Andreas Beck

1899 Hoffenheim made a bid for Beck, which was rejected.

Andreas Beck ( born 13 March 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a right-back.

Born in the Soviet Union, he represented Germany at youth and senior levels.

Beck was born in Kemerovo, USSR (now Russia).

When he was three, his family emigrated to Germany.

"I will never forget that we lived in a caravan at first."''

Beck also has a brother named Arthur.

Beck's grandmother resides in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Beck started his football career at DJK-SG Wasseralfingen and SVH Köningsbronn before the age of 14.

He then transferred to VfB Stuttgart and in 2005, Beck signed a professional contract with the club.

The following year, Beck made his Bundesliga debut for Stuttgart on 11 February 2006 against Arminia Bielefeld.

Five days later he experienced his European debut with a substitute appearance in the intermediate round of the UEFA cup against the Middlesbrough.

However, Beck failed to do so, with Ricardo Osorio establishing himself in the team, playing as a right-back throughout the 2006–07 season.

At the end of the 2006–07 season, Beck had made four appearances for the club, as they won the Bundesliga for the first time since 1992.

In the 2007–08 season, Beck started the season being on the bench until he made his first appearance on matchday 10 coming on as a substitute for Yıldıray Baştürk in the 86th minute, in a 4–1 loss against Hamburg on 20 October 2007.

Beck scored his first goal for Stuttgart in the next appearance on 27 October 2007 against Bayer Leverkusen which resulted in a 1–0 win for Stuttgart.

Beck then played a vital role when he provided assists in two of the Champions League matches against Lyon and Rangers.

But during a match against Rangers, Beck suffered a knee ligament injury and was sidelined for months.

Shortly after, Beck was linked with a move away from the club after considering his future away from the club.

However, Beck announced his intention to stay at the club Two months later on 3 February 2008, Beck made his first team return in a 4–0 loss against Schalke 04.

In his second season at Stuttgart, Beck made eighteen appearances for the club.

After failing to secure a place in the starting eleven for Stuttgart, Beck decided to leave the club to look for a new challenge.

Ralf Rangnick was keen to sign Beck and eventually he moved to Hoffenheim for a transfer fee about €3 million on a four-year-deal in July 2008.

Beck made his debut for Hoffenheim in a DFB-Pokal match as they won 1–0 against Chemnitz on 10 August 2008.

Beck made his league debut for Hoffenheim, playing as a right-back, in a 3–0 win against Energie Cottbus on 16 August 2008.

After joining, Beck later established himself as a key member of the side and got more playing time than at Stuttgart.

After missing three matches due to a gastrointestinal virus, Beck made his return to the first team in the last game of the season, in a 3–2 win over Schalke 04.

In his first season, Beck made 30 league appearances and had two assists.

Only Tobias Weis and Demba Ba were on more missions over the course of the season.

In the 2009–10 season, Beck continued to remain as right-back in the first team.

Beck suffered a hamstring injury that kept him out for six weeks.

The following week saw Beck signing a contract extension, keeping him until 2010.

Following Andreas Hinkel's departure to Sevilla, Beck was promoted to the first team and was expected to replace Hinkel as a right-back.

Beck made his first team return, playing as a right-back, in a 2–0 loss against Bayern Munich on 15 January 2010.

Once again, Beck suffered a knee injury, which kept him out for aboutfive weeks.

Beck made his first team return, coming on as a substitute for Christian Eichner in 72nd minute, in a 0–0 draw against Nürnberg on 20 March 2010.

In his second season at the club, Beck made twenty-five appearances for the club.

In the 2010–11 season, Beck was announced as new captain for the club, succeeding former captain Per Nilsson, who left for Nürnberg.

Upon learning this, Beck quoted: "I'm happy about having been given this responsibility. But my priority remains to work for the success of the club and nothing else."|Beck on being a captain." Beck also stated being captain is big responsibility on and off the pitch. He played his first match as captain on 14 August 2010 as the club won 4–0 in the DFB-Pokal first round encounter against Hansa Rostock. Beck also captained his first league match seven days later, in a 4–1 win over Werder Bremen in the opening game of the season. Beck was almost ever present in the 2010–11 season, making thirty-three appearances, having missed only one game due to suspension after being booked five times during the season. In May 2011, Hoffenheim 1899 claimed Juventus made an approach for Beck as the Italian side held a long-term interest in Beck. But Juventus' interests in Beck were put back on hold after Luigi Del Neri was sacked at Juventus.

Hoffenheim accepted a bid for Beck from Juventus but however the move was put off by Hoffenheim's evaluation of the 24-year-old.