Heiko Westermann


Heiko Westermann is a former German footballer who played as a central defender.

Club career

Greuther Fürth

Westermann began his professional career with 2. Bundesliga club Greuther Fürth. He joined the senior squad in July 2002 but did not make his first appearance until 26 January 2003 in a 1–0 win over MSV Duisburg. He played a total of 83 league games in his three seasons with the club, scoring two goals.

Arminia Bielefeld

Following the 2004–05 season, Westermann signed for recently promoted Bundesliga club Arminia Bielefeld. In his first season, he played in every single game for Bielefeld, including 34 league and five DFB-Pokal matches. The following season Westermann remained an integral part of the team, missing only one match.

Schalke 04

He was transferred to Schalke in 2007 for a fee of €2.8 million. He played his first game for Schalke on 24 July in a Ligapokal fixture against 1. FC Nürnberg. Schalke won 4–2 with Westermann contributing one goal. Missing Schalke's first two league games through injury, Westermann made his Bundesliga debut for the club on 26 August 2007. He was substituted on in the 79th minute for Rafinha in a third round match against VfL Wolfsburg. For the remainder of the season, Westermann started all 31 of Schalke's Bundesliga matches. He was also instrumental in Schalke's Champions League campaign, being the only outfield player for the club to play every single minute.
With new coach Fred Rutten taking charge of Schalke for the 2008–09 season, combined with his keen eye for goal, Westermann has often been positioned in midfield. The current season has been Westermann's highest scoring yet. He scored both goals in a 2–0 DFB-Pokal win over Hannover 96. He also scored a goal in three consecutive Bundesliga matches including the equalizing goal in a 1–1 draw against Werder Bremen and a game-winning goal against VfL Bochum.

Hamburg

In July 2010, Westermann agreed to a transfer to Hamburger SV, reportedly in the region of €7.5 million. Despite being a new signing, he was named new captain by then HSV coach Armin Veh. On 9 April 2013, following a run of bad results, including a 9–2 drubbing by Bayern Munich, Rafael van der Vaart was announced as Westermann's successor as the club's captain, in a bid to relieve him of mounting pressure.
On 25 June 2015, Hamburg confirmed Westermann's contract would not be renewed for the 2015–16 campaign.

Betis

On 6 August 2015 Westermann signed a two-year deal with Real Betis, newly promoted to La Liga. He received his first ever career red card on 28 November 2015 after his second bookable offence against Levante.

Ajax

On 14 July 2016, it was announced that Westermann had signed a two-year deal with Eredivisie side Ajax. However, he was used sparingly, so he worked as a youth coach during his time there.

Austria Wien

Shortly after his contract with Ajax had been dissolved, Westermann signed a two-year deal with Austrian side Austria Wien.
He announced his departure from the club along with the end of his active player career in April 2018.

International career

On 31 January 2008, Westermann was first called up by Germany's manager Joachim Löw for the friendly on 6 February 2008 at Vienna's Ernst-Happel-Stadion against Austria. Germany won the match 3–0 and Westermann was in the starting eleven and played 90 minutes. Westermann was part of the German team that finished in second place at Euro 2008. On 2 June 2009, Westermann scored the first international goal in Germany's 7–2 rout against United Arab Emirates national football team. He was part of Germany's preliminary selection for the World Cup 2010, but had to pull out because of an injury suffered in a friendly against Hungary. He has been capped 27 times by Germany and has scored four goals for them since 2008.

International goals

GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
1.6 September 2008Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein6–06–02010 FIFA WCQ
2.2 June 2009Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates1–07–2Friendly
3.7 September 2010RheinEnergieStadion, Cologne, Germany1–06–1Euro 2012 Q
4.2 June 2013RFK Stadium, Washington, USA1–23–4Friendly

Career statistics

Club

International

;Germany
;Ajax
Westermann's wife is named Irina, they married in June 2007. In May 2008, the couple had their first daughter, Lana. In October 2010, Nikita, their second daughter was born.