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Moritz Volz
Personal information
Full name	Moritz Volz
Date of birth	21 January 1983 (1983-01-21) (age 26)
Place of birth	Siegen, West Germany
Height	5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Playing position	Right back
Club information
Current club	Schalke
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
2000–2004 2003 2004–2009 2008–2009	Arsenal → Wimbledon (loan) Fulham → Ipswich Town (loan)	016 (0) 010 (1) 125 (4) 022 (0)
National team2
2003–2006 2004	Germany U21 Germany	020 (0) 00 (0)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 30 June 2009 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 29 December 2008 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Moritz Volz (born 21 January 1983 in Siegen) is a German footballer currently unattached. Volz generally prefers to play at right-back, although he is comfortable at any defensive position and has played in midfield as well.

Club career

Early career

Volz started his career in his native Germany at FC Schalke 04 before being spotted by Arsenal while playing for the German Youth team. He was offered a contract and joined the Gunners in the summer of 1999. Volz played 16 times for Arsenal, his debut coming in a League Cup defeat to Ipswich Town in 2000. In February 2003, he was loaned out to Wimbledon, where he impressed by scoring on his debut against Brighton^[1] and going on to make nine further appearances for the Dons. He returned from loan in the summer of the same year before joining Fulham, again on loan, in August 2003. The move was made permanent in January 2004.

Fulham

Volz attained cult-figure status with Fulham fans, in part due to his commitment and passion and to his community involvement^[2], but also because it was revealed that he rides his bicycle to home games. His terrace nicknames include '220 Volz', 'The Electrician', 'Mr Resistor' and 'The Lightbulb', although by far the most common with Fulham fans is the rather simple 'Volzy'. He is also nicknamed 'The Hoff' due to German stereotype he often refers to on his website. For the match against Aston Villa on Saturday 21 October 2006, he had 'The Hoff's name written on his boots for good luck, and promptly scored his first goal in three years. ^[3]

On 20 December 2006, he scored the 15,000th goal in Premier League history for Fulham against Chelsea.^[4] Inevitably, this gave birth to the new nickname '15,000 Volz'. By scoring the goal, Volz was able to donate £15,000 to a charity of his choice. He donated the money in three equal parts to Kick 4 Life, The Prince's Trust and Fulham Football Club's Community charity.

On 28 August 2008 he signed for Ipswich Town on a season-long loan deal. He hoped to help Ipswich get promoted to the Premier League. ^[5]

On the 1st July 2009 he was released from Fulham at the end of his contract and was praised by the club for his loyal service both on and off the pitch. He has remained at training with the club to regain fitness while he hunts for a new team, and has also done media work for ITV and papers, while studying.

On 02 January 2010, Volz got a trial with former club FC Schalke 04^[6]. He joined the team at Chiclana de la Frontera for a training camp.^[7]. According to the german press, Schalke seems to have been very short on money and continues to be so. Most signings have been unkown youngsters or free agents with lots of experience. Volz would fit the latter profile. However, no contract has been signed yet.

International career

Although Volz was not part of the German team that reached the semi-finals of the World Cup on home soil in 2006, he was an ever-present force in Dieter Eilts' successful under-21 side. He helped the team qualify for the European Championships in summer 2006. He is currently not in the National team pecking order for the right back position, with players like Clemens Fritz, Arne Friedrich and Andreas Hinkel in front of him. While never being a mainstay for Germany, he was included in the squad for the 17 November 2004 game in Leipzig against Cameroon.

Broadcasting

Volz has been a pundit on Setanta Sports and ESPN in the UK.

Career statistics

^[8]

References

External links

• Moritz Volz career stats at Soccerbase
• Volzy.com Moritz Volz's Official Website
• Interview in The Guardian