Matthias Ginter
Matthias Lukas Ginter (born 19 January 1994) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Germany national team. Club career. Early career. Ginter began his career with SV March before he moved to the youth squad of SC Freiburg for the 2005–06 season. With the A-youth squad, he won the Junior DFB-Pokal. In January 2012, Ginter trained with Freiburg's first team due, in part, to a loss of several players from the roster during the winter transfer window. On 21 January 2012, Ginter made his  professional debut when he was substituted in for Anton Putsila in the 70th minute against fellow relegation battlers FC Augsburg. In the 88th minute of the game, he scored the winning goal from a free-kick by Michael Lumb for his team in the 1–0 victory. The goal, which came two days after Ginter's 18th birthday, made him SCF's youngest Bundesliga goalscorer in the club's history. The record was previously held by Dennis Aogo. Two days later, on 23 January, Ginter signed a contract to join the first team of SC Freiburg. Borussia Dortmund. On 17 July  2014 Ginter signed for Borussia Dortmund on a five-year deal. He made his debut on 13 August, playing the full match as they won the DFL-Supercup 2–0 against Bayern Munich at the Westfalenstadion. Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 4 July 2017, Ginter signed with Dortmund rivals Mönchengladbach on a four-year deal. The move was worth around €17 million. International career. Youth. He represented the under-21 team at the 2015 European Championship in the Czech Republic, starting all four matches. In their second group match at the Eden Arena in Prague against Denmark, following two Kevin Volland goals, Ginter  rounded off the scoring by heading in Amin Younes' cross in the 53rd minute, leading to a 3–0 victory. Senior. On 5 March 2014, he earned his first cap for the senior national team of his country after coming on as a 90th-minute substitute for Mesut Özil in the 1–0 win over Chile in a friendly match at the Olympiastadion in Berlin. He became the 900th player to be capped by the German national team. In June, he was named as the youngest player in Germany's 23-man squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup which went on  to win the tournament, although he did not enter the field of play at any point. He was part of the squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics, where Germany won the silver medal. Along with fellow World Cup-winner Shkodran Mustafi and Julian Draxler, Ginter won the 2017 FIFA Confederations Cup. On 4 June 2018, Ginter was selected in Germany's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. He would not play, making him the only outfield player in German football history who participated in two World Cup campaigns without playing a single minute. Ginter scored his  first goal for Germany on 16 November 2019 in a match against Belarus. On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020. Personal life. In May 2018, Ginter married his wife Christina. His son was born on Ginter's own birthday, 19 January 2020. In October 2021, the home stadium of SV March, the team where Ginter started his career, renamed their stadium "Matthias-Ginter-Sportpark". Honours. Borussia Dortmund Germany Germany Olympic Individual