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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox football biography
| name = Alexander Merkel
| image = Alexander Merkel.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption =
| fullname = Alexander Merkel
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1992|02|22|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Almaty]], [[Kazakhstan]]
| height = {{height|m=1.80}}<ref>http://www.gcz.ch/1-mannschaft/kader/kader-mittelfeld/13abc1f1efd10a7ea4cbde5197788fe5/?cfc_league_fe%5BprofileId%5D=1531</ref>
| position = [[Midfielder]]
| currentclub = [[VfL Bochum]]
| clubnumber = 15
| youthyears1 = {{0|0000}}–2003 | youthclubs1 = JSG Westerwald
| youthyears2 = 2003–2008 | youthclubs2 = [[VfB Stuttgart]]
| youthyears3 = 2008–2009 | youthclubs3 = [[A.C. Milan|Milan]]
| years1 = 2010–2011 | clubs1 = [[A.C. Milan|Milan]] | caps1 = 8 | goals1 = 0
| years2 = 2011–2013 | clubs2 = [[Genoa C.F.C.|Genoa]] | caps2 = 19 | goals2 = 1
| years3 = 2012 | clubs3 = → [[A.C. Milan|Milan]] (loan) | caps3 = 1 | goals3 = 0
| years4 = 2013–2016 | clubs4 = [[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]] | caps4 = 6 | goals4 = 0
| years5 = 2014 | clubs5 = → [[Watford F.C.|Watford]] (loan) | caps5 = 11 | goals5 = 1
| years6 = 2014–2015 | clubs6 = → [[Grasshopper Club Zürich|Grasshopper]] (loan) | caps6 = 6 | goals6 = 0
| years7 = 2016 | clubs7 = [[A.C. Pisa 1909|Pisa]] | caps7 = 0 | goals7 = 0
| years8 = 2016– | clubs8 = [[VfL Bochum]] | caps8 = 6 | goals8 = 0
| nationalyears1 = 2007 | nationalteam1 = [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U15]]
| nationalcaps1 = 2 | nationalgoals1 = 0
| nationalyears2 = 2007–2008 | nationalteam2 = [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U16]]
| nationalcaps2 = 15 | nationalgoals2 = 1
| nationalyears3 = 2008 | nationalteam3 = [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U17]]
| nationalcaps3 = 3 | nationalgoals3 = 0
| nationalyears4 = 2009 | nationalteam4 = [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U18]]
| nationalcaps4 = 2 | nationalgoals4 = 0
| nationalyears5 = 2010–2011 | nationalteam5 = [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U19]]
| nationalcaps5 = 2 | nationalgoals5 = 1
| nationalyears6 = 2011 | nationalteam6 = [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U20]]
| nationalcaps6 = 1 | nationalgoals6 = 0
| nationalyears7 = 2015– | nationalteam7 = [[Kazakhstan national football team|Kazakhstan]]
| nationalcaps7 = 1 | nationalgoals7 = 0
| pcupdate = 10:40, 20 December 2016 (UTC)
| ntupdate = 7 September 2015
| medaltemplates =
{{medalTeam|[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]}}
{{medalW|[[Serie A]]|[[2010–11 Serie A|2010–11]]}}
}}
'''Alexander Merkel''' ({{lang-kz|Александр Меркель}}; born 22 February 1992) is a [[Kazakhs|Kazakh]]-[[Germans|German]] professional [[association football|footballer]] who plays as a [[midfielder]] for [[2. Bundesliga]] club [[VfL Bochum]].<ref name="VfL signs">{{Cite web|title=VfL verpflichtet Alexander Merkel|language=German|date=15 August 2016|publisher=[[VfL Bochum]]|url=http://www.vfl-bochum.de/site/_home/aktuelles/16635_vflverpflichtetalexandermerkelp.htm}}</ref>

== Club career ==
=== Early career ===
Born in [[Kazakhstan]] to parents of [[Germans of Kazakhstan|German]] ancestry,<ref>{{cite news |title=Doppel-Pass: Moskau lockt "sowjetische" fußballer |url=http://newsticker.sueddeutsche.de/list/id/1095443 |work=sueddeutsche.de |publisher=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]] |date=13 January 2011 |accessdate=13 January 2011 |language=German}}</ref> Merkel moved to Germany in 1998, aged 6.<ref name="scout">{{cite news |title=Scouting Report: Alexander Merkel – AC Milan |url=http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/3276/serie-a/2010/08/07/2060232/goalcom-scouting-report-alexander-merkel-ac-milan |author=Peter Staunton |work=goal.com |date=10 August 2010 |accessdate=13 December 2010}}</ref> There he started playing football with amateur team JSG Westerwald, before joining [[VfB Stuttgart]] at the age of 11.<ref name="interview">{{cite news |title=Alexander Merkel: 'Milan ist ein Weltverein' |url=http://www.dfb.de/index.php?id=511739&tx_dfbnews_pi1%5BshowUid%5D=25886 |work=dfb.de |publisher=[[German Football Federation|Deutscher Fußball-Bund]] |date=16 December 2010 |accessdate=16 December 2010 |language=German}}</ref>

=== Milan ===
In 2008, at age 16, Merkel transferred to Italian side [[A.C. Milan|Milan]].<ref name="gazzetta">{{cite news |url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2010/agosto/02/multietnico_Merkel_resta_prima_squadra_ga_10_100802027.shtml |title=E il multietnico Merkel resta in prima squadra |newspaper=[[La Gazzetta dello Sport]] |page=6 |date=2 August 2010 |accessdate=9 December 2010 |language=Italian}}</ref> During his time in the club's youth system, he was a member of the [[A.C. Milan Primavera|under-20]] side who won the [[Coppa Italia Primavera]] in 2010, 25 years after the team's last success in the competition.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://archiviostorico.gazzetta.it/2010/aprile/15/Milan_del_futuro_vola_con_ga_10_100415017.shtml |title=Il Milan del futuro vola con Verdi e Zigoni |newspaper=[[La Gazzetta dello Sport]] |date=15 April 2010 |accessdate=15 August 2010 |language=Italian}}</ref>

Merkel received his first call-ups for the senior team during the 2009–10 campaign, but he was never fielded nor named on the bench.<ref>{{cite news |title=Chievo-Milan, i rossoneri convocati: Abate indisponibile, Gattuso ancora out |url=http://www.milannews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=13194 |author=Matteo Calcagni |work=milannews.it |date=24 October 2009 |accessdate=9 December 2010 |language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=I convocati per Milan-Cagliari: Dinho c'é, Flamini out per una distorsione |url=http://www.milannews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=14093 |author=Matteo Calcagni |work=milannews.it |date=21 November 2009 |accessdate=9 December 2010 |language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=I convocati contro il Novara: Verdi a disposizione |url=http://www.milannews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=15993 |author=Enzo Vasta |work=milannews.it |date=12 January 2010 |accessdate=9 December 2010 |language=Italian}}</ref> At the beginning of the following season, he took part in some pre-season games, putting up good performances.<ref name="scout"/> Merkel eventually made his first-team official debut on 8 December 2010, coming off the bench in a [[UEFA Champions League]] group stage game against [[AFC Ajax|Ajax]], He also came off the bench against [[Tottenham Hotspur F.C.|Tottenham]] on the 75th Minute for Boateng<ref>{{cite web |title=Milan-Ajax |url=http://www.uefa.com/uefachampionsleague/matches/season=2011/round=2000118/match=2002902/index.html |work=uefa.com |publisher=[[UEFA|Union of European Football Associations]] |date=8 December 2010 |accessdate=9 December 2010}}</ref> on 6 January 2011, he also made his league debut, figuring in the starting line-up for a match against [[Cagliari Calcio|Cagliari]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Match: Cagliari v AC Milan |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=304774&cc=5739 |work=[[ESPNsoccernet]] |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=6 January 2011 |accessdate=6 January 2011}}</ref> Merkel went on to score his first professional goal on 20 January, as Milan pulled off a 3–0 win over [[A.S. Bari|Bari]] in the [[Coppa Italia]] round of 16.<ref>{{cite web |title=Match: AC Milan v Bari |url=http://soccernet.espn.go.com/match?id=312103&cc=5739 |work=[[ESPNsoccernet]] |publisher=[[ESPN]] |date=20 January 2011 |accessdate=21 January 2011}}</ref> In total, he made ten appearances, six of which were in the league, throughout the season.

=== Genoa ===
At the beginning of the 2011–12 season, Merkel joined [[Genoa C.F.C.|Genoa]] in [[Co-ownership (football)|co-ownership]] with Milan, for €5 million, which, in turn, signed [[Stephan El Shaarawy]] in a same type of deal, for €10 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acmilan.com/uploads/club/bilancio2011/pdf/Bilancio_gruppo_Milan_2011.pdf|title=Relazione e Bilancio al 31 Dicembre 2011|date=25 June 2012|accessdate=30 May 2015|publisher=AC Milan|language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Official A.C. Milan press release |url=http://www.acmilan.com/en/news/breaking_news_show/11659 |work=acmilan.com |publisher=[[A.C. Milan|Associazione Calcio Milan]] |date=25 June 2011 |accessdate=30 August 2011}}</ref> Merkel made his official debut for the club in 4–3 win over [[A.S.G. Nocerina|Nocerina]] in third preliminary round of the [[2011–12 Coppa Italia|Coppa Italia]], on 20 August 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Il tabellino di Genoa-Nocerina |url=http://www.asgnocerina.it/societa/news/416-il-tabellino-di-genoa-nocerina |work=asgnocerina.it |publisher=[[A.S.G. Nocerina|Associazione Sportiva Giovanile Nocerina]] |date=20 August 2011 |accessdate=30 August 2011 |language=Italian}}</ref> Merkel made his first [[Assist (football)|assist]] of the season with a left-footed [[Cross (football)|cross]] to Marco Rossi in the Juventus 2 – 2 Genoa match. On 17 January 2012 he returned to [[A.C. Milan|Milan]] on [[Loan (football)|loan]] from Genoa. He made his official re-debut wearing Milan's red-black shirt on 18 January, winning 2–1 over [[Novara Calcio|Novara]] in the 16th round of the [[2011–12 Coppa Italia]]. Genoa bought the remaining 50% of his rights for another €5 million on 23 May 2012 making him a full Genoa player, as well as El Shaarawy moved to Milan for another €10 million.<ref>{{cite news |title=El Shaarawy-Milan: le cifre dell'operazione |url=http://www.milannews.it/?action=read&idnotizia=81209 |work=milannews.it |publisher=milannews.it |date=23 May 2012 |accessdate=25 May 2012 |language=Italian}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.acmilan.com/uploads/club/bilancio2012/pdf/Bilancio_Gruppo_Milan_12.pdf|title=Relazione e Bilancio al 31 Dicembre 2012|date=26 June 2013|accessdate=30 May 2015|publisher=AC Milan|language=Italian}}</ref>

=== Udinese ===
On 3 January 2013 50% registration rights of Merkel (€4M) and [[Masahudu Alhassan]] (€1.5M) were sold to [[Udinese Calcio]] for a total of €5.5 million, as part of [[Antonio Floro Flores]]'s deal.<ref name=Genoa2013bilancio>Genoa CFC SpA ''bilancio'' (financial report and accounts) on 31 December 2013 {{it icon}}, [http://www.registroimprese.it PDF purchased from Italian CCIAA] {{it icon}}</ref> In June 2013 Udinese acquired them outright for another €1.78 million (€1.16M and €620,000).<ref name=Genoa2013bilancio/>

====Watford (loan)====
On 3 January 2014, Merkel joined [[Watford F.C.|Watford]] on loan from [[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]] until the end of the season.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.watfordfc.com/news/article/140103-ranegie-merkel-signings-1269963.aspx |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2014-01-26 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140113030627/http://www.watfordfc.com:80/news/article/140103-ranegie-merkel-signings-1269963.aspx |archivedate=13 January 2014 |df=dmy }}</ref>

Merkel made his debut from the start in a 1-0 defeat to [[Reading F.C.|Reading]] on 11 January 2014, but he was sent off in second half stoppage time after a lunge on [[Nick Blackman]]. Merkel scored his first goal for Watford in a 3-0 home win against [[Barnsley F.C.|Barnsley]] on 15 March 2014.

====Grasshopper (loan)====
On 14 July 2014, Merkel signed for [[Grasshopper Club Zürich|Grasshopper Zürich]] on a season long loan deal from parent club Udinese.<ref>http://www.wiesbadener-kurier.de/sport/national-und-international/fussball/auslandsfussball/merkel-wechselt-zu-grasshopper-zuerich_14328564.htm</ref>

=== Pisa ===
On 21 July 2016 Merkel joined his former [[A.C. Milan|Milan]] teammate [[Gennaro Gattuso]], who served as manager at [[A.C. Pisa 1909|Pisa]]. However after Gattuso suddenly left the club on 31 July 2016, Merkel was released by the club on 14 August 2016.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/2bundesliga/vereine/2-bundesliga/2016-17/vfl-bochum-8/43595/spieler_alexander-merkel.html|language=German|title=Alexander Merkel|publisher=[[Kicker (sports magazine)|kicker]]}}</ref>

=== VfL Bochum ===
On 15 August 2016, Merkel signed with [[VfL Bochum|Bochum]].<ref name="VfL signs"/>

== International career ==
Merkel made his international debut for [[Germany national youth football team|Germany U-15]] in a 4–1 win against Switzerland and has since represented Germany at all levels of youth international football up to under-19. In a December 2010 interview, he stated that he "dreams" of going on to play for the [[Germany national football team|senior team]] one day.<ref name="interview"/>

In another December 2010 interview he said that he is interested in representing [[Russia national football team|Russia]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Sovetsky Sport]]|url=http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/424082|script-title=ru:Полузащитник "Милана" Александр Меркель: Хочу сыграть в России на ЧМ-2018|date=11 December 2010|language=Russian}}</ref> [[Russian Football Union]] president [[Sergey Fursenko]] and Russia's coach [[Dick Advocaat]] both commented saying that he can't be called up as he does not actually possess Russian citizenship. Merkel noted that naturalization should not be a problem, considering that an American-born [[Jon Robert Holden]] played for the [[Russia national basketball team]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Sovetsky Sport]]|url=http://www.sovsport.ru/gazeta/article-item/436471|script-title=ru:Про сборную России я уже все сказал!|date=14 February 2011|language=Russian}}</ref>

In February 2011, Merkel's adviser Arthur Beck, father of German international [[Andreas Beck (footballer)|Andreas Beck]], confirmed the player's renewed wishes to be capped for Germany.<ref>{{cite news |title=Toll! Jungstar Merkel will für Löw spielen |url=http://www.express.de/sport/fussball/toll%E2%80%93jungstar-merkel-will-fuer-loew-spielen/-/3186/7193668/-/index.html |work=express.de |publisher=Express |date=14 February 2011 |accessdate=18 March 2011 |language=German}}</ref>

In March 2015, Merkel decided to play for [[Kazakhstan national football team]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Merkel will für Kasachstan kicken |url=http://de.sputniknews.com/sport/20150302/301323036.html |work=de.sputniknews.com |publisher=sputniknews |date=2 March 2015 |accessdate=3 March 2015 |language=German}}</ref> He made his debut against [[Iceland national football team|Iceland]] in a qualifying match for [[Euro 2016]].

== Statistics ==
{{updated|15 August 2016}}.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! colspan=3 | Club performance
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | Cup
! colspan=2 | Continental
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
! Season !! Club !! League
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
! Apps !! Goals
|-
! colspan=3 | Italy
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Coppa Italia]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2010–11 Serie A|2010–11]]||[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]||rowspan="6"|[[Serie A]]||6||0||2||1||2||0||10||1
|-
|[[2011–12 Serie A|2011–12]]||[[Genoa C.F.C.|Genoa]]||13||0||1||0||colspan="2"|—||14||0
|-
|[[2011–12 Serie A|2011–12]]||[[A.C. Milan|Milan]]||1||0||2||0||0||0||3||0
|-
|[[2012–13 Serie A|2012–13]]||[[Genoa C.F.C.|Genoa]]||6||1||1||0||colspan="2"|—||7||1
|-
|[[2012–13 Serie A|2012–13]]||rowspan="2"|[[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]]||5||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||5||0
|-
|[[2013–14 Serie A|2013–14]]
|0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||0||0
|-
! colspan=3 | England
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[FA Cup]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2013–14 Football League Championship|2013–14]]||[[Watford F.C.|Watford]]||[[Football League Championship|Championship]]||11||1||0||0||colspan="2"|—||11||1
|-
! colspan=3 | Switzerland
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Swiss Cup]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2014–15 Swiss Super League|2014–15]]||[[Grasshopper Club Zürich|Grasshopper]]||[[Swiss Super League|Super League]]||6||0||2||0||3||0||11||0
|-
! colspan=3 | Italy
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[Coppa Italia]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2015–16 Serie A|2015–16]]||[[Udinese Calcio|Udinese]]||[[Serie A]]||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||1||0
|-
|[[2016–17 Serie B|2016–17]]||[[A.C. Pisa 1909|Pisa]]||[[Serie B]]||0||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||0||0
|-
! colspan=3 | Germany
! colspan=2 | League
! colspan=2 | [[DFB-Pokal]]
! colspan=2 | [[UEFA|Europe]]
! colspan=2 | Total
|-
|[[2016–17 2. Bundesliga|2016–17]]||[[VfL Bochum]]||[[2. Bundesliga]]||1||0||0||0||colspan="2"|—||1||0
|-
! rowspan=4 | Total
! colspan=2 | Italy
!32!!1!!6!!1!!2!!0!!40!!2
|-
! colspan=2 | England
!11!!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!11!!1
|-
! colspan=2 | Switzerland
!6!!0!!2!!0!!3!!0!!11!!0
|-
! colspan=2 | Germany
!1!!0!!0!!0!!0!!0!!1!!0
|-
! colspan=3 | Career total
!50!!2!!8!!1!!5!!0!!63!!3
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
* [http://aic.football.it/scheda/23823 Profile] at Assocalciatori.it {{it icon}}

{{VfL Bochum squad}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Merkel, Alexander}}
[[Category:1992 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Almaty Region]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani footballers]]
[[Category:Kazakhstan international footballers]]
[[Category:German footballers]]
[[Category:Germany youth international footballers]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani people of German descent]]
[[Category:German people of Kazakhstani descent]]
[[Category:Association football midfielders]]
[[Category:German expatriate footballers]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani emigrants to Germany]]
[[Category:Kazakhstani expatriate footballers]]
[[Category:Serie A players]]
[[Category:English Football League players]]
[[Category:Swiss Super League players]]
[[Category:VfB Stuttgart players]]
[[Category:A.C. Milan players]]
[[Category:Genoa C.F.C. players]]
[[Category:Udinese Calcio players]]
[[Category:Watford F.C. players]]
[[Category:A.C. Pisa 1909 players]]
[[Category:VfL Bochum players]]
[[Category:2. Bundesliga players]]
[[Category:Grasshopper Club Zürich players]]
[[Category:Expatriate footballers in Italy]]
[[Category:Expatriate footballers in England]]
[[Category:Expatriate footballers in Switzerland]]

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Alexander Merkel - Revision history

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80.136.70.58 at 05:35, 17 March 2017