Michael Hefele
Hefele playing for Greuther Fürth in 2012
Personal information
Full name Michael Martin Hefele[1]
Date of birth (1990-09-01) 1 September 1990 (age 33)
Place of birth Pfaffenhofen an der Ilm, West Germany
Height 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in)
Position(s) Centre-back
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2012 SpVgg Unterhaching II 43 (5)
2010–2012 SpVgg Unterhaching 33 (1)
2012–2014 Greuther Fürth II 13 (0)
2012–2014 Greuther Fürth 3 (0)
2014 → Wacker Burghausen (loan) 15 (0)
2014–2016 Dynamo Dresden 69 (10)
2016–2018 Huddersfield Town 39 (3)
2018–2021 Nottingham Forest 15 (0)
Total 230 (19)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Michael Martin Hefele (German: [ˈheːfələ]; born 1 September 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He is now a first team coach at EFL Championship club West Bromwich Albion.

Career

In Germany

Hefele made his debut for SpVgg Unterhaching in 2010. He went on to play for SpVgg Greuther Fürth and was on loan at Wacker Burghausen. He played two seasons for Dynamo Dresden scoring ten times in 72 appearances in all competitions and became the club captain.[2]

Huddersfield Town

In July 2016, Hefele joined English Championship side Huddersfield Town[2] Hefele scored his first goal for Huddersfield in a 1–1 draw with Aston Villa on 16 August 2016, just 26 seconds after coming off the bench, a Huddersfield record for the quickest time scored by a debutante in the club's 108-year history.[3] On 28 January 2017, in a game against Rochdale, Hefele was substituted on as a striker in the 46th minute, coming on for Elias Kachunga. He then scored two goals as striker.[4] Eight days later, on 5 February 2017, Hefele scored the winning goal in the 89th minute in a 2–1 victory against Leeds United.[5]

Nottingham Forest

On 9 August 2018, Hefele joined English Championship side Nottingham Forest for an undisclosed fee.[6] He made his debut for Forest on 14 August 2018 in the first round of the 2018–19 EFL Cup against Bury. The game finished 1–1 after 90 minutes with Forest going through to the second round 10–9 on penalties, one of which Hefele scored for Forest.[7] Hefele was frozen out of the Forest first team squad, making his last appearance for the club on 1 January 2019. He saw out his contract and was officially released at the end of the 2020–21 season.[8]

On 25 July 2021, Hefele announced his retirement from playing professional football due to "medical reasons".[9]

Post-retirement

On 26 July 2021, one day after announcing his retirement, he rejoined Huddersfield Town in a newly created role combining coaching with hospitality and ambassadorial roles at the club.[10] On 23 December 2022 he joined Carlos Corberán at West Bromwich Albion in a First Team Assistant Coach role under Corberán.

Career statistics

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[11]
Club Season League National cup League cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
SpVgg Unterhaching 2010–11 3. Liga 27 0 0 0 — — 27 0
2011–12 3. Liga 6 1 0 0 — — 6 1
Total 33 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 33 1
Greuther Fürth II 2012–13 Regionalliga Bayern 8 0 — — — 8 0
2013–14 Regionalliga Bayern 5 0 — — — 5 0
Total 13 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0
Greuther Fürth 2012–13 Bundesliga 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
2013–14 2. Bundesliga 2 0 0 0 — — 2 0
Total 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0
Wacker Burghausen (loan) 2013–14 3. Liga 15 0 0 0 — — 15 0
Dynamo Dresden 2014–15 3. Liga 31 3 3 0 — — 34 3
2015–16 3. Liga 38 7 0 0 — — 38 7
Total 69 10 3 0 0 0 0 0 72 10
Huddersfield Town 2016–17 Championship 37 3 1 2 1 0 3 0 42 5
2017–18 Premier League 2 0 2 0 2 0 0 0 6 0
Total 39 3 3 2 3 0 3 0 48 5
Nottingham Forest 2018–19 Championship 15 0 0 0 3 0 — 18 0
2019–20 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 0 0
Total 15 0 0 0 3 0 — 18 0
Career total 187 14 6 2 6 0 3 0 202 16

Honours

Huddersfield Town

References

  1. ^ "Updated squads for 2017/18 Premier League confirmed". Premier League. 2 February 2018. Retrieved 11 February 2018.
  2. ^ a b "TRANSFER: MICHAEL HEFELE TO JOIN HTAFC". Htafc.com.
  3. ^ "Aston Villa 1–1 Huddersfield". BBC Sport. 16 August 2016. Retrieved 17 August 2016.
  4. ^ "Rochdate 0 Huddersfield 4". Whoscored.com. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  5. ^ "Huddersfield Town 2-1 Leeds United". BBC Sport. 5 February 2017. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  6. ^ "Nottingham Forest FC". Nottinghamforest.co.uk.
  7. ^ "Nottingham Forest vs. Bury – 14 August 2018". Soccerway. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  8. ^ "Dawson Bids Farewell as Released List Confirmed". Nottinghamforest.co.uk. 2 June 2021.
  9. ^ Clapson, Sarah (26 July 2021). "Former Red Hefele announces retirement with emotional message". NottinghamshireLive.
  10. ^ "MICHAEL HEFELE RETURNS TO HUDDERSFIELD TOWN". Htafc.com. 26 July 2021.
  11. ^ "M. Hefele". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  12. ^ Woodcock, Ian (29 May 2017). "Huddersfield Town 0–0 Reading". BBC Sport. Retrieved 26 May 2018.

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