Stefan Kießling

Stefan Kießling (born 25 January 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a striker for Bayer Leverkusen and 1. FC Nürnberg.

Born in Lichtenfels, West Germany, Kießling began playing football at a young age in the youth setup at 1. FC Eintracht Bamberg before moving to the 1. FC Nürnberg academy in 2001.

In 2002, he signed a six-year contract with the club, after scoring 13 goals in 21 matches for the reserve side.

This ended up being the only appearance for the first team during the 2002–03 season.

He made his professional debut for Nürnberg as a 19-year-old in 2003 before being sold to Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2006.

He stayed at Leverkusen for 12 seasons.

He made his professional debut for Nürnberg in a 4–0 loss to Hamburger SV in April 2003.

He finished the 2003–04 season with two goals in 14 matches.

He scored his first professional goal in a 2–2 draw with Greuther Fürth on 7 March 2004.

He went on to score four goals in 29 matches during the 2004–05 season and 11 goals in 33 appearances during the 2005–06 season.

Kießling's grandfather founded Upper Franconian club TSV Eintracht Bamberg, which merged with 1. FC Bamberg in 2006 to form FC Eintracht Bamberg, and his father played as a goalkeeper.

At 15, he had to make the choice between training as a chef or becoming a professional footballer.

And although he stated that "cooking is still a lot of fun," it was football that ultimately prevailed.

He also has a love for music, stating that his favorite artists are Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams.

On 12 August 2006, Kießling made his first appearance for the new club, coming on as a substitute.

After arriving in Leverkusen, he netted eight goals in the 2006–07 season, 16 goals in the 2007–08 season, and 14 goals in the 2008–09 season.

A German international from 2007 to 2010, Kießling earned six caps, failing to score a goal at the senior level.

Kießling and his wife Norina were married on 29 December 2008 in a civil ceremony at the Villa Römer in Opladen.

The couple has two children, Hailey-Milu and Tayler-Joel.

Kießling started his senior club career with Nürnberg having made his way through their youth ranks – though he was previously in 1. FC Eintracht Bamberg's youth academy.

On 5 April 2009, he scored his side's first goal in a 2–0 win over 1. FC Köln, keeping alive Leverkusen's chances of qualifying for Europe for the following season.

Leverkusen trailed off following the win, eventually falling to ninth place in the final Bundesliga standings.

In August 2009, he was voted as Bundesliga Player of the Month.

He then scored a hat-trick for Bayer Leverkusen against Stuttgart on 29 November 2009, sending the club to the top of league table with a 4–0 win, three points clear of closest challengers Werder Bremen.

He continued his impressive form in the 2009–10 season, scoring 21 goals in 33 games and finishing the season as the second highest goal scorer in the Bundesliga after Edin Džeko, with 22.

He was also included in the Bundesliga Team of the Season.

He represented Germany at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, featuring in two matches for the eventual third-place side.

The young talent drew the attention of Arsenal and Bayern Munich, but he opted for Bayer Leverkusen in the summer of 2006 and signed a four-year contract until 30 June 2010, with Leverkusen paying €6.5 million for his signature.

On 16 March 2010, Kießling signed a contract extension with Leverkusen, tying him to the BayArena side until 2015.

Kießling finished the 2010–11 season with nine goal in 29 matches.

Kießling finished the 2011–12 season with 17 goals in 43 matches.

On 18 February 2012, Kießling scored two goals on only three shots and also provided an assist for André Schürrle as Leverkusen defeated FC Augsburg 4–1.

On 5 May, he scored a hat-trick on the final day of the Bundesliga season, helping his side to a 4–1 win over former club Nürnberg and securing fifth place in the final league standings.

His first goal of the season came in Leverkusen's opening match of the Bundesliga campaign on 25 August 2012, netting the opener as his side fell to a 2–1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.

Kießling scored his only goal of Leverkusen's Europa League campaign on 4 October, coming on as a substitute and scoring the winning goal away to Norwegian side Rosenborg BK.

On 15 December, Kießling scored a brace to keep Bayer close on the heels of Bayern Munich heading into the winter break; the goals also meant that at mid-season he was the top scorer in the Bundesliga.

In PowerTable Sports Bundesliga XI of the Season, created at the mid-way point of the campaign, Kießling was the only striker included in a 4–2–3–1 formation.

He was ultimately crowned the Bundesliga's highest scoring player for the 2012–13 season (having netted 25 goals in total, edging out Robert Lewandowski who finished with 24 goals).

This personal record was secured with a goal on the final day of the Bundesliga season against Hamburg; scoring from a Sidney Sam pass in the final minute to secure a 1–0 win and third place in the Bundesliga.

Kießling continued to show consistently good form during the second half of the season and scored seven goals in the final six Bundesliga matches, including a brace against Hoffenheim on 20 April 2013 and game-winning goals against Werder Bremen on 27 April and Hannover 96 on 11 May.