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Christoph Kramer

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Christoph Kramer
Kramer with Bayer Leverkusen in 2015
Personal information
Full name Christoph Kramer[1]
Date of birth (1991-02-19) 19 February 1991 (age 33)
Place of birth Solingen, Germany
Height 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in)[2]
Position(s) Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1995–1999 BV Gräfrath
1999–2006 Bayer Leverkusen
2006–2008 Fortuna Düsseldorf
2008–2010 Bayer Leverkusen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2011 Bayer Leverkusen II 27 (0)
2011–2016 Bayer Leverkusen 28 (0)
2011–2013 → VfL Bochum (loan) 61 (4)
2012 → VfL Bochum II (loan) 1 (0)
2013–2015 → Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 63 (5)
2016–2024 Borussia Mönchengladbach 180 (5)
International career
2009–2010 Germany U19 5 (0)
2010–2012 Germany U20 4 (1)
2014–2016 Germany 12 (0)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Germany
FIFA World Cup
Winner 2014 Brazil
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 13:21, 16 August 2024 (UTC)

Christoph Kramer (born 19 February 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder. From 2013 to 2024, he was active for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach.[3][4]

After a season in their reserve team, Kramer was promoted to Bayer Leverkusen's first team in 2011. He then spent two seasons on loan at second-tier VfL Bochum, and a further two at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

Kramer made his full international debut for the Germany national team on 13 May 2014, and later that year was part of the German squad which won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

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Bayer Leverkusen

[edit]

Kramer joined local club BV Graefrath in 1995 before being snapped up by Bayer Leverkusen at age eight.[5] But Kramer was cut from the Leverkusen youth squad at age 15 in 2006 because of his relatively small height.[5] After two years with the Fortuna Düsseldorf youth squad, Kramer returned to Leverkusen in 2008, signed his first senior contract in 2010 and was promoted to Bayer Leverkusen II for the 2010–11 season.[5] He gained promotion to the senior squad in 2011 and was immediately loaned out to 2. Bundesliga side VfL Bochum for the 2011–12 season.[5]

VfL Bochum (loan)

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Kramer made his professional debut on 18 July 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute for Andreas Johansson in a 2–0 defeat of Bochum to Fortuna Düsseldorf.[6] His first goal for the club came on 25 February 2012, scoring a consolation goal in a 6–2 defeat to Greuther Fürth.[7] During the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga season, Kramer was involved in 852 tackles, the most by any player in the league, and won 50% of them.[8] In the process, he committed 73 fouls but was only given eight yellow cards.[8] In his two seasons in the second division with Bochum, Kramer made 61 league appearances and scored four goals.[9] Following his spell at Bochum, he became a season-ticket holder at the RewirpowerSTADION.[5]

Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan)

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Following his two-year spell with Bochum in the second division, Kramer joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in July 2013 on a two-year loan deal.[10] He made his Bundesliga debut on 9 August 2013, starting in midfield for Gladbach in a 3–1 loss to defending champions Bayern Munich.[11] He scored his first goal for Gladbach in the following round of fixtures, netting the club's second goal in a 3–0 victory over Hannover 96.[12] Kramer scored Borussia Mönchengladbach's third goal of a 3–1 victory over Mainz 05 on 3 May 2014, securing the club a place in the UEFA Europa League for the following season.[13] In the final league match of the season, Kramer scored his third Bundesliga goal as Gladbach fell to VfL Wolfsburg 3–1, confirming that Gladbach would finish just behind Wolfsburg, in sixth place.[14]

Kramer returned to Gladbach following his exploits in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, making his season debut on 24 August 2014, coming off the bench and scoring his side's last-minute equalizer in a 1−1 draw with VfB Stuttgart.[15] On 9 November, away to Borussia Dortmund, he scored an own goal from inside the centre circle which gave his opponents a 1–0 victory.[16]

On 22 December 2014, Leverkusen announced Kramer would be returning to Leverkusen from his loan spell at Gladbach in summer 2015 as planned and that his contract had been extended by two further years until 30 June 2019.[17]

Borussia Mönchengladbach

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On 8 June 2016, Kramer returned to Borussia Mönchengladbach, signing a five-year deal with the club.[18]

After a total of ten years and 288 appearances for the club, Kramer's contract was terminated in August 2024.[19]

International career

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Kramer being beaten by Marcos Rojo in the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final

Shortly before the end of his first Bundesliga season, Kramer was first invited on 8 May,2014 to the Germany senior team, when he was nominated as part of a so-called "perspective squad" for the preparation match for the 2014 World Cup in the Volksparkstadion in Hamburg against Poland, as many players could not join because they still had to play for their clubs.[20] In this friendly match on 13 May, he played the full 90 minutes of a 0–0 draw.[21][22] A day later, he was subsequently nominated for the preliminary squad.[23] He won his second cap for the national side on 1 June, coming on as a second-half substitute in a 2–2 draw with Cameroon.[24] The following day, Kramer was included by Joachim Löw in Germany's final 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.[25]

2014 World Cup

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Kramer made his first appearance of the tournament in Germany's round of 16 match against Algeria as a 109th-minute substitute for Bastian Schweinsteiger.[26] He started the 2014 FIFA World Cup Final, due to an injury to Sami Khedira minutes before kick off. Kramer, however, was forced to leave the game in the first half after taking a hit to the head, and André Schürrle came on to replace him.[27] It was later revealed that Kramer may have suffered a concussion from his collision with Argentine centre-back Ezequiel Garay.[28] Referee Nicola Rizzoli admitted that 14 minutes after the collision, Kramer came to him, asking if the match was the final. Rizzoli then informed Schweinsteiger and Kramer was substituted off.[29] The incident was later satirized by his national teammates Thomas Müller, Manuel Neuer and retired national team captain Philipp Lahm in a video which was shown during Kramer's appearance on the German sports show Das aktuelle sportstudio.[30]

Towards the end of his international career, Kramer was a part of a collaboration between the German Football Association and The LEGO Group, who in May 2016 released a Europe-exclusive collectible minifigure series, with Kramer featured as the fourteenth of sixteen minifigures in the collection.[31]

Personal life

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Kramer in 2014

Kramer studied at Grundschule Meigen in Solingen from 1997 to 2001.[32] He continued secondary education at August-Dicke-Schule and finished his Abitur examination in 2010, with a grade of 3.6.[33]

Kramer was the first Solingen citizen to have played for the Germany national team at a World Cup when he participated in the 2014 World Cup.[34] Four years later, during 2018 FIFA World Cup, he appeared on German TV station Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen as a "TV expert" to deliver match analyses.[35]

Career statistics

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Club

[edit]
As of match played 24 February 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League DFB-Pokal Europe Total Ref.
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bayer Leverkusen II 2009–10 Regionalliga West 1 0 — — 1 0 [36]
2010–11 26 0 — — 26 0 [37]
Total 27 0 0 0 0 0 27 0 —
VfL Bochum (loan) 2011–12 2. Bundesliga 32 1 3 0 — 35 1 [38]
2012–13 29 3 3 0 — 32 3 [39]
Total 61 4 6 0 0 0 67 4 —
VfL Bochum II (loan) 2012–13 Regionalliga West 1 0 — — 1 0 [39]
Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) 2013–14 Bundesliga 33 3 1 0 — 34 3 [40]
2014–15 30 2 3 0 6 0 39 2 [41]
Total 63 5 4 0 6 0 73 5 —
Bayer Leverkusen 2015–16 Bundesliga 28 0 4 0 12 0 44 0 [42]
Borussia Mönchengladbach 2016–17 24 0 4 0 10 0 38 0 [43]
2017–18 27 3 1 0 — 28 3 [44]
2018–19 18 2 1 0 — 19 2 [45]
2019–20 22 0 0 0 4 0 26 0 [46]
2020–21 28 0 4 0 7 1 39 1 [47]
2021–22 18 0 1 0 — 19 0 [48]
2022–23 29 0 1 0 — 30 0 [49]
2023–24 14 0 2 0 — 16 0 [50]
Total 180 5 14 0 21 1 215 6 —
Career total 358 14 28 0 39 1 431 15 —

International

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Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany 2014 8 0
2015 3 0
2016 1 0
Total 12 0

Honours

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Germany

References

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  1. ^ "2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil: List of Players: Germany" (PDF). FIFA. 14 July 2014. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Christoph Kramer". Borussia Mönchengladbach. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Christoph Kramer" (in German). fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  4. ^ "Kramer, Christoph" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Kramer rising to the top". ESPNFC. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  6. ^ "Fortuna Düsseldorf vs. Bochum 2 - 0". Soccerway. 18 July 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  7. ^ "Greuther Fürth vs. Bochum 6 - 2". Soccerway. 25 February 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  8. ^ a b "MAKING THE LEAP TO THE TOP FLIGHT". Bundesliga. 7 July 2013. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  9. ^ "Christoph Kramer" (in German). FussballDaten. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  10. ^ "Borussia Mönchengladbach: How will the Foals fare in 2013/2014?". The Boot Room. 22 July 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  11. ^ "Bright start for Guardiola". ESPNFC. 9 August 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  12. ^ "GLADBACH CRUISE PAST HANNOVER". Bundesliga. 17 August 2013. Archived from the original on 1 June 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  13. ^ "GLADBACH BEAT MAINZ TO SEAL EUROPA LEAGUE". Bundesliga. 3 May 2014. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  14. ^ "Perisic und de Bruyne sind zuviel für Gladbach" (in German). kicker. 10 May 2014. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  15. ^ "Kramer saves Gladbach vs. Stuttgart". ESPNFC. 24 August 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2014.
  16. ^ "Bor Dortmd 1-0 Borussia Monchengladbach". BBC Sport. 9 November 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  17. ^ "World Cup winner Kramer agrees new deal to 2019". Bayer 04 Leverkusen. Retrieved 22 December 2014.
  18. ^ "Borussia Monchengladbach sign Christoph Kramer from Leverkusen". ESPN. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  19. ^ "Christoph Krämer verlässt Borussia" [Christoph Kramer leaving Borussia] (in German). borussia.de. 16 August 2024. Retrieved 16 August 2024.
  20. ^ "Mit Jugendpower im "Perspektivspiel" gegen Polen". kicker online (in German). Olympia Verlag GmbH. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  21. ^ "Youthful Germany frustrated by Poland". UEFA. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  22. ^ "Lineups". UEFA. 13 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  23. ^ "Löw streicht Quartett und nimmt Kramer mit". kicker online (in German). Olympia Verlag GmbH. 14 May 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  24. ^ "Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting earns Cameroon draw against Germany". The Guardian. 1 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  25. ^ "Low finalises Germany squad". FIFA. 2 June 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2014. Retrieved 4 June 2014.
  26. ^ "Kramer: "A world-class experience"". Deutscher Fußball-Bund. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 25 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
  27. ^ "Götze becomes the new Iniesta!". MARCA. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  28. ^ "Kramer Head Injury Revives Concussion Concerns". ABC News. 13 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  29. ^ "Dazed Kramer 'forgot he was in final'". ESPNFC. 17 July 2014. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  30. ^ "Bayern-Stars nehmen Kramers WM-Blackout auf die Schippe". Stern (in German). 28 September 2014.
  31. ^ Lego Group (12 April 2016). "This squad will be playing for the LEGO Minifigure Series "DFB – Die Mannschaft"". Lego.com. Lego. Retrieved 28 March 2022.
  32. ^ "Weltmeister Christoph Kramer besucht seine alte Schule". Solinger Tageblatt (in German). 14 November 2016. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  33. ^ "Alles auf die Karte Fußball gesetzt". Solinger Tageblatt (in German). 18 December 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  34. ^ "Von Gräfrath nach Porto Alegre". RP Online. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2018.
  35. ^ "Christoph Kramer debütiert im TV – und wird gefeiert". Die Welt (in German). 17 June 2018.
  36. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  37. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  38. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  39. ^ a b "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  40. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  41. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  42. ^ "Christoph Kramer". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 24 August 2015.
  43. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  44. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 August 2017.
  45. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  46. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 6 May 2020.
  47. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 3 March 2021.
  48. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  49. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  50. ^ "Kramer, Christoph". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
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