Lewis Holtby

Early career

Lewis Harry Holtby was born on 18 September 1990 in Erkelenz, West Germany. He began playing football at the age of four with amateur side Sparta Gerderath, a club with whom his father had also previously played, before signing for Borussia Mönchengladbach when he was 11-years old. He spent three seasons in Gladbach's academy before the club let him go in 2004, deeming him to be too small and slow to make it as a professional footballer. Following his release, Holtby elected to sign for Alemannia Aachen in the second tier of German football at the age of 14.

Aachen

After three years in Aachen's academy, Holtby signed a professional contract with the club during the 2007–08 season. He was then handed his first-team debut at the age of 17 by caretaker manager Jörg Schmadtke in December 2007, coming on as a second half substitute for Mirko Casper in a 2–2 draw with FC St. Pauli. His debut was one of only two appearances for the season, with his second coming in a 3–1 loss to TuS Koblenz on the last match day of the campaign. The following season, Holtby was converted to the left wing position by new club manager Jürgen Seeberger. Excelling in his new role, he scored his first goal for the club on 8 December 2008 against 1860 Munich before netting a brace in a 6–2 drubbing of Nürnberg in February the following year. He ultimately made 31 appearances for the season and scored eight goals as Aachen ended the campaign in fourth place, narrowly missing…

The son of Chris Holtby, a former British soldier who was stationed at RAF Rheindahlen in Mönchengladbach, Holtby was eligible to represent England through paternal lineage as well as his native Germany.

Youth

Having previously represented Germany at U18 level, Holtby made his debut for the U19 level in September 2008 and earned 12 caps overall. He scored the first of his four international goals for the German U19 team on 11 October 2008, netting in a 5–0 victory against Lithuania. The following year, Germany youth coach Horst Hrubesch named Holtby in his squad for the U20 World Cup in Egypt. Holtby scored two goals at the tournament, one of which was against eventual runners-up Brazil in the quarter-finals. In 2013, he captained Germany at the European Under-21 Championship in Israel and was named as the nation's only representative in the Team of the Tournament.

Senior

While on loan with Bundesliga side Mainz, Holtby caught the attention of national team manager Joachim Löw who named him in the senior squad for the first time for a friendly match against Sweden on 17 November 2010. He was named in the starting line-up and played 77 minutes before being replaced by Mainz teammate Schürrle in a goalless draw, later receiving the man of the match award for his performance. He made his second appearance the following year, coming on as a late substitute for Thomas Müller in a 3–1 UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying victory against Azerbaijan. By appearing in a…

Club

As of matches played on 17 May 2026

International

As of 3 April 2019

Holtby is a lifelong Everton fan, an affiliation he developed as a result of his English father's support of the club. When Liverpool showed interest in him in 2012, he went on record stating that he wouldn't say no to Liverpool as his dream was to play in the Premier League. He said, "I wouldn't even rule out Liverpool, even if it would be tough for my dad – he's an Everton fan." Holtby's younger brother, Joshua, is also a footballer, who played for MVV Maastricht in the Eerste Divisie and now plays for Preußen Münster in Germany's Regionalliga West. Like Lewis, he previously trained in the academy of Gladbach. In 2019, he collaborated with Hamburg-based musicians Elvis & Pape on the release of their album titled, Hurrikan.