Alexander Esswein (born 25 March 1990; ) is a German professional footballer who plays as a winger or forward for Oberliga Baden-Württemberg club VfR Mannheim.
Esswein made his debut in the 2007âÂÂ08 season. He appeared in a league match during the season. He came on in the 63rd minute in a 2âÂÂ1 loss to 1. FC Köln on 17 December 2007.
He then transferred to VfL Wolfsburg and split time between the first and second teams. He made four league appearances during the 2008âÂÂ09 season and four league appearances and a German Cup appearance in the 2009âÂÂ10 season. He substantially made more appearances for the reserve team. During the 2008âÂÂ09 season, he made 21 appearances, and during the 2009âÂÂ10 season, he scored four goals in 20 appearances. Esswein moved to Dynamo Dresden for the 2010âÂÂ11 season. During the season, he scored 17 goals in 31 league appearances. This includes two goals against Bayern's reserve team, in a 3âÂÂ1 win on 11 November 2010; Wehen Wiesbaden, in a 3âÂÂ0 win, on 5 March 2011; and against SpVgg Unterhaching, in a 4âÂÂ0 win, on 23 April 2011. He also made two appearances in the promotion playoff. This proved to be Esswein's only season at the club.
He transferred to 1. FC Nürnberg for the 2011âÂÂ12 season. During the 2011âÂÂ12 season, he scored four goals in 26 league appearances and a goal in three German Cup appearances. His four league goals came against FC Augsburg, in a 1âÂÂ0 win, on 27 August 2011; Hertha BSC, in a 2âÂÂ0 win, on 21 January 2012; Köln, in a 2âÂÂ1 win, on 18 February 2012; and Werder Bremen, in a 1âÂÂ0 win, on 25 February 2012. His German Cup goal came in the second round against Erzgebirge Aue in a 2âÂÂ1 win on 26 October 2011. His goal scoring rate would drop in the subsequent seasons with Nürnberg. He dropped down to three goals in 28 appearances in the 2012âÂÂ13 season and no goals in five appearances during the 2013âÂÂ14 season. He also made an appearance in the Regionalliga Bayern for the reserve team during the 2013âÂÂ14 season.
He moved to Augsburg during the January transfer window and made 13 appearances for Augsburg during the 2013âÂÂ14 season. He scored a goal in 19 appearances during the 2014âÂÂ15 season. The goal came against Köln on 6 December 2014 in a 2âÂÂ1 win. Esswein played in the opening match of the 2015âÂÂ16 season, in a German Cup match against SV Elversberg, a 3âÂÂ1 extra time win. He then opened his Bundesliga campaign by playing in the first three matchdays, including the 1âÂÂ0 loss to Hertha BSC in the league opener on 15 August 2015.
On 26 August 2016, Esswein signed for Hertha BSC on a four-year deal. On 24 September, he scored his first goal for Hertha in a 3âÂÂ3 draw against Eintracht Frankfurt.
In January 2019 VfB Stuttgart signed Esswein on loan with a contract option for a permanent deal.
On 9 October 2020, Esswein joined SV Sandhausen on a free transfer.
On 15 August 2023, Esswein signed a two-year contract with MSV Duisburg. After the 2023âÂÂ24 season, he moved to VfR Mannheim.
Esswein played for the German U-21 national team. Previously he had already played for the U-17, U-18, U-18, U-19 and U-20 national team. He was part of the German U-17 team that finished in third place in the 2007 U-17 World Cup in South Korea. In this tournament, Esswein scored two goals against Trinidad and Tobago in the group-stage and scored the winning goal in the third place playoff against Ghana two minutes into stoppage time.
VfL Wolfsburg