{{short description|German former professional footballer (born 1979)}} {{About|the football player|the basketball player|Stefan Wessels (basketball)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}} {{Infobox football biography | name = Stefan Wessels | image = WesselsSt.jpg | caption = Wessels with [[1. FC Köln]] in 2006 | fullname = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1979|2|28|df=y}} | birth_place = [[Rahden]], [[West Germany]] | height = 1.90 m | position = [[Goalkeeper (association football)|Goalkeeper]] | currentclub = | clubnumber = | youthyears1 = 1985–1992 | youthclubs1 = SV Eintracht Schepsdorf | youthyears2 = 1992–1998 | youthclubs2 = TuS Lingen | years1 = 1998–2002 | clubs1 = [[Bayern Munich II|Bayern Munich (A)]] | caps1 = 63 | goals1 = 0 | years2 = 1999–2003 | clubs2 = [[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]] | caps2 = 6 | goals2 = 0 | years3 = 2003–2007 | clubs3 = [[1. FC Köln]] | caps3 = 93 | goals3 = 0 | years4 = 2007–2008 | clubs4 = [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] | caps4 = 2 | goals4 = 0 | years5 = 2008–2009 | clubs5 = [[VfL Osnabrück]] | caps5 = 21 | goals5 = 0 | years6 = 2009–2010 | clubs6 = [[FC Basel]] | caps6 = 1 | goals6 = 0 | years7 = 2011–2012 | clubs7 = [[Odense Boldklub]] | caps7 = 35 | goals7 = 0 | totalcaps = 221 | totalgoals = 0 | nationalyears1 = 2000 | nationalteam1 = [[Germany national under-21 football team|Germany U21]] | nationalcaps1 = 1 | nationalgoals1 = 0 | nationalyears2 = 2005 | nationalteam2 = [[Germany B national football team|Germany B]] | nationalcaps2 = 2 | nationalgoals2 = 0 | medaltemplates = {{medalTeam|[[Bayern Munich]]}} {{medalW|[[DFB Liga-Pokal]]|[[1999 DFB Liga-Pokal|1999]]}} {{medalW|[[Bundesliga]]|[[1999–2000 Bundesliga|2000]]}} {{medalW|[[DFB-Pokal]]|[[1999–2000 DFB-Pokal|2000]]}} {{medalW|[[DFB Liga-Pokal]]|[[2000 DFB Liga-Pokal|2000]]}} {{medalW|[[Bundesliga]]|[[2000–01 Bundesliga|2001]]}} {{medalW|[[UEFA Champions League]]|[[2000–01 UEFA Champions League|2001]]}} {{medalRU|[[UEFA Super Cup]]|[[2001 UEFA Super Cup|2001]]}} {{medalW|[[Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004)|Intercontinental Cup]]|[[2001 Intercontinental Cup|2001]]}} {{medalW|[[Bundesliga]]|[[2002–03 Bundesliga|2003]]}} {{medalW|[[DFB-Pokal]]|[[2002–03 DFB-Pokal|2003]]}} {{medalTeam|[[FC Basel]]}} {{medalW|[[Swiss Super League]]|[[2009–10 Swiss Super League|2010]]}} {{medalW|[[Schweizer Cup|Swiss Cup]]|[[2009–10 DFB-Pokal|2010]]}} {{medalTeam|{{fb|Germany}}}} {{medalRU|[[UEFA European Under-19 Championship|UEFA Under-18 Championship]]|[[1998 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship|1998]]}} }} '''Stefan Wessels''' (born 28 February 1979) is a German former professional [[Association football|footballer]] who played as a [[Goalkeeper (association football)|goalkeeper]].
==Club career==
===Bayern Munich=== Wessels was a [[Bayern Munich Junior Team|youth team]] player at [[Bayern Munich]], who progressed through the [[Bayern Munich II|reserve team]] and broke into the first-team squad in September 1999 after Bayern lost both goalkeepers [[Oliver Kahn]] and [[Bernd Dreher]] to injury. Wessels' first game was a 1–1 draw at [[Ibrox Stadium|Ibrox]] against [[Rangers F.C.|Rangers]] in the [[UEFA Champions League|Champions League]]. He performed impressively whenever called upon, but was unable to dislodge Kahn for more playing time. Wessels was involved in a hugely successful period for Bayern, including the [[2000–01 UEFA Champions League|2001 Champions League]] win, but eventually left for [[1. FC Köln]] in 2003, seeking first-team football. Between 1999 and 2003, he appeared in a total of eighteen matches for Bayern.
===1. FC Köln=== Wessels' time in Köln was eventful, with the club relegated in his first season, before immediately gaining promotion back to the 1st division and again being relegated to the [[2. Bundesliga]] the following season. Showing consistently good performances, Wessels was one of the few players to stand out in the squad. However, at the beginning of the 2007–08 season, Colombian goalkeeper [[Faryd Mondragón]] signed with the club, and after a fair but intense rivalry, Wessels lost his position as the club's number 1.
===Everton=== On 6 August 2007, Wessels agreed to a trial in England with [[Premier League]] team [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] and subsequently signed an initial one-year contract with the club on 21 August; he was given his favoured number 33 shirt. Upon signing he said:
''"I am excited to be here in England. It is the first time I have played for a club outside of Germany but the Premier League is a very exciting league and I am looking forward to my time here at Everton."''
Wessels was the first German player to sign for Everton in the club's history. Following a hand-injury sustained to first choice goalkeeper [[Tim Howard]], Wessels made his [[Everton F.C.|Everton]] debut in the 1–0 home defeat to [[Manchester United F.C.|Manchester United]] on 15 September 2007. He made his European debut for Everton during a 1–1 draw with Ukrainian team [[FC Metalist Kharkiv|Metalist Kharkiv]] and he also played against [[Aston Villa F.C.|Aston Villa]] and [[Sheffield Wednesday]], keeping Everton's first clean sheet of the season against the latter. However, he lost his place in the team to the returning Tim Howard for the following game against [[Middlesbrough F.C.|Middlesbrough]].
After the game on 11 May, Everton manager [[David Moyes]] revealed that Wessels and fellow team member [[Thomas Gravesen]] would leave the club after their contracts expired. David Moyes said "I would like to thank Stefan Wessels who, after today, will be leaving us. His level of professionalism has been a credit to him and he has been a great man to have around the club."
===VfL Osnabrück=== In June 2008, Wessels signed a two-year contract with [[VfL Osnabrück]] of the 2. Bundesliga.<ref>{{cite news| title = Wessels mit VfL einig| url = https://www.kicker.de/wessels-mit-vfl-einig-379989/artikel | publisher = [[Kicker (sports magazine)|kicker]] | language = German | date = 20 June 2008}}</ref> He started the 2008–09 season as their first-choice goalkeeper, making his competitive debut on 8 August 2008 in their 2–0 defeat at [[FSV Frankfurt]] in the first round of the [[DFB-Pokal]] and going on to make his league debut in a 2–2 draw at [[FC St. Pauli]] on 15 August 2008. He played 21 league games for VfL, but left in June 2009, after their relegation from the [[2. Bundesliga]].
===Basel=== On 23 October 2009, Wessels signed for the Swiss side [[FC Basel]] until the end of the 2009–10 season, as a replacement for injured goalkeeper [[Franco Costanzo]]. He was able to sign outside the transfer window because he was free agent. He said ''"I am very pleased that it has worked out with FC Basel, and the wait has been worthwhile. I'm happy that I've signed with such a big club."''<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID//10044/23150/16/7 | title = Der FCB verpflichtet mit Stefan Wessels weiteren Torhüter (FC Basel sign with Stefan Wessels another goalkeeper) | publisher = FC Basel | access-date = 25 October 2009 | language = German | date = 23 October 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927230557/http://www.fcb.ch/news/show/byItemID//10044/23150/16/7 | archive-date = 27 September 2011}}</ref> He joined Basel's first team during their [[2009–10 FC Basel season|2009–10 season]] under head coach [[Thorsten Fink]], who he played alongside while at Bayern Munich.<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.kicker.de/wessels-kommt-in-basel-unter-516242/artikel | title =Wessels kommt in Basel unter | publisher = [[Kicker (sports magazine)|kicker]] | language = German | date = 23 October 2009 | access-date = 23 October 2009}}</ref>
After playing in one test game, Wessels played his team debut for the club in the home game in the [[St. Jakob-Park]] on 20 November as Basel won 4–2 against rivals [[FC Zürich|Zürich]].<ref name="fcb-achiv-2008/10-Cup-FCB-FCZ">{{cite web | date = 20 November 2009 | url = https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=16632 | title = FC Basel - FC Zürich 4:2 (1:1)| format = | publisher = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | access-date = 2022-11-16}}</ref> He played his [[Swiss Super League|domestic league]] debut for the club nine days later in the away game in the [[Stadion Wankdorf]] as Basel were defeated 2–0 by [[BSC Young Boys|Young Boys]]. In the 35th minute referee [[Massimo Busacca]] awarded the home team a penalty following a handball. Wessel held the spot kick taken by [[Gilles Yapi Yapo]].<ref name="fcb-achiv-2009/10-H-YB-FCB">{{cite web | date = 29 November 2009 | url = https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/saison/spiele?command=detail&id=15380 | title = BSC Young Boys - FC Basel 2:0 (2:0) | publisher = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | access-date = 2022-11-16}}</ref>
At the end of the 2009–10 season he won the [[Double (association football)|Double]] with his club. They won the [[2009–10 Swiss Super League|League]] Championship title with 3 points advantage over second placed [[BSC Young Boys|Young Boys]].<ref name="rsssf-Switzerland 2009/10">{{cite web | first = Karel | last = Stokkermans | year = 2012 | url = https://www.rsssf.org/tablesz/zwit2010.html | title = Switzerland 2009/10 | format = | publisher = Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation | language = fr | access-date = 2022-11-16}}</ref> The team won the [[2009–10 Swiss Cup|Swiss Cup]], winning the final 6–0 against [[FC Lausanne-Sport|Lausanne-Sport]].<ref name="sfv-cup-2009/10-FCB-LS">{{cite web | date = 9 May 2010 | url = https://www.football.ch/sfv/schweizer-cups/schweizer-cup/statistik-und-resultate.aspx/oid-1/s-2010/cp-1341/cr-0/tg-1649471/ | title = FC Basel - FC Lausanne-Sport 6:0 (2:0) | publisher = Swiss Football Verband (SFV) internet | access-date = 2022-11-16}}</ref>
Wessels left the club at the end of the season becoming free agent. During his time with the club Wessels played a total of 13 games for Basel. One of these games were in the [[Swiss Super League]], one in the [[Swiss Cup]], one in the Europa League and ten were friendly games.<ref name="fcb-achiv-Stefan Wessels">{{cite web | year = 2012 | url = https://www.fcb-archiv.ch/spieler?command=detail&id=6630 | title = Stefan Wessels - FCB statistic | publisher = Verein "Basler Fussballarchiv” | accessdate = 2022-11-16}}</ref>
===Free agent=== In July 2010, Wessels joined [[West Ham United F.C.|West Ham United]] on trial,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.docklands24.co.uk/content/docklands/sport/story.aspx?brand=Docklands&category=sportfootball&tBrand=docklands&tCategory=sport&itemid=WeED27%20Jul%202010%2011%3A17%3A57%3A113/ |title=West Ham take look at Germany goalkeeper|publisher=Docklands24.co.uk| access-date= 29 July 2010}}</ref> and played in the 24 July [[Exhibition game|friendly match]] against [[Burton Albion F.C.|Burton Albion]], a 4–2 defeat.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.whufc.com/articles/20100724/burton-4-2-west-ham-united-xi-ft_2236884_2101125|title=Burton Albion 4–2 West Ham United XI FT |publisher= Whufc.com |date= 23 July 2010 | access-date= 29 July 2010}}</ref>
===Odense Boldklub=== On 27 January 2011, Wessels signed a one-and-a-half-year contract with [[Odense Boldklub]],<ref>{{cite web | url = http://sporten.tv2.dk/fodbold/article.php/id-36894364:ob-skriver-under-med-tysk-keeper.html?rss | title = OB skriver under med tysk keeper | language = Danish | publisher = tv2.dk | date = 27 January 2011 | accessdate = 27 January 2011}}</ref> replacing [[Northern Ireland|Northern Irish]] goalkeeper [[Roy Carroll]].
==International career== Wessels has represented [[Germany national football team|Germany]], at various [[Germany national youth football team|youth]] levels, up to the [[Germany national under-21 football team|under-21 team]], for whom he made one appearance. He also played for [[Team 2006]], a Germany B team assembled in preparation for the [[2006 FIFA World Cup|2006 World Cup]], but did not make it into the senior squad.
==Career statistics== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competition |- !rowspan="2"|Club !rowspan="2"|Season !colspan="3"|League !colspan="2"|Cup !colspan="2"|Continental !colspan="2"|Other !colspan="2"|Total |- !Division!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals!!Apps!!Goals |- |rowspan="5"|[[Bayern Munich II]] |[[1998–99 Regionalliga|1998–99]] |[[Regionalliga Süd (1994–2012)|Regionalliga Süd]] |18||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||18||0 |- |[[1999–2000 Regionalliga|1998–2000]] |Regionalliga Süd |18||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||18||0 |- |[[2000–01 Regionalliga|2000–01]] |Regionalliga Süd |18||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||18||0 |- |[[2001–02 Regionalliga|2001–02]] |Regionalliga Süd |9||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||9||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !63!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!63!!0 |- |rowspan="5"|[[FC Bayern Munich|Bayern Munich]] |[[1999–2000 FC Bayern Munich season|1999–2000]] |[[Bundesliga]] |2||0||0||0||3||0||0||0||5||0 |- |[[2000–01 FC Bayern Munich season|2000–01]] |Bundesliga |1||0||0||0||2||0||0||0||3||0 |- |[[2001–02 FC Bayern Munich season|2001–02]] |Bundesliga |2||0||1||0||2||0||0||0||5||0 |- |[[2002–03 FC Bayern Munich season|2002–03]] |Bundesliga |1||0||0||0||3||0||1||0||5||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !6!!0!!1!!0!!10!!0!!1!!0!!18!!0 |- |rowspan="5"|[[1. FC Köln]] |[[2003–04 Bundesliga|2003–04]] |Bundesliga |32||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||32||0 |- |[[2004–05 2. Bundesliga|2004–05]] |[[2. Bundesliga]] |7||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||8||0 |- |[[2005–06 Bundesliga|2005–06]] |Bundesliga |22||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||23||0 |- |[[2006–07 2. Bundesliga|2006–07]] |2. Bundesliga |32||0||3||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||35||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !93!!0!!5!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!colspan="2"|—!!98!!0 |- ||[[Everton F.C.|Everton]] |[[2007–08 Everton F.C. season|2007–08]] |[[Premier League]] |2||0||1||0||1||0||2||0||6||0 |- ||[[VfL Osnabrück]] |[[2008–09 2. Bundesliga|2008–09]] |2. Bundesliga |21||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||0||0||22||0 |- ||[[FC Basel]] |[[2009–10 FC Basel season|2009–10]] |[[Swiss Super League]] |1||0||1||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||3||0 |- |rowspan="3"|[[Odense Boldklub|OB]] |[[2010–11 Odense Boldklub season|2010–11]] |[[Danish Superliga]] |13||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||colspan="2"|—||13||0 |- |[[2011–12 Odense Boldklub season|2011–12]] |Danish Superliga |22||0||1||0||8||0||colspan="2"|—||31||0 |- !colspan="2"|Total !35!!0!!1!!0!!8!!0!!colspan="2"|—!!44!!0 |- !colspan="3"|Career total !221!!0!!10!!0!!20!!0!!3!!0!!254!!0 |}
==Honours== '''Bayern Munich''' * [[Bundesliga]]: [[1999–2000 Bundesliga|1999–2000]], [[2000–01 Bundesliga|2000–01]], [[2002–03 Bundesliga|2002–03]] * [[DFB-Pokal]]: [[1999–2000 DFB-Pokal|1999–2000]], [[2002–03 DFB-Pokal|2002–03]] * [[DFL-Ligapokal|DFB-Liga-Pokal]]: [[1999 DFB-Ligapokal|1999]], [[2000 DFB-Ligapokal|2000]] * [[UEFA Champions League]]: [[2000–01 UEFA Champions League|2000–01]] * [[Intercontinental Cup (1960–2004)|Intercontinental Cup]]: [[2001 Intercontinental Cup|2001]] * [[UEFA Super Cup]] runner-up: [[2001 UEFA Super Cup|2001]]
'''1. FC Köln''' * [[2. Bundesliga]]: [[2004–05 2. Bundesliga|2004–05]]
'''FC Basel''' * [[Swiss Super League]]: [[2009–10 Swiss Super League|2009–10]] * [[Swiss Cup]]: [[2009–10 Swiss Cup|2009–10]]
'''Germany U18''' * [[UEFA European Under-19 Championship|UEFA Under-18 Championship]]: runner-up [[1998 UEFA European Under-18 Championship|1998]]
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website|http://www.stefanwessels.com/}} * {{Fussballdaten|wesselsstefan|Stefan Wessels}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wessels, Stefan}} [[Category:1979 births]] [[Category:Living people]] [[Category:People from Rahden]] [[Category:Footballers from Detmold (region)]] [[Category:German men's footballers]] [[Category:Germany men's youth international footballers]] [[Category:Germany men's under-21 international footballers]] [[Category:Germany men's B international footballers]] [[Category:German expatriate men's footballers]] [[Category:German expatriate sportspeople in England]] [[Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Switzerland]] [[Category:German expatriate sportspeople in Denmark]] [[Category:FC Bayern Munich footballers]] [[Category:FC Bayern Munich II players]] [[Category:Everton F.C. players]] [[Category:1. FC Köln players]] [[Category:VfL Osnabrück players]] [[Category:FC Basel players]] [[Category:Odense Boldklub players]] [[Category:Bundesliga players]] [[Category:2. Bundesliga players]] [[Category:Premier League players]] [[Category:Swiss Super League players]] [[Category:Danish Superliga players]] [[Category:Men's association football goalkeepers]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in England]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Switzerland]] [[Category:Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark]] [[Category:UEFA Champions League–winning players]]