Sebastian Kehl

Sebastian Walter Kehl (German pronunciation: [zeˈbasti̯a(ː)n ˈkeːl];[2][3] born 13 February 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.

Sebastian Kehl

Kehl in 2016
Personal information
Full name	Sebastian Walter Kehl[1]
Date of birth	(1980-02-13) 13 February 1980[1]
Place of birth	Fulda, West Germany
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1985–1994	SV Lahrbach
1994–1996	Borussia Fulda
1996–1998	Hannover 96
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2000	Hannover 96	32	(2)
2000–2001	SC Freiburg	40	(4)
2002–2015	Borussia Dortmund	274	(20)
2004–2011	Borussia Dortmund II	7	(1)
Total		353	(27)
National team
1996–1999	Germany U18	19	(3)
1998	Germany U19	1	(0)
1999–2001	Germany U21	11	(0)
2001–2006	Germany	31	(2)
Honours Borussia Dortmund Winner Bundesliga 2002 Runner-up UEFA Cup 2002 Runner-up DFB-Ligapokal 2003 Runner-up DFB-Pokal 2008 Winner DFL-Supercup 2008 Winner Bundesliga 2011 Runner-up DFL-Supercup 2011 Winner Bundesliga 2012 Winner DFB-Pokal 2012 Runner-up DFL-Supercup 2012 Runner-up UEFA Champions League 2013 Winner DFL-Supercup 2013 Winner DFL-Supercup 2014  Germany Runner-up FIFA World Cup 2002 FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 FIFA World Cup 2006
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

He amassed Bundesliga totals of 314 games and 24 goals over the course of 15 seasons, representing in the competition Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund. He won six major titles with the latter club, including three national championships.

A German international for five years, Kehl appeared for the nation in two World Cups – finishing second in the 2002 edition – and Euro 2004.

Club career

Born in Fulda, Hesse, Kehl joined Hannover 96's youth system in 1996 at the age of 15, going on to appear in two 2. Bundesliga seasons with the first team.[4] In the 2000 summer he signed for SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, making his debut in the competition on 12 August by playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 home win against VfB Stuttgart, and scoring his first goal on 12 December of that year to help to a 2–1 away success over VfL Wolfsburg.

Under legendary manager Volker Finke, Kehl featured mostly as a sweeper, helping the Black Forest club qualify to the UEFA Cup in his first season but suffering relegation in his second. He was no longer part of the squad, however, as he had left in the 2002 January transfer window to Borussia Dortmund, who went on to win the championship with 15 games and one goal from the player; previously, in summer 2001, he controversially agreed basic terms with FC Bayern Munich, and even accepted an advanced payment of 1.5 million Deutsche Mark, which was returned in November as Bayern threatened to take legal action.[5]

Kehl with Borussia Dortmund in 2007

During his tenure with Dortmund, Kehl was more often than not a starter. He contributed with 12 matches in the 2002–03 edition of the UEFA Champions League to help his team reach the second group phase, and amassed 61 league appearances from 2004 to 2006 in back-to-back seventh-place finishes.

In the first day of the 2006–07 campaign, Kehl injured his left knee in a challenge with Bayern's Hasan Salihamidžić, going on to be sidelined for several months and only recovering fully in the start of 2008–09, when he was made captain by new coach Jürgen Klopp.[6] He eventually relapsed on his condition,[7][8] also losing his importance in the starting XI after the emergence of Sven Bender and Nuri Şahin.[9]

On 27 July 2013, Kehl played the second half of the DFL-Supercup contest against Bayern Munich, replacing Bender in an eventual 4–2 win.[10] In September, he was put out of action for another lengthy period after injuring his ankle in training.[11]

Kehl captaining Dortmund in 2013

Kehl began hinting at retirement in March 2014, shortly after having agreed to a one-year extension to his contract.[12] The 35-year-old confirmed it at the end of the 2014–15 season,[13] after having taken part in 21 games to help Borussia come from behind in the table and finally qualify to the Europa League.[14]

In April 2018, Borussia Dortmund announced that Kehl would become its players licence department director starting on 1 June.[15]

International career

Kehl earned the first of his 31 caps for the German national team on 29 May 2001, in a 2–0 friendly win against Slovakia in Bremen where he came on for Marko Rehmer after 45 minutes.[16] He scored his first goal on 15 August of that year, helping to a 5–2 triumph in Hungary in another exhibition game.[17]

Selected for both the 2002 and the 2006 World Cups, Kehl played once (against Paraguay) in the former tournament as the Mannschaft finished in second position, and started in two of his four appearances to help to the third place in the latter.[18]

Career statistics

Club

[19][20][21]

Club	Season	League			German Cup		Europe		Other^1		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hannover 96	1998–99	2. Bundesliga	8	1	1	0	—				9	1
	1999–2000	2. Bundesliga	24	1	2	0	—				26	1
Hannover 96 totals			32	2	3	0	—				35	2
SC Freiburg	2000–01	Bundesliga	25	2	2	2	—				27	4
	2001–02	Bundesliga	15	2	2	0	5	2	1	0	23	4
SC Freiburg totals			40	4	4	2	5	2	1	0	50	8
Borussia Dortmund	2001–02	Bundesliga	15	1	0	0	—				15	1
	2002–03	Bundesliga	28	0	2	0	12	0	1	0	43	0
	2003–04	Bundesliga	23	1	1	0	6	0	3	0	33	1
	2004–05	Bundesliga	32	4	3	0	2	0	—		37	4
	2005–06	Bundesliga	29	1	1	0	—				30	1
	2006–07	Bundesliga	6	0	0	0	—				6	0
	2007–08	Bundesliga	14	3	5	0	—				19	3
	2008–09	Bundesliga	28	5	2	0	2	0	—		32	5
	2009–10	Bundesliga	6	1	0	0	—				6	1
	2010–11	Bundesliga	6	0	1	0	2	0	—		9	0
	2011–12	Bundesliga	27	3	6	0	5	0	1	0	39	3
	2012–13	Bundesliga	22	0	3	0	9	0	—		34	0
	2013–14	Bundesliga	17	1	4	0	5	1	1	0	27	2
	2014–15	Bundesliga	21	0	6	1	4	0	1	0	32	1
Borussia Dortmund totals			274	20	34	1	47	1	7	0	362	22
Borussia Dortmund II	2003–04	Regionalliga Nord	1	1	—						1	1
	2006–07	Regionalliga Nord	1	0	—						1	0
	2007–08	Regionalliga Nord	2	0	—						2	0
	2009–10	3. Liga	1	0	—						1	0
	2010–11	Regionalliga West	2	0	—						2	0
Borussia Dortmund II totals			7	1	—						7	1
Career totals			353	27	41	1	52	3	8	0	454	31

• 1.^ Includes German Super Cup and German League Cup.

International

[22]

Germany
Year	Apps	Goals
2001	3	1
2002	11	0
2003	7	1
2004	3	0
2005	0	0
2006	7	0
Total	31	2

International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref
1.	15 August 2001	Ferenc Puskás, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	0–2	2–5	Friendly	[17]
2.	30 April 2003	Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	1–0	1–0	Friendly	[23]

Honours

Club

Borussia Dortmund[24]

• Bundesliga: 2001–02, 2010–11, 2011–12
• DFB-Pokal: 2011–12
• DFL-Supercup: 2013, 2014
• UEFA Champions League: runner-up 2012–13

International

Germany[24]

• FIFA World Cup: runner-up 2002; third place 2006
• FIFA Confederations Cup: third place 2005

Individual

• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2000–01, 2008–09[25][26]

References

1. "FIFA World Cup Germany 2006 – List of players" (PDF). FIFA. p. 12. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
2. Dudenredaktion; Kleiner, Stefan; Knöbl, Ralf (2015) [First published 1962]. Das Aussprachewörterbuch [The Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German) (7th ed.). Berlin: Dudenverlag. pp. 503, 773. ISBN 978-3-411-04067-4.
3. Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. p. 917. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
4. Arnhold, Matthias (23 September 2015). "Sebastian Kehl – Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF. Retrieved 9 October 2015.
5. "Der FC Bayern will Kehl verklagen" [FC Bayern want to sue Kehl] (in German). Die Welt. 24 December 2001. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
6. "Klopp macht Kehl zum Kapitän" [Klopp makes Kehl captain] (in German). Rheinische Post. 15 July 2008. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
7. "Kehl hofft auf dauerhafte Rückkehr in BVB-Startelf" [Kehl hopes for durable return in BVB's starting XI] (in German). Der Westen. 11 July 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
8. "Sebastian Kehl: Der ewige Borusse" [Sebastian Kehl: The true Borusse] (in German). ZDF. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
9. Loder, Ben (6 March 2013). "Sebastian Kehl Borussia Dortmund captain is back where he belongs". Bundesliga Fanatic. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
10. "Dortmund prevail over Bayern in Supercup thriller". Bundesliga. 27 July 2013. Archived from the original on 6 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
11. "Dortmund captain Kehl out for six weeks". FIFA. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
12. "Dortmund captain Kehl to retire in 2015". FIFA. 23 March 2014. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
13. "Borussia Dortmund's Sebastian Kehl looking to retire on a high". ESPN FC. 20 May 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
14. "Borussia Dortmund must keep focus on football and not farewells". ESPN FC. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
15. "Sebastian Kehl ab 1. Juni Leiter der Lizenzspielerabteilung" [Sebastian Kehl head of players licence department from 1 June] (in German). Borussia Dortmund. 23 April 2018. Retrieved 23 April 2018.
16. Arnhold, Matthias (19 February 2010). "Sebastian Kehl – International Appearances". RSSSF. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
17. "Völlers Jugendstil bleibt erfolgreich" [Völler's youngsters still successful] (in German). kicker. 15 August 2001. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
18. "Germany 3–1 Portugal". BBC Sport. 8 July 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
19. "Kehl, Sebastian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
20. "Sebastian Kehl". Footballdatabase. Retrieved 11 August 2015.
21. "Sebastian Kehl » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
22. "Sebastian Kehl". European Football. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
23. "Kehl belohnt Völlers Rumpf-Elf" [Kehl reward's Völler's stripped-down eleven] (in German). kicker. 30 April 2003. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
24. "S. Kehl". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 July 2014.
25. "Bundesliga Historie 2000/01" (in German). kicker.
26. "Bundesliga Historie 2008/09" (in German). kicker.

External links

• Sebastian Kehl at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Sebastian Kehl at National-Football-Teams.com
• Sebastian Kehl – FIFA competition record
• Official website (in German)