Christian Lell
Lell with Bayern Munich in 2007
Personal information
Date of birth (1984-08-29) 29 August 1984 (age 39)
Place of birth Munich, West Germany
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Right-back
Youth career
0000–1993 Alemannia Munich
1993–2001 Bayern Munich
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2010 Bayern Munich II 70 (2)
2003–2010 Bayern Munich 65 (1)
2004 → 1. FC Köln II (loan) 8 (0)
2004–2006 → 1. FC Köln (loan) 42 (1)
2010–2012 Hertha BSC 61 (1)
2012–2014 Levante 26 (2)
Total 272 (7)
International career
2003–2004 Germany U-20 6 (0)
2004 Germany U-21 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Christian Lell (born 29 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

Career

Bayern Munich

Early career

Born in Munich, Bavaria, Lell started his training with FC Alemannia München,[1] He earned a place in Bayern's youth section in 1993,[1] and played there for eight years.

For the 2001–02 season, Lell was a part of Bayern's reserve team.[2] In his first season at the senior level, the right-wingback made 10 appearances in the Regionalliga Süd.[2] He would make 31 league appearances[3] and a cup appearance[4] during the 2002–03 season. He made 20 appearances for the reserve team during the 2003–04 season.[5] Lell made his Bundesliga debut[6] on 4 October 2003 in a 4–1 against Hertha BSC where he came on as a substitute for Michael Ballack in 84th minute.[7] He made three subsequent appearances for Bayern in Bundesliga play and a cup appearance during the 2003–04 season.[5]

Loan to 1. FC Köln

Lell warming up for a match with Köln

To the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Lell was loaned to 2. Bundesliga club 1. FC Köln,[8] where he had a disappointing season. After the 4–2 loss to Wacker Burghausen on the second matchday, Lell fell out of favour with manager Huub Stevens. He earned a mere sixteen league appearances over the course of the season.[9] The season however wasn't entirely without successes for Lell. In Köln's second league match against Wacker Burghausen he scored a goal. Beyond that, he earned two caps in the DFB-Pokal,[9] and eight for the reserves in the Regionalliga Nord.[9] After the "Billy goats'" successful return to the Bundesliga for the 2005–06 season, Lell earned considerably more appearances, especially during the latter half of the season, during which he advanced to the regular starting formation. He finished the season with 26 league appearances and a cup appearance.[10]

Return to Bayern Munich

For the 2006–07 season, Lell returned to Bayern, appearing 16 times for the first team and eight times for the reserve team.[1] The 2007–08 Bundesliga season meant a lot to Lell. Because of the injury problem to vice-captain and starting right-back Willy Sagnol, Ottmar Hitzfeld decided to put Lell into the starting line-up as the right fullback. In this season, Lell earned 29 appearances in the Bundesliga,[11] scored his first Bundesliga goal.[12] In the German Cup, he played eight matches,[11] in the UEFA Cup, he played 11 matches and scored one goal,[11] and three times in the league cup.[13] During the 2008–09 season, under coach Jürgen Klinsmann and interim coach Jupp Heynckes, Lell made 28 appearances in all competitions.[14]

On 1 September 2009, just before the transfer window closed, Bayern and Premier League club Stoke City came to an agreement for Lell transfer to England. However, the deal failed when no one was able to contact Lell and inform him about it. As a result, the transfer window closed before Lell could agree to the transfer.[15] In the 2009–10 season, new Bayern coach Louis van Gaal relegated Lell to the reserves, where he made an appearance.[16] He almo made an appearance in the cup for the first team.[16]

Hertha BSC and Levante

Seven years after making his debut with first team, he left the Bavarian side and signed for Hertha BSC on 23 June 2010.[17] This ended a 17-year connection dating back to 1 July 1993 when he joined Bayern Munich's youth academy.[18] His contract in Berlin ran for one year, and was automatically extended for an additional two as Hertha earned promotion to the Bundesliga. Lell quickly established himself as an important part of Hertha's defense, starting almost every fixture and assuming vice-captaincy of the team. He finished the 2010–11 season with 33 league appearances and two cup appearances.[19] He would go on to 28 league appearances, two cup appearances, and an appearance in the relegation playoff.[20]

On 7 June 2012, Lell was released along with Patrick Ebert, Andreas Ottl, and Andre Mijatovic.[21] The decision to part company with Lell came a day after he was given a five-match ban for insulting referee Wolfgang Stark during a relegation play-off match against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[21]

Lell signed for Levante on 11 August 2012.[22] The contract is for a season plus a one-year option.[22] He would go on to score two goals in 28 appearances in 2012–13 season and no goals in five appearances in the 2013–14 season.[23]

International career

Christian Lell represented Germany on the Under-20 team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Lell also holds Austrian citizenship. After voicing desire to play for the Austria national team, he was found not eligible.[24]

Personal life

Lell's sister died in April 2014 at the age of 27 from cystic fibrosis.[25] He started a foundation for cystic fibrosis in 2009.[25]

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Other[a] Total Ref.
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Bayern Munich II 2001–02 Regionalliga Süd 10 0 — — — 10 0 [2]
2002–03 31 0 1 0 — — 32 0 [3][4]
2003–04 20 0 — — — 20 0 [5]
2006–07 8 2 — — — 8 2 [1]
2009–10 3. Liga 1 0 — — — 1 0 [16]
Total 70 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 71 2 —
Bayern Munich 2003–04 Bundesliga 4 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 5 0 [5]
2006–07 12 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 16 0 [1]
2007–08 29 1 5 0 11 1 3 0 48 2 [11][13]
2008–09 20 0 2 0 6 0 — 28 0 [14]
2009–10 0 0 1 0 0 0 — 1 0 [16]
Total 65 1 9 0 21 1 3 0 98 2 —
1. FC Köln II (loan) 2004–05 Regionalliga Nord 8 0 — — — 8 0 [9]
1. FC Köln (loan) 2004–05 2. Bundesliga 16 1 2 0 — — 18 1 [9]
2005–06 Bundesliga 26 0 1 0 — — 27 0 [10]
Total 42 1 3 0 0 0 45 1 —
Hertha BSC 2010–11 2. Bundesliga 33 0 2 0 — — 35 0 [19]
2011–12 Bundesliga 28 1 2 0 — 1 0 31 1 [20]
Total 61 1 4 0 0 0 1 0 66 1 —
Levante 2012–13 La Liga 21 2 1 0 6 0 — 28 2 [23]
2013–14 5 0 0 0 — — 5 0 [23]
Total 26 2 1 0 6 0 0 0 33 2 —
Career total 272 7 18 0 27 1 4 0 321 8 —
  1. ^ Includes DFB-Ligapokal and relegation playoff.

Honours

Bayern Munich

1. FC Köln

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  2. ^ a b c "Christian Lell" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  3. ^ a b "Christian Lell" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Christian Lell". kicker.de (in German). kicker. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  5. ^ a b c d "Christian Lell" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  6. ^ "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  7. ^ "Hertha-Krise schwillt weiter an". kicker. 2 October 2003. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  8. ^ "Lell wird ein Geißbock" (in German). kicker. 12 May 2004. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Lell, Christian" (in German). Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  10. ^ a b "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  12. ^ "Ribery bleibt cool" (in German). kicker. 6 April 2008. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  13. ^ a b "Christian Lell" (in German). Fussballdaten.de. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  14. ^ a b "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  15. ^ "Lell zu Stoke - beinahe hätt's geklappt" [Lell to Stoke - It almost worked]. merkur-online.de. 2 September 2009. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 10 October 2010.
  16. ^ a b c d "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  17. ^ "Lell wechselt von München nach Berlin". DFL. 23 June 2010. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  18. ^ "Defender Lell heads for Hertha Berlin". Bayern Munich. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 23 June 2010.
  19. ^ a b "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  20. ^ a b "Lell, Christian" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 12 March 2014.
  21. ^ a b "Die 'Alte Dame' sortiert ein Quartett aus". kicker (in German). 6 June 2012. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  22. ^ a b "Lell-Wechsel zu UD Levante perfekt". Die Welt (in German). 12 August 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2012.
  23. ^ a b c "Christian Lell » Club matches". World Football. Retrieved 28 August 2015.
  24. ^ "Christian Lell nicht für ÖFB-Team spielberechtigt". Kleine Zeitung. 16 November 2010. Retrieved 17 November 2010.
  25. ^ a b "Christian Lell: Trauer um seine Schwester" (in German). Abendzeitung. 5 June 2014. Retrieved 18 June 2014.
  26. ^ Lyon, Sam (22 May 2010). "Bayern Munich 0–2 Inter Milan". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 May 2021.

External links

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