# Sebastian Schonlau

Sebastian Schonlau (born 5 August 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender or defensive midfielder for and captains 2. Bundesliga club Hamburger SV.

## Early life

Scholau was born on 5 August 1994 in Warburg. He used to live Paderborn, and started studying economics in the city starting October 2014.

## Career
### SC Paderborn
#### 2012–14: Youth team

Schonlau received a professional contract from 2. Bundesliga club SC Paderborn 07 in December 2012 that would expire in June 2015, with an option for another year, despite his old club SC Warburg 08 wanting to let him go in that time for his stature and weight.
At the end of the 2012–13 season, Schonlau made bench appearances in matches against Dynamo Dresden and MSV Duisburg, though, was not subbed on in any of these matches.
In the following season, Schonlau made more bench appearances, though, was not brought on just like the previous season.

#### 2014–15: Loan to SC Verl

Before the 2014–15 season, Schonlau extended his contract to 30 June 2016, and was loaned to SC Verl for the 2014–15 season to gain more experience. He made his debut in a 1–2 win playing in defensive midfield against the second team of Borussia Mönchengladbach. During the season, Schonlau had several minor injuries, which lessed his opportunities in playing with the team.

#### 2015–2021: First team

Once Schonlau returned to Paderborn, he made his debut in the 84th minute in a 1–2 win against Fortuna Düsseldorf, coming on for Mahir Sağlık.

### Hamburger SV

On 17 May 2021, Schonlau signed a three-year contract to join fellow 2. Bundesliga team Hamburger SV on a free, and was the club's first transfer for the 2021–22 season. Around a month later in July, he was named captain (thus making previous captain Tim Leibold vice-captain), and first wore the captain's armband in a match against FC Basel.
In the 2023–24 season, Schonlau suffered a calf injury in a match against SV Elversberg and was subbed off on the 74th minute, subsequently limiting his opportunities for that season.

## Career statistics

    As of match played 17 August 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | DFB-Pokal | DFB-Pokal | Other | Other | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| SC Verl | 2014–15 | Regionalliga Nord | 25 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 25 | 0 |
| SC Paderborn | 2015–16 | 2. Bundesliga | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 8 | 0 |
| SC Paderborn | 2016–17 | 3. Liga | 30 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 31 | 1 |
| SC Paderborn | 2017–18 | 3. Liga | 35 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | 39 | 3 |
| SC Paderborn | 2018–19 | 2. Bundesliga | 29 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 32 | 1 |
| SC Paderborn | 2019–20 | Bundesliga | 23 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 24 | 2 |
| SC Paderborn | 2020–21 | 2. Bundesliga | 32 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 35 | 1 |
| Hamburger SV | 2021–22 | 2. Bundesliga | 33 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 40 | 4 |
| Hamburger SV | 2022–23 | 2. Bundesliga | 30 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 33 | 1 |
| Hamburger SV | 2023–24 | 2. Bundesliga | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 17 | 1 |
| Hamburger SV | 2024–25 | 2. Bundesliga | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 4 | 0 |
* 1 2 Appearances in 2. Bundesliga promotion play-offs