Sami Khedira

Sami Khedira (German pronunciation: [ˈsaːmiː xeˈdiːʁaː]; Arabic: سامي خضيرة; born 4 April 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder.

He began his career at VfB Stuttgart, winning the Bundesliga in 2007, before moving to Real Madrid in 2010. In his five seasons in Spain, he won seven domestic and international trophies, including the UEFA Champions League in 2014. In 2015, he moved to Italian side Juventus on a free transfer, and won the Serie A title and Coppa Italia in his first three seasons with the club, followed by two more league titles and a Supercoppa Italiana.

A full international for Germany since 2009, Khedira earned 77 caps for the national team. He has taken part at three FIFA World Cups and two UEFA European Championships with Germany, and was part of their squads which reached the semi-finals at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, as well as the 2012 and 2016 UEFA European Football Championships; he also won the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

Club career

VfB Stuttgart

Before joining the youth team of VfB Stuttgart in 1995, he played at TV Oeffingen. In the first months of the 2006–07 season, he was called up into VfB's Bundesliga squad by manager Armin Veh. His debut followed on 1 October 2006 against Hertha BSC, replacing Antônio da Silva at the end of the 2–2 away draw. He scored his first two goals on 29 October in the 3–0 win against Schalke 04 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena. On 29 January 2007 he signed his first professional contract at VfB, valid until June 2009. In the last game of the season on 19 May, Khedira scored the winner as Die Schwaben came from behind to defeat Energie Cottbus 2–1 and became champions for the first time in 15 years.