Marcel Halstenberg

Marcel Halstenberg Biography

Marcel Halstenberg is a German footballer born on 27^th September 1991 in Laatzen, Germany. Halstenberg is primarily deployed as a left back, although he has played as a centre-back and on the left side of the midfield. Halstenberg currently plies his trade for RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga.

Background

Halstenberg was formerly a forward and was changed to the role of a central defender at Hannover, where he caught the eyes of the Borussia Dortmund scouts.

Halstenberg turned down several big-money moves to Bundesliga clubs to stay at Dortmund and continued to play for the Dortmund B team in the third division under David Wagner who introduced him to the left back role.

He moved to the second tier of German football by joining St. Pauli in 2013 and after two more years joined the ambitious project of RB Leipzig.

Debut

Halstenberg was called to the German national football team by coach Joachim Louw in 2017 and made his debut soon after in an international friendly against England at the Wembley Stadium on 11^th November 2017. The match ended in a goalless draw.

He remained on the bench in the next friendly against France four days later.

Rise to Glory

Halstenberg played an important role in Die Rotten Bullen’s debut Bundesliga campaign in 2016-17. He appeared in the 30 matches in their debut first division campaign.

Halstenberg spent the third most amount of time on the field for RB Leipzig as he clocked up an impressive 2659 minutes on the pitch. He helped Leipzig keep 10 clean sheets in the 2016-17 Bundesliga and earned them a Champions League spot in the 2017-18 edition by finishing second.

Halstenberg has played a good role in the debut UEFA Champions League campaign for RB Leipzig in 2017. Although his side finished third in the group stage, Halstenberg played a stellar role in the away 4-1 win over previous year semi-finalists AS Monaco where he set up the last goal.

Halstenberg rescued a point from the Volkswagen Arena in a league match against Wolfsburg in 2017 after Leipzig went behind early through Paul Verhaegh goal.

Low Points

Halstenberg has been dealt with the biggest blow of his professional football career right after making his Germany debut.

The defender tore the anterior cruciate ligaments in his left knee during a behind-closed-doors training session for RB Leipzig. The club confirmed the injury and stated that the defender will undergo surgery and will be out for several months.

Hence Halstenberg is sure to miss the rest of the current season and may well miss the 2018 FIFA World Cup as well.

Club Career

Halstenberg made 19 appearances for Hannover 96 II in the 2010-11 season. He then made 68 appearances for Borussia Dortmund II in the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons before moving over to St. Pauli in 2013 where he appeared in 54 games. His success has come for RB Leipzig for whom he has made 69 appearances and is an important cog in the first eleven.