Sami Khedira facts for kids
Khedira lining up for Germany in 2018
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Sami Khedira | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 4 April 1987 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Stuttgart, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Central midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1995 | TV Oeffingen | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1995–2004 | VfB Stuttgart | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2004–2006 | VfB Stuttgart II | 21 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006–2010 | VfB Stuttgart | 98 | (14) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2015 | Real Madrid | 102 | (6) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2021 | Juventus | 99 | (21) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2021 | Hertha BSC | 9 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Total | 329 | (42) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2003–2004 | Germany U17 | 10 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2009 | Germany U21 | 15 | (5) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2009–2018 | Germany | 77 | (7) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sami Khedira (born on April 4, 1987) is a German former professional footballer. He played as a central midfielder, which is a player who helps both in defense and attack.
Sami started his career at VfB Stuttgart in Germany. He helped them win the Bundesliga (Germany's top football league) in 2007. Later, in 2010, he moved to Real Madrid in Spain.
During his five years in Spain, he won many important trophies. These included the UEFA Champions League in 2014, which is a huge European club competition. In 2015, he joined the Italian team Juventus. There, he won the Serie A title (Italy's top league) five times and the Coppa Italia (Italian Cup) three times.
Khedira also played for the German national team from 2009 to 2018. He played in three FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships. He was a key player when Germany won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. He retired from football in 2021.
Contents
Club Career Highlights
Playing for VfB Stuttgart
Sami Khedira joined the youth team of VfB Stuttgart in 1995. Before that, he played at TV Oeffingen. He was called up to Stuttgart's main team in the 2006–07 season.
He made his first team debut on October 1, 2006, against Hertha BSC. He scored his first two goals on October 29 in a 3–0 win against Schalke 04. On May 19, 2007, Khedira scored the winning goal in the last game of the season. This win helped Stuttgart become champions of the Bundesliga for the first time in 15 years. He extended his contract with Stuttgart until 2011.
Time at Real Madrid
On July 30, 2010, Khedira moved to Real Madrid. He signed a contract to play for them until 2015. He played his first game for Real Madrid in a friendly match against Bayern Munich.
His first league game was on August 29, 2010, against Mallorca. In his first season, he played 40 games. He won his first trophy with Real Madrid on April 20, 2011, when they won the Copa del Rey final against their rivals FC Barcelona.
Khedira scored his first goal for Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on October 18, 2011. This was against Olympique Lyonnais. On April 21, 2012, he scored his second league goal, also against Barcelona. This goal helped Real Madrid break a league record for most goals in a season. On May 24, 2014, Khedira started in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid won the match 4-1.
Success with Juventus
On June 9, 2015, the Italian club Juventus announced that Khedira would join them. He signed a four-year deal. He officially joined on July 1, 2015.
He had a muscle injury in August 2015, which kept him out for about two months. He returned to play on September 30 in a Champions League match against Sevilla. On October 4, Khedira made his Serie A debut and scored a goal in a 3–1 win against Bologna.
On March 20, 2016, Khedira scored his fourth league goal of the season in a 4–1 win against Torino. He scored his first career hat-trick (three goals in one game) on October 22, 2017, in a 6–2 win over Udinese.
On March 7, 2018, Khedira played his 100th game for Juventus. In September 2018, he signed a new contract with Juventus until 2021. He had some health issues in February 2019 but returned to play in April.
Final Club: Hertha BSC
On February 1, 2021, Khedira returned to Germany to play for Hertha BSC. He made his debut on February 5, 2021, against Bayern Munich. On May 19, 2021, Sami Khedira announced that he would retire from football at the end of the 2020–21 season.
International Career
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Youth Teams and Senior Debut
Khedira played 30 times for different German youth national teams. He was the captain of the under-21 team that won the 2009 European Under-21 Championship. They beat England 4–0 in the final.
He played his first game for the senior German national team on September 5, 2009. This was a friendly match against South Africa.
2010 FIFA World Cup
Khedira was chosen for the German team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. He played in all seven matches, helping Germany reach the semi-finals. On July 10, 2010, he scored his first goal for the national team. This goal was in the third-place match against Uruguay. His goal helped Germany win 3–2 and secure the bronze medal.
UEFA Euro 2012
Khedira was a regular starter in the qualification matches for UEFA Euro 2012. Germany won all ten of their qualifying games. In the main tournament, he played in every minute until the semi-finals. He scored a goal in the 4–2 quarter-final win against Greece. He was also chosen for the Team of the Tournament.
2014 FIFA World Cup Victory
Khedira had a knee injury in November 2013, which made his participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup uncertain. However, he recovered in time and was part of Germany's squad. He started in their first match, a 4–0 win against Portugal.
On July 8, he scored Germany's fifth goal in their amazing 7–1 semi-final win against the host country, Brazil. He was injured during the warm-up for the Final against Argentina. Germany went on to win the World Cup 1–0 after extra time.
UEFA Euro 2016
Khedira was also part of Germany's squad for UEFA Euro 2016. He got injured in the quarter-finals against Italy and could not play for the rest of the tournament. Germany won that match on penalties. Germany was later knocked out in the semi-finals by France.
2018 FIFA World Cup
Khedira was included in Germany's squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Germany was eliminated in the group stage, which was a big surprise. After this tournament, he was no longer called up for the national team.
Playing Style
Sami Khedira was known as a strong and versatile midfielder. He was good at covering a lot of ground on the field. He could win the ball back from opponents and quickly join in attacks. He was also a threat to score goals, especially with his powerful shots and headers.
He was physically strong, energetic, and smart about where to be on the field. He was good at winning the ball, working hard, and passing accurately. He could play in different midfield roles, including as a defensive midfielder or a box-to-box midfielder. He was good at making runs into the penalty area to score. Even though he was a great player, he was also known to get injured often.
Broadcasting Career
In May 2021, after retiring from playing, Khedira became a studio analyst for ESPN. He helped cover the UEFA Euro 2020 tournament.
Personal Life
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Sami Khedira was born in Stuttgart, Germany. His father is from Tunisia, and his mother is German. Sami has a younger brother named Rani, who also plays professional football for Union Berlin. Rani has also played for German youth national teams.
Career Statistics
Club
| Club | Season | League | National Cup | Continental | Other | Total | Ref. | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| VfB Stuttgart II | 2004–05 | Regionalliga Süd | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | ||||
| 2005–06 | Regionalliga Süd | 7 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||||
| 2006–07 | Regionalliga Süd | 9 | 1 | — | — | — | 9 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 21 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 1 | — | ||
| VfB Stuttgart | 2006–07 | Bundesliga | 22 | 4 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 4 | |||
| 2007–08 | Bundesliga | 24 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 27 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | — | 37 | 8 | |||
| 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 25 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| Total | 98 | 14 | 12 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 132 | 16 | — | ||
| Real Madrid | 2010–11 | La Liga | 25 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 40 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | La Liga | 28 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 42 | 4 | ||
| 2012–13 | La Liga | 25 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 44 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | La Liga | 13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | — | 18 | 1 | |||
| 2014–15 | La Liga | 11 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 0 | ||
| Total | 102 | 6 | 20 | 2 | 34 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 161 | 9 | — | ||
| Juventus | 2015–16 | Serie A | 20 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | 5 | |
| 2016–17 | Serie A | 31 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 46 | 5 | ||
| 2017–18 | Serie A | 26 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 39 | 9 | ||
| 2018–19 | Serie A | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Serie A | 12 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Total | 99 | 21 | 11 | 0 | 32 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 145 | 21 | — | ||
| Hertha BSC | 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 9 | 0 | — | — | — | 9 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 329 | 42 | 43 | 3 | 87 | 2 | 9 | 0 | 468 | 47 | — | ||
International
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Germany | |||
| 2009 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 16 | 1 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 12 | 1 | |
| 2013 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2014 | 9 | 1 | |
| 2015 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2016 | 12 | 2 | |
| 2017 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 5 | 0 | |
| Total | 77 | 7 | |
- Germany score listed first, score column indicates score after each Khedira goal
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 10 July 2010 | Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa |  Uruguay |
3–2 | 3–2 | 2010 FIFA World Cup |
| 2 | 22 June 2012 | Stadion Energa Gdańsk, Gdańsk, Poland |  Greece |
2–1 | 4–2 | UEFA Euro 2012 |
| 3 | 6 February 2013 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France |  France |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 11 October 2013 | RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany |  Republic of Ireland |
1–0 | 3–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 26 June 2014 | Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil |  Brazil |
5–0 | 7–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup |
| 6 | 11 October 2016 | HDI Arena, Hanover, Germany |  Northern Ireland |
2–0 | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 7 | 11 November 2016 | San Marino Stadium, Serravalle, San Marino |  San Marino |
1–0 | 8–0 |
Honours and Awards
Sami Khedira won many important titles throughout his career:
VfB Stuttgart
- Bundesliga: 2006–07
Real Madrid
- La Liga: 2011–12
- Copa del Rey: 2010–11, 2013–14
- Supercopa de España: 2012
- UEFA Champions League: 2013–14
- UEFA Super Cup: 2014
- FIFA Club World Cup: 2014
Juventus
- Serie A: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2019–20
- Coppa Italia: 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
- Supercoppa Italiana: 2018
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2016–17
Germany U21
Germany
Individual Awards
- UEFA European Championship Team of the Tournament: 2012
Orders
- Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg: 2016
See also
In Spanish: Sami Khedira para niños
