| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Benjamin Kirsten | ||
| Date of birth | 2 June 1987 | ||
| Place of birth | Riesa, East Germany | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in) | ||
| Playing position | Goalkeeper | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Dynamo Dresden | ||
| Number | 13 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1989–1990 | Dynamo Dresden | ||
| 1990–2006 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2006–2008 | Bayer 04 Leverkusen II | 2 | (0) |
| 2008 | Waldhof Mannheim | 0 | (0) |
| 2008– | Dynamo Dresden II | 35 | (0) |
| 2008– | Dynamo Dresden | 19 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 13:00, 30 May 2011 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). |
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Benjamin „Benny“ Kirsten (born 2 July 1987 in Riesa, East Germany) is a German footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for 2.Bundesliga club Dynamo Dresden.
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In 1989 at the age of two, Kirsten began to play football at Dynamo Dresden and in July 1990 left with his father Ulf Kirsten for Bayer 04 Leverkusen where he played the following 16 years with the side's youth team.
In July 2006, Kirsten was promoted to Bayer 04's reserve squad in the Regionalliga. He played two games for the team who were coached by his father Ulf Kirsten.[1] In January 2008 Kirsten left Bayer 04 after seventeen years and six months to join Waldhof Mannheim. On 16 June 2008 after only half a year with Waldhof he returned to Dynamo Dresden[2], where he made his debut – his first professional game – on 2 May 2009 against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[3] Kirsten played the entire ninety minutes, conceding one goal.
In his first two years Kirsten regularly featured for Dynamo Dresden II. He was part of the team that won the Sachsenliga and Sachsenpokal in 2009. Kirsten was involved in a controversy after the cup win, when he was seen to light a firework on the pitch. Dynamo had previously been punished for similar incidents from their fans, and Kirsten was suspended for three games and fined € 4,000 (about £ 3,500) for his behaviour.[4]
On match day 25 of the 2010–11 season team manager Matthias Maucksch made Kirsten to the regular first-choice keeper of Dynamo Dresden.[5] With his persuasive performances Kirsten had a major part in that Dynamo reached the 3rd place at the end of the season and after beating VfL Osnabrück in the relegation matches promoted to the 2nd Bundesliga.
Benjamin Kirsten is the son of former Germany national team forward and three-time Bundesliga top scorer Ulf Kirsten.[6] He is training as a merchant in sports and fitness by Dynamo Dresden.[7]
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