Dennis Eckert

Dennis-Yerai Eckert Ayensa (born 9 January 1997) is a German professional footballer who plays for Royale Union Saint-Gilloise as a forward.[3]

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Eckert and the second or maternal family name is Ayensa.

Dennis Eckert
Eckert with Celta in 2018
Personal information
Full name Dennis-Yerai Eckert Ayensa[1][2]
Date of birth (1997-01-09) 9 January 1997
Place of birth Bonn, Germany
Height 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Forward, winger
Team information
Current team
 Union SG
Number 9
Youth career
2001–2007 Pulheimer SC
2007–2011 1. FC Köln
2011–2013 Alemannia Aachen
2013–2016 Borussia Mönchengladbach
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2017 Borussia Mönchengladbach II 4 (0)
2017–2018 Celta B 48 (9)
2018–2019 Celta 9 (0)
2019 → Excelsior (loan) 12 (2)
2019–2022 FC Ingolstadt 78 (25)
2022– Union SG 14 (7)
International career
2015 Germany U19 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16 September 2023

Club career

Early career

After stints at Pulheimer SC, 1. FC Köln, and Alemannia Aachen, Eckert joined Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth setup in 2013 and made appearances in the UEFA Youth League.[4][5] He made his senior debut with the latter's reserve team on 5 September 2015 in a 2–2 Regionalliga home draw against SSVg Velbert.[6]

Celta Vigo

On 4 July 2017, Eckert joined Celta de Vigo and was initially assigned to the B-team in Segunda División B.[7] He made his first-team debut on 18 August of the following year, coming on as a late substitute for Maxi Gómez in a 1–1 La Liga home draw against RCD Espanyol.[8]

Loan to Excelsior

On 31 January 2019, Eckert joined Eredivisie side SBV Excelsior until June.[9] He scored the game-winning goal on 17 February in a 2–1 comeback win against FC Emmen for his first top-flight goal.[10]

FC Ingolstadt

On 2 September 2019, FC Ingolstadt announced the signing of Eckert.[11] He scored a goal and provided an assist in his debut for the club on 15 September 2019.[12] Eckert finished the season with 14 goals in 30 league matches, helping Ingolstadt reach the promotion play-offs.[13] Eckert helped Ingolstadt reach the promotion play-offs again the following season, leading Ingolstadt to the 2. Bundesliga.[14]

Royale Union Saint-Gilloise

On 20 June 2022, Eckert signed for Belgian side Union SG ahead of their 2022–23 season after scoring 25 goals and providing 15 assists in 78 league matches for Ingolstadt.[15][16] He scored his first goal for Union in a pre-season match against Feyenoord on 16 July 2022.[17] Eckert made his Belgian Pro League debut on 23 July 2022 in their opening match against Sint-Truiden.[18] He made his senior UEFA competition debut on 9 August 2022 in a 2022–23 UEFA Champions League qualification match against Scottish side Rangers.[19][16] He scored his first league goal in his following match on 31 August 2022 against Royal Antwerp at the Bosuilstadion.[20] The following season, Eckert scored the first goal of the league season in the opening match against Anderlecht on 28 July 2023.[21] He scored his first senior European competition goal on 24 August 2023 during the 2023–24 UEFA Europa League play-off match against Lugano.[22]

International career

Youth

Eckert has played for the Germany U19 national team.[23]

Outside football

Personal life

Eckert was born and raised in Bonn to a Galician mother and a German father of Iranian descent, along with his brother Joel who played college soccer for Cape Breton University.[23][24][25] Iranian actress Anahita Dargahi is his aunt.[26] Eckert holds dual German and Spanish citizenship, and is fluent in German, English, and Spanish, while knowing minimal Persian.[5][2]

Sponsorship

Eckert is outfitted by American sportswear supplier Nike.[27][28]

Career statistics
As of 16 September 2023[16]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup[lower-alpha 1] Europe Other Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Borussia Mönchengladbach II 2015–16 Regionalliga 10———10
2016–17 Regionalliga 30———30
Total 4000000040
Celta B 2017–18 Segunda División B 368——4[lower-alpha 2]0408
2018–19 Segunda División B 121———121
Total 489000040529
Celta 2018–19 La Liga 9010——100
Excelsior (loan) 2018–19 Eredivisie 12200—2[lower-alpha 3]0142
FC Ingolstadt 2019–20 3. Liga 301400—2[lower-alpha 4]03214
2020–21 3. Liga 24900—2[lower-alpha 4]12610
2021–22 2. Bundesliga 24210——252
Total 78251000418326
Union SG 2022–23 Belgian Pro League 82304[lower-alpha 5]0—152
2023–24 Belgian Pro League 65002[lower-alpha 6]2—87
Total 147306200239
Career total 16543506210118646
  1. Includes Copa del Rey, DFB-Pokal, Belgian Cup
  2. Appearances in Segunda División B play-offs
  3. Appearances in Eredivisie relegation play-offs
  4. Appearances in 2. Bundesliga relegation play-offs
  5. One appearance in UEFA Champions League, three appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League

References
  1. "Dennis Eckert-Ayensa".
  2. "Schanzer Styles & Storys". 23 October 2019.
  3. "DANKE & SERVUS, DENNIS! MITTELSTÜRMER WECHSELT NACH BELGIEN". FC Ingolstadt 04 (in German). 20 June 2022. Retrieved 20 June 2022.
  4. "Dennis Eckert, el gol como tarjeta de presentación" [Dennis Eckert, the goal as a presentation card] (in Spanish). La Voz de Galicia. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  5. https://www.goal.com/de/meldungen/aus-der-regionalliga-in-spaniens-laliga-das-fussballmaerchen-des-/151xs27d2hvny18ica1uitywpk
  6. https://int.soccerway.com/matches/2015/09/05/germany/regionalliga/borussia-monchengladbach-ii/ssvg-velbert-1902/2071723/
  7. "Víctor Pastrana y Dennis Eckert, nuevas incorporaciones del Celta B" [Víctor Pastrana and Dennis Eckert, new additions of Celta B] (in Spanish). Celta Vigo. 4 July 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  8. "Tablas para ir calentando" [Draw to start preparing] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  9. "Dennis Eckert, cedido al SBV Excelsior de la Eredivisie" [Dennis Eckert, loaned to Eredivisie's SBV Excelsior] (in Spanish). Celta Vigo. 31 January 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
  10. "Eckert anota el gol del triunfo del Excelsior". ElDesmarque Vigo. 17 February 2019.
  11. "Eckert Ayensa kommt, Kerschbaumer geht: FCI-Personalplanungen abgeschlossen" (in German). FC Ingolstadt 04. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
  12. "Niederlage trotz Schlussoffensive: Schanzer müssen sich Halle geschlagen geben". Die Schanzer. 15 September 2019.
  13. GmbH, LigaInsider (15 July 2020). "Arminia Bielefeld: Haben die Ostwestfalen Eckert Ayensa im Visier?". www.ligainsider.de.
  14. "Osnabrück score three at home, but Ingolstadt take promotion playoff". Bulinews. 30 May 2021.
  15. @UnionStGilloise (24 June 2022). "🔥 𝑫𝒆𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒔 𝑬𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒓𝒕 𝑨𝒚𝒆𝒏𝒔𝒂 📍 Striker🇩🇪 German📆 25 years🟨🟦" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. "Germany - D. Eckert - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway".
  17. "Feyenoord Rotterdam vs. Union St.-Gilloise - Football Match Summary - July 16, 2022 - ESPN".
  18. "Sint-Truidense vs. Union St.-Gilloise - Football Match Summary - July 23, 2022 - ESPN".
  19. "Rangers-St Gilloise | UEFA Champions League 2022/23".
  20. "Privacyinstellingen op VI.nl". 31 August 2022.
  21. https://twitter.com/prznsoccer/status/1685018113488650240
  22. "Union SG-Lugano | UEFA Europa League 2023/24".
  23. Mir Farhad Ali Khan (August 2018). "Dennis Eckert: Future Team Melli call-up?". PersianFootball.com.
  24. "Joel Eckert-Ayensa".
  25. "Beyond the Game Joel Eckert-Ayensa". YouTube.
  26. https://footballi.net/video/830208/فوتبال-120-بخش-کامل-گفت-و-گو-با-دنیس-اکرت-ستاره-ایرانی-بلژیکی
  27. https://www.footballbootsdb.com/player/Dennis-Eckert-Ayensa/76693/
  28. "Belgian Club Touts New Kit Deal as Win for Fans, Environment". 2 May 2023.
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