Sebastian Schonlau

Sebastian Schonlau

Schonlau in 2025 with Hamburger SV
Personal information
Full name	Sebastian Schonlau
Date of birth	(1994-08-05) 5 August 1994 (age 31)
Place of birth	Warburg, Germany
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team	Vancouver Whitecaps
Number	15
Youth career
0000–2007	SC Warburg 08
2007–2010	SC Paderborn
2010–2012	SC Warburg 08
2012–2014	SC Paderborn
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2014–2021	SC Paderborn	157	(8)
2014–2015	→ SC Verl (loan)	25	(0)
2021–2025	Hamburger SV	102	(5)
2025–	Vancouver Whitecaps	0	(0)
2025–	Whitecaps FC 2	0	(0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 23 May 2025

Sebastian Schonlau (born 5 August 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Major League Soccer club Vancouver Whitecaps.

Early life

Scholau was born on 5 August 1994 in Warburg. He used to live Paderborn, and started studying economics in the city starting October 2014. ^[1]

Career

SC Paderborn

2012–14: Youth team

Schonlau received a professional contract from 2. Bundesliga club SC Paderborn 07 in December 2012 that would expire in June 2015, with an option for another year, despite his old club SC Warburg 08 wanting to let him go in that time for his stature and weight. ^[2]

At the end of the 2012–13 season, Schonlau made bench appearances in matches against Dynamo Dresden and MSV Duisburg, though, was not subbed on in any of these matches. ^{[3] [4]}

In the following season, Schonlau made more bench appearances, though, was not brought on just like the previous season. ^[5]

2014–15: Loan to SC Verl

Before the 2014–15 season, Schonlau extended his contract to 30 June 2016, and was loaned to SC Verl for the 2014–15 season to gain more experience. ^[6] He made his debut in a 1–2 win playing in defensive midfield against the second team of Borussia Mönchengladbach. ^[7] During the season, Schonlau had several minor injuries, which lessed his opportunities in playing with the team. ^[1]

2015–2021: First team

Once Schonlau returned to Paderborn, he made his debut in the 84th minute in a 1–2 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf, coming on for Mahir Sağlık. ^[8]

Hamburger SV

On 17 May 2021, Schonlau signed a three-year contract to join fellow 2. Bundesliga team Hamburger SV on a free, and was the club's first transfer for the 2021–22 season. ^[9] Around a month later in July, he was named captain (thus making previous captain Tim Leibold vice-captain), and first wore the captain's armband in a match against FC Basel. ^[10]

In the 2023–24 season, Schonlau suffered a calf injury in a match against SV Elversberg and was subbed off on the 74th minute, subsequently limiting his opportunities for that season. ^[11]

Vancouver Whitecaps

On 20 August 2025, Schonlau signed with Vancouver Whitecaps in Major League Soccer. ^[12]

Career statistics

As of match played 18 May 2025 ^{[13] [5]}

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			DFB-Pokal		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
SC Paderborn	2014–15	2. Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	2015–16	2. Bundesliga	8	0	—		—		8	0
	2016–17	3. Liga	30	1	1	0	—		31	1
	2017–18	3. Liga	35	3	4	0	—		39	3
	2018–19	2. Bundesliga	29	1	3	0	—		32	1
	2019–20	Bundesliga	23	2	1	0	—		24	2
	2020–21	2. Bundesliga	32	1	3	0	—		35	1
	Total		157	8	12	0	—		169	8
SC Verl (loan)	2014–15	Regionalliga Nord	25	0	—		—		25	0
Hamburger SV	2021–22	2. Bundesliga	33	4	5	0	2 [a]	0	40	4
	2022–23	2. Bundesliga	30	0	1	1	2 [a]	0	33	1
	2023–24	2. Bundesliga	16	1	1	0	—		17	1
	2024–25	2. Bundesliga	23	0	2	0	—		25	0
	2025–26	Bundesliga	0	0	0	0	—		0	0
	Total		102	5	9	0	4	0	115	5
Career total			284	13	21	1	4	0	309	14

1. Appearances in 2. Bundesliga promotion play-offs

References

1. "»Ich habe mich gut eingelebt«". www.westfalen-blatt.de (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2024.
2. Müller, Von Uwe. "Basti Schonlau hat es gepackt". Neue Westfälische (in German). Retrieved 25 August 2024.
3. "03.05.2013 Dynamo Dresden - Paderborn maçı 2 1". SporDB. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
4. "19.05.2013 MSV Duisburg - Paderborn maçı 3 2". SporDB. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
5. "Schonlau, Sebastian". worldfootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
6. "Schonlau verlängert beim SC Paderborn - Zeitz geht". FR.de (in German). 14 January 2019. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
7. Bröder, Christian. "Den Fohlen hinterhergelaufen". Westfalen-Blatt (in German). Retrieved 24 August 2024.
8. "Fortuna Düsseldorf vs. Paderborn - 2 August 2015 - Soccerway". Soccerway. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
9. "HSV sign Sebastian Schonlau". hsv.de. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
10. "Sebastian Schonlau becomes new HSV captain". HSV.de. 17 July 2021. Retrieved 24 August 2024.
11. "HSV – Nach Blitz-Aus in Osnabrück: Wie schnell wird Sebastian Schonlau fit?". bild.de (in German). 24 September 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
12. "Whitecaps FC acquire German centre back Sebastian Schonlau". Vancouver Whitecaps FC. 20 August 2025. Retrieved 21 August 2025.
13. Sebastian Schonlau at Soccerway