Christoph Janker (born 14 February 1985) 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 lea ...
who played as a
centre-back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...
.
Career
TSV 1860 Munich
Janker started out in 1860 Munich's youth system. He played for the
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
in the
2004–05 season, making 33 appearances,
and in the
2005–06 season, making 28 appearances.
He eventually made his debut in the
2. Bundesliga in a 2–0 win against
Karlsruher SC
Karlsruher Sport-Club Mühlburg-Phönix e. V., better known as Karlsruher SC, is a Football in Germany, German association football club, based in Karlsruhe, Baden-Württemberg that currently plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of Germa ...
. He would make three more appearances for the
first team during the
2005–06 season.
During the
following season, he made three appearances for the reserve team
before joining
1899 Hoffenheim.
1899 Hoffenheim
In his
debut season with the club, he scored two goals in 31 league appearances.
His first appearance was a 1–1 draw on 19 August 2006 against
SV Elversberg
SpVgg 07 Elversberg is a Football in Germany, German association football club, located in Spiesen-Elversberg, Saarland. The club plays in the 2. Bundesliga from the 2023–24 2. Bundesliga, 2023–24 season following promotion from the 3. Liga ...
. His playing time was reduced the
following season. He appeared in 20 matches and two
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...
matches.
In 2009, Janker and his team member
Andreas Ibertsberger
Andreas Ibertsberger (born 27 July 1982) is an Austrian former professional association football, footballer who played as a left-back. He was a member of the Austria national football team, Austria national team. Ibertsberger is a younger brothe ...
came under investigation after failing to report to a doping control promptly after the match against
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e.V. Mönchengladbach, better known as Borussia Mönchengladbach () and colloquially known as just Gladbach, is a professional Association football, football club based in Mönchengladbach, North Rhine-W ...
on 2 February 2009. The
German Football Association
The German Football Association ( ; DFB ) is the governing body of Association football, football, futsal, and beach soccer in Germany. A founding member of both FIFA and UEFA, the DFB has jurisdiction for the German football league system and ...
(DFB) suspended the investigation due to the lack of evidence, also Janker was later tested negative. The investigation was widely covered by the German press.
On 23 May 2009 after the Bundesliga final, he announced his departure at the end of the season on 30 June 2009. In his
final season with the club, he made 17 league appearances.
Hertha BSC
On 28 May 2009, Janker signed a three-year contract with
Hertha BSC
Hertha, Berliner Sport-Club e. V., commonly known as Hertha BSC () or Hertha Berlin, is a German professional football club based in Berlin. Hertha BSC plays in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier of German football league system, German footbal ...
. In Berlin, Janker struggled to establish himself, sitting on the bench more often than not in his
first season for Hertha. He made 15 league appearances,
one
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...
appearance,
and eight
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 ...
appearances.
He also made two appearances for the
reserve team
In sports, a reserve team is a team composed of players who are under contract to a club but who do not regularly play in matches for the club's primary team. Reserve teams usually include players who are part of the larger first-team squad but ...
.
At the end of the 2009–10 season, Hertha were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga. In the second division, Janker fared even worse. He made only one start, and came on off the bench a further three times in the league.
He failed to appear in any match between matchday three,
when he came on as a substitute in the 83rd minute in a 3–1 win against
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 ...
, and matchday 25,
when he came on in the 71st minute for
Christian Lell in a 3–1 win against
FSV Frankfurt
Fußballsportverein Frankfurt 1899 e.V., commonly known as simply FSV Frankfurt and known as simply Frankfurt, is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hessen and founded in 1899. FSV Frankfurt ...
. He also made seven appearances for the reserve team.
Back in the Bundesliga for
2011–12 season, Janker made 18 league appearances, three
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...
appearances, and two relegation playoff appearances.
He made 21 appearances in all competitions for both first and second teams during the
2012–13,
2013–14,
and
2014–15 seasons.
He left the club for
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. T ...
in January 2015.
FC Augsburg
During his
debut season, he made two league appearances for Augsburg.
He debuted for the club in a 1–0 win 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 matchday 19, on 4 February 2015.
He was sent–off in the match.
His only other match was when he came on late in the match on matchday 24 in a 1–0 win against
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 ...
. He made 18 appearances during the
2015–16 season.
He made 17 appearances during the
2016–17 season.
He made five appearances during the
2017–18 season.
On 11 May 2019, Augsburg confirmed that Janker would leave the club at the end of the season.
Later career
On 23 January 2020, Augsburg confirmed that Janker would continue at the club, though as a talent-manager from 1 February 2020. In this role, he would take on the individual support of the top talents and thus act as an important link between the junior department and the professional team. In addition, Janker will take care of the loan players to ensure that the temporarily professional players was even more closely linked.
International career
Janker is a youth international for Germany at the U20 level.
Career statistics
*1.Includes
German Cup
The DFB-Pokal (), also known as the German Cup in English, is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundes ...
.
*2.Includes
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 ...
.
*3.Includes Relegation playoff.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Janker, Christoph
1985 births
People from Cham, Germany
Footballers from the Upper Palatinate
Men's association football defenders
German men's footballers
Germany men's youth international footballers
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Regionalliga players
TSV 1860 Munich II players
TSV 1860 Munich players
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim players
Hertha BSC players
Hertha BSC II players
FC Augsburg players
Living people
21st-century German sportsmen