André Schürrle

Early career

Schürrle started his career at local club Ludwigshafener SC at age four, before joining 1. FSV Mainz 05 in 2006. He played as a defender before switching to his current position of an attacker. He spent three years playing for the club's youth teams, where he won the Under 19 Bundesliga in 2009 under coach Thomas Tuchel.

1. FSV Mainz 05

In August 2009, Schürrle made his Bundesliga debut in a 2–2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen on the opening day of the 2009–10 season. The following month, on 19 September 2009, Schürrle scored his first two league goals in a 3–2 away win against VfL Bochum before signing a professional contract with the club later in the week. In September 2010, Mainz announced that Schürrle had signed a five-year contract with Bayer Leverkusen, and would join the club at the end of the 2010–11 season. The transfer fee agreed between the two clubs was believed to be in the region of €8 million.

Bayer Leverkusen

Schürrle completed his £6.5 million move to Bayer Leverkusen in 2011, signing a five-year contract with the club until the summer of 2016. He scored on his debut in a DFB Pokal tie against Dynamo Dresden. He had to wait until 15 October 2011 to open his Bundesliga account for Bayer Leverkusen, when he netted a late equalizer against Borussia Mönchengladbach, rescuing his side a point as the match finished 2–2. Schürrle registered his first European goal in the Champions League in a home win over Valencia four days…

Youth team

Schürrle made his debut in a UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship qualifying match against Luxembourg, which resulted in a 3–0 win. After impressing for 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga he was called up to the under-21 team in 2009.

Senior team

In November 2010, Schürrle received a call up to the senior team. He subsequently made his debut in a friendly against Sweden, appearing as a substitute in the 79th minute. Schürrle and Mario Götze, who came on simultaneously, were the first two German international players to be born in reunified Germany. On 29 May 2011, Schürrle scored his first goal for the senior team, during a friendly against Uruguay in a 2–1 win. Schürrle was chosen in Germany's squad for their qualification for UEFA Euro 2012. He scored against Azerbaijan in a 3–1 win, on 7 June 2011. On 2 September 2011, he scored again in the 6–2 thrashing victory over Austria, in both cases coming on as a substitute. In the next qualification fixture against Belgium on 11 October 2011, Schürrle was rewarded with his first start in the Euro 2012 qualifiers, and scored in the 33rd minute chipping over Simon Mignolet. After scoring three times during the campaign as Germany won ten out of ten games to top their group in their qualifiers, Schürrle was named in the Germany 23-man squad for UEFA Euro 2012 and was given the number nine shirt. He made his first appearance at Euro 2012 on 17 June, coming on as a substitute in the 64th minute for…

Schürrle usually played as a winger but was naturally positioned as a second striker. One of his "key assets" was his "long-distance sprinting on the counter-attack." He also had an excellent fitness level, work-rate and pace. Schürrle was considered to be an "amazing finisher" and "capable of executing counter-attacks effectively". He often liked to cut inside, shoot from distance and enjoyed time on the ball. He is also known for his powerful shots outside the box making him a threat to the opposition.

Schürrle was born in Ludwigshafen, Rhineland-Palatinate to Luise and Joachim Schürrle. When he was a youngster, he told in an interview with German football magazine 11 Freunde that his idols were Michael Ballack and Raúl. He married Kazakh-born model Anna Sharypova at the end of 2018. Their first child, Kaia Schürrle, was born in April 2019.