Robert Tesche

Robert Tesche (born 27 May 1987) is a German professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club VfL Osnabrück.

Wismar-born Tesche's family moved to Löhne in West Germany in 1993.

He began his footballing career for VfL Viktoria Mennighüffen.

In 2001–02 he moved to Arminia Bielefeld's youth department, a team he grew up supporting.

He was considered as one of the most exciting talents of Arminia, and in 2006–07 he moved up to their reserve team.

At the end of the 2006–07 season, Tesche went on to make seven appearances in all competitions.

Under head coach Ernst Middendorp, Tesche made his professional debut on 30 March 2007, where he surprisingly started in the starting-XI before being substituted in the 67th minute, in a 1–0 win over Borussia Dortmund.

Between 29 April 2007 and 6 May 2007, he assisted two goals against Werder Bremen and Bayer Leverkusen.

In May 2007 he signed a contract with Arminia Bielefeld, keeping him in the Westphalian city for three years.

In the 2007–08 season, Tesche continued to feature in the first team for the side and made several starts in number of matches.

However, he spent the number of matches on the substitute bench during the season and appeared in the reserve game for the number of matches.

At the end of the 2007–08 season, Tesche went on to make seventeen appearances and scoring once in all competitions.

At some point of his early career at Arminia Bielefeld, he signed a contract with the club, keeping him until 2008.

It wasn't until on 17 May 2008, which was the last game of the season, Tesche scored his first goal of the season, in a 2–2 draw against Stuttgart.

The draw helped the side avoid relegation in the Bundesliga and retain their status in the top–flight league for another season.

In the 2008–09 season, Tesche started the season well when he set up an opening goal for Artur Wichniarek, in a 2–0 win over ASV Durlach in the first round of the DFB–Pokal, followed up by setting up another goal for Wichnaiarek, in a 2–2 draw against Werder Bremen in the opening game of the season.

He began to establish himself in the starting eleven despite facing competitions in the midfield position.

In a match against Bayern Munich on 1 November 2008, Tesche set up a goal for Wichniarek to score an equaliser, but was later sent–off for a foul on Franck Ribéry, in a 3–1 loss.

After serving a three match suspension, he returned to the first team as a substitute on 28 November 2008, in a 3–0 loss.

Shortly after his return, Tesche suffered a concussion during a 0–0 draw against Borussia Dortmund on 6 December 2008, but quickly made a recovery.

Later in the 2008–09 season, Tesche scored two goals against Borussia Mönchengladbach and Bayer Leverkusen.

However, the club ultimately finished last place, as they were relegated to the 2. Bundesliga.

At the end of the 2008–09 season, Tesche went on to make twenty–eight appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

However, in the first days of July 2009, shortly after Arminia Bielefeld relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, Tesche was offered a contract with Hamburger SV.

In accordance with the board, he was allowed to move to Hamburger SV.

In summer 2009, Tesche signed a three-year contract with Hamburger SV.

The transfer fee was believed to be €1 million.

Tesche made his Hamburger SV debut in an away match against Randers in the third round of the UEFA Europa League, in a 4–0 win, which they went through after winning 4–1 on aggregate.

He then made his league debut for Hamburger SV in the away match against VfL Wolfsburg, replacing goalscorer Eljero Elia in the 90th minute, which saw Hamburger SV win 4–2 on 23 August 2009.

Four days later, on 27 August 2009, he scored his first goals in the UEFA Europa League play-offs, in a 3–1 win over Guingamp, which saw the club through the group stage after beating them 8–2 on aggregate.

However, he spent the most of the season on the substitute bench, due to strong competitions in the midfield position from Zé Roberto, Mickaël Tavares and Tomás Rincón.

He mostly spent his playing time, coming on as a substitute and occasionally started in number of matches.

Despite suffering a hamstring injury towards the end of the 2009–10 season, he went on to make thirty appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.

It wasn't until on 11 April 2010 when he scored his first goal for the club, in a 2–1 win over VfB Bochum.

Two weeks later, on 25 April 2010, he scored again, in a 5–1 loss against 1899 Hoffenheim.

The 2010–11 season, Tesche was linked a loan move away from the club, but stayed throughout the summer transfer window.

However, at the start of the season, he appeared in number of the matches as an unused substitute.

Tesche played for Arminia Bielefeld, Hamburger SV and Fortuna Düsseldorf before moving to England in 2014 to join Nottingham Forest.

He spent the latter part of the 2014–15 season on loan at Birmingham City, and signed for that club in 2016 after being released by Forest.

After spending the 2017–18 season on loan to VfL Bochum, he signed permanently in July 2018.