Jérome Polenz

Early career

Polenz was born in Berlin, Germany, to an Algerian father and a German mother. He first began his youth career with SC Siemensstadt at the age of seven before advancing through the youth systems of CFC Hertha 06 and TeBe Berlin. Growing up, Polenz attended the Gymnasium Obervieland and graduated with an Abitur diploma. When he was fifteen years old, Polenz joined Werder Bremen and quickly developed his way through the club's teams. After three years on Bremen's reserve team, he made his first team debut on 4 February 2006, beating Mainz 4–2. Following his debut, Polenz signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2009. He later went on to make three appearances at the end of the 2005–06 season. Polenz made no appearances in the first team throughout the 2006–07 season.

Alemannia Aachen

It was announced on 15 June 2007 that Polenz joined Alemannia Aachen on a three–year contract, effectively joining the club on 1 July 2007. He made his debut for the club, coming on as an 83rd-minute substitute, in a 3–0 win against FC Normannia Gmünd in the first round of the DFB–Pokal. In a follow–up match, Polenz made his first start for Alemannia Aachen, playing in the defensive midfield position, as the club drew 2–2 against Carl Zeiss Jena. Since joining Alemannia Aachen, he was involved in the first team, rotating in playing as a striker, right–midfield and right–back positions. Polenz also began to contribute assists,…

Following his departure from Brisbane Roar, Polenz retired from professional football that summer. Afterwards, he initially worked in online marketing, but later relocated to Barcelona. Polenz revealed that he had a short and unsuccessful excursion into the fashion business during his career in Berlin after his fashion label called "Propeller" failed and didn't mainstay for the time after, reflecting: "The idea was good, the implementation was not." In March 2020, Eintracht Frankfurt appointed Polenz and his former teammate Thomas Broich as their U15 coach, effectively starting from 1 July 2020.

Polenz was eligible to play for Germany and Algeria but ended up playing for Germany. In September 2004, Polenz was called up to the Germany U19 squad and made his debut for the U19 side, losing 4–1 against Spain U19 on 17 September 2004. He played a part in the 2005 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in the group stage against Serbia and Montenegro coming on as a substitute in the 78th minute replacing Markus Heppke. However, Polenz was unable to take part in the remaining fixtures of the group stage and the semi-final against France due to an injury and returned to Germany prior to the match alongside Sascha Dum and Markus Steinhöfer who were also injured. He went on to make three appearances for Germany U19. In September 2005, Polenz was called up to the Germany U20 squad and made his U20 debut, losing 2–1 against Switzerland on 14 September 2005. A year later on 6 December 2006, he made his second appearance for Germany U19, in a 1–0 against Italy U20. Polenz went on to make two appearances for Germany U20.

Polenz revealed that he began playing football at a young age. Polenz has two brothers and a sister. One of his brothers played amateur football. In addition to speaking German, he speaks French. Polenz is married to his wife Svenja.