Robert Huth

Robert Huth (, ; born 18 August 1984) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

He is a three-time Premier League winner and has made the most Premier League appearances (322) by a German player.

Huth was signed for Chelsea from the youth system of German club 1. FC Union Berlin in 2001 by Claudio Ranieri.

Huth was born in Biesdorf, East Berlin, and played for local side VfB Fortuna Biesdorf and then the youth teams at 1. FC Union Berlin before joining English side Chelsea in 2001.

Huth made his debut for Chelsea at the age of 17 in the last game of the 2001–02 season, coming on as a substitute at half-time for Jesper Grønkjær in a 1–3 home defeat against Aston Villa.

In August 2003, Reading tried to sign Huth on loan for the 2003–04 season, but their bid was rejected by Chelsea.

He made 20 appearances during that season, stating he was happy to stay at Chelsea.

Huth was also a German international, earning 19 caps and scoring two goals between 2004 and 2009.

In the 2004–05 season, injuries restricted him to 15 appearances for the Blues.

These were the preferred central defenders for Chelsea manager José Mourinho, who had succeeded Ranieri in the summer of 2004.

Huth scored twice for Chelsea, with one against MŠK Žilina in a Champions League qualifier and the other against Birmingham City in the FA Cup.

He was part of the German squads which came third at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2006 FIFA World Cup, both on home soil.

When the 2005–06 season started, Huth's chances of becoming a first-choice player at Chelsea in the near future seemed limited with John Terry, William Gallas and Ricardo Carvalho ahead of him in the Chelsea squad.

At the end of the 2005–06 season, Huth stated that he was unhappy with his lack of first team chances, prompting Middlesbrough, Wigan Athletic and Everton to submit bids for his services.

He struggled to establish himself in the Chelsea first team and with the likes of John Terry, William Gallas and Ricardo Carvalho ahead of him in the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, he joined Middlesbrough in August 2006 for a fee of £6 million.

He stated that he would join Middlesbrough after the 2006 FIFA World Cup after agreeing a five-year deal.

On 13 July 2006, a proposed transfer to Middlesbrough was scuppered when Huth failed a medical.

Middlesbrough continued to track Huth, and on 31 August he signed for the club for a fee of £6 million on a five-year contract.

Huth had a tough start to his career at Middlesbrough as they lost 1–0 to Notts County in the League Cup.

Manager Gareth Southgate stated that Huth was lacking in match fitness and decided to play him in a number of reserve matches.

By mid-October, Huth had regained his fitness and played his first league match for Boro against Everton, which they won 2–1.

He scored his first Boro goal in a 2–1 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur on 5 December 2006.

Huth's progress in a Middlesbrough shirt, however, was halted when he picked up a foot injury in a training session.

Scans later revealed that he had suffered a stress fracture and was out for six weeks.

He made his return as a substitute in an FA Cup tie against Manchester United on 19 March 2007, but shortly afterwards he again picked up an injury in a 3–1 defeat against Aston Villa.

Huth underwent ankle surgery in the summer of 2007 in order to fix his problem; he consulted a specialist after failing to recover.

Huth returned to training in November 2007 and made his comeback against Reading on 1 December.

After the departure of Jonathan Woodgate to Tottenham, Huth was paired in central defence with David Wheater.

On 3 February, Huth scored against Newcastle United to earn a point against Kevin Keegan's team.

He again struggled with injuries and missed the last two months of the 2007–08 season.

Huth recovered well and made a strong start to the 2008–09 season.

However, he again suffered an ankle injury.

He returned to the side in December time and by February the team had been enduring a tough season and were in deep relegation trouble.

Boro failed to improve and they suffered relegation to the Championship, losing 2–1 to West Ham United on the final day of the season.

He spent three years at the Riverside and after the club was relegated in 2009, Huth signed for Stoke City for a then-club record fee of £5 million.

After a successful 2010–11 season for Huth which saw him play in the FA Cup Final, he was named as Stoke's Player of the Year.

Under the management of Tony Pulis, Huth remained a vital member of the Stoke squad in 2011–12 and 2012–13.

He also played regularly under Mark Hughes in 2013–14 before he suffered a knee injury which ruled him out nearly a year.

He was unable to force his way back into the team and he joined Leicester on loan in February 2015, helping them avoid relegation from the top flight.

Huth then joined Leicester permanently, helping them to win the Premier League title in 2016.