Daniel Engelbrecht

Daniel Engelbrecht (born 5 November 1990) is a German retired professional footballer who played as a forward.

Club career On 20 July 2013, while playing his second game of the 2014–15 season for the Stuttgarter Kickers against Rot-Weiß Erfurt, Engelbrecht suddenly collapsed on the pitch due to a sudden heart attack. He was later diagnosed with myocarditis and chronic heart rhythm disorders. After four operations to the heart, including one where a defibrillator was implanted and a waiting period of 17 months, Engelbrecht returned to the pitch on 15 November 2014. He is the first professional football player to play with an implanted defibrillator in Germany. On 6 December 2014, Daniel Engelbrecht shot the winning goal against SV Wehen Wiesbaden in the 91st minute, thereby becoming the only professional footballer to score a goal with such a handicap.

Following the recurrence of his heart problems, Engelbrecht announced that he would interrupt his career on doctor's recommendation, and that he would focus on becoming a coach. This interruption turned into permanent retirement in 2018, when it became known that Engelbrecht's defibrillator had already brought him back to life on three occasions.

Managerial career On 1 July 2019, Engelbrecht was announced as the new head of VfL Bochum's youth talent scouting division.

Career statistics