Marcell Jansen

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Growing up in Mönchengladbach, West Germany, Jansen joined Borussia Mönchengladbach from local SV Mönchengladbach in 1993 and progressed through the ranks at the club's academy. It was not until 2003 when then-Mönchengladbach manager Ewald Lienen named him as an unused substitute in a Bundesliga fixture of the club in a 2–0 loss against Hannover 96 on 19 September 2003. Ironically, this turned out to be Lienen's final game in charge of Mönchengladbach and Jansen returned to the U19 side. The start of the 2004–05 season saw Jansen playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach II in the fourth division under manager Horst Köppel. By the end of 2004, Jansen was given a first team opportunity under Dick Advocaat, who gave him his debut for the side. They lost 6–0 away against Hertha BSC on 4 December 2004. During the match, which saw Hertha BSC leading 5–0 in the second half, it went bad to worse when he gave away a penalty, resulting a successful penalty kick from Marcelinho Paraíba to score Hertha's sixth goal. Nevertheless, Advocaat continued using him in the first team following an injury to club captain Christian Ziege. On 28 January 2005, Jansen signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2008. He continued to be a first team regular at the club, playing as a left-back and because of this, he earned a call up for the Germany under-21 national team as well. It was not until on 3 April 2005 when Jansen scored his first…

Youth team

Having previously played for the youth side, Jansen was called up by Germany under-21 national team for the first time in November 2004. He made his Germany U21 debut on 16 November 2004, where he made his first start and played 62 minutes before being substituted in a 1–1 draw against Poland. Jansen then scored his first Germany U21 goal on 16 February 2005 in a 4–0 win over Wales. Jansen went on to make four appearances and scored once for the Germany U21 side.

Senior team

In September 2005, Jansen was called by the senior side for the first time in a friendly match against South Africa and against Slovakia on 3 September 2005 in Bratislava. He made his debut in that match, coming on as a half-time substitute for Thomas Hitzlsperger as Germany lost 2–0. Jansen then played the whole match in the next match against South Africa on 7 September 2005, in a 4–2 win for the side. After appearing in further internationals for Germany, Jansen was subsequently named in the final 23-man German squad for the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He initially started out as first-choice on the left with usual left back Philipp Lahm being moved to right back to accommodate him. After some below-par performances prior to the tournament, manager Jürgen Klinsmann benched him and put Lahm in at left back again. With Lahm in good form, Jansen was restricted to only one appearance throughout the tournament, Germany's bronze medal-winning match against Portugal. Jansen eventually…

Club

International

Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Jansen goal.

Jansen revealed that he has lactose and grain intolerance, refraining from eating foods that contain lactose. Outside football, Jansen supports the "Hamburger Weg" project where he helps people who struggle in the city of Hamburg. At one point, Jansen once raised €1,000 for the "Hamburger Weg" project when he was a participant in a poker match. Jansen also said his father was a major influence in his life. In February 2015, Jansen, along with five others, invested in the sports company called "Gymjunky".