Per Mertesacker German Footballer Top Defender PlaysPer Mertesacker (born 29 September 1984 in Hannover) is a German footballer who plays as a defender for Werder Bremen and the Germany national football team. Despite his sometimes intimidating height, his game is unusually clean for a defender, evident by his relatively few bookings. He is known for having a penchant of scoring headers from set-pieces and corners due to his height advantage.
In September 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann, then-manager of Germany, called Mertesacker up to the 9 October 2004 game against Iran. He made his debut less than two weeks after his twentieth birthday when he came on as a second-half substitute for Christian Wörns. With his quiet but effective game, he established himself as Germany's first choice centre-back, pairing up with Robert Huth, Christoph Metzelder, and later, Heiko Westermann. At the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted at home, he played the full 90 minutes in all five games and scored a goal in the group stages as Germany won third place.
At the World Cup 2006 on home soil, Mertesacker paired with Metzelder in central defence. After Germany won the quarter-final penalty shoot-out against Argentina, Mertesacker was attacked by Argentine Leandro Cufré, an unused substitute. 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. Nevertheless, his good showing did earn him a transfer to Bundesliga giants Werder Bremen after the tournament. He was first choice when fit during Euro 2008 and was ever present in the final tournament. Due to injury problems at the beginning of the 2009–10 season, he missed several 2010 World Cup qualifiers but has retained his place as first choice since then.
Personal information
Date of birth 29 September 1984 (1984-09-29) (age 25)
Place of birth Hannover, West Germany
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club Werder Bremen
Number 29
Youth career
1988–1995 TSV Pattensen
1995–2003 Hannover 96
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2006 Hannover 96 74 (7)
2006– Werder Bremen 113 (10)
National team‡
2004 Germany U-21 3 (0)
2004– Germany 63 (1)
In September 2004, Jürgen Klinsmann, then-manager of Germany, called Mertesacker up to the 9 October 2004 game against Iran. He made his debut less than two weeks after his twentieth birthday when he came on as a second-half substitute for Christian Wörns. With his quiet but effective game, he established himself as Germany's first choice centre-back, pairing up with Robert Huth, Christoph Metzelder, and later, Heiko Westermann. At the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup hosted at home, he played the full 90 minutes in all five games and scored a goal in the group stages as Germany won third place.
At the World Cup 2006 on home soil, Mertesacker paired with Metzelder in central defence. After Germany won the quarter-final penalty shoot-out against Argentina, Mertesacker was attacked by Argentine Leandro Cufré, an unused substitute. 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. Nevertheless, his good showing did earn him a transfer to Bundesliga giants Werder Bremen after the tournament. He was first choice when fit during Euro 2008 and was ever present in the final tournament. Due to injury problems at the beginning of the 2009–10 season, he missed several 2010 World Cup qualifiers but has retained his place as first choice since then.
Personal information
Date of birth 29 September 1984 (1984-09-29) (age 25)
Place of birth Hannover, West Germany
Height 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club Werder Bremen
Number 29
Youth career
1988–1995 TSV Pattensen
1995–2003 Hannover 96
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2003–2006 Hannover 96 74 (7)
2006– Werder Bremen 113 (10)
National team‡
2004 Germany U-21 3 (0)
2004– Germany 63 (1)
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