Alexander Esswein
German footballer (born 1990)
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Alexander Esswein (born 25 March 1990; German pronunciation: [alɛkˈsandɐ ˈʔɛsvaɪ̯n]) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Oberliga Baden-Württemberg club VfR Mannheim.
|
Esswein with 1. FC Nürnberg in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 25 March 1990 | ||
| Place of birth | Worms, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | |||
| Team information | |||
Current team | VfR Mannheim | ||
| Number | 11 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1996–1998 | TSV Neuleiningen | ||
| 1998–1999 | VfR Frankenthal | ||
| 1999–2002 | Waldhof Mannheim | ||
| 2002–2008 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2007–2008 | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 1 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | VfL Wolfsburg | 8 | (0) |
| 2008–2010 | VfL Wolfsburg II | 41 | (4) |
| 2010–2011 | Dynamo Dresden | 31 | (17) |
| 2011–2014 | 1. FC Nürnberg | 58 | (6) |
| 2011–2014 | 1. FC Nürnberg II | 1 | (0) |
| 2014–2016 | FC Augsburg | 61 | (4) |
| 2016–2020 | Hertha BSC | 52 | (4) |
| 2018–2019 | Hertha BSC II | 8 | (2) |
| 2019 | → VfB Stuttgart (loan) | 17 | (0) |
| 2020–2023 | SV Sandhausen | 80 | (8) |
| 2023–2024 | MSV Duisburg | 31 | (5) |
| 2024– | VfR Mannheim | 46 | (12) |
| International career | |||
| 2006–2007 | Germany U17 | 12 | (3) |
| 2007–2009 | Germany U18 | 7 | (3) |
| 2008–2009 | Germany U19 | 7 | (2) |
| 2009–2011 | Germany U20 | 3 | (3) |
| 2011–2013 | Germany U21 | 13 | (5) |
Medal record | |||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14:18, 29 December 2025 (UTC) | |||
Club career
Esswein made his debut in the 2007–08 season. He appeared in a league match during the season.[1] He came on in the 63rd minute in a 2–1 loss to 1. FC Köln on 17 December 2007.[2]
He then transferred to VfL Wolfsburg and split time between the first and second teams. He made four league appearances during the 2008–09 season[3] and four league appearances and a German Cup appearance in the 2009–10 season.[4] He substantially made more appearances for the reserve team. During the 2008–09 season, he made 21 appearances,[3] and during the 2009–10 season, he scored four goals in 20 appearances.[4] Esswein moved to Dynamo Dresden for the 2010–11 season.[5] During the season, he scored 17 goals in 31 league appearances.[6] This includes two goals against Bayern's reserve team, in a 3–1 win on 11 November 2010;[7] Wehen Wiesbaden, in a 3–0 win, on 5 March 2011;[8] and against SpVgg Unterhaching, in a 4–0 win, on 23 April 2011.[9] He also made two appearances in the promotion playoff.[6] This proved to be Esswein's only season at the club.
He transferred to 1. FC Nürnberg for the 2011–12 season.[10] During the 2011–12 season, he scored four goals in 26 league appearances and a goal in three German Cup appearances.[11] His four league goals came against FC Augsburg, in a 1–0 win, on 27 August 2011;[12] Hertha BSC, in a 2–0 win, on 21 January 2012;[13] Köln, in a 2–1 win, on 18 February 2012;[14] and Werder Bremen, in a 1–0 win, on 25 February 2012.[15] His German Cup goal came in the second round[11] against Erzgebirge Aue in a 2–1 win on 26 October 2011.[16] His goal scoring rate would drop in the subsequent seasons with Nürnberg. He dropped down to three goals in 28 appearances in the 2012–13 season[17] and no goals in five appearances during the 2013–14 season.[18] He also made an appearance in the Regionalliga Bayern for the reserve team during the 2013–14 season.[18]
He moved to Augsburg during the January transfer window[19] and made 13 appearances for Augsburg during the 2013–14 season.[18] He scored a goal in 19 appearances during the 2014–15 season.[20] The goal came against Köln on 6 December 2014 in a 2–1 win.[21] Esswein played in the opening match of the 2015–16 season, in a German Cup match against SV Elversberg, a 3–1 extra time win.[22] He then opened his Bundesliga campaign by playing in the first three matchdays,[23] including the 1–0 loss to Hertha BSC in the league opener on 15 August 2015.[24]
Later years
On 26 August 2016, Esswein signed for Hertha BSC on a four-year deal.[25] On 24 September, he scored his first goal for Hertha in a 3–3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.[26]
In January 2019 VfB Stuttgart signed Esswein on loan with a contract option for a permanent deal.[27]
On 9 October 2020, Esswein joined SV Sandhausen on a free transfer.[28]
On 15 August 2023, Esswein signed a two-year contract with MSV Duisburg.[29] After the 2023–24 season, he moved to VfR Mannheim.[30]
International career
Esswein played for the German U-21 national team.[31] Previously he had already played for the U-17, U-18, U-18, U-19 and U-20 national team. He was part of the German U-17 team that finished in third place in the 2007 U-17 World Cup in South Korea. In this tournament, Esswein scored two goals against Trinidad and Tobago in the group-stage and scored the winning goal in the third place playoff against Ghana two minutes into stoppage time.
Career statistics
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 2007–08 | 2. Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||
| VfL Wolfsburg | 2008–09 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | |
| 2009–10 | Bundesliga | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 5 | 0 | ||
| Total | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 9 | 0 | |||
| VfL Wolfsburg II | 2008–09 | Regionalliga Nord | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2009–10 | Regionalliga Nord | 20 | 4 | — | — | — | 20 | 4 | ||||
| Total | 41 | 4 | — | — | — | 41 | 4 | |||||
| Dynamo Dresden | 2010–11 | 3. Liga | 31 | 17 | — | — | 2[a] | 0 | 33 | 17 | ||
| 1. FC Nürnberg | 2011–12 | Bundesliga | 26 | 4 | 3 | 1 | — | — | 29 | 5 | ||
| 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 27 | 2 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 28 | 3 | |||
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||
| Total | 58 | 6 | 4 | 2 | — | — | 62 | 8 | ||||
| 1. FC Nürnberg II | 2013–14 | Regionalliga Bayern | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| FC Augsburg | 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 13 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 19 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 19 | 1 | |||
| 2015–16 | Bundesliga | 29 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6[b] | 0 | — | 38 | 4 | ||
| Total | 61 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 6 | 0 | — | 70 | 5 | |||
| Hertha BSC | 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 29 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 30 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 16 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 5[b] | 0 | — | 22 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — | — | 8 | 1 | |||
| Total | 52 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | — | 60 | 5 | |||
| Hertha BSC II | 2018–19 | Regionalliga Nordost | 6 | 2 | — | — | — | 6 | 2 | |||
| 2019–20 | Regionalliga Nordost | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | 8 | 2 | |||||
| VfB Stuttgart (loan) | 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1[c] | 0 | 18 | 0 | |
| SV Sandhausen | 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 26 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 2 | ||
| 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 25 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 26 | 2 | |||
| 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 29 | 4 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 4 | |||
| Total | 80 | 8 | 5 | 0 | — | — | 85 | 8 | ||||
| MSV Duisburg | 2023–24 | 3. Liga | 31 | 5 | — | — | — | 31 | 5 | |||
| VfR Mannheim | 2024–25 | Oberliga BW | 27 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 6 | ||
| 2025–26 | Oberliga BW | 19 | 6 | 0 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | 23 | 6 | ||
| Total | 46 | 12 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 0 | 50 | 12 | |||
| Career total | 429 | 61 | 16 | 4 | 11 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 442 | 59 | ||
Honours
VfL Wolfsburg
