Sidney Sam

Sidney Sam (German pronunciation: [ˈzɪd.nɛː ˈzam]; born 31 January 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Turkish club Antalyaspor. He is known for his explosive speed and dribbling style.[2][3][4]

Sidney Sam
Sam training with Schalke 04 in 2015
Personal information
Full name Sidney Sam[1]
Date of birth (1988-01-31) 31 January 1988
Place of birth Kiel, West Germany
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
 Antalyaspor
Number 9
Youth career
1995–2001 TuS Mettenhof
2001–2002 FC Kilia Kiel
2002–2004 Holstein Kiel
2004–2007 Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Hamburger SV II 47 (8)
2007–2010 Hamburger SV 4 (0)
2008–2010 → 1. FC Kaiserslautern (loan) 59 (14)
2010–2014 Bayer 04 Leverkusen 92 (24)
2014–2017 FC Schalke 04 13 (0)
2015–2016 → FC Schalke 04 II 12 (3)
2017 → SV Darmstadt 98 (loan) 13 (2)
2017–2019 VfL Bochum 42 (2)
2019–2020 SCR Altach 22 (6)
2020– Antalyaspor 6 (2)
National team
2007 Germany U19 9 (2)
2007–2008 Germany U20 4 (0)
2009–2010 Germany U21 7 (1)
2013 Germany 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 December 2020

Club career

Early career

The forward who can also play as a winger started playing football at TuS Mettenhof.[2] After that, Sam played at Kilia Kiel.[2] In the summer of 2002, he signed for the city rivals of Kilia Kiel, Holstein Kiel.[2]

At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Sam moved on to the Hamburger SV youth system, and in 2006, he was promoted to the second team.[2] In the 2007–08 season, he became part of the professional pool of Hamburg.[2]

On 20 December 2007, Sam made his debut in the Bundesliga against VfB Stuttgart when he came on as a substitute for David Jarolím.[2] He joined 1. FC Kaiserslautern on loan for the 2008–09 season and was loaned for another season on 1 July 2009.[5]

Bayer Leverkusen

Sam then moved to Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 signing a five-year contract.[2] He started off the season well and on 8 November 2010, he played against his former club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[2] Down 1–0, he started the comeback when he smashed a driven shot into the net.[2] Patrick Helmes then completed the comeback as he made it 2–1. The day belonged to Sam as he smashed home a first time volley almost 25 meters out, stunned the entire stadium and made a name for himself that day while the goal was crowned Goal of the Month (Germany).[2] On 17 February 2011, he scored a double in Bayer's UEFA Europa League match against Metalist Kharkiv, with both last-minute goals coming in added time.[2]

Schalke 04

On 8 January 2014, Sam signed a four-year contract with Schalke 04 running until 30 June 2018.[6] He joined S04 for a transfer fee of €2,500,000 in June 2014,[6] upon completion of the 2013–14 Bundesliga season.[6] On 11 May 2015, he was suspended indefinitely from the club in the aftermath of a loss to 1. FC Köln.[7]

Loan to SV Darmstadt 98

In January 2017, Bundesliga club SV Darmstadt 98 announced that Sam has signed a loan agreement with the club until 30 June 2017.[8]

VfL Bochum

On 31 August 2017, VfL Bochum signed Sam on a two-year deal.[9]

SCR Altach

On 2 October 2019, Sam signed a contract with Austrian club SCR Altach until the end of the 2019–20 season.[10]

International career
Sam playing for Germany U21 in 2010

Born to a German mother and Nigerian father, Sam would have been eligible to play for the Nigeria national team,[11] but decided early on to represent his country of birth.[11] He was a German youth national player, starring in Germany's under-19 and under-20 teams. On 29 May 2013, he made his senior international debut for Germany in a friendly game against Ecuador in Boca Raton, Florida.[6] On 8 May 2014, Sam was named to the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by German national team manager, Joachim Löw.

Playing style

Sam has been likened by observers in German football to the Dutch winger Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich,[2] due to his explosive speed and dribbling style and possibly due to his frequent deployment on the right-wing and as an outside forward,[2] cutting inside on his favoured left-foot to unleash his fierce shots,[2] which leads to him scoring spectacular long-range goals.[2] Sam is likened to a young Ryan Giggs,[2] due to his ability to dribble with the ball at top speed.[2] His comparison to Ryan Giggs and Arjen Robben is seen in the influence of the way he shoots and gets into goal-scoring situations coming in from both flanks on the football pitch.[2] He utilizes his explosive speed by running-in-behind defenders and he is often as well deployed as an outside forward and striker.[2]

Career statistics

Club
As of 31 July 2019[3]
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
LeagueAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Hamburger SV II2005–06Regionalliga Nord21——21
2006–07234——234
2007–08213——213
2008–0910——10
Total4780000478
Hamburger SV2007–08Bundesliga40001050
2008–0900000000
Total40001050
1. FC Kaiserslautern2008–092. Bundesliga26400—264
2009–10331021—3511
Total591421006115
Bayer Leverkusen2010–11Bundesliga30722834012
2011–121841161256
2012–132252030285
2013–1422833623113
Total92248623612436
FC Schalke 042014–15Bundesliga1101030150
2015–1620004060
2016–1700001010
Total1301080220
FC Schalke 04 II2014–15Regionalliga West10——10
2015–1621——21
2016–1792——92
Total1230000123
SV Darmstadt 982016–17Bundesliga13200—132
Total1320000132
VfL Bochum2017–182. Bundesliga23010—240
2018–1919200—192
Total4221000432
Career total2825312732632666

International statistics
As of 19 November 2013
National teamYearApp.GoalsRef.
Germany 201350[12]
Total50–

Personal life

Sidney Sam is married to Joyce Sam.[13][14][15] They have one son together named Adrian-Romeo, who was born in 2012.

References
  1. "Sidney Sam". Turkish Football Federation. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  2. "The Boy Has Got Skills' – Bayer Leverkusen's Sidney Sam". footballfancast.com. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  3. "Sidney Sam" (in German). kicker. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
  4. Sidney Sam at Soccerway
  5. "Sam bleibt in der Pfalz" (in German). kicker.de. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  6. "S04 verpflichtet Nationalspieler Sidney Sam". Schalke 04 (in German). 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  7. "Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sidney Sam suspended by Schalke". BBC Sport. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  8. "Darmstadt verpflichtet Sam auf Leihbasis" (in German). kicker. 14 January 2017. Retrieved 14 January 2017.
  9. "Sidney Sam verlässt den FC Schalke 04 und wechselt zum VfL Bochum" (in German). Der Westen. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2017.
  10. "SCR Altach nimmt Sidney Sam unter Vertrag" (Press release) (in German). SCR Altach. 2 October 2019.
  11. "Sidney Sam closes the door: 'I never thought about playing for Nigeria'". Goal.com. 27 May 2013.
  12. "Sidney Sam". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmerman. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  13. Nina Gressmann (16 July 2014). "1. Interview Als Schalke-Star: Sam "Mein Ziel sind 15 Tore!"" [First interview as Schalke star: Sam "My goal is 15 goals!"]. bild.de (in German). Bild. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  14. Christof Koepsel (12 August 2014). "Schalke 04 - Volkswagen Car Handover". gettyimages.co.uk. Getty Images. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  15. Christof Koepsel (8 May 2014). "Sidney Sam Girlfriend Joyce Photos". fifawallpapers.com. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
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