Marcell Jansen (; born 4 November 1985) is a German former professional footballer and current president of Hamburger SV. He also plays for Hamburger SV III in the Oberliga Hamburg. He was well known for his accurate crossing and pace, despite his tall stature. A versatile player, Jansen primarily played as a full back or wing back on the left flank, but could also play as a left-winger.
Club career
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Growing up in Mönchengladbach, West Germany, Jansen joined Borussia Mönchengladbach from local SV Mönchengladbach in 1993 and progressed through the ranks at the club's academy. It was not until 2003 when then-Mönchengladbach manager Ewald Lienen named him as an unused substitute in a Bundesliga fixture of the club in a 2–0 loss against Hannover 96 on 19 September 2003. Ironically, this turned out to be Lienen's final game in charge of Mönchengladbach and Jansen returned to the U19 side.
The start of the 2004–05 season saw Jansen playing for Borussia Mönchengladbach II in the fourth division under manager Horst Köppel. By the end of 2004, Jansen was given a first team opportunity under Dick Advocaat, who gave him his debut for the side. They lost 6–0 away against Hertha BSC on 4 December 2004. During the match, which saw Hertha BSC leading 5–0 in the second half, it went bad to worse when he gave away a penalty, resulting a successful penalty kick from Marcelinho Paraíba to score Hertha's sixth goal. Nevertheless, Advocaat continued using him in the first team following an injury to club captain Christian Ziege. On 28 January 2005, Jansen signed his first professional contract with the club, keeping him until 2008. He continued to be a first team regular at the club, playing as a left-back and because of this, he earned a call up for the Germany under-21 national team as well.
It was not until on 3 April 2005 when Jansen scored his first goal for Mönchengladbach in a 2–2 draw against VfL Bochum. In his first season, Jansen went on to make 18 appearances, scoring once, in the 2004–05 season despite competing with Filip Daems for the left–back position.
In the 2005–06 season, Jansen continued to be a first-team regular, playing in both left-back and left-midfield and his impressive performance earned him a call-up from the German senior team. Due to his good performance, Jansen signed a contract extension with the club, keeping him until 2009. After the start of the season, he started every match until he suffered a calf injury. After returning from injury, he scored his first goal of the season on 17 December 2005 in a 4–3 win over Eintracht Frankfurt. By April, Jansen began playing in left-midfield after Daems was used regularly at left-back. At the end of the 2005–06 season, Jansen went on to make 33 appearances and scored once in all competitions.
Following the 2006 FIFA World Cup, Jansen was linked with a move away from Borussia Mönchengladbach, with top-flight clubs in Germany keen on signing him. However, the club insisted on not selling him, stating that he was not for sale. Jansen started the 2006–07 season playing in the left-back, dispatching Daems in the process. Jansen remained in the left-back position until he suffered a knee injury in early October. After returning to training in January, he returned to the first team on 27 January 2007, in a 3–1 loss to Energie Cottbus. Jansen then scored his first goal of the season on 2 March 2007, in a 2–0 win over Arminia Bielefeld. At the end of the 2006–07 season, which saw the club relegated to the 2. Bundesliga, Jansen had made 24 appearances and scored one goal in all competitions.
Bayern Munich
In March 2007, Bayern Munich expressed interest in Jansen following his performance for both Borussia Mönchengladbach and the Germany national team. In May 2007, it was announced Jansen would move to Bayern in July 2007 for an approximate €10 million transfer fee. Despite fears from the media he would largely remain on the substitutes' bench, Jansen said he was not afraid to be on the substitutes' bench, insisting the move was an important step of his career.