Amaury Armindo Bischoff (born 31 March 1987) is a 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 ...

who played as a

central midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

. After starting out at

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 ...

, he went on to spend most of his career in Germany, mainly with

Preußen Münster Preußen or Preussen is the German word for Prussia. It also refers to: Ships * Preußen (ship), ''Preußen'' (ship), windjammer built in 1902 * SMS Preußen (1873), SMS ''Preußen'' (1873), armored frigate * SMS Preußen (1903), SMS ''Preußen ...

. He also had a one-year spell in England, with

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

. Born in France, Bischoff represented both that country and Portugal at youth level.

Club career

Early years

Born in

Colmar Colmar (; ; or ) is a city and commune in the Haut-Rhin department and Alsace region of north-eastern France. The third-largest commune in Alsace (after Strasbourg and Mulhouse), it is the seat of the prefecture of the Haut-Rhin department ...

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

to a French father – from

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

– and a Portuguese mother, Bischoff began his football career at

SR Colmar Stadium Racing Colmar is a football club located in Colmar, France. They play in the National 3, the fifth tier of French football. History Founded in 1919 as AS Colmar, the club is based in Colmar, Alsace, and plays its home matches at the ...

, finishing his development at

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. Aged 18, he moved to Germany and signed for

, going on to spend the majority of his spell with the reserve side but training with the main squad several times. On 14 March 2007, Bischoff made his debut for Werder's first team, coming on as a substitute for

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. ...

in the 74th minute of a 2–0 home win against

Celta CELTA is an initial teacher training qualification for teaching English as a second or foreign language (ESL and EFL). It is provided by Cambridge Assessment English through authorised Cambridge English Teaching Qualification centres and can be ...

in that season's

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 ...

(3–0 on aggregate). It would be his only official game for the club.

Arsenal

Bischoff left Werder Bremen on 1 July 2008, after rejecting a contract extension. Shortly after, he made a statement in which he said that his transfer to

was imminent; it was subsequently confirmed on 30 July, with manager

Arsène Wenger Arsène Charles Ernest Wenger (born 22 October 1949) is a French former association football, football Manager (association football), manager and football player, player who is currently serving as FIFA's Chief of Global Football Development. ...

stating he knew the signing was a "gamble on talent" due to the player's injury record. Bischoff made his debut in an Arsenal shirt on 6 October 2008, in a

reserve Reserve or reserves may refer to: Places * Reserve, Kansas, a US city * Reserve, Louisiana, a census-designated place in St. John the Baptist Parish * Reserve, Montana, a census-designated place in Sheridan County * Reserve, New Mexico, a US v ...

match against

Stoke City Stoke City Football Club is a professional association football club based in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. Founded as Stoke Ramblers in 1863, the cl ...

, making his first appearance with the first team on 11 November in a 3–0 home victory over

Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club is a professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, they have p ...

in the

fourth round Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'', a 1972 Soviet drama ...

of the League Cup, coming on as a substitute in the 77th minute. He made two more in the domestic cups for the main squad, both as a substitute: the 2–0 League Cup loss at

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2021 population of 78,266. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River B ...

in December 2008, and the 4–0 defeat of

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It currently competes in , the third tier of the English football league system in the 2025–26 season following relegation. Founded in 1899 a ...

in the

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

. On 2 May 2009, Bischoff played his first and only game in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

, replacing

Theo Walcott Theo James Walcott (born 16 March 1989) is an English former professional footballer who played as a forward. He represented England at the 2006 World Cup and Euro 2012 and won 47 caps, scoring eight goals. Walcott currently appears as a cl ...

in the 64th minute of the side's 3–0 away victory against

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. He was released by the Gunners when his contract expired on 30 June, having been unable to break into the first team.

Portugal

On 26 August 2009, Bischoff signed with Académica in Portugal, on a two-year deal. He made his

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (), also known as Liga Portugal Betclic for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Portugal and the highest level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga ...

debut on 2 October in a 2–4 home defeat to Marítimo, starting and being replaced at

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

. It would be one of only four competitive appearances during the season, which he finished on loan to Segunda Liga side

Aves Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweight ...

. On 30 June 2011, after declining all offers to renew his contract, Bischoff left

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

. He joined his former club Aves shortly after, for two years.

Preußen Münster

Bischoff returned to Germany in summer 2012, going on to spend several seasons in the

3. Liga The 3. Liga is a professional association football league and the third division in Germany. In the German football league system, it is positioned between the 2. Bundesliga and the fourth-tier Regionalliga. The modern 3. Liga was formed for t ...

with

and eventually becoming

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. In

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

, he scored a career-best ten goals to help his team to the fourth position. At the start of the 2016–17 campaign, Bischoff requested permission to be removed from the

Preußenstadion Preußenstadion, currently known as LVM-Preußenstadion for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-use stadium in Münster, Germany. It is used as the stadium of SC Preußen Münster, Preußen Münster matches. The capacity of the stadium is 14,300 spec ...

-based squad, as his mind was not "in the game".

Hansa Rostock

On 21 January 2017, Bischoff signed a two-and-a-half-year deal with

Hansa Rostock FC Hansa Rostock () is a German association football club based in the city of Rostock, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The club is also called as "the cog" because of its club crest. They have emerged as one of the most successful clubs from ...

also in the German second division. In June 2019, it was announced he would leave the club after having chosen not to accept an offer of a contract extension.

Later career

Bischoff joined

Bahlinger SC Bahlinger SC, also known as Bahlinger SC or simply Bahlinger, is a German association football club from the Kaiserstuhl town of Bahlingen, Baden-Württemberg. History The club was founded 16 June 1929 as ''FC Bahlingen'' and merged with ''T ...

of the

Regionalliga Südwest The Regionalliga Südwest ('Regional League Southwest') is the fourth tier of the German football league system in the states of Hesse, Baden-Württemberg, Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland. It is one of five leagues at this level, together with t ...

on 5 August 2019, on a two-year contract. He returned to France and Colmar 17 years after leaving in June 2021, aged 34. Bischoff retired in summer 2023.

International career

Bischoff started representing

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

at under-18 level. However, on 14 May 2007, he chose to play for

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. On 10 February 2009, in his debut with the Portugal under-21s (ultimately his only appearance), Bischoff opened a 3–1 friendly win against

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

in the fourth minute.

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bischoff, Amaury 1987 births Living people French people of German descent French sportspeople of Portuguese descent 21st-century French sportsmen 21st-century Portuguese sportsmen French men's footballers Portuguese men's footballers Footballers from Colmar Men's association football midfielders Championnat National 2 players Championnat National 3 players SR Colmar players RC Strasbourg Alsace players 3. Liga players Regionalliga players SV Werder Bremen II players SV Werder Bremen players SC Preußen Münster players FC Hansa Rostock players Bahlinger SC players Premier League players Arsenal F.C. players Primeira Liga players Liga Portugal 2 players Académica de Coimbra (football) players C.D. Aves players France men's youth international footballers Portugal men's under-21 international footballers Portuguese expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in England Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in Germany Portuguese expatriate sportspeople in England