Denis Epstein (born 2 July 1986) 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

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

Career

Youth clubs

Epstein played for three youth clubs, ranging from 1995 to 2005, including the youth teams 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 ...

Fortuna Köln Fortuna (, equivalent to the Greek goddess Tyche) is the goddess of fortune and the personification of luck in Roman religion who, largely thanks to the Late Antique author Boethius, remained popular through the Middle Ages until at least the Re ...

, and

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 ...

. In the 1998–99 season, he made a rivalry switch from Bayer Leverkusen to 1. FC Köln. He was picked up as a senior team member for 1. FC Köln II in 2005, playing 31 games for the third division reserve team and scoring three goals.

1. FC Köln

Epstein made his senior debut for

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 ...

in a 4–1 loss against

Hannover 96 Hannoverscher Sportverein von 1896, commonly referred to as Hannover 96 (), is a German professional association football, football club based in the city of Hanover, Lower Saxony. They played in the Bundesliga for a total of 30 years between 19 ...

. He scored his first Bundesliga goal 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 ...

after he being substituted on for Dimitrios Grammozis. He ended a seven-game losing streak for the relegation-threatened club. After that, he rarely started a match for Köln, scoring only one goal in the 2006–07 season.

Rot-Weiss Essen

Epstein was loaned out to

Rot-Weiss Essen Rot-Weiss Essen is a German association football club based in Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club plays in the 3. Liga, at the Stadion an der Hafenstraße. The team won the DFB-Pokal in 1953, and the German championship in 1955. The latt ...

on 20 January 2007 until the end of the 2. Bundesliga season by Köln coach

Christoph Daum Christoph Paul Daum (24 October 1953 – 24 August 2024) was a German professional Association football, football manager and player. As a manager, he won eight trophies with clubs from Germany, Turkey and Austria. In 1992, he won the Bundesliga ...

, to gain more match experience.

Greece

On 24 June 2008, Epstein signed a contract with

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (), commonly referred to as Iraklis Thessaloniki, is a multi–sporting club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908 and i ...

. He appeared in 24 matches for Iraklis during the 2008–09 season. After another equally successful season (with four goals in 26 appearances), his contract was terminated by mutual consent on 18 June 2010. In summer 2011, Epstein became the first of

Ernesto Valverde Ernesto Valverde Tejedor (born 9 February 1964) is a Spanish football manager and former player who played as a forward. He is the current manager of La Liga club Athletic Bilbao. Over ten seasons, he amassed La Liga totals of 264 games and 68 ...

's 'unwanted list' at

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

to leave the club, after a year-long loan to

Kerkyra Corfu ( , ) or Kerkyra (, ) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands; including its small satellite islands, it forms the margin of Greece's northwestern frontier. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is admin ...

. On 18 July 2011, Epstein signed a three-year contract with

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou Atromitos Yeroskipou () was a Cy ...

for an undisclosed fee. For the Athenian club, he made 64 appearances scoring 4 goals across all competitions. On 9 April 2013, he terminated his contract with the club.

FSV Frankfurt

In summer 2013, Epstein returned to Germany signing a three-year contract with

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 ...

, returning to the 2. Bundesliga.

Return to Greece

In June 2016, Epstein returned to former

PAE Kerkyra PAE Kerkyra (), was a Greek Association football, football club based in Corfu (city), Corfu, Greece. The club played in the Gamma Ethniki, the fourth tier of the Greek football league system, following changes to the league structure in 2019. It ...

having agreed a two-year contract. On 6 June 2018, after having been released by Kerkyra, he signed a contract with

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

until the summer of 2020. On 24 September 2018, he scored his first goal for the club in a 2–2 away draw against

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club (), or with its full name officially romanized as Panaitolikós Gymnastikós Filekpaideftikós Sýllogos (''; Pan- Aetolian Gymnastic and Educational Club''), is a Greek professional football club. It is based in Agrini ...

. On 12 October 2018, he opened the score in an eventual 2–1 away loss against

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

for the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

. On 20 October 2018, he scored against AEL, completing his team's comeback and helping to a 2–1 away win.

Coaching career

In the summer of 2020, after hanging up his boots, it was confirmed that Epstein would continue at

TSG Balingen TSG Balingen is a German football club from the city of Balingen, Baden-Württemberg. With over 1,800 members, it is the largest sports club in the city and has departments for athletics, basketball, fencing, fistball, gymnastics, handball, ju ...

, albeit in a different role; he would be the player-coach of the club's U23/reserve team. During his time at the club as a coach, Epstein also served as responsible for parts of the club's youth sector. On November 20, 2023, it was confirmed that Epstein had been appointed interim head coach of the club's first team until the end of the year. In April 2024 it was confirmed that Epstein would leave the club after the season.Erfolgstrainer verlässt Landesliga-Spitzenreiter
fupa.net, 2 April 2024

Career statistics

Club

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Epstein, Denis 1986 births Living people German men's footballers Footballers from Cologne Men's association football wingers Germany men's youth international footballers Bundesliga players 2. Bundesliga players Regionalliga players Super League Greece players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players 1. FC Köln players 1. FC Köln II players Rot-Weiss Essen players Kickers Offenbach players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players A.O. Kerkyra players Atromitos F.C. players FSV Frankfurt players PAS Lamia 1964 players Olympiacos F.C. players TSG Balingen players German football managers German expatriate men's footballers German expatriate sportspeople in Greece Expatriate men's footballers in Greece 21st-century German sportsmen