders legally and create opportunities to score. A ...

style.

Club career

Early career

Sam started playing football at TuS Mettenhof. After that, Sam played at Kilia Kiel. In the summer of 2002, he signed for the city rivals of Kilia Kiel,

Holstein Kiel Kieler Sportvereinigung Holstein von 1900 e.V., simply as KSV Holstein or Kieler SV Holstein, commonly known as Holstein Kiel (), is a German association football and sports club based in the city of Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein. From the 1900s thro ...

. At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Sam moved on to the

Hamburger SV Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...

youth system, and in 2006, he was promoted to the second team. In the 2007–08 season, he became part of the professional pool of Hamburg. On 20 December 2007, Sam 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. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...

against

VfB Stuttgart Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...

when he came on as a substitute for

David Jarolím David Jarolím (; born 17 May 1979 in Čáslav) is a Czech former footballer and manager of Ústí nad Labem. A central midfielder by position, Jarolím was known for his stamina, passing and technical skill. Club career Born in Caslav, Czecho ...

. He joined

1. FC Kaiserslautern 1. Fußball-Club Kaiserslautern e. V., also known as 1. FCK, FCK (), FC Kaiserslautern () or colloquially Lautern (), is a German sports club based in Kaiserslautern, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to football, the club also operates in sev ...

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

for the 2008–09 season and was loaned for another season on 1 July 2009.

Bayer Leverkusen

Sam then moved to

Bayer Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...

in 2010 signing a five-year

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

. He started off the season well and on 8 November 2010, he played against his former club

. Down 1–0, he started the comeback when he smashed a driven

shot Shot may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard *''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck *'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy * "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus * ''Shot'' (2017 f ...

into the net.

Patrick Helmes Patrick Helmes (born 1 March 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker. He most recently worked as the manager of Alemannia Aachen. Helmes retired from professional football at the age of 31. Club career Early ...

then completed the comeback as he made it 2–1. The day belonged to Sam as he smashed home a first time volley almost 25 meters out, stunned the entire stadium and made a name for himself that day while the

goal A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ...

was crowned

Goal of the Month (Germany) A goal is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to a purpose or ai ...

. On 17 February 2011, he scored a double in Bayer's

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

match against

Metalist Kharkiv Football Club Metalist Kharkiv ( uk, Футбо́льний Клуб Металі́ст Ха́рків ) is a Ukrainian football club based in Kharkiv that plays in the Ukrainian First League during the 2021–22 season. It was revived 5 years ...

, with both

last-minute goal The term "last-minute goal" is used in sport, primarily association football, to describe a goal scored very late in a game, usually one that affects the outcome of the game. The definition of a "last-minute goal" commonly used is one scored either ...

s coming in added time.

Schalke 04

On 8 January 2014, Sam signed a four-year contract with

Schalke 04 Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...

running until 30 June 2018. He joined S04 for a transfer fee of €2,500,000 in June 2014, upon completion of the

2013–14 Bundesliga The 2013–14 Bundesliga was the 51st season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season began on 9 August 2013 and the final matchday was on 10 May 2014. The winter break started on 23 December 2013 and ended on 24 January 2 ...

season. On 11 May 2015, he was suspended indefinitely from the club in the aftermath of a loss to 1. FC Köln.

Loan to Darmstadt 98

In January 2017, Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 announced that Sam has signed a loan agreement with the club until 30 June 2017.

Short spells at the end of his professional career

On 31 August 2017,

VfL Bochum Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...

signed Sam on a two-year deal. On 2 October 2019, Sam signed a contract with Austrian club

SCR Altach Sportclub Rheindorf Altach, also known as Rheindorf Altach, SCR Altach or simply SCRA, is an Austrian association football club based in Altach, Vorarlberg. It plays in the Austrian Football Bundesliga. The club is currently also known as CASH ...

until the end of the 2019–20 season. His last professional club was

Antalyaspor Antalyaspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club located in the city of Antalya. The club's colours are red and white. They play their home matches at the Antalya Stadium. In Turkey, the club won the First League twice in 1982 and ...

in Turkey.

Retirement

Sam announced his retirement from playing at the age of 33 in September 2021. Overall he played more than 220 matches in the

first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and second level of the German league pyramid. In December 2022 he started his coaching training with

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

International career

Born to a German mother and Nigerian father, Sam would have been eligible to play for the Nigeria national team, but decided early on to represent his country of birth. He was a German youth national player, starring in Germany's under-19 and under-20 teams. On 29 May 2013, he made his senior international debut for

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in a friendly game against

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

in Boca Raton,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. On 8 May 2014, Sam was named to the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by German national team manager,

Joachim Löw Joachim Löw (born 3 February 1960) is a German football coach and former player. He was the manager of the Germany national team from 2006 until 2021. During his tenure as manager, he led Germany to victory at the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil ...

. But Sam didn't make the cut and his five internationals in 2013 became his final total with "Die Mannschaft."

Style of play

Sam has been likened by observers in German football to the Dutch winger

Arjen Robben Arjen Robben (; born 23 January 1984) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a winger. He was known for his dribbling skills, speed, ball control and long-range shots. Robben is regarded as one of the best players of his gener ...

of Bayern Munich, due to his explosive

and

style and possibly due to his frequent deployment on the right-wing and as an

outside forward Forwards (also known as attackers) are outfield positions in an association football team who play the furthest up the pitch and are therefore most responsible for scoring goals as well as assisting them. As with any attacking player, the role ...

, cutting inside on his favoured left-foot to unleash his fierce shots, which leads to him scoring spectacular long-range goals. Sam is likened to a young Ryan Giggs, due to his ability to dribble with the ball at top speed. His comparison to Ryan Giggs and Arjen Robben is seen in the influence of the way he shoots and gets into goal-scoring situations coming in from both flanks on the

football pitch A football pitch (also known as soccer field) is the playing surface for the game of association football. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play". The pitch is typically made of natural t ...

. He utilizes his explosive speed by running-in-behind

defenders Defender(s) or The Defender(s) may refer to: *Defense (military) *Defense (sports) **Defender (association football) Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''The Defender'' (1989 film), a Canadian documentary * ''The Defender'' (1994 f ...

and he is often as well deployed as an outside forward and striker.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sam, Sidney 1988 births Living people Men's association football forwards Men's association football wingers Footballers from Kiel German men's footballers Hamburger SV players Hamburger SV II players 1. FC Kaiserslautern players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players FC Schalke 04 players SV Darmstadt 98 players VfL Bochum players SC Rheindorf Altach players German sportspeople of Nigerian descent Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers Germany men's international footballers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Austrian Football Bundesliga players Süper Lig players German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Austria Expatriate men's footballers in Austria German expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey