Tony Jantschke (born 7 April 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back or right-back.
Having been a product of Borussia Mönchengladbach's youth academy, Jantschke spent his entire professional career with the latter, making his debut in 2008, all the way until his retirement from football in 2024 at the age of 34.
Jantschke began his career at Hoyerswerdaer SV Einheit and FV Dresden-Nord before moving to Borussia Mönchengladbach in 2006. There he was used in the youth team and in the second team, living for almost two years in the club's youth boarding school. On 29 November 2008, he made his Bundesliga debut under coach Hans Meyer in a 3-1 home loss to Energie Cottbus, coming on as a substitute for Gal Alberman in the 46th minute. He scored his first Bundesliga goal in the game in a 1âÂÂ3 loss against Bayer Leverkusen on 6 December 2008, in which he played the full 90 minutes. At 18 years and 243 days, he is Borussia's third youngest goalscorer in the Bundesliga, behind Marco Villa and Rainer Bonhof.
Jantschke signed a professional contract on 1 January 2009, which initially ran until the end of June 2012 and was later extended to 2018. At the beginning of the 2010âÂÂ11 season, he got injured on 12 September 2010 in the second team's Regionalliga match against SC Wiedenbrück and, after breaking his left metatarsal, missed almost the entire first half of the season.
Jantschke, who was initially used as a defensive midfielder under Hans Meyer in Mönchengladbach (but has also played as a left or central defender), had seen himself as a "defensive all-rounder". In the 2011âÂÂ12 season, however, he found himself frequently playing at right-back, with his former German youth national team coach being the first to let him play a wide position in defence. There, he supplanted Tobias Levels and earned himself a regular place on this defensive side. During the first half of the 2013âÂÂ14 season, he was moved from full-back to central defense and was used in this position for several games.
On 20 April 2017, Jantschke extended his contract in Mönchengladbach until 2021.
In December 2020, Jantschke signed a new three-year deal with the club, extending his contract until 2023. In addition, an agreement was reached according to which he would take on a task in the club after his playing career.
On 6 April 2023, his contract was extended until the end of the 2023âÂÂ24 season. The agreement that he would remain with the club beyond his active career was confirmed. On 30 April 2024, Jantschke announced that he would retire from professional football at the end of the season, with teammate Patrick Herrmann.