Alexander Merkel
 |
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alexander Merkel | ||
| Date of birth | 22 February 1992 | ||
| Place of birth | Almaty, Kazakhstan | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Playing position | Midfielder | ||
| Club information | |||
|
Current team
|
VfL Bochum | ||
| Number | 15 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| –2003 | JSG Westerwald | ||
| 2003–2008 | VfB Stuttgart | ||
| 2008–2009 | Milan | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2010–2011 | Milan | 8 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | Genoa | 19 | (1) |
| 2012 | → Milan (loan) | 1 | (0) |
| 2013–2016 | Udinese | 6 | (0) |
| 2014 | → Watford (loan) | 11 | (1) |
| 2014–2015 | → Grasshopper (loan) | 6 | (0) |
| 2016 | Pisa | 0 | (0) |
| 2016– | VfL Bochum | 6 | (0) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2007 | Germany U15 | 2 | (0) |
| 2007–2008 | Germany U16 | 10 | (1) |
| 2008 | Germany U17 | 3 | (0) |
| 2009 | Germany U18 | 2 | (0) |
| 2010–2011 | Germany U19 | 2 | (1) |
| 2011 | Germany U20 | 1 | (0) |
| 2015– | Kazakhstan | 1 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 10:40, 20 December 2016 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 September 2015 |
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Alexander Merkel (Kazakh: Александр Меркель; born 22 February 1992) is a Kazakh professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for 2. Bundesliga club VfL Bochum.
Born in Kazakhstan to parents of German ancestry, Merkel moved to Germany in 1998, aged 6. There he started playing football with amateur team JSG Westerwald, before joining VfB Stuttgart at the age of 11.
In 2008, at age 16, Merkel transferred to Italian side Milan. During his time in the club's youth system, he was a member of the under-20 side who won the Coppa Italia Primavera in 2010, 25 years after the team's last success in the competition.
Merkel received his first call-ups for the senior team during the 2009–10 campaign, but he was never fielded nor named on the bench. At the beginning of the following season, he took part in some pre-season games, putting up good performances. Merkel eventually made his first-team official debut on 8 December 2010, coming off the bench in a UEFA Champions League group stage game against Ajax, He also came off the bench against Tottenham on the 75th Minute for Boateng on 6 January 2011, he also made his league debut, figuring in the starting line-up for a match against Cagliari. Merkel went on to score his first professional goal on 20 January, as Milan pulled off a 3–0 win over Bari in the Coppa Italia round of 16. In total, he made ten appearances, six of which were in the league, throughout the season.
At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Merkel joined Genoa in co-ownership with Milan, for €5 million, which, in turn, signed Stephan El Shaarawy in a same type of deal, for €10 million. Merkel made his official debut for the club in 4–3 win over Nocerina in third preliminary round of the Coppa Italia, on 20 August 2011. Merkel made his first assist of the season with a left-footed cross to Marco Rossi in the Juventus 2 – 2 Genoa match. On 17 January 2012 he returned to Milan on loan from Genoa. He made his official re-debut wearing Milan's red-black shirt on 18 January, winning 2–1 over Novara in the 16th round of the 2011–12 Coppa Italia. Genoa bought the remaining 50% of his rights for another €5 million on 23 May 2012 making him a full Genoa player, as well as El Shaarawy moved to Milan for another €10 million.
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