Christian Lell

Christian Lell (born 29 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

Career

Bayern Munich Early career Born in Munich, Bavaria, Lell started his training with FC Alemannia München, He earned a place in Bayern's youth section in 1993, In his first season at the senior level, the right-wingback made 10 appearances in the Regionalliga Süd. and a cup appearance during the 2002–03 season. He made 20 appearances for the reserve team during the 2003–04 season. Lell made his Bundesliga debut on 4 October 2003 in a 4–1 against Hertha BSC where he came on as a substitute for Michael Ballack in 84th minute. He made three subsequent appearances for Bayern in Bundesliga play and a cup appearance during the 2003–04 season. where he had a disappointing season. After the 4–2 loss to Wacker Burghausen on the second matchday, Lell fell out of favour with manager Huub Stevens. He earned a mere sixteen league appearances over the course of the season. The season however wasn't entirely without successes for Lell. In Köln's second league match against Wacker Burghausen he scored a goal. Beyond that, he earned two caps in the DFB-Pokal,

Return to Bayern Munich For the 2006–07 season, Lell returned to Bayern, appearing 16 times for the first team and eight times for the reserve team. scored his first Bundesliga goal. In the German Cup, he played eight matches, During the 2008–09 season, under coach Jürgen Klinsmann and interim coach Jupp Heynckes, Lell made 28 appearances in all competitions.

On 1 September 2009, just before the transfer window closed, Bayern and Premier League club Stoke City came to an agreement for Lell transfer to England. However, the deal failed when no one was able to contact Lell and inform him about it. As a result, the transfer window closed before Lell could agree to the transfer. In the 2009–10 season, new Bayern coach Louis van Gaal relegated Lell to the reserves, where he made an appearance. He almo made an appearance in the cup for the first team. This ended a 17-year connection dating back to 1 July 1993 when he joined Bayern Munich's youth academy. His contract in Berlin ran for one year, and was automatically extended for an additional two as Hertha earned promotion to the Bundesliga. Lell quickly established himself as an important part of Hertha's defense, starting almost every fixture and assuming vice-captaincy of the team. He finished the 2010–11 season with 33 league appearances and two cup appearances. He would go on to 28 league appearances, two cup appearances, and an appearance in the relegation playoff.

On 7 June 2012, Lell was released along with Patrick Ebert, Andreas Ottl, and Andre Mijatovic. The decision to part company with Lell came a day after he was given a five-match ban for insulting referee Wolfgang Stark during a relegation play-off match against Fortuna Düsseldorf. The contract is for a season plus a one-year option.

International career Christian Lell represented Germany on the Under-20 team at the 2003 FIFA World Youth Championship.

Lell also holds Austrian citizenship. After voicing desire to play for the Austria national team, he was found not eligible.

Personal life Lell's sister died in April 2014 at the age of 27 from cystic fibrosis. He started a foundation for cystic fibrosis in 2009.

1. FC Köln 2. Bundesliga: 2004–05