Benjamin Kirsten

Benjamin "Benny" Kirsten (born 2 June 1987) is a German footballer who plays for 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig.

Benny Kirsten
Kirsten with Dynamo Dresden in 2008
Personal information
Full name Benjamin Kirsten
Date of birth (1987-06-02) 2 June 1987
Place of birth Riesa, East Germany
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team
 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig
Number 31
Youth career
1989–1990 Dynamo Dresden
1990–2006 Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Bayer 04 Leverkusen II 2 (0)
2008 SV Waldhof Mannheim 0 (0)
2008–2011 Dynamo Dresden II 35 (0)
2008–2015 Dynamo Dresden 123 (0)
2015 NEC 6 (0)
2016– 1. FC Lokomotive Leipzig 41 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 21:42, 31 July 2018 (UTC)

Early life

Kirsten was born in Riesa, East Germany. In 1989, at the age of two, he began to play football at Dynamo Dresden and in July 1990 left with his father Ulf Kirsten for Bayer 04 Leverkusen where he played the following 16 years with the side's youth team.

Career

In July 2006, Kirsten was promoted to Bayer 04's reserve squad in the Regionalliga. He played two games for the team who were coached by his father Ulf.[1] In January 2008, Kirsten left Bayer 04 after 17 years and six months to join SV Waldhof Mannheim. On 16 June 2008, after only half a year with Waldhof he returned to Dynamo Dresden,[2] where he made his debut – his first professional game – on 2 May 2009 against Fortuna Düsseldorf.[3] Kirsten played the entire ninety minutes, conceding one goal.

In his first two years, Kirsten regularly featured for Dynamo Dresden II. He was part of the team that won the Sachsenliga and Sachsenpokal in 2009. Kirsten was involved in a controversy after the cup win, when he was seen to light a firework on the pitch. Dynamo had previously been punished for similar incidents from their fans, and Kirsten was suspended for three games and fined €4,000 (about £3,500).[4]

On match day 25 of the 2010–11 season team manager Matthias Maucksch made Kirsten to the regular first-choice keeper of Dynamo Dresden.[5] With his persuasive performances Kirsten had a major part in that Dynamo reached the third place at the end of the season and after beating VfL Osnabrück in the relegation matches promoted to the 2. Bundesliga.

Personal life

Benjamin Kirsten is the son of former Germany national team forward and three-time Bundesliga top scorer Ulf Kirsten.[6] He is training as a merchant in sports and fitness at Dynamo Dresden.[7]

References
  1. "Keine Chance gegen Papa Ulf" (in German). bild.de. 7 July 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  2. "Dynamo Dresden verpflichtet Jens Grembowietz und Benjamin Kirsten" (in German). dynamo-dresden.de. 16 June 2008. Archived from the original on 19 June 2008.
  3. "Der Sohn von Stürmer Ulf Kirsten steht im Dynamo-Tor" (in German). derwesten.de. 1 May 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  4. "Kirsten sorgt für Eklat" (in German). kicker.de. 18 June 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  5. Klein, Daniel (21 February 2011). "Wird beim Torwart-Roulette falsch gespielt?" (in German). sz-online.de. Archived from the original on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  6. "Prominente Väter, talentierte Kinder" (in German). soccer-warriors.de. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  7. "Dynamo schnappt sich Kirsten" (in German). kicker.de. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
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