Sidney Sam

Sidney Sam

Sam training with Schalke 04 in 2015.
Personal information
Full name Sidney Sam
Date of birth (1988-01-31) 31 January 1988
Place of birth Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein, West Germany
Height 1.74 m (5 ft 8 12 in)[1]
Playing position Forward / Winger
Club information
Current team
Schalke 04
Number 18
Youth career
TuS Mettenhof
Kilia Kiel
2002–2004 Holstein Kiel
2004–2007 Hamburger SV
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2006–2008 Hamburger SV II 47 (8)
2007–2010 Hamburger SV 4 (0)
2008–20101. FC Kaiserslautern (loan) 59 (14)
2010–2014 Bayer Leverkusen 92 (24)
2014– Schalke 04 10 (0)
2015 Schalke 04 II 3 (0)
National team
2007 Germany U19 9 (2)
2007–2008 Germany U20 4 (0)
2009–2010 Germany U21 7 (1)
2013– Germany 5 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:01, 29 November 2015 (UTC).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 19 November 2013

Sidney Sam (German pronunciation: [ˈzɪd.nɛː ˈzam]; born 31 January 1988) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward or winger for Schalke 04. Sam is known for his explosive speed and dribbling style.[1]

Club career

Early career

The forward who can also play as a winger started playing football at TuS Mettenhof.[1] After that, Sam played at Kilia Kiel.[1] In the summer of 2002, Sam signed for the city rivals of Kilia Kiel, Holstein Kiel.[1]

At the beginning of the 2004–05 season, Sam moved on to the Hamburger SV youth system, and in 2006, Sam was promoted to the second team.[1] In the 2007–08 season, Sam became part of the professional pool of Hamburg.[1]

On 20 December 2007, Sam made his debut in the Bundesliga against VfB Stuttgart when he came on as a substitute for David Jarolím.[1] Sam joined 1. FC Kaiserslautern on loan for the 2008–09 season and was loaned for another season on 1 July 2009.[2]

Bayer Leverkusen

Sam then moved to Bayer Leverkusen in 2010 as he signed a five-year contract.[1] Sam started off the season well and on 8 November 2010, he played against his former club 1. FC Kaiserslautern.[1] Down 1–0, he started the comeback when he smashed a driven shot into the net.[1] Patrick Helmes then completed the comeback as he made it 2–1. The day belonged to Sam as he smashed home a first time volley almost 25 meters out and stunned the entire stadium and made a name for himself that day and the goal was crowned Goal of the Month (Germany).[1] On 17 February 2011, Sam scored a double in Bayer's UEFA Europa League match against Metalist Kharkiv, with both last-minute goals coming in added time.[1]

Schalke 04

On 8 January 2014, Sam signed a 4-year contract with Schalke 04 running until 30 June 2018.[3] Sam joined S04 for a transfer fee of €2,500,000 in June 2014,[3] upon completion of the 2013–14 Bundesliga season.[3] On 11 May 2015, he was suspended indefinitely from the club in the aftermath of a loss to 1. FC Köln.[4]

International career

Sam playing for Germany U21 in 2010

Born to a German mother and Nigerian father, Sam would have been eligible to play for the Nigeria national team,[5] but decided early on to represent his country of birth.[6] Sam was a German youth national player, starring in Germany's under-19 and under-20 teams. On 29 May 2013, Sam made his senior international debut for Germany in a friendly game against Ecuador in Boca Raton, Florida.[3] On 8 May 2014, Sam was named to the 30-man provisional squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup by German national team manager, Joachim Löw.

Playing style

Sam has been likened by observers in German football to the Dutch winger Arjen Robben of Bayern Munich,[1] due to Sam's explosive speed and dribbling style and possibly due to Sam's frequent deployment on the right-wing and as an outside forward,[1] cutting inside on his favoured left-foot to unleash his fierce shots,[1] which leads to Sam scoring spectacular long-range goals.[1] Sam is likened to a young Ryan Giggs,[1] due to Sam's ability to dribble with the ball at top speed.[1] Sam's comparison to Ryan Giggs and Arjen Robben is seen in the influence of the way Sidney Sam shoots and gets into goal-scoring situations coming in from both flanks on the football pitch.[1] Sam utilizes his explosive speed by running-in-behind defenders on the football pitch and Sam is often as well deployed as an outside forward and striker.[1]

Career statistics

Club statistics

As of 9 March 2015[7]
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals App. Goals
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
2007–08HamburgBundesliga40001050
2008–09Kaiserslautern2. Bundesliga26400--264
2009–10331021--3511
2010–11LeverkusenBundesliga30722834012
2011–121841161256
2012–132252040285
2013–1422833623113
2014–15Schalke 041001030140
Career Total 1653811727620351

International statistics

National teamYearApp.GoalsRef.
Germany 201350 [8]
Total50
Last updated: 19 November 2013

Personal life

Sidney Sam is married to German Joyce Sam.[9][10][11] They have one son together named Adrian-Romeo, who was born in 2012.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "The Boy Has Got Skills' – Bayer Leverkusen's Sidney Sam". footballfancast.com. 20 December 2010. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  2. "Sam bleibt in der Pfalz" (in German). kicker.de. 1 July 2009. Retrieved 9 September 2011.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "S04 verpflichtet Nationalspieler Sidney Sam". Schalke 04 (in German). 8 January 2014. Retrieved 8 January 2014.
  4. "Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sidney Sam suspended by Schalke". BBC Sport. 11 May 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  5. "Sidney Sam closes the door: 'I never thought about playing for Nigeria'". Goal.com. 27 May 2013.
  6. "Sidney Sam closes the door: 'I never thought about playing for Nigeria'". Goal.com. 27 May 2013.
  7. Sidney Sam profile at Soccerway
  8. "Sidney Sam". National Football Teams. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  9. Nina Gressmann (16 July 2014). "1. Interview Als Schalke-Star: Sam "Mein Ziel sind 15 Tore!"" [First interview as Schalke star: Sam "My goal is 15 goals!"]. bild.de (in German). Bild. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  10. Christof Koepsel (12 August 2014). "Schalke 04 - Volkswagen Car Handover". gettyimages.co.uk. Getty Images. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
  11. Christof Koepsel (8 May 2014). "Sidney Sam Girlfriend Joyce Photos". fifawallpapers.com. Retrieved 31 August 2014.
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