Simon Rolfes
Encyclopedia
Simon Rolfes is a German
footballer who currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen.
after progressing through their academy. He made exactly 100 league appearances for the club and managed to notch 18 goals from his defensive midfield position. He spent a season on loan at SSV Reutlingen
from 2002 to 2003, making 13 appearances. Despite his good form, SV Werder Bremen
manager Thomas Schaaf
did not feature him as a regular, so in 2004 he moved to Alemannia Aachen
and played 28 times in his one season there.
Year 2005 came out to be a crucial year for Rolfes, with Bayer Leverkusen signing him and since then he has become a fan favorite, quickly winning a regular spot and not much after, captaincy in the full squad. He became somewhat of a cult hero for Leverkusen with his strong mental attributes – high working rate, teamwork, sportsmanship, and influence on the pitch. Rolfes suffered a serious knee injury on 2 July 2009, missing the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. After he recovered from the injury, he played his first 2010–11 season match against VfL Wolfsburg, where he substituted Patrick Helmes
in the 63rd minute, with Leverkusen down by 2–0. He scored the first goal three minutes after he was subbed in, won a penalty for Leverkusen that was successfully taken by Arturo Vidal
, and to make things even better – he scored the last goal in the match, to give his team a 3–2 win. He was elected the player of the match. On 28 January 2011, he made another impressive performance for the "Werkself", this time against Hannover 96, getting on the scoresheet in the process. His impressive form continued with further putting impressive performances and scoring goals against FSV Frankfurt
on 12 February in a 3-0 win, and against SV Werder Bremen
in a 2-2 draw on 27 February.
in a friendly against Denmark
on 28 March 2007 in Duisburg
.
He was part of the German team
that finished as runners-up at Euro 2008. Rolfes started in the quarter-finals against Portugal
in Basel
, which Germany won 3–2, and started the semi-finals against Turkey
, also in Basel
, which they also won 3–2. Rolfes scored his first goal on 6 September 2008 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier
, a 6–0 win against Liechtenstein
. Rolfes was set to be called up to Germany
squad for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but he got injured and missed the competition and more than ten first games of the 2010–11 season for "Werkself".
|-
|2000–01||rowspan="3"|Werder Bremen II
||rowspan="3"|Regionalliga Nord||26||5||1||0||-||-||27||5
|-
|2001–02
||31||7||2||1||-||-||33||8
|-
|2002–03||17||2||1||0||-||-||18||2
|-
|2002–03||SSV Reutlingen||2. Bundesliga
||13||0||0||0||-||-||13||0
|-
|2003–04
||Werder Bremen II
||Regionalliga Nord||26||4||0||0||-||-||26||4
|-
|2004–05||Alemannia Aachen
||2. Bundesliga
||28||3||2||0||7||0||37||3
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="7"|Bayer Leverkusen||rowspan="7"|Bundesliga
||32||7||2||0||2||0||36||7
|-
|2006–07||34||3||2||2||12||0||48||5
|-
|2007–08||34||8||1||0||12||1||47||9
|-
|2008–09||33||3||6||1||-||-||39||4
|-
|2009–10
||11||4||2||0||-||-||13||4
|-
|2010–11
||28||5||1||0||3||0||32||5
|-
|2011–12
||11||1||1||0||4||0||16||1
324||52||21||4||40||1||385||57
|| 1. || 6 September 2008 || Rheinpark Stadion
, Vaduz
, Liechtenstein || || 0–3 || 0–6 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
|-
|| 2. || 11 November 2011 || Olimpiysky National Sports Complex
, Kiev
, Ukraine || || 3–2 || 3–3 || Friendly
|}
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
footballer who currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen.
Club career
Rolfes started his career at Werder BremenSV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
after progressing through their academy. He made exactly 100 league appearances for the club and managed to notch 18 goals from his defensive midfield position. He spent a season on loan at SSV Reutlingen
SSV Reutlingen
SSV Reutlingen 05 is a German association football club from Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg.- History :The club was founded as FC Arminia Reutlingen and was re-named SV Reutlingen 1905 in 1910. The club fused with 1...
from 2002 to 2003, making 13 appearances. Despite his good form, SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
manager Thomas Schaaf
Thomas Schaaf
Thomas Schaaf is a former German football defender and current manager of Werder Bremen. A true one-club man, he spent his entire playing career, and so far coaching career, with Werder Bremen...
did not feature him as a regular, so in 2004 he moved to Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three-year turn in the top flight in the late 1960s and, after a successful 2005–06 campaign, returned to first division play...
and played 28 times in his one season there.
Year 2005 came out to be a crucial year for Rolfes, with Bayer Leverkusen signing him and since then he has become a fan favorite, quickly winning a regular spot and not much after, captaincy in the full squad. He became somewhat of a cult hero for Leverkusen with his strong mental attributes – high working rate, teamwork, sportsmanship, and influence on the pitch. Rolfes suffered a serious knee injury on 2 July 2009, missing the FIFA 2010 World Cup in South Africa. After he recovered from the injury, he played his first 2010–11 season match against VfL Wolfsburg, where he substituted Patrick Helmes
Patrick Helmes
Patrick Helmes is a German football striker who plays for VfL Wolfsburg. Until September 2007 he was captain of 1. FC Köln.-Early career:...
in the 63rd minute, with Leverkusen down by 2–0. He scored the first goal three minutes after he was subbed in, won a penalty for Leverkusen that was successfully taken by Arturo Vidal
Arturo Vidal
Arturo Erasmo Vidal Pardo is a Chilean footballer who plays as defensive midfielder for Juventus and Chile. Although usually deployed as a defensive midfielder, Vidal is a versatile box-to-box midfielder capable of playing in a more attacking role as well.- Early life :Vidal was born in San...
, and to make things even better – he scored the last goal in the match, to give his team a 3–2 win. He was elected the player of the match. On 28 January 2011, he made another impressive performance for the "Werkself", this time against Hannover 96, getting on the scoresheet in the process. His impressive form continued with further putting impressive performances and scoring goals against FSV Frankfurt
FSV Frankfurt
FSV Frankfurt is a German association football club based in the Bornheim district of Frankfurt am Main, Hesse and founded in 1899. The club plays in the shadow of larger and much more successful Eintracht Frankfurt, which has recently returned to 2nd tier football...
on 12 February in a 3-0 win, and against SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen
SV Werder Bremen is a German sports club best known for its association football team playing in Bremen, in the northwest German federal state of the same name. The club was founded on 4 February 1899 as Fußballverein Werder by a group of sixteen vocational high school students who had won a prize...
in a 2-2 draw on 27 February.
International career
Rolfes made his international debut for GermanyGermany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
in a friendly against Denmark
Denmark national football team
The Denmark national football team represents Denmark in association football and is controlled by the Danish Football Association , the governing body for the football clubs which are organized under DBU...
on 28 March 2007 in Duisburg
Duisburg
- History :A legend recorded by Johannes Aventinus holds that Duisburg, was built by the eponymous Tuisto, mythical progenitor of Germans, ca. 2395 BC...
.
He was part of the German team
Germany national football team
The Germany national football team is the football team that has represented Germany in international competition since 1908. It is governed by the German Football Association , which was founded in 1900....
that finished as runners-up at Euro 2008. Rolfes started in the quarter-finals against Portugal
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team represents Portugal in association football and is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation, the governing body for football in Portugal. Portugal's home ground is Estádio Nacional in Oeiras, and their head coach is Paulo Bento...
in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, which Germany won 3–2, and started the semi-finals against Turkey
Turkey national football team
The Turkey national football team represents Turkey in association football and is controlled by the Turkish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Turkey. They are affiliated with UEFA...
, also in Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, which they also won 3–2. Rolfes scored his first goal on 6 September 2008 in a 2010 World Cup qualifier
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
The qualification competition for the 2010 FIFA World Cup was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC , CAF , CONCACAF , CONMEBOL , OFC , and UEFA — was allocated a certain number of the 32 places at the tournament...
, a 6–0 win against Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...
. Rolfes was set to be called up to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
squad for the FIFA 2010 World Cup, but he got injured and missed the competition and more than ten first games of the 2010–11 season for "Werkself".
Club performance
|-
|2000–01||rowspan="3"|Werder Bremen II
SV Werder Bremen II
SV Werder Bremen II is the reserve team of Werder Bremen. It currently plays in the 3. Liga and has been a regular fixture at 3rd level football in Germany...
||rowspan="3"|Regionalliga Nord||26||5||1||0||-||-||27||5
|-
|2001–02
2001–02 Fußball-Regionalliga
The Fußball-Regionalliga 2001–02 was contested in two divisions as in the previous season. Each division contained 18 teams that played each other twice. Three points were awarded for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss.- Regionalliga Nord :...
||31||7||2||1||-||-||33||8
|-
|2002–03||17||2||1||0||-||-||18||2
|-
|2002–03||SSV Reutlingen||2. Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
||13||0||0||0||-||-||13||0
|-
|2003–04
2003–04 Fußball-Regionalliga
The 2003–04 Regionalliga season was the tenth since its re-establishment after German reunification and the tenth as a third-level league within the German football league system. It was contested in two geographical divisions with eighteen teams each...
||Werder Bremen II
SV Werder Bremen II
SV Werder Bremen II is the reserve team of Werder Bremen. It currently plays in the 3. Liga and has been a regular fixture at 3rd level football in Germany...
||Regionalliga Nord||26||4||0||0||-||-||26||4
|-
|2004–05||Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen
Alemannia Aachen is a German football club from the western city of Aachen, North Rhine-Westphalia. A long term fixture of the country's second division, Alemannia enjoyed a three-year turn in the top flight in the late 1960s and, after a successful 2005–06 campaign, returned to first division play...
||2. Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...
||28||3||2||0||7||0||37||3
|-
|2005–06||rowspan="7"|Bayer Leverkusen||rowspan="7"|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
||32||7||2||0||2||0||36||7
|-
|2006–07||34||3||2||2||12||0||48||5
|-
|2007–08||34||8||1||0||12||1||47||9
|-
|2008–09||33||3||6||1||-||-||39||4
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 47th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The last games were played on 8 May 2010...
||11||4||2||0||-||-||13||4
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season started on the weekend of 21 August 2010 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions and ended with the last games on 14 May 2011. The winter...
||28||5||1||0||3||0||32||5
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2011–12 Fußball-Bundesliga is the 49th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season started on 5 August 2011 with the season opening match involving defending champions Borussia Dortmund and will end with the last games on 5 May 2012...
||11||1||1||0||4||0||16||1
324||52||21||4||40||1||385||57
International goals
|-|| 1. || 6 September 2008 || Rheinpark Stadion
Rheinpark Stadion
The Rheinpark Stadion in Vaduz is the national stadium of Liechtenstein. It plays host to the home matches of the Liechtenstein national football team, and is also the home of Liechtenstein's top football club, FC Vaduz....
, Vaduz
Vaduz
Vaduz is the capital of the principality of Liechtenstein and the seat of the national parliament. The town, located along the Rhine, has about 5,100 inhabitants , most of whom are Roman Catholic. Its cathedral is the seat of a Roman Catholic archbishop....
, Liechtenstein || || 0–3 || 0–6 || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
The European zone of qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup saw 53 teams competing for 13 places at the finals. The qualification process started on 20 August 2008, after UEFA Euro 2008, and ended on 18 November 2009. The qualification process saw the first competitive matches of...
|-
|| 2. || 11 November 2011 || Olimpiysky National Sports Complex
Olimpiysky National Sports Complex
The Olympic National Sports Complex is a multi-use sports facility in Kiev, Ukraine, located on the slopes of city's central Cherepanov Hill, Pechersk Raion. The stadium is the premier sports venue of Ukraine and one of the world's largest...
, Kiev
Kiev
Kiev or Kyiv is the capital and the largest city of Ukraine, located in the north central part of the country on the Dnieper River. The population as of the 2001 census was 2,611,300. However, higher numbers have been cited in the press....
, Ukraine || || 3–2 || 3–3 || Friendly
Exhibition game
An exhibition game is a sporting event in which there is no competitive value of any significant kind to any competitor regardless of the outcome of the competition...
|}
External links
- http://soccernet.espn.go.com/players/stats?id=18687&cc=5901Profile at ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
's Soccernet] - Leverkusen who's who