Serdar Tasci (; ; born 24 April 1987) is a German former professional footballer who played as a centre-back.
Tasci started his career with VfB Stuttgart in 2006, playing with the club until 2013, captaining the side from 2011, making 181 senior appearances, and helping VfB win the 2006–07 Bundesliga. An injury in his first season at new club, Spartak Moscow, kept him out of action for a large part of the 2013–14 season. He was capped 14 times for Germany from 2008 to 2010, including the 2010 FIFA World Cup, at which Germany came third.
Club career VfB Stuttgart
Tasci was born in Esslingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, to Turkish parents from Artvin. He started playing football when he was six; he then played for the youth teams of SC Altbach, Stuttgarter Kickers and VfB Stuttgart. Before the 2005–06 season, he joined Stuttgart's second team, playing in the Regionalliga (third division), after helping the VfB to win the German B-Junior Championship (2004) and German A-Junior Championship (2005) ahead of his senior career.
Ahead of the 2006–07 season, Tasci was promoted to the club's Bundesliga side. After being included as an unused substitute in a match against 1. FC Nürnberg, Tasci had his professional debut against Arminia Bielefeld on 20 August 2006; the match—the second of the season—was a 3–2 win in which Tasci was substituted for injured Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson in the 68th minute. His first goal followed a week later in a game against Borussia Dortmund in a 1–3 defeat. His second goal of the season came on 29 October 2006, in a 3–0 win over Schalke 04. Shortly after, Tasci signed a contract that ran until 2010 with the club. Throughout the 2006–07 season, Tasci received a handful of first team appearances, playing in either the right–back and centre–back positions for the side. However, he was soon plagued with suspension following his sending–off, in a 4–1 loss against 1. FC Nürnberg on 27 January 2007 and injuries. Despite this, Tasci helped VfB Stuttgart beat Energie Cottbus to win 2–1 and claim their first Bundesliga title in 15 years in the last game of the season. However, in the final of the DFB-Pokal, he came on for Sami Khedira in extra time when Stuttgart lost 3–2 to Nürnberg. Reflecting about Tasci's season, Manager Armin Veh said of his involvement with the club: "He is a big surprise and with his 20 years plays well beyond his years." At the end of the 2006–07 season, Tasci had made thirty–one appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
In the 2007–08 season, Tasci made a strong performance against Schalke in the opening game; kicker described his performance as clever and cool. He continued to regain his first team place for the side. Tasci then made his Champions League debut on matchday one, as Stuttgart lost 2–1 to Rangers. He scored his first goal of the season in a 4–1 loss against Hamburger SV on 20 October 2007. At the end of the 2007–08 season, Tasci made twenty–nine appearances and scoring once in all competitions; most of which he missed were due to injuries.
In the 2008–09 season, Tasci was paired with Khalid Boulahrouz in the centre-back position at the start of the season. In the qualification round of the UEFA Cup against Hungarian side Győri ETO, he scored his first European goal in a 2–1 victory, taking his club to the next round. In December 2008, his manager and mentor Armin Veh was sacked following the club's run of defeats. On 4 April 2009, Tasci scored his first league goal of the season in a 2–1 win over VfL Bochum. He missed the rest of the season after injuring his knee in a 2–0 loss against Eintracht Frankfurt on 25 April 2009. As a result, he was required to have surgery but decided not to have it, ending his 2008–09 season. At the end of the 2008–09 season, Tasci went on to make forty appearances and scoring two times in all competitions.
At the start of the 2009–10 season, Tasci made his return to the first team from injury, starting the whole game, in a 2–0 loss against VfL Wolfsburg. In a follow–up match against SC Freiburg, Tasci captained the side for the first time, as he helped Stuttgart beat them 4–2. On 29 August 2009, Tasci extended his contract with Stuttgart until the summer of 2014. As a result, buy-out clause was included as part of signing a new contract. It came after when Tasci was in a contract negotiation with the club. In his first half of the season, Tasci captained two more matches in the absence of Thomas Hitzlsperger. He scored his first Champions League goal as Stuttgart drew 1–1 with Romanian side Unirea Urziceni in the group stage matchday two on 29 September 2009. By November, however, he sustained "a stress fracture in his foot" that could have put him out for the remainder of the season. But he recovered after a few weeks and returned to the first team against Bayer Leverkusen on 29 November 2018, which was then followed–up by scoring his first goal of the Bundesliga season, in a 1–1 draw against VfL Bochum. Following Hitzlsperger removal of captaincy, Tasci was reportedly furious over not being chosen as a vice-captain. On 12 March 2010, he scored his second league goal of the season, in a 2–1 loss against Schalke 04. A week later on 19 March 2010, Tasci was declared injured as he suffered an adductor problem. Shortly after declaring fit and returning as an unused substitute in a match against Bayern Munich, Tasci returned to the starting lineup against Borussia Mönchengladbach on 3 April 2010, starting the whole game, in a 2–1 win. Later in the 2009–10 season, Tasci made thirty-eight appearances and scoring two times in all competition; having missed some matches, due to recurrence of injuries he sustained.
At the start of the 2010–11 season, Tasci attracted interest from clubs around Europe. Stuttgart's league rival Hamburger SV as well as foreign clubs such as Tottenham Hotspur and Juventus reportedly expressed their desire to sign him. This move was denied by his agent; he said that Tasci would stay at Stuttgart only. On 15 July 2010, Tasci expressed his desire to stay at the club. Tasci made his first appearance of the season, in a 3–2 loss against Borussia Dortmund. He scored his first goal for the club in the Europa League group stage matchday one in a 3–0 win over Young Boys. He then suffered a thigh problem that kept him out for a long time. In late November, Tasci returned to training with a bandage on his right knee. Once again, he was on the sideline after experiencing ongoing problems with his thigh injury despite reporting himself fit. He returned to the field on 19 December 2010 in the match against Bayern Munich, which Stuttgart lost 5–3. Following this, Tasci continued to regain his first team place for the rest of the 2010–11 season. At the end of the 2010–11 season, which he made thirty–two appearances and scoring once in all competitions, he continued to attract interest from Zenit Saint Petersburg, Tottenham Hotspur, Málaga and Arsenal.
In the 2011–12 season, Tasci continued to regain his first team place at the start of the season. Tasci scored his first goal of the season in a 3–0 win over Hannover 96 on 10 September. A month later, on 29 October 2011, he scored his second in a 1–1 draw against Borussia Dortmund. Halfway through the 2011–12 season, on 12 January 2012, he was appointed the new captain of VfB Stuttgart by Bruno Labbadia. Seven days before being appointed, Tasci and Cristian Molinaro were involved in an incident at training. Tasci's third goal came on 10 April 2012 in a 3–1 win over FC Augsburg. Despite suffering injuries during the 2011–12 seasonm Tasci went on to make thirty appearances and scoring three times in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2012–13 season, Tasci revealed that Spanish club Barcelona was interested in signing him. But in late July, he said that though he was linked with a move to Barcelona, Milan and Manchester City, the clubs had not officially approached him. This occurred as the club was making budget cuts, including the wages bill. Since the start of the 2012–13 season, Tasci remained as captain of Vfb Stuttgart once again. In late–September, he injured his achilles tendon that kept him out for several weeks. He returned to the starting lineup against Hamburger SV on 21 October 2012, which saw Stuttgart won 1–0. A month later, on 22 November 2012, he scored his first goal for the club in a Europa League 5–1 win over Steaua București to help the club progress to the knockout stage. On 1 December 2012, he received a straight red card for a serious foul play on Milorad Peković in a 1–0 victory over SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Later in April 2013, he was sidelined as he suffered from an achilles tendon rupture. It wasn't until on 11 May 2013 when he made his return to the starting lineup, starting the whole game as captain, in a 2–1 win over Schalke 04. In the DFB-Pokal final, he captained Stuttgart for the match, which the club lost 3–2 to Bayern Munich. At the end of the 2012–13 season, Tasci went on to make thirty–nine appearances and scoring once in all competitions.
Ahead of the 2013–14 season, Tasci said he was aiming to make progress to sign a new contract, having expressed a desire to prolong his contract to stay at Stuttgart, as he had one year left to his contract. At the start of the 2013–14 season, however, he sustained an injury during a match against Mainz 05 in the opening game of the season and was replaced by Konstantin Rausch. After the match, it was revealed that he had torn his lateral meniscus following his treatment, in what turned out to be his last appearance for VfB Stuttgart.
Spartak Moscow 2013–2018
On 30 August 2013, Tasci moved to Russian Premier League side Spartak Moscow for an undisclosed fee. Upon leaving Stuttgart, he told the press, "It was not an easy decision. The present decision is not a decision against VfB Stuttgart, but for the new task. I had an incredibly great time at VfB, have played in the youth here, then I turned pro and recently been the captain. I have always said that I am a VfBler and that I will remain."
Immediately after joining the club, his debut was delayed by the injuries he sustained while at Stuttgart. He made his first appearance with the club on 2 October 2013 when he appeared in training. After damaging his meniscus, however, Tasci's debut for Spartak Moscow was delayed further to January following an operation. He made his debut for the club on 17 March 2014 in a 2–2 draw against Anzhi Makhachkala. In April 2014, Izvestia reported that Tasci could be leaving Spartak Moscow, leading to interest from Turkish sides Fenerbahçe and Beşiktaş. Despite this, Tasci went on to make two more appearances in the 2013–14 season, adding his tally to three.
In the 2014–15 season, under the new management of Murat Yakin, Tasci made his first appearance of the season against Dynamo Moscow on 10 August 2014, coming on as a substitute, as Spartak Moscow won 2–1. He then became a first team regular for Spartak Moscow. After suffered a calf injury in late–October, Tasci returned to the starting lineup and then scored his first Spartak goal on 2 November 2014, in a 3–3 draw against Kuban Krasnodar. Towards the end of the 2014–15 season, Tasci was reportedly offered a new contract by the club. However, this was denied by the club. Despite being sidelined further during the 2014–15 season, Tasci went on to make twenty–three appearances and scoring once in all competitions.