Philipp Johannes Wollscheid (born 6 March 1989) 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 ...

. Wollscheid began his career playing amateur football for various clubs in the

Saarland Saarland (, ; ) is a state of Germany in the southwest of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and the smallest in ...

. He progressed to semi-professional level with SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn in 2007 and then

1. FC Saarbrücken 1. Fußball-Club Saarbrücken () is a German Football in Germany, football club based in Saarbrücken, Saarland. The club plays in the 3. Liga, which is the third tier of football in Germany. History The club began its existence as the footbal ...

. He was released by Saarbrücken in the summer of 2009 and then joined 1. FC Nürnberg following a successful trial. After spending time playing for the second team he broke into the Nürnberg first team and became a regular 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 ...

. His performances for Nürnberg saw him transfer to

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 ...

in July 2012. Wollscheid was a regular under

Sami Hyypiä Sami Tuomas Hyypiä (; born 7 October 1973) is a Finnish professional football manager and a former player who played as a centre-back. Hyypiä began his playing career with Ykkönen side Kumu and soon moved to Veikkausliiga outfit MyPa. He s ...

at Leverkusen 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 ...

and 2013–14. However, he fell out of favor with new manager Roger Schmidt and joined

1. FSV Mainz 05 1. Fußball- und Sport-Verein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05 or simply Mainz 05 (), is a German professional sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top tie ...

on loan in August 2014. Wollscheid joined English side

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 ...

on loan in January 2015 which was made permanent at the end of the season. After losing his place at Stoke, Wollscheid had an unsuccessful spell on loan at

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 ...

in 2016–17. His contract with Stoke was terminated by mutual consent in August 2017 and Wollscheid joined French club

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

. He retired in October 2019.

Club career

Early career

Born in

Wadern Wadern () is a municipality in the federal state Saarland, which is situated in the southwest of Germany. It is part of the district Merzig-Wadern. Wadern consists of 13 urban districts with approximately 16.000 inhabitants. With 143 inhabitants p ...

, Wollscheid started his career in the youth teams of various local amateur sides. He made his first team debut in March 2007 for SG Noswendel-Wadern in the

Landesliga The Landesliga () is a tier of football in some states of the German football league system. In Bavaria, Saxony, Thuringia, Bremen, Lower Saxony and Hamburg, the Landesligas are set right below the Oberliga and therefore are the sixth tier. The r ...

– then the seventh tier of the

German football league system The German football league system, or league pyramid, refers to the hierarchically interconnected league system for Football in Germany, association football in Germany that in the 2016–17 Season (sports), season consisted of 2,235 Sports_leagu ...

. At the start of the 2007–08 season, he joined SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn in the fifth tier Oberliga, appearing 18 times for the club before moving to

six months later. He struggled to make an impact during his 18-month spell at the club, and made many of his 30 league appearances as a substitute. Following Saarbrücken's promotion to the

Regionalliga A (, plural ) is a regional league in numerous Sports governing body, sports governing bodies in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, usually located in the upper or middle tiers of the sports leagues. The term is often associated with the Germa ...

in 2009, Wollscheid decided to look for a new club.

1. FC Nürnberg

He arranged a trial with 1. FC Nürnberg, and subsequently signed a three-year deal with the club. Having not trained at a youth academy like many other young footballers, Wollscheid admitted to knowing little about tactics before he joined Nürnberg, and had little idea about how a back four operates. He spent his first season at the club playing for the club's reserve team, making 26

appearances and scoring one goal. He rose to prominence during the

2010–11 Bundesliga The 2010–11 Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. It began on 20 August 2010 and concluded on 14 May 2011. The winter break was in effect between weekends around 18 December 2010 and 15 January 20 ...

season, making his first team debut in a 3–1 defeat against

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

in November 2010. He soon became a regular starter for Nürnberg and finished the year ranked third among all Bundesliga defenders, according to ''

kicker Kicker or The Kicker may refer to: Sports * Placekicker, a position in American and Canadian football * ''Kicker'' (magazine), sports magazine in Germany * Kicker, the German colloquial term for an association football player * Kicker, the wor ...

s player ratings.

Bayer Leverkusen

In November 2011, Wollscheid agreed a five-year deal with

beginning from summer 2012. In the

season under the management of

, Wollscheid played 40 times scoring three goals as Leverkusen finished in third position. He struggled with injury and form in 2013–14, making 27 appearances as Hyypiä was sacked in April 2014. His replacement Roger Schmidt opted for the pairing of

Emir Spahić Emir Spahić (; born 18 August 1980) is a Bosnian football executive and former player who played as a centre-back. He is the current director of the Bosnia and Herzegovina national team. During his club career, Spahić represented teams in his ...

and

Ömer Toprak Ömer Toprak (born 21 July 1989) is a former professional footballer. Born in Germany, he played for the Turkey national team. Club career Toprak began his career with TSB Ravensburg in 1994. In 2001, he moved to FV Ravensburg. SC Freiburg ...

and Wollscheid was free to find another club.

Mainz loan

In the summer of 2014, Wollscheid joined

on loan for the 2014–15 season. He played five times for Mainz before leaving in January 2015.

Stoke City

He ended his loan with Mainz in January 2015 and joined English

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 ...

side

, on another temporary deal through to the end of the season, with an option to buy him based on his performances. He made his debut for Stoke on 11 January 2015 in a 3–0 defeat away at

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 ...

. In his second match against

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

, Wollscheid played alongside

Marc Muniesa Marc Muniesa Martínez (born 27 March 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back or left-back. Muniesa began his career with Barcelona, making his debut at the end of the 2008–09 season at the age of 17. H ...

as Stoke secured a 1–0 victory. His performance earned him praise from manager

Mark Hughes Leslie Mark Hughes (born 1 November 1963) is a Welsh association football, football coach and former player who is the head coach of club Carlisle United F.C., Carlisle United. During his playing career he usually operated as a Forward (asso ...

. However his performances dropped off and he was criticized for poor performances against

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second level of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...

and

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

. He went and played a total of 14 games for Stoke in 2014–15. On 21 May 2015, Stoke announced that they had taken up their option to buy Wollscheid for an undisclosed fee, reported to be £2.75 million on a three-year contract. Wollscheid was a key member of

's squad in 2015–16, playing 39 times as the Potters finished in ninth position and reached the semi-final of the League Cup.

Wolfsburg (loan)

On 31 August 2016, Philipp Wollscheid signed for

side

from Stoke City on a season-long loan, with a purchase option at the end of the season. His time at Wolfsburg started terribly after playing just two matches he was suspended by the club for a training ground row with head coach

Dieter Hecking Dieter-Klaus Hecking (; born 12 September 1964) is a German football manager and former professional player who is the manager of Bundesliga club VfL Bochum. He played for Hannover 96 and Eintracht Braunschweig as a midfielder. He returned to man ...

. After Hecking was sacked Wollschied's return to training was disrupted by a severe case of

tinnitus Tinnitus is a condition when a person hears a ringing sound or a different variety of sound when no corresponding external sound is present and other people cannot hear it. Nearly everyone experiences faint "normal tinnitus" in a completely ...

which required ear surgery. He regained his fitness and played some matches for the reserve team in the

. He returned to the first team under new head coach

Andries Jonker Andries Jonker (22 September 1962) is the Netherlands women's national football team manager. Jonker was at the helm of Dutch outfits Willem II, MVV and Volendam and was the assistant manager of VfL Wolfsburg, FC Barcelona and Bayern Munich ...

as Wolfsburg beat

Eintracht Braunschweig Braunschweiger Turn- und Sportverein Eintracht von 1895 e.V., commonly known as Eintracht Braunschweig () or BTSV (), is a German football and sports club based in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They compete in the 2. Bundesliga, the second tier o ...

in the relegation play-off to remain in the Bundesliga.

Metz

Wollscheid joined French club

on 30 August 2017, after his Stoke contract was cancelled by mutual consent. He left Metz in January 2018 after failing to make a

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

appearance.

Retirement

Following his release from Metz, Wollscheid returned to his home town of

, and began playing for his friend's successful five-a side

futsal Futsal is a variant of association football played between two teams of five players each on a court smaller than a football pitch. Its rules are based on the Laws of the Game (association football), Laws of the Game of association football, and i ...

team. In an interview in October 2019 Wollscheid revealed that he no longer enjoyed being a professional footballer.—“Had I been able to play without emotion, I would probably have carried on for another six years". “But I realised that I would only be going to work to earn money and I said to myself that cannot be right.” "The football business in general is simply wrong. One day you will be praised by everyone to the sky, the next you are not good enough anymore. I have never been able to endure these ups and downs.”

International career

He represented the German national under-20 football team on one occasion. On 29 May 2013, he made his international debut for Germany national team in a friendly game against

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

Boca Raton Boca Raton ( ; ) is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 97,422 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and it ranked as the 23rd-largest city in Florida in 2022. Many people with a Boca Raton Address, ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. His second and last cap came three days later in a 3–4 loss against the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Style of play

Wollscheid played as a

and has been compared to compatriot

Per Mertesacker Per Mertesacker (; born 29 September 1984) is a German football coach and former professional player who played as a centre back. He is the current manager of the Arsenal Academy. Mertesacker began his senior career after being promoted from th ...

Personal life

Wollscheid grew up supporting

and stated that his dream is to end his playing career at the club.Stoke City Official Matchday Magazine 13 January 2016 v Norwich City

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links

* *
Philipp Wollscheid
at IMScouting {{DEFAULTSORT:Wollscheid, Philipp 1989 births Living people German men's footballers Germany men's youth international footballers Germany men's international footballers 1. FC Saarbrücken players 1. FC Nürnberg II players 1. FC Nürnberg players Bayer 04 Leverkusen players 1. FSV Mainz 05 players Stoke City F.C. players VfL Wolfsburg players VfL Wolfsburg II players FC Metz players Bundesliga players Premier League players Men's association football central defenders Regionalliga players German expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's footballers in France German expatriate sportspeople in England Footballers from Saarland 21st-century German sportsmen