Sebastian Kehl

Kehl in 2023
Personal information
Full name	Sebastian Walter Kehl[1]
Date of birth	(1980-02-13) 13 February 1980 (age 44)[1]
Place of birth	Fulda, West Germany
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Defensive midfielder
Youth career
1985–1994	SV Lahrbach
1994–1996	Borussia Fulda
1996–1998	Hannover 96
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2000	Hannover 96	32	(2)
2000–2001	SC Freiburg	40	(4)
2002–2015	Borussia Dortmund	274	(20)
2004–2011	Borussia Dortmund II (res.)	7	(1)
Total		353	(27)
International career
1996–1999	Germany U18	19	(3)
1998	Germany U19	1	(0)
1999–2001	Germany U21	11	(0)
2001–2006	Germany	31	(2)
Medal record Representing  Germany FIFA World Cup Runner-up 2002 Korea/Japan 2006 Germany FIFA Confederations Cup 2005 Germany
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Sebastian Walter Kehl (German pronunciation: [zeˈbasti̯a(ː)n ˈkeːl];^[2][3] born 13 February 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He is currently the Sporting Director of Borussia Dortmund.

He amassed Bundesliga totals of 314 games and 24 goals over the course of 15 seasons, representing in the competition SC Freiburg and Borussia Dortmund. He won six major titles with the latter club, including three national championships.

A Germany international for five years, Kehl appeared for the nation in two World Cups – finishing second in the 2002 edition – and Euro 2004.

Following his retirement, Kehl first worked as the "Head of First Team Football" for Borussia Dortmund before it was announced that he would be taking over as Sporting Director, following the retirement of Michael Zorc.

Born in Fulda, Hesse, Kehl joined Hannover 96's youth system in 1996 at the age of 15, going on to appear in two 2. Bundesliga seasons with the first team.^[4] In the 2000 summer he signed for SC Freiburg in the Bundesliga, making his debut in the competition on 12 August by playing the full 90 minutes in a 4–0 home win against VfB Stuttgart, and scoring his first goal on 12 December of that year to help to a 2–1 away success over VfL Wolfsburg.

Under manager Volker Finke, Kehl featured mostly as a sweeper, helping the Black Forest club qualify to the 2001–02 UEFA Cup in his first season, before the club suffered relegation in his second season. He was no longer part of the squad, however, as he had left in the 2002 January transfer window to Borussia Dortmund, who went on to win the championship with 15 games and one goal from the player. Previously, in summer 2001, he controversially agreed basic terms with FC Bayern Munich, and even accepted an advanced payment of 1.5 million Deutsche Mark, which was returned in November as Bayern threatened to take legal action.^[5]

During his tenure with Dortmund, Kehl was more often than not a starter. He contributed with 12 matches in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League to help his team reach the second group phase, and amassed 61 league appearances from 2004 to 2006 in back-to-back seventh-place finishes.

On the first day of the 2006–07 campaign, Kehl injured his left knee in a challenge with Bayern's Hasan Salihamidžić, sidelining him for several months and only recovering fully at the start of 2008–09, when he was made captain by new coach Jürgen Klopp.^[6] He eventually relapsed on his condition,^[7][8] also losing his importance in the starting XI after the emergence of Sven Bender and Nuri Şahin.^[9]

On 27 July 2013, Kehl played the second half of the DFL-Supercup against Bayern Munich, replacing Bender in an eventual 4–2 win.^[10] In September, he was put out of action for another lengthy period after injuring his ankle in training.^[11]

Kehl began hinting at retirement in March 2014, shortly after having agreed to a one-year extension to his contract.^[12] The 35-year-old confirmed it at the end of the 2014–15 season,^[13] after having taken part in 21 games to help Dortmund come from behind in the table and qualify to the 2015–16 UEFA Europa League.^[14]

In April 2018, Borussia Dortmund announced that Kehl would become its players licence department director starting on 1 June.^[15]

In June 2021, Borussia Dortmund announced that Kehl would be the successor to sporting director Michael Zorc following his retirement in the summer of 2022.^[16]

Kehl earned the first of his 31 caps for the Germany national team on 29 May 2001, in a 2–0 friendly win against Slovakia in Bremen where he came on for Marko Rehmer after 45 minutes.^[17] He scored his first goal on 15 August of that year, contributing to a 5–2 win over Hungary in another exhibition game.^[18]

Selected for both the 2002 and the 2006 World Cups, Kehl played twice (against Paraguay and United States) in the former tournament as the Mannschaft finished in second place, and started in two of his four appearances to help to the third place in the latter.^[19]

Kehl is married to Tina Kehl. They have three children.^[20]

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kehl goal.

List of international goals scored by Sebastian Kehl

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	15 August 2001	Ferenc Puskás, Budapest, Hungary	Hungary	2–0	5–2	Friendly	[18]
2	30 April 2003	Weserstadion, Bremen, Germany	Serbia and Montenegro	1–0	1–0	Friendly	[24]

Borussia Dortmund^[25]

• Bundesliga: 2001–02, 2010–11, 2011–12
• DFB-Pokal: 2011–12
• German Supercup: 2008
• DFL-Supercup: 2013, 2014
• UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2001–02
• UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2012–13

Germany^[25]

• FIFA World Cup: runner-up (2002); third place (2006)
• FIFA Confederations Cup third place: 2005

Individual

• kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2000–01, 2008–09^[26][27]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sebastian Kehl.

• Sebastian Kehl at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Sebastian Kehl at National-Football-Teams.com
• Sebastian Kehl – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Official website (in German)