Sven Bender
FullnameSven Bender[1]
Birth date27 April 1989 (age 37)
Birth placeRosenheim, West Germany
Height1.86 m[2]
PositionCentre-back, defensive midfielder
CurrentclubSpVgg Unterhaching (interim manager)
Youthyears 11993–1999
Youthclubs 1TSV Brannenburg
Youthyears 21999–2002
Youthclubs 2SpVgg Unterhaching
Youthyears 32002–2006
Youthclubs 31860 Munich
Years 12006–2007
Clubs 11860 Munich II
Caps 116
Goals 12
Years 22006–2009
Clubs 21860 Munich
Caps 265
Goals 21
Years 32009–2012
Clubs 3Borussia Dortmund II
Caps 34
Goals 30
Years 42009–2017
Clubs 4Borussia Dortmund
Caps 4158
Goals 44
Years 52017–2021
Clubs 5Bayer Leverkusen
Caps 5107
Goals 54
Totalcaps350
Totalgoals11
Nationalyears 12005–2006
Nationalteam 1Germany U17
Nationalcaps 110
Nationalgoals 10
Nationalyears 22007–2008
Nationalteam 2Germany U19
Nationalcaps 211
Nationalgoals 21
Nationalyears 32009
Nationalteam 3Germany U20
Nationalcaps 33
Nationalgoals 32
Nationalyears 42010–2013
Nationalteam 4Germany
Nationalcaps 47
Nationalgoals 40
Nationalyears 52016
Nationalteam 5Germany Olympic
Nationalcaps 56
Nationalgoals 50
Manageryears 12023–2024
Managerclubs 1Borussia Dortmund (assistant)
Manageryears 22024–
Managerclubs 2SpVgg Unterhaching

Sven Bender (ˈsvɛn ˈbɛndɐ;[3][4] born 27 April 1989) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder. He is currently the manager of Regionalliga club SpVgg Unterhaching. He is the twin brother of fellow coach and former player Lars Bender.[5][6]

Club career

Early career

Having been a product of their academy since the age of 4, Bender played from 1993 to 1999 in the youth of TSV Brannenburg. From 1999 to 2002, he was part of SpVgg Unterhaching youth teams. In summer 2002, Bender moved to the 1860 München youth team.[7]

1860 Munich

He started his football career on the U-14 team and played for all of 1860 München's youth teams in three years. In November 2007, Bender extended his contract with the club until 2011. In 2009, Munich had to sell both Lars and Sven Bender, due to club's financial problem. Sven moved to Borussia Dortmund and Lars moved to Bayer Leverkusen. Sven played 65 games and scored 1 goal for 1860 Munich.[7]

Borussia Dortmund

On 1 July 2009, Bender joined Borussia Dortmund, where he signed a four-year contract that tied him to the club until 2013.[8] Bender made his Bundesliga debut on 19 September 2009 in a game against Hannover 96. His biggest rival for the spot in the defensive midfield suffered several injuries and Bender established himself in the starting eleven very quickly. He scored his first Bundesliga goal on 12 February 2011 against 1. FC Kaiserslautern and extended his contract until 2017. The years 2011 and 2012 were very successful for Bender, as he was an important player in Dortmund's midfield and helped the team win the national championship in both years as well as the DFB-Pokal in 2012.[8] On 6 January 2013, Bender extended his contract with Dortmund, keeping him at the club until 2017.[9] During the 2012–13 season, he was struggling with several injuries which made Dortmund sign Nuri Şahin in January 2013. After treatment of his injury, Bender got another opponent for his position. He was on his way to becoming the number one player on his position and shared a place with team's captain Sebastian Kehl and helped the team to reach 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, although they were defeated by their domestic rivals Bayern Munich. On 27 July 2013, Bender won the 2013 DFL-Supercup with Dortmund 4–2 against Bayern Munich.[10] In February 2014, he suffered injury after a loss against Hamburger SV,[11] which eventually ruled him out for the rest season. On 21 February 2016, Bender signed a five-year contract extension to keep him at the club until 2021.[12]

Bayer Leverkusen

On 13 July 2017, Bender ended his eight-year stay at Borussia Dortmund,[13] signing a four-year contract with fellow Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen until July 2021, and re-uniting with his brother Lars.[14] Nearing the conclusion of the 2020–21 season, Leverkusen announced that both Sven and Lars would depart Leverkusen and retire from professional football after the end of the season.[15] In May 2021, Sven Bender started the last match of his career against former club Borussia Dortmund, where he played until coming off for his brother Lars, who later scored a penalty in an eventual 1–3 loss.

International career

At under-19 level, Bender was a part of the team that won the 2008 European Under-19 Championship. He and his twin brother Lars were named jointly as players of the tournament.[16] Bender made his debut for the senior team in a friendly match against Australia in March 2011.[17] He appeared in several more friendly games and nominated for the Euro 2012 but did not make the squad's final. In February 2014, Bender suffered an Osteitis pubis injury that ruled him out for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. His last internationals therefore were two friendlies in late 2013.[18] In mid-July on 2016, despite not being called up for the senior team since 2013, he made the spot for Germany Olympic football team for the 2016 Summer Olympics as one of three over 23 years old players along with his brother and Nils Petersen,[19] where Germany won the silver medal.[20]

Coaching career

In June 2022, the German Football Association appointed him as the new assistant coach of the Germany U-16 national team.[21] During the summer of 2023, he became assistant coach of the German U-17s.[22]

On 29 December 2023, Bender left his job at the German Football Association[23] and, along with his past teammate Nuri Şahin, was appointed as assistant manager to Edin Terzić at their former club Borussia Dortmund, signing a contract until the end of the season.[24]

He became the interim head coach of SpVgg Unterhaching in December 2024 for the remainder of the year.[25][26] He took over the same role in March 2025.[27]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition[28]
ClubSeasonLeagueDFB-PokalEuropeOtherTotal
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
1860 Munich II2006–07Regionalliga Süd152———152
2007–0810———10
Total162000000162
1860 Munich2006–072. Bundesliga13000——130
2007–0827130——301
2008–0925010——260
Total651400000691
Borussia Dortmund II2009–103. Liga30———30
2012–1310———10
Total4000000040
Borussia Dortmund2009–10Bundesliga19000——190
2010–11311107[a]0—391
2011–12241304[b]01[c]0321
2012–132011011[b]000321
2013–14191205[b]01[c]0271
2014–15200506[b]01[c]0320
2015–161905011[a]0—350
2016–1760101[b]00080
Total1584180450302244
Bayer Leverkusen2017–18Bundesliga29250——342
2018–19270203[a]0—320
2019–20332519[a]1—474
2020–21180101[a]0—200
Total1074131131001336
Career total350113515813044613
  1. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ Appearance in DFL-Supercup

Personal life

On 20 June 2015, Bender married Simone Dettendorfer, his long time girlfriend since 2008.[29]

Honours

Borussia Dortmund
Germany

Individual

References

  1. ^ "FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt 2009™: List of Players: Germany". FIFA. 6 October 2009. p. 8. Archived 13 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ "S. Bender". Soccerway. Global Sports Media. Retrieved 2 October 2011.
  3. ^ Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 363, 967. ISBN 978-3-11-018202-6.
  4. ^ Dudenredaktion; Kleiner, Stefan; Knöbl, Ralf (2015 [First published 1962]). Das Aussprachewörterbuch [The Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). 7th ed. Berlin: Dudenverlag. p. 227. ISBN 978-3-411-04067-4.
  5. ^ Uersfeld, Stephan (13 July 2017). "Bender twins reunited at Leverkusen". ESPN. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^ Uersfeld, Stephan (1 February 2013). "Bender twins ready for showdown". ESPN FC. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Sven Bender". Kicker. Archived from the original on 6 August 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  8. ^ "Sven Bender Biography/". history of soccer. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  9. ^ "Borussia Dortmund extend contracts of Neven Subotic, Sven Bender". bvb.de/. Retrieved 13 February 2013.
  10. ^ "Dortmund prevail over Bayern in Supercup thriller". Archived from the original on 6 November 2013.
  11. ^ "Dortmund midfielder Sven Bender sidelined for 10 weeks". 24 February 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  12. ^ "Sven Bender verlängert bei Borussia Dortmund bis 2021". 23 February 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  13. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (23 June 2021). "Sven Bender - Matches and Goals in Bundesliga". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  14. ^ "Sven Bender swaps Borussia Dortmund for Bayer Leverkusen". Bundesliga. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
  15. ^ "Sven and Lars Bender retire from football". 21 December 2020.
  16. ^ "2008: Lars & Sven Bender". UEFA. 1 January 2009. Archived from the original on 14 May 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  17. ^ "Germany 1-2 Australia Socceroos come from behind to defeat experimental German side". goal.com. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2016.
  18. ^ Arnhold, Matthias (23 June 2021). "Sven Bender - International Appearances". RSSSF.com. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Die Olympia-Kader stehen fest". dfb.de. 15 July 2016.
  20. ^ "Neymar's golden penalty sees Brazil to victory". fifa.com. 20 August 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016.
  21. ^ "U 16-JUNIOREN" (in German). dfb.de. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
  22. ^ ""Der beste Tag": Ahrtal-Jugendmannschaft zu Gast am Campus" [“The best day”: Ahrtal youth team visiting Vampus] (in German). DFB. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  23. ^ "Sven Bender wechselt zum BVB" [Sven Bender is moving to BVB] (in German). DFB. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  24. ^ "Sahin and Bender join BVB coaching staff". Borussia Dortmund. 29 December 2023. Retrieved 3 January 2024.
  25. ^ "SpVgg Unterhaching stellt Cheftrainer Marc Unterberger mit sofortiger Wirkung frei" (in German). spvggunterhaching.de. 1 December 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2024.
  26. ^ "Heiko Herrlich wird neuer Cheftrainer der Spielvereinigung Unterhaching – Sven Bender bleibt als Co-Trainer" (in German). spvggunterhaching.de. 3 January 2025. Retrieved 3 January 2025.
  27. ^ "Sven Bender ist "Wunschkandidat" – Abstieg würde viele Hachinger Probleme lösen" (in German). merkur.de. 28 March 2025. Retrieved 28 March 2025.
  28. ^ "Sven Bender » Club matches". WorldFootball.net. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  29. ^ "Olympiafußballer Sven Bender: Das ist seine Frau". Retrieved 13 August 2016.