Benjamin Kirsten

Benjamin "Benny" Kirsten (born 2 June 1987 in Riesa, East Germany) is a German footballer.

Career

Early career

In 1989 at the age of two, Kirsten began to play football at Dynamo Dresden and in July 1990 left with his father Ulf Kirsten for Bayer 04 Leverkusen where he played the following 16 years with the side's youth team.

Professional career

In July 2006, Kirsten was promoted to Bayer 04's reserve squad in the Regionalliga. He played two games for the team who were coached by his father Ulf. In January 2008, Kirsten left Bayer 04 after 17 years and six months to join SV Waldhof Mannheim. On 16 June 2008, after only half a year with Waldhof he returned to Dynamo Dresden, where he made his debut – his first professional game – on 2 May 2009 against Fortuna Düsseldorf. Kirsten played the entire ninety minutes, conceding one goal.

In his first two years, Kirsten regularly featured for Dynamo Dresden II. He was part of the team that won the Sachsenliga and Sachsenpokal in 2009. Kirsten was involved in a controversy after the cup win, when he was seen to light a firework on the pitch. Dynamo had previously been punished for similar incidents from their fans, and Kirsten was suspended for three games and fined € 4,000 (about £ 3,500).