Per Mertesacker

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Per Mertesacker
Personal information
Full name Per Mertesacker
Date of birth September 29, 1984 (1984-09-29) (age 23)
Place of birth    Hannover, West Germany
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Playing position Defender
Club information
Current club Werder Bremen
Number 29
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
2003–2006
2006–
Hannover 96
Werder Bremen
074 0(7)
057 0(3)   
National team2
2004
2004–
Germany U-21
Germany
003 0(0)
043 0(1)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 17, 2008.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of May 31, 2008.
* Appearances (Goals)

Per Mertesacker (born September 29, 1984 in Hannover, Niedersachsen, Germany) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for Werder Bremen and Germany.

Contents

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[edit] Career

[edit] Personal career

Mertesacker in action with Werder Bremen.
Mertesacker in action with Werder Bremen.

Mertesacker, a native of Hannover, became a youth player at Hannover 96 and eventually made his first-team debut for this club. Mertesacker had an unlucky start for his home club, breaking his nose and scoring an own goal soon after, but established himself as one of the most promising young defenders in the Bundesliga. His type of game was unusually clean, him being rarely booked (as of July 2006, only twice in 74 games) while regularly neutralizing his opponents. The slender Mertesacker was soon dubbed "the Defense Pole" (die Abwehrlatte) by German tabloids. In August of 2006 he moved to Werder Bremen in a 5 million transfer deal after a highly impressive performance in the 2006 World Cup, in which Germany finished 3rd.

[edit] International career

In September 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann, manager of Germany, called Mertesacker up to the October 9, 2004 game against Iran. At age 19, he became one of the youngest ever debutants for the German national team. With his quiet but effective game, he established himself as a defensive stalwart, pairing up with Robert Huth and later, Christoph Metzelder.

In the 2006 World Cup, he was violently attacked by Leandro Damián Cufré, an unused Argentine substitute, after Germany won the penalty shoot-out against them in the quarterfinals. He suffered minor injuries to his thigh and a kick to the groin. After Germany's loss to Italy in the semifinals, Mertesacker had surgery on one of his legs (not related to the attack above, but an injury he had been dealing with during previous matches) and missed the third place play-off.

[edit] Career stats

[edit] Club stats

All-Time Club Performance
Club Season Bundesliga DFB Cup European Competition Total
App Goals App Goals App Goals App Goals
Werder Bremen 2007-08 32 1 2 0 7 0 41 1
2006-07 25 2 0 0 10 2 35 4
Total 57 3 2 0 17 2 76 5
Hanover 96 2005-06 30 5 3 0 - - 33 5
2004-05 31 2 4 1 - - 35 3
2003-04 13 0 1 0 - - 14 0
Total 74 7 8 1 82 8
Career Totals 131 10 9 1 10 2 150 13

[edit] External links