Kehl with Borussia Dortmund in 2007
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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Sebastian Walter Kehl | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 13 February 1980 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Place of birth | Fulda, West Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing position | Defensive midfielder | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Youth career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1985–1994 | SV Lahrbach | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1994–1996 | Borussia Fulda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1996–1998 | Hannover 96 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998–2000 | Hannover 96 | 32 | (2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2000–2001 | SC Freiburg | 40 | (4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2002–2015 | Borussia Dortmund | 274 | (20) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2004–2011 | Borussia Dortmund II | 7 | (1) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Total | 353 | (27) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
National team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1996–1999 | Germany U18 | 19 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1998 | Germany U19 | 1 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
1999–2001 | Germany U21 | 11 | (0) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2001–2006 | Germany | 31 | (3) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Honours
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* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
Sebastian Walter Kehl (German pronunciation: [zeˈbasti̯an ˈkeːl]; born 13 February 1980) is a retired German footballer who played as a defensive midfielder.
He amassed Bundesliga totals of 314 games and 24 goals over the course of 15 seasons, representing in the competition Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund. He won six major titles with the latter club, including three national championships.
A German international for five years, Kehl appeared for the nation in two World Cups – finishing second in the 2002 edition – and Euro 2004.
Born in Fulda, Hesse, Kehl joined Hannover 96's youth system in 1996 at the age of 15, going on to appear in two 2. Bundesliga seasons with the first team. In the 2000 summer he signed for SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, making his debut in the competition on 12 August by playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 home win against VfB Stuttgart, and scoring his first goal on 12 December of that year to help to a 2–1 away success over VfL Wolfsburg.
Under legendary manager Volker Finke, Kehl featured mostly as a sweeper, helping the Black Forest club qualify to the UEFA Cup in his first season but suffering relegation in his second. He was no longer part of the squad, however, as he had left in the 2002 January transfer window to Borussia Dortmund, who went on to win the championship with 15 games and one goal from the player; previously, in the 2001 summer, he controversially agreed basic terms with FC Bayern Munich, and even accepted an advanced payment of 1.5 million Deutsche Mark, which was returned in November as Bayern threatened to take legal action.