Christoph Metzelder
Personal information
Full name	Christoph Metzelder
Date of birth	November 5, 1980 (1980-11-05) (age 27)
Place of birth	Haltern, West Germany
Height	1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position	Centre Back, Right Back
Club information
Current club	Real Madrid
Number	21
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999–2000 2000–2007 2007–	Preußen Münster Borussia Dortmund Real Madrid	032 0(4) 126 0(2) 009 0(0)
National team2
2001–	Germany	042 0(0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of May 17, 2008. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of June 8, 2007. * Appearances (Goals)

Christoph Metzelder (born November 5, 1980 in Haltern, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany) is a football defender for Real Madrid. Metzelder is also a part of the German national team, with whom he has amassed a total of 41 caps.

In the summer of 2000, Metzelder signed for Borussia, and he was an instant success. He not only won the German championships with BVB in 2002 as a regular first team player, he also reached the 2002 World Cup final with Germany. In the tournament, he was also voted the “Best player under the age of 23”.

Metzelder is considered as one of the best central defenders in the world. With a height of 1.93 metres, he is strong in the air. He can also play on the right side of defence. His tackling skills, both in the air and on the ground, make Metzelder a reliable defensive player. Sir Alex Ferguson was once quoted saying that he was the best central defender and Manchester United's first choice replacement for Gary Neville.

On April 18, 2007 it was announced that Metzelder was to sign for Real Madrid at the end of the 2006–2007 season.^[1]

Christoph's younger Brother Malte was also a professional player for Dortmund.

In February, 2008, Metzelder had to have surgery on the sole of his foot, resulting in him missing nearly two months of action. He missed Madrid's Champions League last-16 tie against Roma. His lack of playing time also may take him out of Germany's starting eleven for Euro 2008.^[2] On May 11, Metzelder returned from injury and played the full 90 minutes against Real Zaragoza.

Honours

• German League: 2002
• Spanish League: 2008
• UEFA Cup Runner: Up 2002
• Confederations Cup Bronze medallist: 2005
• 2002 FIFA World Cup: Runner Up
• 2006 FIFA World Cup: 3rd Place
• Bravo Award- Best young football (soccer) player in Europe: 2002

Club career stats

References