Niklas Stark (born 14 April 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a centre-back or defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Werder Bremen and the Germany national team.
Stark made his Bundesliga debut on 27 April 2013 in a 2âÂÂ1 loss to 1899 Hoffenheim. He made two more appearances for 1. FC Nürnberg in the 2012âÂÂ13 season. In the 2013âÂÂ14 season, Stark made appearances for both the first team and second team. He made 21 appearances for the first team and two appearances. He did not score for either team. Again, during the 2014âÂÂ15 season, Stark made appearances for both the first and second teams. He scored two goals in 26 appearances for the first team. He failed to score in one appearance for the second team. His final match in a Nürnberg jersey proved to be a 2âÂÂ1 loss to VfL Bochum on 23 August 2015 as he transferred to Hertha BSC the following day. He had scored a goal in four league appearances for Nürnberg in the 2015âÂÂ16 season. He had also made a German Cup appearance prior to the transfer.
Stark signed a four-year contract for Hertha BSC on 24 August 2015. He made his debut on 12 September in a 2âÂÂ1 win over VfB Stuttgart, when he came off the bench for Salomon Kalou in the 73rd minute. He was able to quickly establish himself as a starter, but suffered a setback in October 2015 due to injury, only returning to the starting eleven in February 2016. He scored his first Bundesliga goal for Hertha on 11 March 2016 in a 2âÂÂ0 victory against Schalke 04.
In the following seasons he was also part of the regular team and also made his first European appearances, as Hertha were able to qualify twice for the UEFA Europa League, but both times eliminated from the competition early. At Hertha, he mostly appeared as a centre-back but also as a defensive midfielder.
On 31 March 2022, it was announced that Stark's expiring contract would not be renewed, and that he would leave Hertha as a free agent after the 2021âÂÂ22 season.
On 28 May 2022, Werder Bremen, newly promoted to the Bundesliga, announced the signing of Stark for the 2022âÂÂ23 season. He reportedly signed a four-year contract.
On 15 March 2019, Stark was called up for the Germany national team for the first time in his career by national team coach Joachim Löw. He made his debut on 19 November 2019 in a Euro 2020 qualifier against Northern Ireland. He substituted Lukas Klostermann in the 65th minute.
Germany
Individual