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Sebastian Kehl

Sebastian Kehl
Sebastian Kehl.jpg
Kehl with Borussia Dortmund in 2007
Personal information
Full name Sebastian Walter Kehl
Date of birth (1980-02-13) 13 February 1980 (age 37)
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)
* 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.


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