Philipp Förster

Philipp Förster (born 4 February 1995) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Fortuna Düsseldorf.

After playing youth football with Karlsruher SC and VfB Stuttgart, he started his senior career in the Regionalliga Südwest with Waldhof Mannheim in 2014. He joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg in January 2017, but failed to make a first-team appearance and joined fellow 2. Bundesliga side SV Sandhausen later that year. Two years later, he signed for 2. Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart, and won promotion to the Bundesliga in his first season at the club.

Career Early career Förster was born in Bretten, He played youth football for Karlsruher SC until 2010, and later for VfB Stuttgart between 2010 and 2014. Shortly before the start of the season, he suffered two muscle tears. He made his debut for Waldhof Mannheim on 24 September 2014 in a 1–1 draw at home to 1899 Hoffenheim II, He scored his first goals for the club on 11 October 2014 with their second and third goals of a 3–1 victory over KSV Hessen Kassel. He played in both legs of the promotion play-off against Sportfreunde Lotte as Waldhof Mannheim lost 2–0 on aggregate and failed to achieve promotion to the 3. Liga.

The 2016–17 season saw Förster score twice in 20 appearances for Waldhof.

1. FC Nürnberg On 31 January 2017, Förster joined 2. Bundesliga side 1. FC Nürnberg for an undisclosed fee. After suffering multiple injuries during his spell at the club, he amassed no first team appearances and just four reserve team appearances.

SV Sandhausen On 17 August 2017, Förster joined fellow 2. Bundesliga side SV Sandhausen on a three-year contract with the option for a further year. He made his debut for the club as a second-half substitute in a 2–1 defeat at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf on 27 August 2017. He scored his first goal for the club on 16 February 2018 in 1–0 away victory over 1. FC Kaiserslautern; he scored from 16 metres in the 79th minute despite slipping as he took the shot. He made 28 appearances and scored three goals for Sandhausen in the 2017–18 season. and he scored a brace for the club on 16 March 2019 in a 4–0 victory over FC St. Pauli. On 24 July 2019, he signed a two-year contract extension with Sandhausen, keeping him at the club until summer 2022. He appeared five times and scored once with Sandhausen in the 2019–20 season before joining VfB Stuttgart. After making his debut for the club on 14 September 2019 in a 3–2 victory over Jahn Regensburg, he scored his first goal for the club on 21 September 2019 in a 2–0 victory at home to Greuther Fürth. He appeared in 26 league matches and scored 3 goals for Stuttgart across the 2019–20 season,

After suffering an ankle injury during the build-up to the 2020–21 season, Förster made his Bundesliga debut as a substitute in second-half stoppage time of a 1–1 draw with Schalke 04 on 30 October 2020. He made his first Bundesliga start on 28 November 2019 as a replacement for the injured Daniel Didavi in a 3–1 defeat to Bayern Munich.

Bochum On 1 July 2022, Förster joined VfL Bochum on a two-year contract. Förster left Bochum at the end of the 2023–24 season.

Darmstadt 98 On 23 September 2024, Förster joined 2. Bundesliga club Darmstadt 98.

Return to Karlsruher SC On 27 August 2025, Förster signed with his childhood club Karlsruher SC.

Career statistics