Fabian Ernst

Fabian Ernst (born 30 May 1979) is a German former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was regarded as a two-way player who can stop the opposition and start attacks with his passing from central midfield.

Club career
Born in Hanover, Ernst started his career with hometown club Hannover 96. From 1998 to 2000, he played for Hamburger SV in the Bundesliga, playing in 48 games.

The midfielder moved to Werder Bremen in 2000, where he was a major force in the league helping the club win the double of Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal in the 2003–04 season. In 152 games in the Bundesliga, he scored 11 goals.

He moved to Schalke 04 in summer 2005, spending three and a half years there. He joined Beşiktaş on 2 February 2009, signing a contract which lasted until 2012. In his first season with Beşiktaş he scored two goals. At the end of the season, he was elected "The Best Player Of The Team" by the supporters.

On 16 September 2010, Ernst headed in a last-minute goal against Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia to help his team to a winning start in the group stages of the UEFA Europa League. In the 2012–13 season, he joined Kasımpaşa, another football club headquartered in Istanbul. He was also captain of the team. In June 2013, he announced that he was thinking about retirement.

After a career break from the summer 2013 until the summer 2014, Ernst signed a contract with OSV Hannover although he had bids from other bigger clubs.

International career
In 2002, Ernst played his first international game, representing Germany against Kuwait. Ernst was a member of the German squad at Euro 2004. As of the end of 2007, he had won 24 caps and scored one goal for his country.

After that first season by Schalke 04, he found himself not being selected by his national squad for FIFA World Cup 2006, just like for Euro 2008 and FIFA World Cup 2010.

Managerial career
In July 2020, Beşiktaş J.K. and Ernst announced that their cooperation to establish youth academies across continental Europe, focusing in Germany, Austria, and the Netherlands.

International

 * Scores and results list Germany's goal tally first, score column indicates score after Ernst goal.

Honours
Werder Bremen
 * Bundesliga: 2003–04
 * DFB-Pokal: 2003–04

Schalke 04
 * DFB-Ligapokal: 2005

Beşiktaş
 * Süper Lig: 2008–09
 * Turkish Cup; 2008–09; 2010–11

Individual
 * 2008–09 Golden Team of the Year – Süper Lig