Per Mertesacker: interesting facts about the life and career of the German defender

There is a view that a smart central defender - poor central defender. Objectives of this role players trite and simple - to win the fight in attacking the enemy and knock the ball away. In an extreme case - the first pass to launch an attack of his team. It's a classic, and this game's central defenders often require including many top European clubs.

Per Mertesacker - exception to this rule, with a pleasant exception. With its impressive dimensions (height 198 cm defender), he is not afraid to go to the stroke in their half of the field and every time rushes to the gate of the enemy to draw a penalty kick or a corner kick. Needless to say, if today's game in the defense of Arsene Wenger was built by the Germans.

Early career

Mertesacker debut in football took place in the youth team of the club "Pattensen", where at the age of 11 years old defender moved to the "Hannover 96". For another eight years footballer played for "Roten" teams of different ages.

For the first team, "Hanover" Per Mertesacker first played in 2003 in a match against the Bundesliga "Cologne", and the following season tsentrbek became the main player on the team. Chief Edward Lienen coach has repeatedly pointed out the connection tall defender to the drawing standards. It has become a kind of calling card of Per Mertesacker, who in 74 games for the middle peasants Bundesliga seven times differed scored goals.

In the "Werder"

In 2006, the football player Per Mertesacker signed a four-year contract with Bremen, "Werder Bremen", which also is the player of the basic structure. Lane helped Bremen win the German Cup in 2009 and in the same season reached a UEFA Cup final team. In the decisive match against Donetsk "Shakhtar" Peer to take part could not, and "Werder" has lost the most important match of the season 2-1.

However, just at this period of his playing career "artists" have begun to actively involve in the games for the national team of Germany, and in 2006 the main central stopper Bundestima it became Per Mertesacker. The defender played in all matches of the German team at the World Cup, without receiving a single yellow cards that a player of this role - a great rarity. Fans in Germany on the subject even came up with the football player a nickname - "Mr. Clean".

Moving to England

During the season 2010/2011 in the British press reported that the acquisition of the German Mertesacker interested in London "Arsenal" and personally mentor "Arsenal" Arsene Wenger. The deal between the English and the German club in the summer of 2011, and the transfer amount was 10 million pounds.

On the "Emirates" Per Mertesacker for the sixth season in a row remains the central defender, and paired with Frenchman Laurent Koscielny, they constitute one of the best defensive duos of the Premier League.

Since 2011, the German stopper held for the "Gunners" more than a hundred and fifty games in which five times managed to distinguish goals. Despite numerous offers from European giants and the rich Chinese club, the captain of London "Arsenal" is devoted to his team. He still wants to win along with it the championship of England and, of course, the main event of the Old World - the Champions League.

Life

Per Mertesacker is married to a professional German handball Ulrike Stange. Couple together since 2008, and status are made in the summer of 2013. newlyweds wedding took place in a castle not far from the small town in which Lane at the beginning of the two thousandth's started to play football. The couple have two children - both boys, and the second was born on the eve of the World Cup 2014 in Brazil. This tournament, by the way, was the last one in for Mertesacker T-shirt of the national team of Germany.

Achievements

Despite the celebrity status defender, personal "piggy bank" Mertesacker remains quite modest. This is largely explained by the lingering gray bar London "Arsenal" which has for fifteen years can not win the Premier League.

In Germany Peer won the national cup, in England it twice surrendered the Cup and the Super Bowl of the country.

The most successful in terms of trophies for Mertesacker is speech in the German national team. In the national team defender twice won bronze medals in the World Cup, silver at Euro 2008, as well as gold medals in the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.