Heiko Westermann facts for kids
Westermann at practice with HSV in 2012
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Heiko Westermann | ||
| Date of birth | 14 August 1983 | ||
| Place of birth | Alzenau, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
|
Current team
|
Barcelona (assistant coach) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1988–1994 | SG Schimborn | ||
| 1994–1998 | 1. FC Hösbach | ||
| 1998–2000 | FC Bayern Alzenau | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2000–2003 | Greuther Fürth II | 37 | (1) |
| 2002–2005 | Greuther Fürth | 83 | (2) |
| 2005–2007 | Arminia Bielefeld | 67 | (5) |
| 2007–2010 | Schalke 04 | 92 | (12) |
| 2010–2015 | Hamburger SV | 159 | (9) |
| 2015–2016 | Real Betis | 20 | (1) |
| 2016–2017 | Ajax | 4 | (0) |
| 2016–2017 | Ajax II | 4 | (0) |
| 2017–2018 | Austria Wien | 10 | (0) |
| Total | 476 | (30) | |
| International career | |||
| 2003–2004 | Germany U20 | 3 | (0) |
| 2003–2004 | Germany U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 2008–2014 | Germany | 27 | (4) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2024– | Barcelona (assistant) | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Heiko Westermann (born on August 14, 1983) is a German football coach and former player. He is currently an assistant coach for the La Liga club Barcelona.
During his 18 years as a professional player, Westermann played in Germany's top league, the Bundesliga, for teams like Arminia Bielefeld, Schalke, and Hamburg. He also played for clubs in Spain, the Netherlands, and Austria. He even represented the Germany national football team in the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament.
Contents
Heiko Westermann's Club Career
Playing for Greuther Fürth
Heiko Westermann started his professional football journey with Greuther Fürth, a team in Germany's second division, the 2. Bundesliga. He joined the main team in July 2002. His first game was on January 26, 2003, in a 1–0 win against MSV Duisburg. Over three seasons with the club, he played in 83 league games and scored two goals.
Time at Arminia Bielefeld
After the 2004–05 season, Westermann moved to Arminia Bielefeld, a club that had just been promoted to the Bundesliga, Germany's top football league. In his first season there, he played in every single game for Bielefeld. This included 34 league matches and five DFB-Pokal (German Cup) games. He continued to be a key player the next season, missing only one match.
Joining Schalke 04
In 2007, Westermann joined Schalke 04 for about €2.8 million. He played his first game for Schalke on July 24 in a Ligapokal (League Cup) match against 1. FC Nürnberg. Schalke won 4–2, and Westermann even scored a goal.
After missing the first two league games due to an injury, Westermann made his Bundesliga debut for Schalke on August 26, 2007. He came into the game in the 79th minute. For the rest of that season, Westermann started all 31 of Schalke's Bundesliga matches. He was also a very important player in Schalke's Champions League journey, playing every minute of every game.
When a new coach, Fred Rutten, took over for the 2008–09 season, Westermann often played in midfield because he was good at scoring goals. This season became his highest-scoring one yet. He scored both goals in a 2–0 DFB-Pokal win against Hannover 96. He also scored in three Bundesliga games in a row, including a goal that tied the game 1–1 against Werder Bremen and a winning goal against VfL Bochum.
Playing for Hamburger SV
In July 2010, Westermann moved to Hamburger SV (often called HSV). The transfer cost around €7.5 million. Even though he was a new player, the coach, Armin Veh, made him the team captain. On April 9, 2013, after a series of bad results, including a big 9–2 loss to Bayern Munich, Rafael van der Vaart became the new captain. This change was made to help Westermann with the pressure he was facing.
On June 25, 2015, Hamburg announced that Westermann's contract would not be extended for the 2015–16 season.
Moving to Betis in Spain
On August 6, 2015, Westermann signed a two-year contract with Real Betis, a Spanish club that had just been promoted to La Liga, Spain's top football league. On November 28, 2015, he received his first red card in his career during a game against Levante.
Time at Ajax in the Netherlands
On July 14, 2016, it was announced that Westermann had signed a two-year deal with Ajax, a famous club in the Eredivisie, the top Dutch league. However, he did not play very often for the main team. During his time there, he also worked as a youth coach.
Playing for Austria Wien
Soon after his contract with Ajax ended, Westermann signed a two-year deal with Austria Wien, an Austrian team.
In April 2018, he announced that he was leaving the club and ending his career as a professional football player.
Heiko Westermann's International Career
On January 31, 2008, Heiko Westermann was called up for the first time to play for the German national team by manager Joachim Löw. This was for a friendly match against Austria on February 6, 2008. Germany won the game 3–0, and Westermann played the entire 90 minutes.
Westermann was part of the German team that finished second at the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament. On June 2, 2009, Westermann scored his first goal for Germany in their big 7–2 win against the United Arab Emirates national football team. He was also chosen for Germany's team for the FIFA World Cup 2010, but he had to withdraw because of an injury he got in a friendly game against Hungary.
He played for Germany 27 times and scored four goals for his country between 2008 and 2014.
Personal Life
Heiko Westermann is married to Irina. They got married in June 2007. In May 2008, they welcomed their first daughter, Lana. Their second daughter, Nikita, was born in October 2010.
Career Statistics
These tables show how many games Heiko Westermann played and how many goals he scored for different clubs and for his national team.
Club Appearances and Goals
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Greuther Fürth | 2002–03 | 2. Bundesliga | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 | ||
| 2003–04 | 34 | 0 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 38 | 1 | ||||
| 2005–06 | 33 | 2 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 83 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 89 | 4 | ||
| Arminia Bielefeld | 2005–06 | Bundesliga | 34 | 2 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 2 | ||
| 2006–07 | 33 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 5 | ||||
| Total | 67 | 5 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 5 | ||
| Schalke 04 | 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 32 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 47 | 6 |
| 2008–09 | 33 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 1 | — | 45 | 9 | |||
| 2009–10 | 27 | 2 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 31 | 3 | ||||
| Total | 92 | 12 | 11 | 4 | 18 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 123 | 18 | ||
| Hamburger SV | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 34 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 36 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | 33 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 36 | 2 | ||||
| 2012–13 | 34 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 3 | ||||
| 2013–14 | 30 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2014–15 | 28 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 1 | |||
| Total | 159 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 173 | 11 | ||
| Real Betis | 2015–16 | La Liga | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 1 | ||
| Ajax | 2016–17 | Eredivisie | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 8 | 0 | |
| Jong Ajax | 2016–17 | Eerste Divisie | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Austria Wien | 2017–18 | Austrian Bundesliga | 10 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | |
| Career total | 439 | 29 | 37 | 8 | 28 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 509 | 39 | ||
International Goals Scored
- This table shows the goals Heiko Westermann scored for the German national team. The "Score" column shows the score after his goal, and "Result" shows the final score of the match.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 September 2008 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein |  Liechtenstein |
6–0 | 6–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 2 | 2 June 2009 | Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates |  United Arab Emirates |
1–0 | 7–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | 7 September 2010 | RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany |  Azerbaijan |
1–0 | 6–1 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |
| 4 | 2 June 2013 | RFK Stadium, Washington, United States |  United States |
1–2 | 3–4 | Friendly |
Honours and Achievements
Ajax
- UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2017 (This means his team came in second place)
Germany
- UEFA European Championship runner-up: 2008 (His national team also came in second place in this big European tournament)
See also
In Spanish: Heiko Westermann para niños
