Philipp Wollscheid
Philipp Johannes Wollscheid (born 6 March 1989) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Wollscheid began his career playing amateur football for various clubs in the Saarland. He progressed to semi-professional level with SV Rot-Weiss Hasborn in 2007 and then 1. FC Saarbrücken. 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. His performances for Nürnberg saw him transfer to Bayer Leverkusen in July 2012. Wollscheid was a regular under Sami Hyypiä at Leverkusen in 2012–13 and 2013–14. However, he fell out of favor with new manager Roger Schmidt and joined 1. FSV Mainz 05 on loan in August 2014. Wollscheid joined English side Stoke City 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 in 2016–17. His contract with Stoke was terminated by mutual consent in August 2017 and Wollscheid joined French club Metz. He retired in October 2019. Club career Early career Born in Wadern, Saarland, 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 – then the seventh tier of the German football league system. 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 1. FC Saarbrücken 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 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 Regionalliga appearances and scoring one goal. He rose to prominence during the 2010–11 Bundesliga season, making his first team debut in a 3–1 defeat against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in November 2010. He soon became a regular starter for Nürnberg and finished the year ranked third among all Bundesliga defenders, according to kicker's player ratings. Bayer Leverkusen In November 2011, Wollscheid agreed a five-year deal with Bayer Leverkusen beginning from summer 2012. In the 2012–13 season under the management of Sami Hyypiä, 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