| Michael Hefele | |
| Fullname: | Michael Martin Hefele[1] |
| Birth Date: | 1 September 1990 |
| Birth Place: | Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, West Germany |
| Height: | 1.93 m |
| Position: | Centre-back |
| Years1: | 2009–2012 |
| Clubs1: | SpVgg Unterhaching II |
| Caps1: | 43 |
| Goals1: | 5 |
| Years2: | 2010–2012 |
| Clubs2: | SpVgg Unterhaching |
| Caps2: | 33 |
| Goals2: | 1 |
| Years3: | 2012–2014 |
| Clubs3: | Greuther Fürth II |
| Caps3: | 13 |
| Goals3: | 0 |
| Years4: | 2012–2014 |
| Clubs4: | Greuther Fürth |
| Caps4: | 3 |
| Goals4: | 0 |
| Years5: | 2014 |
| Clubs5: | → Wacker Burghausen (loan) |
| Caps5: | 15 |
| Goals5: | 0 |
| Years6: | 2014–2016 |
| Clubs6: | Dynamo Dresden |
| Caps6: | 69 |
| Goals6: | 10 |
| Years7: | 2016–2018 |
| Clubs7: | Huddersfield Town |
| Caps7: | 39 |
| Goals7: | 3 |
| Years8: | 2018–2021 |
| Clubs8: | Nottingham Forest |
| Caps8: | 15 |
| Goals8: | 0 |
| Totalcaps: | 230 |
| Totalgoals: | 19 |
Michael Martin Hefele (pronounced as /de/; born 1 September 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is now a first team coach at EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.
Hefele made his debut for SpVgg Unterhaching in 2010. He went on to play for SpVgg Greuther Fürth and was on loan at Wacker Burghausen. He played two seasons for Dynamo Dresden scoring ten times in 72 appearances in all competitions and became the club captain.[2]
In July 2016, Hefele joined English Championship side Huddersfield Town[2] Hefele scored his first goal for Huddersfield in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa on 16 August 2016, just 26 seconds after coming off the bench, a Huddersfield record for the quickest time scored by a debutante in the club's 108-year history.[3] On 28 January 2017, in a game against Rochdale, Hefele was substituted on as a striker in the 46th minute, coming on for Elias Kachunga. He then scored two goals as striker.[4] Eight days later, on 5 February 2017, Hefele scored the winning goal in the 89th minute in a 2–1 victory against Leeds United.[5]
On 9 August 2018, Hefele joined English Championship side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee.[6] He made his debut for Forest on 14 August 2018 in the first round of the 2018–19 EFL Cup against Bury. The game finished 1–1 after 90 minutes with Forest going through to the second round 10–9 on penalties, one of which Hefele scored for Forest.[7] Hefele was frozen out of the Forest first team squad, making his last appearance for the club on 1 January 2019. He saw out his contract and was officially released at the end of the 2020–21 season.[8]
On 25 July 2021, Hefele announced his retirement from playing professional football due to "medical reasons".[9]
On 26 July 2021, one day after announcing his retirement, he rejoined Huddersfield Town in a newly created role combining coaching with hospitality and ambassadorial roles at the club.[10] On 23 December 2022 he joined Carlos Corberán at West Bromwich Albion in a First Team Assistant Coach role under Corberán.
| Club | Season | League | National cup | League cup | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||
| SpVgg Unterhaching | 2010–11 | 3. Liga | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2011–12 | 3. Liga | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 6 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 33 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 1 | |||
| Greuther Fürth II | 2012–13 | Regionalliga Bayern | 8 | 0 | — | — | — | 8 | 0 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Regionalliga Bayern | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | 5 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 0 | |||
| Greuther Fürth | 2012–13 | Bundesliga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||
| 2013–14 | 2. Bundesliga | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | |||
| Wacker Burghausen (loan) | 2013–14 | 3. Liga | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 15 | 0 | |||
| Dynamo Dresden | 2014–15 | 3. Liga | 31 | 3 | 3 | 0 | — | — | 34 | 3 | |||
| 2015–16 | 3. Liga | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 | — | — | 38 | 7 | ||||
| Total | 69 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 72 | 10 | |||
| Huddersfield Town | 2016–17 | Championship | 37 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 42 | 5 | |
| 2017–18 | Premier League | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | ||
| Total | 39 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 48 | 5 | |||
| Nottingham Forest | 2018–19 | Championship | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | ||||
| Total | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | 18 | 0 | ||||
| Career total | 187 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 202 | 16 | |||
Huddersfield Town