Top Facts about Thomas Kraft, the German Goalkeeper

Let's start reviewing the top facts about Thomas Kraft. One of the facts about Thomas Kraft is that he was born on 22 July 1988 in Kirchen, West Germany. He is a German former professional football player who played as a goalkeeper. 

Top Facts about Thomas Kraft, the German Goalkeeper

He played for Sportfreunde Daaden, VfB Wissen, SG Betzdorf, 

and

. He had sevaral ups and downs in his professional career.

Thomas Kraft quick information

• Date of birth: 

  22 July, 1988

• Place of birth:

   Kirchen (Sieg), Germany

• Age:

   32

• Height: 

  1,87 m

• Citizenship:

   Germany

• Position:

   Goalkeeper

• Foot:

   right

• Current club:

   Retired

Thomas Kraft club career

He began playing as a goalkeeper when he was eight years old. Thomas Kraft then started out at Sportfreunde Daaden, VfB Wissen and SG Betzdorf before moving to Bayern Munich in 2004. He then signed his first professional contract with the club at age seventeen, keeping him until 2008.

Thomas Kraft was promoted to the Bayern's reserve team in 2006. Though, he spent two years, playing for Bayern U19 team as their first choice goalkeeper. In January 2008, Thomas Kraft was promoted to the Bayern Munich's first team. He then was included six times as substitute into the  first team throughout 2007–08 season, but he did not play.

After two years he was promoted to the Bayern's reserve team, Thomas Kraft played in their first game in 3. Liga on 27 July 2008 against 

, as they won 2–1. 

Thomas Kraft then became club's reserve team first choice goalkeeper. Thomas Kraft, along with teammates Holger Badstuber and Thomas Müller, having been an unused substitute in a number of first-team matches in the 2008–09 season. 

During a 2–0 victory over 

 on 1 March 2009, he suffered a broken jaw and a concussion that saw him substituted in the 19th minute. After the game, it was declared that Kraft could not play for eight weeks. But he rapidly recovered and returned to the starting line–up against SpVgg Unterhaching on 1 April 2009, in a 2–1 loss. 

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Thomas Kraft went on to make twenty–four appearances in all tournaments. Then he signed a contract with the Bayern, keeping him until 2011.

Before the 2009–10 season, Thomas Kraft was promoted to the first team, with Bayern Munich's reserve team coach Mehmet Scholl would not use him. Nevertheless, he suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for a week. 

In spite of the fact that he was included in the first team, Kraft continued to be the Bayern’s reserve team first choice goalkeeper. Once more, he was an unused substitute in a number of first-team games in the 2009–10 season. At the end of the 2009–10 season, Thomas Kraft went on to make twenty–seven appearances in all tournaments.

From 2008 to 2010, Thomas Kraft was third-choice goalkeeper of the senior team of Bayern, behind Hans-Jörg Butt and Michael Rensing. Following Rensing's release in 2010, he was promoted to second goalkeeper, and he made his first-team debut at the beginning of that season, in the 2010 DFL-Supercup.

One of the top facts about Thomas Kraft is that the next two months saw him playing for the Bayern's reserve teams, while appearing in the first team as an unused substitute bench at the same time. 

On 23 November 2010, he made his first appearance in Champions League match in Rome against 

, starting the whole match and had a good start and made some great saves, as the team lost 3–2. 

His next match for Bayern Munich was on 8 December 2011 against Basel in the UEFA Champions League and kept a clean sheet, winning 1–0. During the 2010–11 winter break, Bayern coach Louis van Gaal announced that Thomas Kraft would replace Hans-Jörg Butt as Bayern's first-choice goalkeeper for the second half of the season. 

On 15 January 2011 Thomas Kraft made his Bundesliga debut as Bayern Munich's first-choice keeper against 

  and set up the team's only goal of the match, in a 1–1 draw.

He then started in the next fifteen games for Bayern Munich. During a match against 

 on 19 February 2011, Thomas Kraft suffered an injured skull when he collided with Petar Slišković and was substituted in the 46th minute, as the team won 3–1. 

Thomas Kraft returned to the first line–up and had top performance with several remarkable saves to help FC Bayern Munich to a 1–0 victory on 23 February 2011 in a round of 16 Champions League clash against 

. 

In the second leg, though, he was unable to help his team reach the next stage after losing 3–2 through away goal. Nevertheless, the decision to replace Butt with Kraft earned the disapproval of the Bayern board, and contributed to Van Gaal losing his career after an error by Thomas Kraft allowed Christian Eigler to net the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Nürnberg. Finally, Van Gaal was sacked before the end of the season, and in the short term replaced by his assistant Andries Jonker. 

Following this, Jonker reinstated Butt at Kraft's expense in his first game in charge, as well as, his own injury concern. Thomas Kraft played 19 matches for Bayern's first team at the end of the 2010–11 season.

It was announced on 3 May 2011 that Thomas Kraft would leave the team at the end of the 2010–11 season, ending his seven years association with Bayern. 

Thomas Kraft earlier hinted of his exit at FC Bayern Munich. The following week, 2. Bundesliga champions Hertha BSC proclaimed that they had signed a four-year contract with Thomas Kraft on a free transfer and will join the team on 1 July 2011.

Hertha BSC

When he joined Hertha in 2011/12 season, Thomas Kraft suffered ankle injury that caused him to miss the DFB-Pokal's first round match against ZFC Meuselwitz. But Thomas Kraft was able return from injury and made his debut for the team in the opening match of the season against 

, as they lost 1–0.

Since his first match for Hertha BSC, he rapidly became a first choice goalkeeper for the team, beating out Aerts and Burchert. On 16 October 2011, Thomas Kraft returned for the first time with Hertha back to his old club Bayern Munich which turned out to be a quite unpleasant event for him; the Berlin club lost 0–4. 

One of the top facts about Thomas Kraft is that before the match, he Kraft and two other members of Hertha were honored with a bouquet of flowers by the Bayern staff and the fans were chanting pro Kraft during the game. 

One of the top facts about Thomas Kraft is that ahead of the 2012–13 season, he made it clear that he wanted to stay at Hertha BSC, even if the team were relegated to 2. Bundesliga. Thomas Kraft said that his purpose was to help Hertha BSC get promoted back to Bundesliga. 

Having served a five match suspension, he returned to the starting line–up against VfR Aalen on and kept a clean sheet, as the team won 2–0. Since returning to the starting line–up, Thomas Kraft reclaimed his place as Hertha BSC's first choice keeper for the team and contributed into helping the club reach the top of the table. Then he missed some matches due to his illness.

Thomas Kraft could return to the starting line–up against 1860 Munich on 16 March 2013 and kept a clean sheet, as the team drew 0–0. it was followed up by keeping two other clean sheets against VfL Bochum and 

. 

One of the

top facts about Thomas Kraft

is that he helped Hertha BSC achieve direct promotion to the top-flight Bundesliga for the 2013–14 season by beating SV Sandhausen 1–0 on 21 April 2013. At the end of the 2012–13 season, the goalkeeper went on to make 28 appearances in all tournaments. For his performance, he was awarded "The White Vest".

In the first game of the 2013–14 season, Kraft made a remarkable start for Hertha BSC when he helped the side beat 

 6–1. Since the start of the 2013–14 season, Thomas Kraft continued to regain his first team place as the team's first goalkeeper. 

Thomas Kraft also began talks with Hertha BSC over a new deal extension despite having two–year left to his contract. Nevertheless, his performance was soon criticized when he made a number of errors, including one against his former club, Bayern Munich on 26 October 2013. After the game, Jos Luhukay defended his performance and replied to calls to drop Thomas Kraft as the team’s first goalkeeper by disagreeing with his critics and continue to use him. 

Thomas Kraft could redeem himself after showing good performance in a 3–2 victory over Hoffenheim on 9 November 2013. He Thomas Kraft kept two successive clean sheets between 30 November 2013 and 8 December 2013 Augsburg and Eintracht Braunschweig. He, again, kept another two successive clean sheets between 19 April 2014 and 26 April 2014 against Augsburg and Eintracht Braunschweig.

Thomas Kraft made his 100th appearance for Hertha BSC on the last match of the season against 

, as the club lost 4–0. 

In spite of being absent on two matches during the 2013–14 season, Thomas Kraft made thirty–four appearances in all tournaments. Speaking about the season, Thomas Kraft has said that the mistakes made him a better goalkeeper.

At the start of the 2014–15 season, Thomas Kraft started in the first two games of the season before suffering a calf injury that saw him missed one game. But he returned to the starting line–up against Mainz 05 on 9 September 2014, as the team were defeated 3–1. 

After he returned from a calf injury, Thomas Kraft regained his place as Hertha BSC's first goalkeeper. It was announced on 22 December 2014 that he signed a contract extension with the team, keeping him until 2017. 

One of the top facts about Thomas Kraft is that on 15 February 2015, he was given Hertha BSC's captaincy for the first time, starting the whole match, in a 2–0 loss against 

. He then helped his team kept two succeeding clean sheets.

Though, Hertha BSC found themselves struggling in the relegation zone and ultimately avoided relegation by finishing sixteenth place. In spite of facing further obstacles with injuries later in the 2014–15 season, Thomas Kraft went on to make thirty–four appearances in all tournaments. 

Thomas Kraft started in the first five games of the 2015–16 season, helping the club earn seven points. His performance was admired by his coach and teammates, calling him the best player on the pitch. Though, during a 2–0 defeat against Wolfsburg on 19 September 2015, he suffered a shoulder injury and was substituted at half time. After the contest, it was declared that Thomas Kraft was out for four months. 

By February, Thomas Kraft recovered from a shoulder injury full time and returned to the substitute bench for the next two months. In spite of suffering two separate injuries, Kraft made one appearances for his team, starting the whole match, in a 2–0 loss against Bayern Munich on 23 April 2016. At the end of the 2015–16 season, he went on to play in seven matches in all tournaments.

Thomas Kraft made his only appearance of the 2016–17 season against Brøndby in the second leg of the UEFA Europa League Third Round, as Hertha BSC lost 3–2, resulting in the club's elimination. Nevertheless, he remained as Hertha BSC's second choice goalkeeper. 

Along the way, Thomas Kraft was side-lined in two matches throughout the 2016–17 season. In spite of this, he signed a contract with Hertha BSC, keeping him until 2019. 

On 20 August 2017, Thomas Kraft made his first appearance of the 2017–18 season, starting the whole game, as Hertha BSC's reserve team won 1–0 against Wacker 90 Nordhausen in the first round of the DFB–Pokal. 

A month later on 20 September 2017, Thomas Kraft made his first team appearance of the season, which was his UEFA Europa League debut, starting the whole match, and kept a clean sheet, in a 0–0 draw against 

.

Thomas Kraft then continued to play in three more UEFA Europa League matches for his team, as they were eliminated from the Group Stage. Due to the absent of Jarstein, Thomas Kraft made his return to the league starting line–up for the first time in two years for Hertha BSC against Borussia Dortmund on 20 January 2018, as the team drew 1–1. 

Then, Thomas Kraft started in the next two matches for Hertha BSC against Werder Bremen and Hoffenheim. Throughout the 2017/18 season, Thomas Kraft remained as the team's second choice goalkeeper behind Jarstein. However, he could play in eight matches in all competitions for Hertha BSC.

At the beginning of the 2018/19 season, Kraft suffered a knee injury that saw him missed one match. But he made his first appearance for Hertha BSC, coming on as a second-half substitute for Jarstein, as the team were defeated 3–1 against Werder Bremen on 25 September 2018. Thomas Kraft later played two more matches for the team by the end of the year. 

During the 2018/19 season, Thomas Kraft, once again, remained as the team's second choice goalkeeper behind Jarstein, as well as, facing his own injury worry. 

On 17 April 2019, it was declared that he signed a one–year contract extension with Hertha BSC. Due to the injury of Jarstein once again, Thomas Kraft played in the last two remaining matches of the 2018/19 season. At the end of the 2018/19 season, he went on to make five appearances in all tournaments.

At the beginning of the 2019/20 season, Thomas Kraft remained as the team's second choice goalkeeper behind Jarstein once again. On 30 October 2019, he played in his first match of the season against 

 in the second round of the DFB–Pokal, and helped his club win 5–4 in a penalty shootout following a 3–3 draw. After the match, Manager Ante Čović acclaimed his performance. 

When Jarstein was suspended for two games, Thomas Kraft started in goal for two contests between 30 November 2019 and 6 December 2019 against Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt. When Jarstein was dropped to the substitute bench, he returned to the starting line–up against Fortuna Düsseldorf on 28 February 2020, as Hertha BSC  drew 3–3. 

Hertha BSC played in another match for Hertha BSC in a follow–up match against Werder Bremen, as they drew 2–2. 

This situation for him last until the 2019/20 season was interrupted due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, throughout the season, Thomas Kraft was afflicted with injuries, including a back problems that saw him side-lined for the rest of the season. At the end of the 2019–20 season, he continued to play in five matches in all tournaments.

One of the top facts about Thomas Kraft is that on 25 June 2020, Hertha BSC announced the departure of Thomas Kraft, along with Salomon Kalou and four other players.Accordingly, Thomas Kraft publicised his retirement shortly after, mentioning health problems.

Thomas Kraft international career

Thomas Kraft has made one appearance for Germany U16, which was a match against Belgium U16 on 26 May 2004. In an interview with Berliner Morgenpost, Thomas Kraft hoped he would earn a call up from the Germany senior team one day, but it never happened for him.

Thomas Kraft personal life

When Thomas Kraft is asked about his professional career path in an interview with Merkur, he said: "I don't play football just to be second or third goalkeeper somewhere - and I don't want to get lost in the second or third division either. I want to become number 1 in a Bundesliga club as soon as possible. This year I want to show myself even more - maybe I can offer myself here for the next few years."

One of the

top facts about Thomas Kraft

is that he has admired Oliver Kahn and his own father, saying: "When I was little he was having his really big time. You take a special look there. But in principle that stopped later, then you look in general at all goalkeepers to see where you can get something. There is no longer one big role model to look up to or something."

Thomas Kraft stated that his father's death when he was fifteen years old made him more responsible at an "early young age".

Thomas Kraft family

One of the

top facts about Thomas Kraft

personal life is that he is married to his wife Denise and they lived together with their two dogs. In March 2014, Thomas Kraft became father for the first time when Denise gave birth to a baby boy, Mateo and this caused him to miss a game against Schalke 04 on 28 March 2014. After returning to the first team in a 1–1 draw against Hoffenheim on 6 April 2014, he devoted his performance to his son.

Regarding Thomas Kraft outside of football, Thomas Kraft is a supporter of Christian Democratic Union of Germany. Among all top facts about Thomas Kraft, it is worth mentioning that he also have a desire of cars and enjoys watching Formula 1.

Thomas Kraft Trophies

Bayern Munich

• Bundesliga

  : 2009–10

• DFB-Pokal

  : 2010

• DFL-Supercup

  : 2010

• UEFA Champions League runner-up

  : 2010

Hertha BSC

Bundesliga

: 2012–13

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