Christoph Metzelder

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Christoph Metzelder
2016-02-01 1054 Christoph Metzelder (cropped).JPG
Metzelder in 2016
Personal information
Full name Christoph Tobias Metzelder [1]
Date of birth (1980-11-05) 5 November 1980 (age 43)
Place of birth Haltern, West Germany
Height 1.94 m (6 ft 4 in) [2]
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1986–1995 TuS Haltern
1995–1996 Schalke 04
1996–1998 Preußen Münster
Senior career*
YearsTeamApps(Gls)
1999–2000 Preußen Münster 32 (4)
2000–2007 Borussia Dortmund 126 (2)
2007–2010 Real Madrid 23 (0)
2010–2013 Schalke 04 52 (2)
2013–2014 TuS Haltern 1 (0)
Total234(8)
International career
2000–2001 Germany U21 9 (1)
2001–2008 Germany 47 (0)
Medal record
Men's Football
Representing Flag of Germany.svg  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Runner-up 2002 South Korea–Japan
Bronze medal icon.svg 2006 Germany
UEFA European Championship
Runner-up 2008 Austria–Switzerland
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Christoph Tobias Metzelder (born 5 November 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. [3]

Contents

Most of his professional career, which was spent mostly at Borussia Dortmund, was blighted by injuries. He did manage, however, to appear 47 times for the Germany national team, representing the country at two World Cups and Euro 2008.

Metzelder also played three seasons apiece for Real Madrid and Schalke 04, amassing Bundesliga totals of 178 matches and four goals over one full decade.

Career

Borussia Dortmund

Metzelder with Dortmund Metzelder Christoph.jpg
Metzelder with Dortmund

Metzelder was born in Haltern, North Rhine-Westphalia. In the summer of 2000 he signed with Borussia Dortmund from SC Preußen Münster, and he was an instant success. At the end of his first season in the Bundesliga he won his first cap for Germany, playing the second half of a 5–2 friendly win in Hungary on 15 August 2001. [4] [5]

The second campaign at Dortmund brought Metzelder the 2002 national title and 14 matches with Germany, all the way to the 2002 FIFA World Cup final with the latter. However, he missed the entire 2003–04 due to an Achilles tendon injury, [6] and only took part in 16 league games in the following season. [7]

After over two years out of the national squad, Metzelder was called by new boss Jürgen Klinsmann for a friendly with China, in October 2005. [8] He also scored his first two league goals, in 1–1 draws against Mainz 05 [9] and Hamburger SV, [10] and would be Germany's undisputed starter at the 2006 World Cup, partnering with SV Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker. [11]

Real Madrid

Metzelder playing for Real Madrid in 2009 Metzelder.jpg
Metzelder playing for Real Madrid in 2009

On 18 April 2007, after failing to renew his contract at Borussia, [12] Metzelder transferred to Real Madrid at the end of the season on a free transfer. [13] [14] In February 2008, after managing to be injury-free in the first months of his Spanish adventure, he had surgery on the sole of his foot, resulting in him missing nearly 60 days of action; [15] on 11 May, after having already missed the UEFA Champions League round-of-16 clash against A.S. Roma, he returned and played the full 90 minutes against Real Zaragoza (2–2 away draw). [16]

Despite his lack of playing time, Metzelder featured in all of Germany's matches at UEFA Euro 2008, again partnering Mertesacker. [17] In 2008–09's La Liga, he was the main beneficiary of a ten-match suspension handed to Real's Pepe; after a stellar performance in a 4–2 win at Sevilla FC [18] he also started in the 6–2 home defeat at the hands of FC Barcelona, for a career-best – in Spain – 12 appearances. [19]

Metzelder left Real Madrid after his contract expired on 30 June 2010. [20]

Return to Germany

Metzelder with Schalke in 2010 Christoph Metzelder 2010 (cropped).jpg
Metzelder with Schalke in 2010

On 27 April 2010, prior to the end of the campaign, Metzelder announced his return to Germany, agreeing on a three-year contract with FC Schalke 04, with which he had already played youth football 15 years earlier. [21] His first two league games with the club, the first of 2010–11, ended with 2–1 losses, to Hamburger SV and Hannover 96. [22] [23]

Metzelder appeared in ten complete matches in the season's Champions League, in an eventual last-four run. He added five in the domestic cup victorious campaign, including the semi-finals against FC Bayern Munich (1–0 win) [24] and the final against MSV Duisburg (5–0). [25]

In May 2013, 32-year-old Metzelder announced his retirement from professional football at the end of the campaign. [26] In July 2019, he was hired as a pundit by public broadcaster ARD. [27] At the time of coming under criminal investigation in September 2019 he was a pundit for Sky Sports. [28]

Personal life

Metzelder's younger brother, Malte, was also a footballer (and a centre-back), and both played for Borussia Dortmund. [29]

He has one daughter, Emma (born 17 October 2009), with girlfriend Julia Gödicke. [30]

In 2006 he founded an organisation helping socially disadvantaged German youth and continues to run it. [28]

Possession of child pornography

Metzelder was being investigated for the potential distribution of child pornography, [31] [32] which led him to step down from his role as president of his former club TuS Haltern am See in September 2019. [33]

On 4 September 2020, the district court of the city of Düsseldorf announced that an official charge had been filed against Metzelder by the prosecutor. [34] The prosecutor did not express any specific suspicions. The district court stated in a press release that one female witness received 10 child pornographic pictures, another female witness received 16 child pornographic pictures and two child pornographic videos and a third female witness received one child pornographic picture—all distributed by using Metzelder's WhatsApp account. The statement also mentioned nearly 300 media files with child pornographic content having been found on Metzelder's confiscated cell phone. Metzelder himself had the allegations denied by his lawyers. [35] On 14 September, it was reported that the Düsseldorf court's decision "indirectly stated" that Metzelder had confessed. [36] His trial was on 29 April 2021 and he was sentenced to a ten-month suspended prison sentence for owning and distributing child pornography. [37] Giving evidence at trial, he admitted he had collected and disseminated child pornography, and that he engaged in "extreme fantasies in chats." [28]

In April 2021, Metzelder's lawyer stated Metzelder was in therapy for "certain issues such as sexuality or dealing with women in certain situations" but was "obviously not" a paedophile. [28]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition [2] [38]
ClubSeasonLeagueCupEuropeOther [lower-alpha 1] Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Borussia Dortmund 2000–01 Bundesliga 1902000210
2001–02 Bundesliga2501012020400
2002–03 Bundesliga2401010010360
2003–04 Bundesliga0000000000
2004–05 Bundesliga1600000160
2005–06 Bundesliga232100020262
2006–07 Bundesliga1900000190
Total126250220501582
Real Madrid 2007–08 La Liga 90103000130
2008–09 La Liga120201000150
2009–10 La Liga20100030
Total230404000310
Schalke 04 2010–11 Bundesliga3215010010481
2011–12 Bundesliga161003000191
2012–13 Bundesliga40201070
Total5227014010742
Career total2014160400602634

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year [39]
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany 200110
2002140
200310
200400
200510
2006110
2007110
200880
Total470

Honours

Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid

Schalke 04

Germany

Individual

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References

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  2. 1 2 "C. Metzelder". Soccerway. Retrieved 19 January 2015.
  3. "Christoph Metzelder, Germany's composed and confident defender". UNICEF. 21 June 2006. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2013.
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  19. "Metzelder podría ser el segundo entrenador de Guardiola en el Bayern" [Metzelder could be assistant to Guardiola at Bayern]. Mundo Deportivo (in Spanish). 5 April 2013. Retrieved 9 August 2018.
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  21. "Vertrag bis 2013: Christoph Metzelder wechselt zum S04!" [Contract until 2013: Christoph Metzelder moves to S04!] (in German). Schalke 04. 27 April 2010. Archived from the original on 28 April 2010. Retrieved 27 April 2010.
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