Welcome to Last Word on Football’s ‘Families in Football’ series. Over the next few weeks, we take a look at siblings, cousins and even parents and children that have played the beautiful game. Some have played cup finals together while others have been on opposing sides. Today, we focus on German brothers, Keven and Nico Schlotterbeck.
Families in Football: Keven and Nico Schlotterbeck
Keven Schlotterbeck
Born in Weinstadt in the South of Germany, defender Keven Schlotterbeck made his breakthrough with sixth tier club TSG Backnang.
Having scored an impressive 11 goals from 57 appearances, Keven was snapped up in 2018 by Bundesliga club SC Freiburg.
Having turned out just nine times for Breisgau-Brasilianer, in addition to just shy of 50 times for the B team, Keven was sent out on loan to newly-promoted Union Berlin.
The defender enjoyed a successful loan spell in the capital, racking up 23 Bundesliga appearances as Urs Fischer’s side finished their first-ever top-flight campaign in 11th position.
He returned to Freiburg and made 25 outings last season. However, he has managed just eight appearances in all competitions this season but did score his first goal for the club in the DFB-Pokal.
Nico Schlotterbeck
Younger brother Nico has a similar footballing story to Keven. Also a defender, the 22-year-old has made his name with Freiburg and spent time on loan with Union Berlin.
Nico has made 37 appearances for Freiburg, scoring twice, but netted his first-ever senior goal on his Union debut against Borussia Monchengladbach. To date, he has three goals in Bundesliga 50 appearance for the two top-flight clubs.
Games Played Together and Against
The brothers have turned out 17 times together for both the Freiburg B team and the senior outfit. The duo also played in a goalless draw against former club Union Berlin last month.
Keven and Nico have also faced each other three times during their respective loan spells at Union.
Interesting Facts
Keven and Nico Schlotterbeck also saw their uncle Niels Schlotterbeck play professional football. Like the brothers, the midfielder turned out for Freiburg and also featured for Stuttgarter Kickers, 1860 Munich and Hannover throughout his career.
The two brothers are yet to make a senior appearance for the German national side but Nico won the UEFA European U21 Championship last year while Keven featured for the Germany Olympics Football Team.
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