Nicolas Höfler
German footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Nicolas "Chicco" Höfler (born 9 March 1990)[2] is a German former professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Regionalliga Südwest club SC Freiburg II. For most of his career, he played for SC Freiburg.
 Höfler with Freiburg in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 9 March 1990[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Überlingen, West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Defensive midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | SC Freiburg II | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Herdwanger SV | |||
| 2001–2005 | SC Pfullendorf | ||
| 2005–2008 | SC Freiburg | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2008–2019 | SC Freiburg II | 79 | (8) |
| 2010–2026 | SC Freiburg | 325 | (11) |
| 2011–2012 | → Erzgebirge Aue II (loan) | 4 | (0) |
| 2011–2013 | → Erzgebirge Aue (loan) | 43 | (1) |
| 2026– | SC Freiburg II | 0 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 16 May 2026 | |||
Career
Born in Überlingen, Höfler joined SC Freiburg in 2005 and spent three years in the youth team and a further three in the reserves, before joining 2. Bundesliga side Erzgebirge Aue on a two-year loan in July 2011. He made his debut a month later, as a substitute for Guido Koçer in a 1–1 draw with Eintracht Braunschweig.
Höfler was part of Freiburg’s professional squad for 13 years. For many years, he was a regular starter in the defensive midfield position. His career at the club was seen as a positive example of the “Freiburg way”, which focuses on developing young players, integrating them into the first team, and continuously improving them there.[3]
On 13 May 2026, Freiburg announced that Höfler would be retiring from professional football at the end of the 2025–26 season.[4] On 20 May 2026, Höfler played his last professional match against Aston Villa at the 2025–26 Europa League final match. He will continue playing with the second team and set to serve as a senior squad member, passing on his experience to the younger players.[5]
Career statistics
- As of match played 20 May 2026
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Continental | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| SC Freiburg II | 2008–09 | Regionalliga Süd | 13 | 2 | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | |||
| 2009–10 | Regionalliga Süd | 32 | 5 | — | — | — | 32 | 5 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Regionalliga Süd | 29 | 0 | — | — | — | 29 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Regionalliga Südwest | 4 | 1 | — | — | — | 4 | 1 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Regionalliga Südwest | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 79 | 8 | — | — | — | 79 | 8 | |||||
| SC Freiburg | 2010–11 | Bundesliga | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | |
| 2013–14 | Bundesliga | 14 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 2 | |
| 2014–15 | Bundesliga | 20 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 22 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 33 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 2 | |||
| 2016–17 | Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 29 | 1 | |||
| 2017–18 | Bundesliga | 27 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2[a] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 | |
| 2018–19 | Bundesliga | 18 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 20 | 0 | |||
| 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 32 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2020–21 | Bundesliga | 31 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 33 | 1 | |||
| 2021–22 | Bundesliga | 30 | 2 | 5 | 1 | — | — | 35 | 3 | |||
| 2022–23 | Bundesliga | 32 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 7[a] | 1 | — | 44 | 2 | ||
| 2023–24 | Bundesliga | 28 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 10[a] | 0 | — | 39 | 1 | ||
| 2024–25 | Bundesliga | 19 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 21 | 0 | |||
| 2025–26 | Bundesliga | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6[a] | 0 | — | 19 | 0 | ||
| Total | 325 | 11 | 26 | 2 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 380 | 14 | ||
| Erzgebirge Aue II (loan) | 2011–12 | Oberliga Süd | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | 4 | 0 | |||
| Erzgebirge Aue (loan) | 2011–12 | 2. Bundesliga | 13 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1 | |
| 2012–13 | 2. Bundesliga | 27 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 29 | 0 | ||
| Total | 41 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 44 | 1 | |||
| SC Freiburg II | 2026–27 | Regionalliga Südwest | 0 | 0 | — | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Career total | 448 | 20 | 31 | 2 | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 507 | 23 | ||
- Appearances in UEFA Europa League
Honours
Freiburg
- Bundesliga U19: 2007–08
- DFB-Junior-Pokal: 2008–09
- 2. Bundesliga: 2015–16
- DFB-Pokal runner-up: 2021–22
- Europa League runner-up: 2025–26