Benedikt Höwedes

About

German former professional soccer player who started as a defender. He spent most of his playing career at Schalke 04, which he captained for six seasons. He represented the German national team from 2011 to 2017. At the international level, he won the World Cup with Germany in 2014. He has 440,000 followers on Instagram.

Before Fame

He attended Gesamtschule Berger Feld, whose other alumni include Manuel Neuer, Mesut Özil, Julian Draxler, and Joel Matip. He started playing soccer for his hometown club TuS Haltern in 1994. In 2001, he was transferred to the youth teams of FC Schalke 04. In 2003, he became captain of Schalke's under-19 team. He made his professional debut with Schalke in October 2007. 

Trivia

He was one of only three players to play every single minute of the 2014 World Cup tournament.

Family Life

His father, Wilfried Höwedes, was a manager and assistant manager with TuS Haltern from 2011 to 2014. He was born in Haltern, North Rhine-Westphalia.

Associated With

His 2014 German national team teammates included Thomas Müller, Miroslav Klose, Sami Khedira, and Toni Kroos.