Benedikt Röcker

Benedikt Röcker (born 19 November 1989) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Benedikt Röcker
Röcker with VfB Stuttgart II in 2011
Personal information
Date of birth (1989-11-19) 19 November 1989
Place of birth Bietigheim-Bissingen, West Germany
Height 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Youth career
1994–2008 FV Löchgau
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2008–2009 FV Löchgau
2009–2011 Sonnenhof Großaspach 35 (3)
2011–2013 VfB Stuttgart II 81 (4)
2012–2013 VfB Stuttgart 3 (0)
2014–2016 Greuther Fürth 75 (3)
2016–2019 Brøndby 90 (5)
2019–2021 Wehen Wiesbaden 20 (1)
Total 304 (16)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Starting his career at lower tier clubs FV Löchgau and Sonnenhof Großaspach in Württemberg, Röcker moved to VfB Stuttgart in 2011, where he became a regular for the second team. After a two-year stint at Greuther Fürth, he moved to Danish Superliga club Brøndby, where he challenged for the league title, appeared in the UEFA Europa League and won the Danish Cup under fellow German, head coach Alexander Zorniger, before becoming team captain in 2019. Röcker left the club in 2019, and joined Wehen Wiesbaden where he played for two seasons before retiring.

Career

Early years

Born in Bietigheim-Bissingen, Baden-Württemberg, Röcker played in his youth at local club FV Löchgau. There, he progressed through the youth system until reaching the senior team, where he played in the 2008–09 season in the lower-tier Landesliga Württemberg. In 2009, he moved to the Regionalliga Süd to play for Sonnenhof Großaspach. In October 2009, he won the Länderpokal, a regional cup competition, with a team consisting of lower-tier players from Württemberg.

On 31 January 2011, Röcker moved to the reserve team of VfB Stuttgart. He made his professional debut on 22 February in a match for VfB Stuttgart II in the 3. Liga against 1. FC Heidenheim.[1]

VfB Stuttgart

Röcker made his debut for the first team of VfB Stuttgart on 6 December 2012 during the 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage against Molde FK.[2] On 15 December 2012, he made his Bundesliga debut against 1. FSV Mainz 05. On 10 January 2013, Röcker extended his contract with VfB Stuttgart until June 2015.[3]

Greuther Fürth

In January 2014, Röcker moved to second tier club Greuther Fürth.[4] He won his maiden first team call-up for Fürth's league match at home versus Karlsruher SC on 14 February. He played all 90 minutes and scored the equaliser in the 1–1 draw.[5]

Brøndby

In June 2016, Röcker moved to Danish Superliga club Brøndby IF on a three-year contract.[6] The move reunited him with his former Sonnenhof Großaspach coach Alexander Zorniger.[7] Röcker quickly established himself in the starting lineup, and was part of a team knocking out Hibernian and Hertha BSC in his first months at the club in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers, before losing over two legs to Greek club Panathinaikos in the play-off round.[8] He made 46 total appearances during his first season at the club,[1] in which the club finished in second place in the Superliga and reached the Danish Cup final, where they lost 3–1 to rivals FC Copenhagen.[9]

In the following season, Röcker was again a starter in central defense, this time alongside Hjörtur Hermannsson or Paulus Arajuuri, as Brøndby were contenders for the league title throughout the season.[10] However, in decisive games against eventual champions FC Midtjylland, as well as AC Horsens, Brøndby's lead in the table was lost and they finished in second place.[11] They had more success in the Danish Cup, with Röcker scoring a crucial goal as Brøndby beat Silkeborg IF 3–1 in the final to claim the trophy.[12] Personally, he had a strong season with 40 total appearances in which he scored five goals.[1]

In January 2019, Röcker was appointed team captain of Brøndby following the departure of Johan Larsson.[13] He was, however, benched in the second half of the season, as Brøndby dismissed head coach Zorniger and the club finished in fourth place. Röcker made 25 appearances during his final season at the club in which he scored one goal, as his contract expired at the end of the season.[1][14]

Wehen Wiesbaden

On 13 June 2019, Röcker joined newly promoted 2. Bundesliga club SV Wehen Wiesbaden on a two-year contract, on a free transfer.[15][16] He made 21 total appearances during the season in which he scored one goal,[1] as Wehen Wiesbaden finished 17th in the league table and suffered relegation to the 3. Liga.[17]

Röcker was sidelined at the start of the new season due to patellar tendinitis in his right knee, and in November 2020 further examination showed that he had suffered cartilage damage which required surgery. The injury kept him out indefinitely.[18]

On 24 June 2021, Röcker announced his retirement from professional football after making no appearances during the 2020–21 season.[19] He stated that the decision was "unavoidable" due to his injury.[20]

Honours

Brøndby

References
  1. "B. Röcker - Profile". us.soccerway.com. Perform Group. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  2. "Stuttgart through despite Molde defeat". uefa.com. UEFA. 6 December 2012. Retrieved 6 December 2012.
  3. "Röcker and Sakai extend deals". vfb.de. VfB Stuttgart. 10 January 2013. Archived from the original on 26 January 2016. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  4. "Röcker-Wechsel zu Greuther Fürth perfekt" (in German). Stuttgarter Zeitung. 10 January 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  5. "Spielanalyse - SpVgg Greuther Fürth vs. Karlsruher SC" (in German). Kicker Online. 14 February 2014. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
  6. "Röcker: Alle skal mærke, at jeg vil vinde". brondby.com (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 18 June 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  7. "Röcker zieht es zu Bröndby IF". Kicker Online (in German). 18 June 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2016.
  8. "Tungt nederlag mod Panathinaikos". brondby.com (in Danish). Brøndby IF. 18 August 2016. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  9. Kjems Hansen, Torsten (25 May 2017). "FC København sænker Brøndby IF i Pokalfinalen 2017" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 14 October 2020. Med 3-1 over Brøndby IF er FC København vindere af DBU Pokalen 2017 - Andreas Cornelius dobbelt målskytte.
  10. Haarløv, Johan (14 May 2018). "Brøndby kan så godt som vinde det danske mesterskab i aften". dr.dk (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  11. Bentsen, Bo (18 May 2018). "Brøndby mister førstepladsen i allersidste sekunder med én runde tilbage". sport.tv2.dk (in Danish). TV 2. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  12. "Brøndby er pokalmester efter ti års måltørke" (in Danish). TV2 Sport. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  13. Hoffskov, Ole (23 January 2019). "Benedikt Röcker ny anfører i Brøndby IF" (in Danish). Tipsbladet. Retrieved 14 October 2020. Benedikt Röcker forfremmes fra viceanfører til kaptajn i Brøndby IF, efter at Johan Larsson har forladt klubben.
  14. Skovsgaard Tøfting, Nicolai (26 March 2019). "Anføreren stopper i Brøndby til sommer". bold.dk. Retrieved 14 October 2020. Brøndby og Benedikt Röcker forlænger ikke samarbejdet, når kontrakten mellem de to parter udløber til sommer.
  15. "Wehen Wiesbaden verpflichtet Innenverteidiger Röcker" (in German). Die Rheinpfalz. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  16. "Wehen Wiesbaden holt "Leuchtturm" Röcker" (in German). Kicker Online. 13 June 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  17. "Abstieg bestraft Wiesbadener Harakiri-Fußball". hessenschau.de (in German). Hessischer Rundfunk. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020. Viele Tore, viel Spektakel und kurze Hoffnung auf das Wunder: Das abschließende Torfestival des SV Wehen Wiesbaden gegen St. Pauli fasst die Saison der Hessen bestens zusammen. Der SVWW hat sich den Abstieg selbst zuzuschreiben.
  18. "Knorpelschaden: Röcker fällt auf unbestimmte Zeit aus". kicker (in German). 5 November 2020.
  19. ""Aus gesundheitlichen Gründen": Röcker beendet Karriere". kicker (in German). 24 June 2021.
  20. Nelausen, Raymund (24 June 2021). "Benedikt Röcker stopper karrieren". bold.dk (in Danish).
  21. "Brøndby IF vs. Silkeborg". bold.dk. 10 May 2018. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
  22. "FCM vinder pokalfinale i straffedrama mod Brøndby - se alle målene og straffesparkskonkurrencen her". TV3 Sport. 17 May 2019. Retrieved 13 June 2019.
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