Benedikt HÃ¶wedes

Benedikt Höwedes in September 2012

Benedict " Benny " Höwedes (born 29 February 1988 Haltern ) is a German footballer who is 04 has a contract with FC Schalke. The defensive player primarily plays in central defense, but can also be used on both full-back positions.

6.1 club
6.2 national team

Origin and education

Benedikt Höwedes was raised with two siblings. His father worked as a youth coach and later as assistant coach of the national league team of TuS Haltern. Parallel to his professional career, he graduated from a high school in 2008.

Club career

Höwedes started playing football in youth his home club TuS Haltern, in which Christoph Metzelder and Sergio Pinto played. From 1994 to 2000, so just under six years, he was a player of the club. In 2001 he went to SG Herten - Langenbochum. About this station he came in 2001 to FC Schalke 04

FC Schalke 04

Here in 2005 he was the captain of the U-19 team, with whom he was German in 2006 under coach Norbert Elgert A Youth Champion. In January 2007, he signed a license contract player until 2010 and was part of the 2007/08 season to Erstligakader. By October 2007, however, he was only used in the top league team the " squire ".

His first try as a professional he had without having previously played on 3 October 2007 in the Champions League, in the Bundesliga. Against Rosenborg Trondheim he was moved into the starting lineup due to an injury Schalke by Christian Pander. Three days later he was against Karlsruher SC made his Bundesliga debut, he scored his first goal on Matchday 8 of the 2008/09 season to a 1-1 draw in an away game at Hamburg SV. In December 2008, the FC Schalke 04 and Höwedes extended their contract until 2014. Since the second half of the season 2008/ 09 he is a regular player, usually it is used in central defense. Due to injuries to other players but he will also set up every now and then on the outer defense positions. With Schalke 04 he achieved in the 2010/11 season after victories against Valencia and defending champion Inter Milan the semifinals of the Champions League - he scored in the quarter -final second leg match against Inter Milan the 2-1 victory - and also won the DFB-Pokal. The following season he played in 22 games in which he scored a goal.

Since the beginning of the 2011/12 season Höwedes is team captain of FC Schalke 04 In March 2013 he extended his original 2014 expiring contract until 30 June 2017.

National

For Germany, he played in the U-18 and U-19 national teams. He was at the U- 19 Football Championship in 2007 with the German squad and came in all games used. On 5 September 2007 he made his first game in the U- 20th

In September 2007 he was awarded as the best player of the season 2006/ 07 of his year, the Fritz Walter Gold Medal of the DFB.

Höwedes played from 2007 to 2010 for the U -21 national team. With this, he qualified for the play-offs for the U -21 Football Championship in 2009. Here, the German team met on France's U- 21st After the first leg had 1:1 finished, Höwedes scored in stoppage time of the second leg 1-0 victory hits and thus solved the ticket for the U- 21 Championship 2009 in Sweden, where the team under national coach Horst Hrubesch with regulars Höwedes European Champion been. At the tournament Höwedes scored 2-0 against Finland for the first Turniertor the German team.

After rejections by Sven Bender and Bastian Schweinsteiger Germany coach Joachim Löw called him for the Internationals in May and June 2011 against Uruguay, Austria and Azerbaijan for the first time in the senior team. For his first he came on May 29 against Uruguay, when he came on in the 66th minute for Philipp Lahm. Since then he has regularly on the national team, as well as at the European Championships in 2012, in which, however, he came to no use. On August 15, 2012 Höwedes scored in the 1-3 defeat in a friendly against Argentina in Frankfurt with a diving header his first international goal, and was after the substitution of Sami Khedira at age 24 the oldest outfield player.

Play

Höwedes is used everywhere on the defensive. Its common position is that of the central defender, but he can also play as a right-back, where it is used mainly under Löw. At the beginning of his professional career, he played mostly as a left-back, as the left -budgetary full-back Christian Pander and Levan Kobiaschwili failed injured frequently. In the early phase of his career he also played as a defensive midfielder. Höwedes strengths are in the battle, in their heading ability and his no-frills style of play. Thanks to its enormous bounce scored or prepared it already many goals with the head or defeated opponent's chances. He is considered the defender of modern coinage, because he also understand it, to open the game with the first pass. Höwedes stands out with a solid ground speed and a high understanding of the game and shines with spectacular diving header after the ball.

Social Commitment

Benedikt Höwedes involved as a member of the far-sighted initiative for a worldwide equitable access to educational institutions.

Since February 2013, Höwedes recognized as " Ambassador of the German Cancer Aid " in the nationwide Duration Action " With all his strength against smoking ." one. The fight against the widespread disease of cancer is also supported by FC Schalke 04, as well as twelve other clubs in the Bundesliga and the second and third league. "With our anti-smoking campaign we want to encourage many people to quit smoking and others encourage to begin to not get into it, " Höwedes explained in the adoption of voluntary work. In this capacity, the national football team appeared as Anchorman in a movie -Spot Cancer Help against smoking on which the Health Media Award 2013 received.