Moritz Volz
Encyclopedia
Moritz Volz is a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 footballer currently playing for German Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

 club FC St. Pauli
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that also has Rugby Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that...

.

Volz generally prefers to play at right-back, although he is comfortable at any defensive position and has played in midfield as well.

Early career

Volz started his career in his native Germany at FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

 before being spotted by Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

 while playing for the German Youth team. He was offered a contract and joined the Gunners in the summer of 1999. Volz played twice for Arsenal, his debut coming in a League Cup
Football League Cup
The Football League Cup, commonly known as the League Cup or, from current sponsorship, the Carling Cup, is an English association football competition. Like the FA Cup, it is played on a knockout basis...

 defeat to Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

 in 2000. His other appearance came in another League Cup defeat to Sunderland two years later. In February 2003, he was loaned out to Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

, where he impressed by scoring on his debut against Brighton
Brighton & Hove Albion F.C.
Brighton & Hove Albion Football Club are an English association football club based in the coastal city of Brighton & Hove, East Sussex. They currently play in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system....

 and going on to make nine further appearances for the Dons. He returned from loan in the summer of the same year before joining Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

, again on loan, in August 2003. The move was made permanent in January 2004.

Fulham

Volz attained cult-figure status with Fulham fans, in part due to his commitment and passion and to his community involvement, but also because it was revealed that he rides his bicycle to home games. His terrace nicknames include '220 Volz', 'The Electrician', 'Mr Resistor' and 'The Lightbulb', although by far the most common with Fulham fans is the rather simple 'Volzy'. He is also nicknamed 'The Hoff' due to German stereotype he often refers to on his website. For the match against Aston Villa on Saturday 21 October 2006, he had 'The Hoff's name written on his boots for good luck, and promptly scored his first goal in three years.

On 20 December 2006, he scored the 15,000th goal in Premier League history for Fulham against Chelsea
Chelsea F.C.
Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

. Inevitably, this gave birth to the new nickname '15,000 Volz'. By scoring the goal, Volz was able to donate £15,000 to a charity of his choice. He donated the money in three equal parts to Kick 4 Life, The Prince's Trust and Fulham Football Club's Community charity.

On 28 August 2008, he signed for Ipswich Town on a season-long loan deal. He hoped to help Ipswich get promoted to the Premier League.

On 1 July 2009, he was released from Fulham at the end of his contract and was praised by the club for his loyal service both on and off the pitch. He has remained at training with the club to regain fitness while he hunts for a new team, and has also done media work for ITV and papers, while studying.

On 2 January 2010, Volz got a trial with former club FC Schalke 04
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

. He joined the team at Chiclana de la Frontera
Chiclana de la Frontera
Chiclana de la Frontera is a town in southwestern Spain, in the province of Cádiz, near the Gulf of Cadiz. The area is a fertile region, with much agriculture, including vineyards...

 for a training camp.

FC St. Pauli

Volz joined FC St. Pauli
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that also has Rugby Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that...

 on 15 June 2010, and signed a contract for two years. He made his debut on 5 November 2010 against Schalke
FC Schalke 04
Fußball-Club Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04, commonly known as simply FC Schalke 04 or Schalke , is a German, association-football club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine-Westphalia. Schalke has long been one of the most popular football teams in Germany, even though major...

.

International career

Although Volz was not part of the German team that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup on home soil in 2006, he was an ever-present force in Dieter Eilts
Dieter Eilts
Dieter Eilts was an acclaimed German footballer and was last the trainer of Hansa Rostock. His nickname was the Alemão of East Frisia, for his similarity with to Brazilian midfielder Alemão...

' successful under-21 side
Germany national under-21 football team
The Germany national under-21 football team represents the under-21s of Germany in the UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship and is controlled by the German Football Association , the governing body of football in Germany....

. He helped the team qualify for the European Championships in summer 2006. He is currently not in the National team pecking order for the right back
Defender (association football)
Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking....

 position, with players like Heiko Westermann
Heiko Westermann
Heiko Westermann is a German footballer who plays as defender for Hamburger SV and the German national team. Westermann is known for his good all-round abilities and goal scoring...

, Arne Friedrich
Arne Friedrich
Arne Friedrich is a German international football defender, who plays for the German national team....

 and Philipp Lahm
Philipp Lahm
Philipp Lahm is a German footballer who plays for Bayern Munich and Germany. Lahm is also the captain for both the national team and Bayern....

 in front of him. While never being a mainstay for Germany, he was included in the squad for the 17 November 2004 game in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...

 against Cameroon
Cameroon national football team
The Cameroon national football team, nicknamed Les Lions Indomptables , is controlled by the Fédération Camerounaise de Football and is Africa's most successful side in FIFA world cup; having qualified for the FIFA World Cup six times – in 1982, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2002 and 2010– more than any...

.

Career statistics

|-
|2001–02||rowspan="2"|Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

||rowspan="2"|Premier League||||||||||1||0||||||1||0
|-
|2002–03||||||||||1||0||||||1||0
|-
|2002–03||Wimbledon
Wimbledon F.C.
Wimbledon Football Club was an English professional association football club from Wimbledon, south-west London. Founded in 1889 as Wimbledon Old Central Football Club, the club spent most of its history in amateur and semi-professional non-League football before being elected to the Football...

||First Division
Football League First Division
The First Division was a division of The Football League between 1888 and 2004 and the highest division in English football until the creation of the Premier League in 1992. The secondary tier in English football has since become known as the Championship....

||10||1||||||||||||||10||1
|-
|2003–04||rowspan="5"|Fulham
Fulham F.C.
Fulham Football Club is a professional English Premier League club based in southwest London Fulham, in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham. Founded in 1879, they play in the Premier League, their 11th current season...

||rowspan="5"|Premier League||33||0||5||0||||||||||38||0
|-
|2004–05||31||0||2||1||3|||0|||||||36||1
|-
|2005–06||23||0||||||1||0||||||24||0
|-
|2006–07||29||2||4||1||1||0||||||34||3
|-
|2007–08||9||0||2||0||1||0||||||12||0
|-
|2008–09||Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....

||Championship
Football League Championship
The Football League Championship is the highest division of The Football League and second-highest division overall in the English football league system after the Premier League...

||22||0||||||1||0||||||23||0

|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2010–11 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 48th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season started on the weekend of 21 August 2010 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions and ended with the last games on 14 May 2011. The winter...

||rowspan="2"|FC St. Pauli
FC St. Pauli
Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that also has Rugby Fußball-Club St. Pauli is a German sports club based in the St. Pauli quarter of Hamburg. The football section is part of a larger club that...

||Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...

||9||0||||||||||||||9||0
|-
|2011–12
2011–12 2. Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2011–12 2. Fußball-Bundesliga is the 38th season of the 2. Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's second tier of its football league system. The season commenced on 15 July 2011, three weeks earlier than the 2011–12 Fußball-Bundesliga season, and will end with the last games on 6 May 2012...

||2. Bundesliga
2. Fußball-Bundesliga
- Changes in division set-up :* Number of clubs: currently 18. From 1974 to 1981 there were two conferences, each of 20 teams. In 1981–91 it had 20...

||0||0||||||||||||||0||0
157||3||13||2||9||0||||||179||5
9||0||0||0||0||0||||||9||0
166||3||13||2||9||0||||||188||5

Honours

Arsenal
Arsenal F.C.
Arsenal Football Club is a professional English Premier League football club based in North London. One of the most successful clubs in English football, it has won 13 First Division and Premier League titles and 10 FA Cups...

  • FA Youth Cup
    FA Youth Cup
    The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under–18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part...

    : 1999–00, 2000–01

External links

  • Interview in The Guardian
    The Guardian
    The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...

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