Luca Waldschmidt

Gian-Luca Waldschmidt (born 19 May 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Primeira Liga club S.L. Benfica and the Germany national team.[1] He developed through the academy of Eintracht Frankfurt and has represented Germany at various levels.

Luca Waldschmidt
Waldschmidt with SC Freiburg in January 2019
Personal information
Full name Gian-Luca Waldschmidt
Date of birth (1996-05-19) 19 May 1996
Place of birth Siegen, Germany
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)
Playing position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Benfica
Number 10
Youth career
2001–2007 SSV Oranien Frohnhausen
2007–2009 SSC Juno Burg
2009–2010 TSG Wieseck
2010–2014 Eintracht Frankfurt
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014 Eintracht Frankfurt II 2 (1)
2014–2016 Eintracht Frankfurt 15 (0)
2016–2018 Hamburger SV 35 (2)
2018–2020 SC Freiburg 53 (16)
2020– Benfica 0 (0)
National team‡
2011–2012 Germany U16 2 (3)
2012–2013 Germany U17 8 (4)
2014–2017 Germany U18 1 (0)
2013 Germany U19 1 (0)
2017–2019 Germany U21 15 (10)
2019– Germany 3 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 23:41, 20 June 2020 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 21:43, 16 November 2019 (UTC)

Club career

Eintracht Frankfurt

A forward, Waldschmidt began his youth career in 2001 with SSV Oranien Frohnhausen and had youth spells at SSC Juno Burg and TSG Wieseck before joining the Eintracht Frankfurt academy in 2010.

On 25 April 2014, Waldschmidt signed his first professional contract, a three-year deal. This saw him promoted to the first team, although he would still appear for the under-19 team.[2] Exactly one year later, on 25 April 2015, Waldschmidt made his Bundesliga debut, as a 73rd-minute substitute for Sonny Kittel in a 0–2 home loss to Borussia Dortmund.[3] He scored his first goal for Eintracht Frankfurt on 8 August in a 3–0 win over Bremer SV in the first round of the German cup.

Hamburger SV

On 30 June 2016, Waldschmidt signed for Hamburger SV on a four-year contract.[4][5] He made his first appearance for the Hamburg club in the Bundesliga in a 0–4 home loss to RB Leipzig on 17 September, coming on as a substitute in the 83rd minute, replacing Bobby Wood.[6] He scored his first goal for the club a few seconds after coming on, in a 4–0 win over Hallescher FC on 24 October, in a second-round cup fixture.[7] On 20 May 2017, the last round of the 2016–17 Bundesliga season, Waldschmidt scored his first Bundesliga-goal, the decisive goal in a 2–1 win over relegation rivals VfL Wolfsburg, in the 88th minute - two minutes after being substituted in. The goal meant that Hamburger SV avoided Bundesliga relegation play-offs for the first time in four years.[8] In the following season, Waldschmidt made 21 league appearances in which he scored one goal. At the end of the season, Hamburger SV were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga for the first time in the Bundesliga's 55-year history.[9][10]

SC Freiburg

In May 2018, SC Freiburg announced they had signed Waldschmidt for the 2018–19 season from Hamburger SV, newly relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.[9] The club reportedly triggered a €5 million release clause.[11] He finished his first campaign for the club with 30 appearances and nine goals.

Benfica

On 14 August 2020, Benfica announced the signing of Waldschmidt on a five-year deal for 15 million euros.[12]

International career

Waldschmidt has represented the Germany national youth football team at U16, U17, U18, U19 and U21 level. He finished as the top scorer of the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, where he scored seven goals, breaking the previous record of his compatriot, Pierre Littbarski, who scored six goals in the 1982 UEFA European Under-21 Championship.[13]

A few months later, on 29 August, he was called up to Joachim Löw's senior squad for UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers against Netherlands and Czech Republic.[14] He made his Germany national football team debut on 9 October 2019 in a friendly against Argentina. He started the game and played the whole match.[15]

Personal life

Luca Waldschmidt is the son of Wolfgang Waldschmidt, who made 14 appearances for SV Darmstadt 98 in the 1983–84 2. Bundesliga season.[16]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played on 20 June 2020.
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupTotalRef.
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eintracht Frankfurt II2013–14Regionalliga Südwest 21—21 [17]
Eintracht Frankfurt2014–15Bundesliga 300030 [17]
2015–16Bundesliga 12021141 [17]
Total15021171—
Hamburger SV2016–17Bundesliga 14121162 [17]
2017–18Bundesliga 21110221 [17]
Total35231383—
Hamburger SV II2016–17Regionalliga Nord 54—54 [17]
2017–18Regionalliga Nord 10—10 [17]
Total64—64—
SC Freiburg2018–19Bundesliga 30920329 [17]
2019–20Bundesliga 22511236 [17]
Total5214315515—
Career total110218311824—

International
As of 16 November 2019[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany 201930
Total30

Honours

Germany U21

Individual

  • UEFA European Under-21 Championship Golden Boot: 2019[19]
  • UEFA European Under-21 Championship Team of the Tournament: 2019[20]
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References
  1. "Freiburg's Luca Waldschmidt ready to take his game to next level". dw.com. DW. 29 August 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  2. "Gian-Luca Waldschmidt unterschreibt Profivertrag". eintracht.de (in German). Eintracht Frankfurt. 25 April 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  3. "Bundesliga 2014/2015 » 30. Spieltag » Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt 2:0". weltfussball.de (in German). Weltfussball. 25 April 2015. Retrieved 25 April 2015.
  4. "Fix: HSV verpflichtet Luca Waldschmidt". hsv.de (in German). Hamburger SV. 30 June 2016. Retrieved 30 June 2016.
  5. Saison 2016/17: Luca Waldschmidt will beim HSV zur Stammkraft reifen, welt.de, 30 June 2016
  6. "0:4 – HSV unterliegt RB im Heimspiel". hsv.de (in German). Hamburger SV. 17 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  7. "Doppelpacker Wood führt HSV ins Achtelfinale". kicker.de (in German). Kicker. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 26 October 2016.
  8. "2:1-Sieg gegen Wolfsburg! HSV hält die Klasse". hsv.de (in German). Hamburger SV. 20 May 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  9. "Holtbys Siegtreffer kann den Abstieg nicht verhindern". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  10. Fahey, Ciaran (12 May 2018). "Hamburger SV relegated from Bundesliga for first time amid chaotic scenes". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  11. "Für fünf Millionen Euro: Waldschmidt nach Freiburg". kicker Online (in German). 24 May 2018. Retrieved 26 May 2018.
  12. "Jan Vertonghen joins Benfica on three-year deal after leaving Tottenham". BBC Sport. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  13. "Waldschmidt klaut einen Jahrzehnte alten Rekord". Welt (in German). 28 June 2019.
  14. "Joachim Löw holt Luca Waldschmidt in die Nationalelf". Zeit (in German). 29 August 2019.
  15. "Germany v Argentina game report". ESPN. 9 October 2019.
  16. "Eintrachts Waldschmidt und die große Langeweile". kicker.de (in German). Kicker. 13 November 2014. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  17. "Luca Waldschmidt » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  18. Luca Waldschmidt at WorldFootball.net
  19. "Luca Waldschmidt wins U21 EUROS Golden Boot". DFB. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  20. "Official Under-21 Team of the Tournament". UEFA. 1 July 2019. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
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