Merlin Röhl (born 5 July 2002) is a 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 ...

who plays 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 ...

for club

SC Freiburg Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg (), is a Football in Germany, German professional football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions ...

Early life

Röhl was born in

Potsdam Potsdam () is the capital and largest city of the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Brandenburg. It is part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. Potsdam sits on the Havel, River Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, downstream of B ...

, Germany, and grew up there.

Club career

Röhl started his youth career at

SV Babelsberg 03 SV Babelsberg 03 is a football in Germany, German association football club based in Potsdam-Potsdam-Babelsberg, Babelsberg, on the outskirts of Berlin. The team was founded as ''Sport-Club Jugendkraft 1903'' and again as ''SG Karl-Marx Babelsbe ...

, but moved to

FC Ingolstadt 04 Fußballclub Ingolstadt 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Ingolstadt 04 or FC Ingolstadt, is a German football club based in Ingolstadt, Bavaria. The club was founded in 2004 out of the merger of the football sides of two other clubs: ESV Ingolsta ...

in 2018 having had a trial spell at the club after sharing his performance data through the app ''Tonsser''. He signed a long-term contract with the club in January 2020. Röhl made his debut for FC Ingolstadt 04 on 25 November 2020, starting in a 3–1

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 ...

win away to

Bayern Munich II FC Bayern Munich II (''FC Bayern Munich Amateure'' until 2005) are the German reserve football teams, reserve team of Football in Germany, German association football club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich, currently playing in the Regionalliga B ...

. He scored his first senior goal on 16 December 2020 with a right-footed volley in the 37th minute of a 1–0 league victory over

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 ...

. On 17 August 2022, Röhl signed with

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 ...

International career

Röhl has represented Germany at both under-18 and under-19 levels.

Style of play

A tall, versatile and technically gifted

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 ...

, Röhl has also played at

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

. His playing style and physical stature has earned him comparisons to

Leon Goretzka Leon Christoph Goretzka (born 6 February 1995) is a German professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for club FC Bayern Munich, Bayern Munich and the Germany national football team, Germany national team. Starting ...

Career statistics

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Röhl, Merlin Living people 2002 births German men's footballers Footballers from Potsdam Men's association football midfielders SV Babelsberg 03 players FC Ingolstadt 04 players FC Ingolstadt 04 II players SC Freiburg players SC Freiburg II players 3. Liga players 2. Bundesliga players Oberliga (football) players Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's under-21 international footballers 21st-century German sportsmen