Simon Rolfes
.jpg) Rolfes with Germany in 2011 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Simon Rolfes | ||
| Date of birth | 21 January 1982 | ||
| Place of birth | Ibbenbüren, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[1] | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Bayer Leverkusen | ||
| Number | 6 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1999 | TuS Recke | ||
| 1999–2000 | Werder Bremen | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 2000–2004 | Werder Bremen II | 100 | (18) |
| 2003 | → SSV Reutlingen (loan) | 13 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Alemannia Aachen | 28 | (3) |
| 2005– | Bayer Leverkusen | 247 | (38) |
| 2010 | Bayer Leverkusen II | 1 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002 | Germany U21 | 1 | (0) |
| 2004–2005 | Germany Team 2006 | 3 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Germany | 26 | (2) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 06:12, 20 December 2013 (UTC). † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Simon Rolfes (born 21 January 1982) is a German footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga.
Club career
Werder Bremen
Rolfes started his career at Werder Bremen after progressing through their academy. He made exactly 100 league appearances for the reserve team and managed to notch 18 goals from his defensive midfield position. He spent half a season on loan at SSV Reutlingen, making 13 appearances.
Alemannia Aachen
Despite his good form, SV Werder Bremen manager Thomas Schaaf did not feature him as a regular, so in 2004 he moved to Alemannia Aachen and played 28 times in his one season there.
Bayer Leverkusen
Year 2005 came out to be a crucial year for Rolfes, with Bayer Leverkusen signing him and since then he has become a fan favorite, quickly winning a regular spot and not much after, captaincy in the full squad. He became somewhat of a cult hero for Leverkusen with his strong mental attributes – high working rate, teamwork, sportsmanship, and influence on the pitch. Rolfes suffered a serious knee injury on 2 July 2009, missing the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. After he recovered from the injury, he played his first 2010–11 season match against VfL Wolfsburg, where he substituted Patrick Helmes in the 63rd minute, with Leverkusen down by 2–0. He scored the first goal three minutes after he was subbed in, won a penalty for Leverkusen that was successfully taken by Arturo Vidal, and to make things even better – he scored the last goal in the match, to give his team a 3–2 win. He was elected the player of the match.[2] On 28 January 2011, he made another impressive performance for the "Werkself", this time against Hannover 96, getting on the scoresheet in the process. His impressive form continued with further putting impressive performances and scoring goals against FSV Frankfurt on 12 February in a 3–0 win, and against SV Werder Bremen in a 2–2 draw on 27 February.
International career
Rolfes made his international debut for Germany in a friendly against Denmark on 28 March 2007 in Duisburg.
He was part of the German team that finished as runners-up at Euro 2008. Rolfes started in the quarter-finals against Portugal in Basel, which Germany won 3–2, and started the semi-finals against Turkey, also in Basel, which they also won 3–2. Rolfes scored his first goal on 6 September 2008 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier, a 6–0 win against Liechtenstein. Rolfes was set to be called up to German squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, but he got injured and missed the competition and more than ten first games of the 2010–11 season for the "Werkself".
Career statistics
Club performance
- As of 20 December 2013
| Club performance | League | Cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Club | League | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Germany | League | DFB-Pokal | Europe | Total | ||||||
| 2000–01 | Werder Bremen II | Regionalliga Nord | 26 | 5 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 27 | 5 |
| 2001–02 | 31 | 7 | 2 | 1 | - | - | 33 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | - | - | 18 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | SSV Reutlingen | 2. Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 0 |
| 2003–04 | Werder Bremen II | Regionalliga Nord | 26 | 4 | 0 | 0 | - | - | 26 | 4 |
| 2004–05 | Alemannia Aachen | 2. Bundesliga | 28 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 37 | 3 |
| 2005–06 | Bayer Leverkusen | Bundesliga | 32 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 36 | 7 |
| 2006–07 | 34 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 48 | 5 | ||
| 2007–08 | 34 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 47 | 9 | ||
| 2008–09 | 33 | 3 | 6 | 1 | - | - | 39 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | - | - | 13 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | 28 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 32 | 5 | ||
| 2011–12 | 31 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 40 | 3 | ||
| 2012–13 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 40 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | 14 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 22 | 5 | ||
| Career total | 388 | 59 | 27 | 5 | 57 | 4 | 471 | 68 | ||
International appearances
As of 04:31, 19 August 2013 (UTC)
| Germany | ||
|---|---|---|
| Year | Apps | Goals |
| 2007 | 7 | 0 |
| 2008 | 10 | 1 |
| 2009 | 4 | 0 |
| 2011 | 5 | 1 |
| Total | 26 | 2 |
International goals
| Goal | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 6 September 2008 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein |  Liechtenstein | 0–3 | 0–6 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2. | 11 November 2011 | Olimpiysky National Sports Complex, Kiev, Ukraine |  Ukraine | 3–2 | 3–3 | Friendly |
Honours
Club
- Bayer 04 Leverkusen
- DFB-Pokal Runner-up: 2008–09
- Bundesliga Runner-up: 2010–11
References
- ↑ "Rolfes, Simon" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ↑ "Wolfsburg 2–3 Bayer Leverkusen: Simon Rolfes Brings Die Werkself Back To Life". Peace FM Online. 16 October 2010. Retrieved 19 October 2010.
External links
- Profile at ESPN's Soccernet
- Leverkusen who's who
- Simon Rolfes at fussballdaten.de (German)
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| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Carsten Ramelow |
Bayer 04 Leverkusen captain 2008- |
Succeeded by Incumbent |