Sascha Kirschstein (born 9 June 1980) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.[1]

Sascha Kirschstein
Kirschstein playing for Greuther Fürth in 2008
Personal information
Date of birth (1980-06-09) 9 June 1980 (age 44)
Place of birth Braunschweig, West Germany
Height 1.96 m (6 ft 5 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Youth career
1985–1992 FSB Braunschweig
1992–1994 SV Olympia 92 Braunschweig
1994–1996 BSC Braunschweig
1996–1999 Eintracht Braunschweig
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1999–2002 Eintracht Braunschweig 4 (0)
2002–2004 Rot-Weiss Essen 55 (0)
2004–2006 Hamburger SV II 16 (0)
2004–2009 Hamburger SV 23 (0)
2007–2009Greuther Fürth (loan) 41 (0)
2009–2010 Rot-Weiss Ahlen 33 (0)
2010–2013 FC Ingolstadt 04 49 (0)
2013–2015 Erzgebirge Aue 14 (0)
2015–2016 Poli Timișoara 20 (0)
2017 Rot Weiss Ahlen 15 (0)
Total 270 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

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Born in Braunschweig, Kirschstein started his professional career with Eintracht Braunschweig, making his debut in the Regionalliga North in December 2001. He moved to the league rivals Rot-Weiss Essen in the summer of 2002 and subsequently spent two seasons with club as their first-choice goalkeeper.

In 2004, Kirschstein was signed by Bundesliga side Hamburger SV to serve as understudy to Martin Pieckenhagen and Stefan Wächter. He did not play in the Bundesliga during his first season with the club, but made 12 Regionalliga Nord appearances for Hamburg's reserve team. Kirschstein eventually made his Bundesliga debut against Bayer Leverkusen on 26 November 2005, following an injury to Wächter, and secured his place in the starting XI with a string of impressive performances in the second half of the season. He was initially chosen as Hamburg's first-choice goalkeeper for the 2006–07 season and also made his UEFA Champions League debut against Arsenal on 13 September 2006. However, he was sent off only 10 minutes into the game. Despite that, he remained Hamburg's first choice in the Bundesliga and made two more Champions League appearances, before eventually being replaced by Wächter in early November 2006.

During the winter break of the 2006–07 season, Hamburg signed Frank Rost as their new first-choice goalkeeper and Kirschstein was eventually sent on a two-season loan to 2. Bundesliga side Greuther Fürth in the summer of 2007. At Greuther Fürth, he established himself as the first-choice goalkeeper and only missed one league match during the entire season due to a yellow-card suspension.

On 4 April 2009, he signed a contract with SC Paderborn 07. On 24 June 2009, the contract was canceled and he signed a one-year contract for Rot-Weiss Ahlen. When Ahlen were relegated in 2010, he signed for FC Ingolstadt 04 on 19 May 2010.

Kirschstein retired in 2018, having been released by Rot Weiss Ahlen.[2]

Honours

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Hamburger SV

References

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  1. ^ "Kirschstein, Sascha" (in German). kicker.de. Retrieved 15 February 2017.
  2. ^ Müller, Christian (26 July 2019). "SVE Heessen: Sascha Kirschstein ist neuer Torwarttrainer beim A-Kreisligisten". Westfälischer Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 19 January 2021.
  3. ^ "Valencia 0-0 Hamburg (Aggregate: 0 - 1)". uefa.com. Archived from the original on 12 September 2006. Retrieved 14 June 2020.
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