Thomas Kessler

Thomas Kessler (born 20 January 1986) is a German former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is currently the director of football at 1. FC Köln.

Club career Kessler was born in Cologne and moved from Grün-Weiß Brauweiler to 1. FC Köln in 2000 at the age of 14, where he came through the clubs academy, all the way up to the first and second teams. In 2007, he became a permanent part of the clubs first team squad, after training with the team during a training camp in the winter break. At the same time, he also signed his first contract with the club. On 12 September 2010, he made his debut for FC St. Pauli in a league fixture against his former club, in Cologne. However, when FC St. Pauli's relegation became apparent, he exercised a contract option that allowed him to opt out of his contract after one year. He was then loaned out to relegated Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt for the 2011/12 season.

After Frankfurt were promoted back to the Bundesliga, Kessler returned to 1. FC Köln, who had been relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, but whose sporting management had already decided to count on Timo Horn as their first choice well before the start of the 2012/13 season. Horn was injured during the 2016/17 Bundesliga season, which is why Kessler played 13 consecutive games in goal for Köln in that season. In May 2019, Kessler signed a new contract until June 2020. After the contract expired, Cologne offered Kessler to stay at the club in another management position, but also announced that they would not offer him a new contract as a player.

After the 2019/20 season, Kessler began a 24-month trainee program following. After Horst Heldt left Köln in June 2021, Kessler was named the new head of the clubs professional department. In May 2023, Kessler extended his contract with Köln.

International career Kessler represented the Germany national under-16 football team once in 2002.

Career statistics Club