Robin Koch

Robin Koch (German pronunciation: [ˈʁɔbɪn ˈkɔx];[3][4] born 17 July 1996) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bundesliga club Eintracht Frankfurt, on loan from EFL Championship club Leeds United, and the Germany national team.[5]

Robin Koch
Personal information
Full name Robin Koch[1]
Date of birth (1996-07-17) 17 July 1996
Place of birth Kaiserslautern, Germany
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)[2]
Position(s) Centre-back, defensive midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Eintracht Frankfurt (on loan from Leeds United)
Number 4
Youth career
2001–2003 1. FC Kaiserslautern
2003–2009 SV Dörbach
2009–2014 Eintracht Trier
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014–2015 Eintracht Trier II 6 (0)
2014–2015 Eintracht Trier 23 (2)
2015–2016 1. FC Kaiserslautern II 27 (1)
2016–2017 1. FC Kaiserslautern 27 (0)
2017–2020 SC Freiburg 82 (4)
2020– Leeds United 73 (0)
2023– → Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) 2 (0)
International career‡
2018–2019 Germany U21 5 (0)
2019– Germany 8 (0)
Medal record
Representing  Germany
UEFA European Under-21 Championship
Runner-up2019
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:10, 28 August 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 22:38, 2 June 2021 (UTC)

Koch made his first-team debut for 1. FC Kaiserslautern after graduated from the club's youth system and also played in Bundesliga with SC Freiburg. He has previously played for Eintracht Trier II, Eintracht Trier, 1. FC Kaiserslautern II, 1. FC Kaiserslautern and SC Freiburg. He was included in the Germany U21 team before joining the first-team in November 2019. In August 2020, he signed for Leeds United ahead of their Premier League return and in 2021, represented Germany at UEFA Euro 2020.

Club career

Early career

Koch was born in Kaiserslautern and joined 1. FC Kaiserslautern's academy at the age of five, but switched to SV Dörbach when his family moved to Salmtal.[6] He joined Eintracht Trier's academy in 2009,[7] and despite the fact that "he was never seen as a superstar talent" according to his childhood best friend, he was invited to regional trials by the German Football Association in 2011.[6] He was promoted to Trier's first team in 2014,[8] and made his debut on 22 September 2014 in a 0–0 draw with TuS Koblenz.[5] He scored his first senior goal on 22 November 2014 in a 4–2 victory over SpVgg Neckarelz; A low shot in the 25th minute to put Eintracht Trier 1–0 up.[5][9] He appeared in 23 league matches for Eintracht Trier across the 2014–15 season, scoring two goals,[10] whilst he also appeared 6 times for their reserve side.

1. FC Kaiserslautern

In 2015, Koch moved to 1. FC Kaiserslautern, initially joining their reserve side.[11] Though he was the son of Kaiserslautern legend Harry Koch, he "tried hard not to live on his father's reputation", living an "unglamorous lifestyle" and "staying off the grid" at Kaiserslautern.[8] He scored once in 26 appearances for Kaiserslautern's reserves in the 2015–16 season.[12] Koch signed his first professional contract with the club in September 2016, with the contract lasting until the summer of 2019.[13] His debut for Kaiserslautern came on 2 October 2016, starting in a 0–0 draw against Arminia Bielefeld in the 2. Bundesliga.[14][15] He made 24 appearances for Kaiserslautern during the 2016–17 season,[16] and attracted the interest of multiple Bundesliga clubs according to his father Harry.[17]

SC Freiburg

On 22 August 2017, Koch moved to Bundesliga side SC Freiburg. The transfer fee paid to Kaiserslautern was reported as €3.5 million.[18] He made his Bundesliga debut for Freiburg on 22 October 2017 against Hertha Berlin in a 1–1 draw.[5] He scored his first goal for the club on 13 January 2018 in a 1–1 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.[19]

Leeds United

On 29 August 2020, Koch joined newly-promoted Premier League club Leeds United on a four-year deal,[20][21] for a transfer fee that was reported to be £13 million.[22] He was signed as a replacement for former loanee Ben White, who was deemed to be too expensive to sign permanently.[8] Koch made his Premier League debut for Leeds in the first match of the season against Liverpool on 12 September 2020, starting in the 3–4 defeat at Anfield to the reigning champions.[23][24] Koch was described as having a 'rough debut',[23] having given away the penalty resulting in Liverpool's first goal despite the fact that the ball deflected off his thigh, before failing to mark Virgil van Dijk for Liverpool's second.[24] Koch was substituted in the ninth minute of a 3–1 defeat to Chelsea on 5 December after a recurrence of a knee injury suffered in the opening game of the season, and subsequently underwent knee surgery.[25][26] He made his return to the first team as a late substitute against Fulham on 19 March 2021.[27] Following the appointment of Jesse Marsch as manager at Leeds, and a switch to zonal marking,[28] Koch appeared to take a step up in his game and became a regular starter in central defense towards the end of the 2021–22 season and into 2022–23.

Loan to Eintracht Frankfurt

On 6 July 2023, Koch joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan for the 2023–24 season.[29]

International career

Youth

Having first been called up to Germany's under-21 squad in October 2018,[30] he was part of the Germany U21's squad who finished runner up at the 2019 UEFA European Under-21 Championship after losing the final to Spain in June 2019.[31]

Senior

Koch was first called up to the Germany national football team in October 2019,[32] and he made his debut on 9 October 2019 in a friendly against Argentina in which he started the game and played the whole match.[33] His competitive debut for Germany came in his next appearance for the senior national team on 16 November 2019, starting in the 4–0 UEFA Euro 2020 qualifier victory against Belarus.[34] He was called up to the Germany squad on 26 August 2020 for the UEFA Nations League fixtures against Spain and Switzerland.[35] On 19 May 2021, he was selected to the squad for the UEFA Euro 2020.[36]

Style of play

Koch plays mainly as a centre-back, but can also play as a defensive midfielder or as a central midfielder.[37][38] He is described as a ball playing centre back and his style of play has been compared to that of Javi Martínez.[39]

Personal life

He is the son of former professional footballer Harry Koch.[18] His younger brother Louis plays for SV Alsenborn.[8]

Career statistics

Club
As of match played 13 August 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup League cup Total
DivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Eintracht Trier 2014–15[40] Regionalliga Südwest 23200—232
Eintracht Trier II 2014–15 Rheinlandliga 60——60
1. FC Kaiserslautern 2015–16[40] 2. Bundesliga 0000—00
2016–17[40] 2. Bundesliga 24000—240
2017–18[40] 2. Bundesliga 3010—40
Total 2701000280
1. FC Kaiserslautern II 2015–16[40] Regionalliga Südwest 241——241
2016–17[40] Regionalliga Südwest 30——30
Total 2710000271
SC Freiburg 2017–18[40] Bundesliga 26220—282
2018–19[40] Bundesliga 24110—251
2019–20[40] Bundesliga 32121—342
Total 8245100875
Leeds United 2020–21[41] Premier League 1700000170
2021–22[42] Premier League 2001000210
2022–23[43] Premier League 3602010390
Total 7303010770
Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) 2023–24[40] Bundesliga 0010—10
Career total 2387101102498

    International
    As of match played 2 June 2021[5]
    Appearances and goals by national team and year
    National teamYearAppsGoals
    Germany 201920
    202050
    202110
    Total80

    Honours

    Germany U21

    References
    1. "Updated squad lists for 2022/23 Premier League". Premier League. 4 February 2023. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
    2. "Robin Koch". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
    3. Krech, Eva-Maria; Stock, Eberhard; Hirschfeld, Ursula; Anders, Lutz Christian (2009). Deutsches Aussprachewörterbuch [German Pronunciation Dictionary] (in German). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter. pp. 675, 878. 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. 514. ISBN 978-3-411-04067-4.
    5. "Robin Koch". WorldFootball.net. HEIM:SPIEL. Retrieved 4 October 2016.
    6. "Ganz der Vater ..." Volksfreund. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
    7. "Robin Koch | Laufbahn | Spielerprofil". kicker. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
    8. Hay, Phil; Honigstein, Raphael. "Robin Koch's journey from Germany to Bielsa's Leeds". The Athletic. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
    9. "Robin Koch löst die Bremse". eintracht-trier.com (in German). SV Eintracht Trier 05. 24 November 2014. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
    10. "Robin Koch | Spieler Einsätze | Eintracht Trier | Regionalliga Südwest 2014/15". kicker.
    11. "EINTRACHT-ECKE". Volksfreund (in German). 19 May 2015. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
    12. "Robin Koch | Spieler Einsätze | 1. FC Kaiserslautern II | Regionalliga Südwest 2015/16".
    13. "2. Bundesliga: 1. FC Kaiserslautern bindet Robin Koch". Sport1.de. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
    14. Sperk, Oliver (2 October 2016). "Robin Koch in der Startelf des 1. FC Kaiserslautern – Pfalz". Die Rheinpfalz (in German). Retrieved 29 August 2020.
    15. Konzok, Horst; Sperk, Oliver (2 October 2016). "FCK scheitert wieder an sich selbst – FCK". Die Rheinpfalz (in German).
    16. "Robin Koch | Spieler Einsätze | 1. FC Kaiserslautern | 2. Bundesliga 2016/17". kicker. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
    17. "Vater: Koch hat Angebote aus Bundesliga | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 29 May 2022.
    18. "Wende: Lauterns Koch doch nach Freiburg". kicker Online (in German). 22 August 2017. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
    19. "Freiburgs Robin Koch: "Das war ein ganz besonderer Moment für mich"". bundesliga.com (in German). Bundesliga. 14 January 2018. Retrieved 31 August 2020.
    20. "Leeds United seal deal for Robin Koch". leedsunited.com. 29 August 2020.
    21. "Robin Koch joins Premier League side Leeds United". scfreiburg.com. 29 August 2020.
    22. "Leeds beat Tottenham to clinch £13m Koch signing". Goal. 30 August 2020.
    23. "Liverpool 4–3 Leeds United: 'Premier League return magnificently chaotic for Marcelo Bielsa's club'". BBC Sport. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
    24. Hunter, Andy (12 September 2020). "Liverpool finally sink Leeds with Mo Salah hat-trick in thriller". The Observer. ISSN 0029-7712. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
    25. "Robin Koch: Leeds defender to have knee surgery after being injured at Chelsea". Sky Sports. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
    26. "Robin Koch: Leeds defender out for three months after knee surgery". BBC Sport. 9 December 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2021.
    27. "Fulham 1-2 Leeds". BBC. 19 March 2021. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
    28. "Robin Koch shares biggest difference at Leeds United under Jesse Marsch". MOTLeedsNews. 17 March 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
    29. "Robin Koch verstärkt Defensive" (in German). Eintracht Frankfurt. 6 July 2023.
    30. "Neu bei der U 21: Mittelstädt, Koch und Sabiri". dfb.de (in German). German Football Association. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
    31. "Spain 2 Germany 1". UEFA.Com. 28 August 2020.
    32. "Löw nominiert auch Rudy und Koch nach". kicker (in German). 7 October 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2020.
    33. "Germany v Argentina game report". ESPN. 9 October 2019.
    34. Blahak, Mirko (16 November 2019). "Fußball: Ex-Trierer löst mit Nationalelf das EM-Ticket". Volksfreund (in German). Retrieved 31 August 2020.
    35. "Niklas Süle and Florian Neuhaus called up to Germany squad to face Spain and Switzerland". Bundesliga. 26 August 2020.
    36. "EM-Kader offiziell: Löw beruft Müller, Hummels und Volland". kicker.de (in German). 19 May 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2021.
    37. "How Robin Koch compares to Ben White as Leeds United step up interest in defender". Leeds Live. 28 August 2020.
    38. "Robin Koch: Meet Freiburg's Latest National Team Player". Fussballstadt. 28 August 2020.
    39. "Robin Koch: Who is Germany's international defender starring for Freiburg?". Bundesliga. 28 August 2020.
    40. "Robin Koch". kicker (in German). Retrieved 28 August 2020.
    41. "Games played by Robin Koch in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
    42. "Games played by Robin Koch in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 14 February 2022.
    43. "Games played by Robin Koch in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 6 August 2022.
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