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Kevin Großkreutz
Kevin grosskreutz.jpg
Großkreutz with VfB Stuttgart in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-07-19) 19 July 1988 (age 36)
Place of birth Dortmund, West Germany
Height 1.86 m
Playing position Right-back, Winger
Club information
Current club SV Wacker Obercastrop
Number 19
Youth career
1992–1995 DJK Rot-Weiß Obereving
1995–1999 VfL Kemminghausen
1999–2002 FC Merkur 07 Dortmund
2002–2003 Borussia Dortmund
2003–2006 Rot Weiss Ahlen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2007 Rot Weiss Ahlen II 2 (2)
2006–2009 Rot Weiss Ahlen 94 (24)
2009–2015 Borussia Dortmund 176 (23)
2015 Borussia Dortmund II 6 (0)
2016 Galatasaray 0 (0)
2016–2017 VfB Stuttgart 26 (1)
2017–2018 Darmstadt 98 27 (3)
2018–2020 KFC Uerdingen 45 (0)
2021–2023 TuS Bövinghausen 52 (9)
2023– SV Wacker Obercastrop 0 (0)
National team
2010 Germany U21 1 (1)
2010–2014 Germany 6 (0)
Honours
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2014 Brazil
  • Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17 February 2023.
† Appearances (Goals).

Kevin Großkreutz (born 19 July 1988) is a semi-retired German professional footballer who plays as a right back and winger for Westfalenliga 2 club Wacker Castrop.

He made his senior debut at Rot Weiss Ahlen, and in 2009 joined Borussia Dortmund of the Bundesliga, making 233 appearances for them across all competitions and scoring 27 goals. His honours during his time at the Westfalenstadion included two consecutive Bundesliga titles, including a double in 2012.

In summer 2015, after featuring sparingly at Borussia Dortmund, Großkreutz moved to Süper Lig club Galatasaray where he did not make a single appearance in half a season. He returned to the Bundesliga signing with VfB Stuttgart in January 2016. In March 2017 his contract was terminated after he was involved in a bar fight. A month later, he joined 2. Bundesliga side Darmstadt 98. After one season with Darmstadt 98, he spent two seasons with KFC Uerdingen 05 in the 3. Liga before joining TüS Bövninghausen in January 2021

A full international for Germany between 2010 and 2014, he was part of their team which won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

Early career

Großkreutz began his career with the Dortmund clubs DJK Rot-Weiß Obereving, VfL Kemminghausen and FC Merkur 07. In 2002, he joined Borussia Dortmund, where he played until he moved to Rot Weiss Ahlen. Promoted to first team in 2006, he led the club to promotion to the 2. Bundesliga in 2008. He scored 12 goals and was named in the German sports magazine's kicker XI of the year. Großkreutz performed in the 2nd tier of the German league pyramid well too and went up to the German top-flight after the 2008-09 season.

Borussia Dortmund

Championship celebration Borussia Dortmund 2011
Borussia Dortmund players (From Left to Right: Marco Stiepermann, Marcel Schmelzer, Mats Hummels and Kevin Großkreutz) celebrate winning the Bundesliga in 2011
Kevin Großkreutz IMG 1623
Großkreutz with Borussia Dortmund in 2014

He opened his account with Dortmund on 5 December 2009 in a 4–0 victory over 1. FC Nürnberg. Sven Bender provided him with a diagonal pass that Großkreutz tucked past Alexander Stephan in goal to give Dortmund a 1–0 lead on eight minutes.

Großkreutz opened his goalscoring account for the new season on 22 September 2010, finishing a nice play as Dortmund thrashed 1. FC Kaiserslautern 5–0. In the following round of fixtures, Dortmund faced promoted side FC St. Pauli at the Millerntor-Stadion in Hamburg. Großkreutz scored two goals on either side of a Shinji Kagawa strike as Dortmund won 3–1 with Großkreutz being named man of the match. On 29 November 2010, Großkreutz signed a four-year contract extension to stay with Dortmund until July 2014. He was involved in all three goals on 14 January 2011, scoring two and providing an assist for Mario Götze, as Dortmund defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3–1 at the BayArena. Großkreutz had a phenomenal second season with Dortmund, netting eight goals and managing seven assists as die Borussen lifted the Bundesliga title.

Großkreutz figured in Borussia Dortmund's 4–2 victory over Bayern Munich on 27 July 2013, at BVB's Signal Iduna Park, Dortmund to lift the 2013 DFL-Supercup.

On 11 December 2013, Großkreutz scored the winning goal away to Marseille in a 2–1 UEFA Champions League win to qualify Dortmund for the knockout phase.

From April to August 2015, Großkreutz was demoted to Borussia Dortmund II, for whom he played 6 times in lower divisions. In September 2015 he was sold to Galatasaray. However, the deal was not completed before the closure of the transfer window.

Galatasaray

On 2 September 2015, it was announced by FIFA that Galatasaray had failed to submit the relevant documentation for Großkreutz before the transfer window closed. As a result FIFA refused to sanction Großkreutz's proposed move from Borussia Dortmund to Galatasaray, and the player was ineligible to play any matches until 1 January 2016. Großkreutz signed a three-year contract worth an average of about €1.6 million per season, plus €20,000 per match bonus. Dortmund received a €1.5 million transfer fee and an extra €250,000 if Galatasaray qualified for the UEFA Champions League.

VfB Stuttgart

On 6 January 2016, having not made a single competitive appearance for Galatasaray, Großkreutz returned to Germany to join VfB Stuttgart for about €2.2 million.

On 3 March 2017, the contract of Großkreutz was mutually terminated hours after he got into a bar fight. Großkreutz said in a statement on the club website that he "made a mistake" and he wants "nothing to do with football for the time being."

Darmstadt 98

In April 2017, one month after his departure from VfB Stuttgart, Großkreutz signed with 2. Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 for the 2017–18 season until 2019. He gave his pre-season debut in a warm-up fixture against SG Modau on 23 June 2017.

KFC Uerdingen

On 5 July 2018, Großkreutz joined KFC Uerdingen 05. His contract was terminated by the club in October 2020.

On 24 January 2021, Großkreutz announced his retirement from professional football.

TuS Bövinghausen

On 26 January 2021, Großkreutz joined TuS Bövinghausen in the sixth-tier Westfalenliga. At the end of the 2021–22 season, the club was promoted to the fifth-tier Oberliga Westfalen. On 27 August 2022, Großkreutz extended his contract with the club until 2025.

International career

Großkreutz made his full international debut in a friendly match against Malta on 13 May 2010, helping set up striker Cacau for one of his two goals in a 3–0 win. He next appeared for Germany as a starter against Sweden in a 0–0 draw on 18 November 2010.

In June 2014, he was named in Germany's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Germany went on to win the tournament, though Großkreutz did not make any appearance during the competition. His sixth and last cap came later in this summer in an international friendly against World Cup final opponent Argentina.

Personal life

Großkreutz is a lifelong Borussia Dortmund supporter, growing up and living in the Dortmund area until his move away from the club.

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Europe Other Total
League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Rot Weiss Ahlen II 2006–07 Oberliga Westfalen 2 2 2 2
Rot Weiss Ahlen 2006–07 Regionalliga Nord 27 6 27 6
2007–08 Regionalliga Nord 35 12 1 0 36 12
2008–09 2. Bundesliga 32 6 1 0 33 6
Total 94 24 2 0 0 0 0 0 96 24
Borussia Dortmund 2009–10 Bundesliga 32 5 1 0 33 5
2010–11 Bundesliga 34 8 2 1 7 0 43 9
2011–12 Bundesliga 31 7 6 0 5 1 1 0 43 8
2012–13 Bundesliga 29 2 4 0 10 0 1 0 44 2
2013–14 Bundesliga 33 1 6 1 10 1 1 0 50 3
2014–15 Bundesliga 17 0 2 0 4 0 23 0
Total 176 23 21 2 36 2 3 0 236 27
Borussia Dortmund II 2014–15 3. Liga 2 0 2 0
2015–16 Regionalliga West 4 0 4 0
Total 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 6 0
Galatasaray 2015–16 Süper Lig 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
VfB Stuttgart 2015–16 Bundesliga 10 0 1 0 11 0
2016–17 2. Bundesliga 16 1 1 0 17 1
Total 26 1 2 0 0 0 0 0 28 1
Darmstadt 98 2017–18 2. Bundesliga 27 3 1 0 28 3
KFC Uerdingen 2018–19 3. Liga 33 0 0 0 33 0
2019–20 3. Liga 12 0 1 0 13 0
Total 45 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 46 0
Career total 376 53 27 2 36 2 3 0 442 57

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 2010 2 0
2011 1 0
2012 0 0
2013 0 0
2014 3 0
Total 6 0

Honours

Kevin Großkreutz 2014 FIFA World Cup (cropped)
Großkreutz after the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final

Borussia Dortmund

Germany

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Kevin Großkreutz para niños

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