Niklas Stark Explained

Niklas Stark
Birth Name:Niklas Stark[1]
Birth Date:14 April 1995
Birth Place:Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany
Height:1.90 m[2]
Position:Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Currentclub:Werder Bremen
Clubnumber:4
Youthyears1:1998–2002
Youthclubs1:FSV Ipsheim
Youthyears2:2002–2004
Youthclubs2:TSV Neustadt/Aisch
Youthyears3:2004–2013
Youthclubs3:1. FC Nürnberg
Years1:2013–2015
Clubs1:1. FC Nürnberg
Caps1:54
Goals1:3
Years2:2014–2015
Clubs2:1. FC Nürnberg II
Caps2:3
Goals2:0
Years3:2015–2022
Clubs3:Hertha BSC
Caps3:176
Goals3:7
Years4:2022–
Clubs4:Werder Bremen
Caps4:45
Goals4:2
Nationalyears1:2011–2012
Nationalteam1:Germany U17
Nationalcaps1:3
Nationalgoals1:0
Nationalyears2:2012–2013
Nationalteam2:Germany U18
Nationalcaps2:3
Nationalgoals2:0
Nationalyears3:2013–2014
Nationalteam3:Germany U19
Nationalcaps3:13
Nationalgoals3:3
Nationalyears4:2015
Nationalteam4:Germany U20
Nationalcaps4:7
Nationalgoals4:3
Nationalyears5:2014–2017
Nationalteam5:Germany U21
Nationalcaps5:18
Nationalgoals5:2
Nationalyears6:2019–
Nationalteam6:Germany
Nationalcaps6:2
Nationalgoals6:0
Club-Update:11 May 2024 (UTC)
Nationalteam-Update:21:03, 7 October 2020 (UTC)

Niklas Stark (born 14 April 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Germany national team.

Club career

1. FC Nürnberg

Stark made his Bundesliga debut on 27 April 2013 in a 2–1 loss to 1899 Hoffenheim.[3] He made two more appearances for 1. FC Nürnberg in the 2012–13 season.[4] In the 2013–14 season, Stark made appearances for both the first team and second team.[5] He made 21 appearances for the first team and two appearances.[5] He did not score for either team.[5] Again, during the 2014–15 season, Stark made appearances for both the first and second teams.[6] He scored two goals in 26 appearances for the first team.[6] He failed to score in one appearance for the second team.[6] His final match in a Nürnberg jersey proved to be a 2–1 loss to VfL Bochum on 23 August 2015[7] as he transferred to Hertha BSC the following day.[8] He had scored a goal in four league appearances for Nürnberg in the 2015–16 season.[5] He had also made a German Cup appearance prior to the transfer.[5]

Hertha BSC

Stark signed a four-year contract for Hertha BSC on 24 August 2015.[8] He made his debut on 12 September in a 2–1 win over VfB Stuttgart, when he came off the bench for Salomon Kalou in the 73rd minute.[9] He was able to quickly establish himself as a starter, but suffered a setback in October 2015 due to injury, only returning to the starting eleven in February 2016.[10] He scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hertha on 11 March 2016 in a 2–0 victory against Schalke 04.[11]

In the following seasons he was also part of the regular team and also made his first European appearances, as Hertha were able to qualify twice for the UEFA Europa League, but both times eliminated from the competition early.[12] [13] At Hertha, he mostly appeared as a centre-back but also as a defensive midfielder.[14]

On 31 March 2022, it was announced that Stark's expiring contract would not be renewed, and that he would leave Hertha as a free agent after the 2021–22 season.[15]

Werder Bremen

On 28 May 2022, Werder Bremen, newly promoted to the Bundesliga, announced the signing of Stark for the 2022–23 season.[16] He reportedly signed a four-year contract.[16]

International career

On 15 March 2019, Stark was called up for the Germany national team for the first time in his career by national team coach Joachim Löw.[17] He made his debut on 19 November 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Northern Ireland. He substituted Lukas Klostermann in the 65th minute.[18]

Career statistics

Club

[5]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
ClubSeasonLeagueCupContinentalOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1. FC Nürnberg2012–13Bundesliga300030
2013–1421000210
2014–152. Bundesliga26210272
2015–16411051
Total543200000563
1. FC Nürnberg II2013–14Regionalliga Bayern2020
2014–151010
Total3000000030
Hertha BSC2015–16Bundesliga21220232
2016–172713020321
2017–182611140312
2018–1922130251
2019–2021130241
2021–2233010340
2021–222612020340
Total176715160201998
Werder Bremen2022–23Bundesliga27010280
2023–2417210182
2024–25001010
Total45230472
Career total27812201602030513

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Germany201910
202010
Total20

Honours

Germany

Individual

Team of the Tournament[21]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015 – List of Players: Germany . . 6 . 19 June 2015 . 28 September 2020 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20190414114527/http://www.fifadata.com/document/FWYC/2015/pdf/FWYC_2015_SquadLists.pdf . 14 April 2019.
  2. Web site: Niklas Stark Hertha BSC . Hertha BSC . 22 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220330121807/https://www.herthabsc.com/de/mannschaften/hertha-bsc/niklas-stark . 30 March 2022 . de . dead.
  3. News: Hoffenheim hält den Anschluss. 24 August 2015. kicker. 27 April 2013. de.
  4. Web site: Niklas Stark. kicker.de. kicker. 24 August 2015. de.
  5. Web site: Niklas Stark » Club matches. World Football. 17 March 2019.
  6. Web site: Niklas Stark. kicker.de. kicker. 24 August 2015. de.
  7. News: Haberer nutzt Klasse-Kombination zum Sieg. 24 August 2015. kicker. 23 August 2015. de.
  8. News: Dardai über Stark: "Er kann ein Führungsspieler werden". 24 August 2015. kicker. 24 August 2015. de.
  9. Web site: Heimsieg! . Hertha BSC . 22 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522191211/https://www.herthabsc.com/de/nachrichten/2015/09/8874-heimsieg . 22 May 2022 . de . 12 September 2015 . live.
  10. News: Fussball - U21: Auch Stark verletzt - Hrubesch nominiert Cacutalua nach . 22 May 2022 . RAN . 6 October 2015 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522191618/https://www.ran.de/fussball/news/u21-auch-stark-verletzt-hrubesch-nominiert-cacutalua-nach-101960 . 22 May 2022 . de.
  11. News: Ibisevic and Stark on target as Hertha see off Schalke . 22 May 2022 . SBS Sport . 12 March 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522191837/https://www.sbs.com.au/sport/article/ibisevic-and-stark-on-target-as-hertha-see-off-schalke/p2m5yyzsg . 22 May 2022.
  12. Web site: Brøndby-Hertha UEFA Europa League 2016/17 . UEFA . 22 May 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220522192043/https://www.uefa.com/uefaeuropaleague/match/2020413--brondby-vs-hertha/ . 22 May 2022 . live.
  13. News: Hertha Berlin's Europe League campaign comes to an end in Bilbao . 22 May 2022 . bundesliga.com - the official Bundesliga website . https://web.archive.org/web/20211205123618/https://www.bundesliga.com/en/news/Bundesliga/athletic-bilbao-hertha-berlin-europa-league-line-ups-stats-live-blog-laporte-464372.jsp . 5 December 2021.
  14. News: Lynch . Alex . Scout Report: Niklas Stark Hertha's Young Defensive Midfield Stalwart . 22 May 2022 . Outside of the Boot . 4 June 2017 . https://web.archive.org/web/20201025031434/http://outsideoftheboot.com/2017/06/05/scout-report-niklas-stark-herthas-young-defensive-midfield-stalwart/ . 25 October 2020.
  15. News: Hertha verlängert Vertrag von Niklas Stark nicht - B.Z. – Die Stimme Berlins . 22 May 2022 . B.Z. – Die Stimme Berlins . 31 March 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220504181252/https://www.bz-berlin.de/berlin-sport/hertha-bsc/hertha-verlaengert-vertrag-von-niklas-stark-nicht . 4 May 2022 . de-DE.
  16. Web site: Ablösefrei: Niklas Stark wechselt von Berlin nach Bremen . kicker . 28 May 2022 . de . 28 May 2022.
  17. Web site: Maximilian Eggestein, Niklas Stark and Lukas Klostermann: who are the new faces in Joachim Löw's latest Germany squad? . bundesliga.com . 6 April 2019.
  18. Web site: UEFA. Germany v Northern Ireland game report. 19 November 2019.
  19. Web site: Weisers Kopfball macht den EM-Traum wahr . de . kicker.de . 30 June 2017 . 30 June 2017.
  20. Web site: Auszeichnung für Brandt, Stark und Gimber . de. Kicker. 26 August 2014. 28 July 2017.
  21. Web site: The UEFA Technical Team Team of the Tournament. UEFA. 3 May 2017.
  22. Web site: The official Under-21 Team of the Tournament. UEFA.com. July 2017. en.