Stefan Wessels

Infobox Football biography
playername = Stefan Wessels


fullname =
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1979|2|28
cityofbirth = Rahden
countryofbirth = Germany
height = height|m=1.90
nickname =
position = Goalkeeper
currentclub = VfL Osnabrück
clubnumber = 33
youthyears = 1985-1992
1992-1998
youthclubs = SV Eintracht Schepsdorf TuS Lingen
years = 1998-2002 1999-2003 2003-2007 2007-2008 2008-
clubs = Bayern Munich II Bayern Munich 1.FC Köln Everton VfL Osnabrück
caps(goals) = 06 (0) 93 (0) 02 (0) 05 (0)
nationalyears = 2000
2005
nationalteam = Germany U-21 Germany B
nationalcaps(goals) = 01 (0) 02 (0)
pcupdate = October 5, 2008
ntupdate = February 9, 2007

Stefan Wessels (born February 28 1979 in Rahden) is a German footballer and goalkeeper who plays for VfL Osnabrück.

Club career

Bayern Munich

Wessels was a youth team player at Bayern Munich, and broke into the first team squad in September 1999 after Bayern lost both goalkeepers Oliver Kahn and Bernd Dreher to injury. Wessels' first game was a 1-1 draw at Ibrox against Rangers in the Champions League. He performed impressively whenever called upon, but was unable to dislodge Kahn for more playing time. Wessels was somewhat involved in the most successful period in Bayern's recent history, including the 2001 Champions League win, but eventually left for Köln in 2003, seeking first-team football. Between 1999 and 2002, he appeared in a total of 10 Champions League matches for Bayern.

Köln

Wessels' time in Köln was eventful, with the club relegated in his first season, before immediately gaining promotion back to the 1st division and again being relegated to the 2. Bundesliga the following season. Showing consistently good performances, Wessels was one of the few players to stand out in the squad. However, at the beginning of the 2007/08 season, Colombian goalkeeper Faryd Aly Mondragón signed with the club, and after a fair but intense rivalry, Wessels lost his position as the club's number 1.

Everton

On August 6 2007, Wessels agreed to a trial with England Premier League team Everton and subsequently signed an initial one-year contract with the club on August 21st; he was given his favoured number 33 jersey. Upon signing he said:

"I am excited to be here in England. It is the first time I have played for a club outside of Germany but the English Premier League is a very exciting league and I am looking forward to my time here at Everton."

Stefan is the first German player to sign for Everton in the club's history. Following a hand-injury sustained to first choice goalkeeper Tim Howard, Wessels made his Everton debut in the 1-0 home defeat to Manchester United on September 15 2007. He made his European debut for Everton during a 1-1 draw with Ukrainian team FC Metalist Kharkiv and he also played against Aston Villa and Sheffield Wednesday, keeping Everton's first clean sheet of the season against the latter. However, he lost his place in the team to the returning Tim Howard for the following game against Middlesbrough, and was considered a distant second choice to the American International at present.

After the game on Sunday 11th May, Everton manager David Moyes revealed that Stefan and fellow team member Thomas Gravesen would leave the club after their contracts expired. David Moyes said "I would like to thank Stefan Wessels who, after today, will be leaving us. His level of professionalism has been a credit to him and he has been a great man to have around the club".

During his time at Everton, many fans referred to him as 'Shaggy' of Scooby Doo, due to his long hair and beard. A lot of the fans also compared him with the popular singer James Blunt because of his similarities to him. He was a popular figure at Everton, with the team and the fans.

Osnabrück

In June 2008, Wessels signed a two-year contract with VfL Osnabrück of the 2nd Bundesliga. [cite news
title = Wessels mit VfL einig
url = http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/2bundesliga/startseite/artikel/379989?view=print
publisher = Kicker
language = German
date = 20 June 2008] He started the 2008-09 season as their first-choice goalkeeper, making his competitive debut on August 8, 2008 in their 2-0 defeat at FSV Frankfurt in the first round of the DFB-Pokal and going on to make his league debut in a 2-2 draw at FC St. Pauli on August 15, 2008.

International career

At the international level, Wessels has featured for Germany at various levels, but is yet to break into the senior squad.

Honours

* DFB Liga-Pokal Winner: 1999, 2000
* Bundesliga Champion: 2000, 2001, 2003
* DFB Pokal Winner: 2000, 2003
* Champions League Winner: 2001
* Intercontinental Cup Winner: 2001
* 2. Bundesliga Champion: 2005
* UEFA Under-18 Championship: Runner-up 1997
* European Super Cup: Runner-up: 2001

References

External links

* [http://www.stefanwessels.com/english/aktuelle_news.php Official site personally maintained by Stefan]
* [http://www.fussballdaten.de/spieler/wesselsstefan/ Career stats at Fussballdaten.de]