Kevin Behrens

Kevin Behrens
Behrens with Union Berlin in 2023
Personal information
Date of birth (1991-02-03) 3 February 1991
Place of birth Bremen, Germany
Height 1.84 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position Forward
Team information
Current team
 Lugano
Number 91
Youth career
1995–2004 ATS Buntentor
2004–2008 SC Weyhe
2008–2010 Werder Bremen
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010–2011 Werder Bremen III 24 (10)
2011–2012 SV Wilhelmshaven 26 (10)
2012–2014 Hannover 96 II 40 (17)
2014–2015 Alemannia Aachen 28 (8)
2015–2016 Rot-Weiss Essen 8 (3)
2016–2018 1. FC Saarbrücken 78 (35)
2018–2021 SV Sandhausen 94 (31)
2021–2024 Union Berlin 75 (14)
2024–2025 VfL Wolfsburg 31 (2)
2025– Lugano 19 (6)
International career‡
2023 Germany 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 21 December 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 17 October 2023

Kevin Behrens (born 3 February 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a forward for Swiss Super League club Lugano. He previously played in the Bundesliga and has also represented the Germany national team.[1]

Club career

Behrens started his career in 2010 in the Bremen-Liga, the fifth division of German football, for Werder Bremen III. From 2011-2018, he played in the Regionalliga, the fourth division of German football, for SV Wilhelmshaven, Hannover 96 II, Alemannia Aachen, Rot-Weiss Essen, 1. FC Saarbrücken. He made his 2. Bundesliga debut in 2018 with SV Sandhausen.[2][3] With Saarbrücken, he won both the 2016–17 Saarland Cup and 2017–18 Regionalliga Südwest.[4]

Behrens transferred to East Berlin-based Bundesliga club Union Berlin during the 2021 summer transfer window.[5] On 16 September 2021, he scored his first goal in European competitions in a 3–1 defeat against Slavia Prague in the 2021–22 Conference League.[6] On the first matchday of the 2023–24 Bundesliga season, Behrens scored his first Bundesliga hat-trick, all being headers, on 20 August 2023 at the Stadion An der Alten Försterei against 1. FSV Mainz 05 in a 4–1 home victory.[7] On 20 September 2023, he made his UEFA Champions League debut in a 1–0 defeat against Real Madrid.[8]

On 31 January 2024, Behrens moved to VfL Wolfsburg.[9] In October that year, Wolfsburg fined Behrens for making a homophobic comment during an autograph session, refusing to sign a rainbow-themed Wolfsburg jersey. He later apologised, and the club reaffirmed its commitment to diversity and tolerance. Later that month, FC St. Pauli fans protested his appearance with a “more love, less Kevin Behrens” banner.[10][11]

On 15 July 2025, Behrens signed a two-season contract with Lugano in Switzerland.[12] On 9 January 2026, during a friendly match against Viktoria Plzen, during play, Behrens shoved teammate Georgios Koutsias to the ground and verbally berated him, causing teammate Uran Bislimi to intervene between the players. After the incident, Behrens requested to be substituted and the club issued a statement after the friendly in which they condemned the confrontation and announced an internal investigation into the incident.[13]

International career

In October 2023, Behrens received his first call-up to the German senior national team for two friendly matches against the United States and Mexico.[14] He debuted against the latter on 17 October, coming on as a substitute at the 87th minute for Jamal Musiala in a match which ended in a 2–2 draw.[15]

Personal life

His sister Kim van de Velde (née Behrens) is a volleyball and beach volleyball player.[16]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 21 December 2025[17]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup Europe Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Werder Bremen III 2010–11 Bremenliga 24 10 — — — 24 10
Wilhemshaven 2011–12 Regionalliga Nord 26 10 — — — 26 10
Hannover 96 II 2012–13 Regionalliga Nord 26 9 — — — 26 9
2013–14 Regionalliga Nord 14 9 — — — 14 9
Total 40 18 — — — 40 18
Alemannia Aachen 2014–15 Regionalliga West 28 8 3 0 — — 31 8
Rot-Weiss Essen 2015–16 Regionalliga West 8 3 1 0 — — 9 3
1. FC Saarbrücken 2015–16 Regionalliga Südwest 13 5 — — — 13 5
2016–17 Regionalliga Südwest 30 11 — — — 30 11
2017–18 Regionalliga Südwest 35 19 1 0 — 1[a] 0 37 19
Total 78 35 1 0 — 1 0 80 35
SV Sandhausen 2018–19 2. Bundesliga 30 4 2 0 — — 32 4
2019–20 2. Bundesliga 32 14 1 0 — — 33 14
2020–21 2. Bundesliga 32 13 1 0 — — 33 13
Total 94 31 4 0 — — 98 31
Union Berlin 2021–22 Bundesliga 24 2 4 2 6[b] 2 — 34 6
2022–23 Bundesliga 33 8 4 2 9[c] 0 — 46 10
2023–24 Bundesliga 18 4 2 0 5[d] 0 — 25 4
Total 75 14 10 4 20 2 0 0 105 20
VfL Wolfsburg 2023–24 Bundesliga 13 1 — — — 13 1
2024–25 Bundesliga 18 1 1 0 — — 19 1
Total 31 2 1 0 — — 32 2
Lugano 2025–26 Swiss Super League 19 6 0 0 4[e] 0 — 23 6
Career total 424 137 20 4 24 2 1 0 469 143
  1. ^ Appearance in Regionalliga promotion play-offs
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League
  3. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  5. ^ Two appearances in UEFA Europa League, two appearances in UEFA Conference League

International

As of match played 17 October 2023[18]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Germany
2023 1 0
Total 1 0

Honours

1. FC Saarbrücken

References

  1. ^ Kevin Behrens at WorldFootball.net
  2. ^ Bate, Adam (8 September 2023). "Kevin Behrens is Union Berlin's cycling striker: Real Madrid awaits for former regional league forward and cult hero". Sky Sports.
  3. ^ "Nagelsmann nominiert Unioner Kevin Behrens erstmals für DFB-Auswahl". rbb24.de (in German). 6 October 2023. Archived from the original on 28 December 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Ex-FCS-Stürmer Kevin Behrens jetzt Nationalspieler" (in German). Sportschau. 6 October 2023.
  5. ^ "Kevin Behrens wird Unioner" (in German). 1. FC Union Berlin. 1 July 2021.
  6. ^ "Late goals defeat resilient Union in Prague". 1. FC Union Berlin. 16 September 2021. Archived from the original on 28 October 2023. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Behrens-Gala bei Gosens-Debüt". sport1.de (in German). 20 August 2023.
  8. ^ "Union verpasst Sensationspunkt bei Real Madrid" (in German). Sportschau. 21 September 2023.
  9. ^ "BEHRENS WIRD EIN WOLF" [BEHRENS BECOMES A WOLF] (in German). VfL Wolfsburg. 31 January 2024. Retrieved 31 January 2024.
  10. ^ Davis, Callum (9 October 2024). "Wolfsburg discipline striker Kevin Behrens over homophobic comments". The New York Times.
  11. ^ read, DPA·1 min (26 October 2024). "Homophobic incident: St Pauli fans protest against Wolfsburg player". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved 9 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  12. ^ "KEVIN BEHRENS PER L'ATTACCO BIANCONERO" [KEVIN BEHRENS FOR THE BLACK AND WHITE ATTACK] (in Italian). FC Lugano. 15 July 2025. Retrieved 17 July 2025.
  13. ^ "Scandal in Switzerland: Behrens physically assaults Koutsias on live TV". Nogomania. 10 January 2026. Retrieved 10 January 2026.
  14. ^ "USA-Reise: Nagelsmann beruft drei Neue und vier Rückkehrer" (in German). German Football Association. 6 October 2023.
  15. ^ "Kevin Behrens feiert Debüt in der Nationalmannschaft" [Kevin Behrens celebrates his debut in the national team] (in German). Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg. 18 October 2023. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
  16. ^ "So erlebte Union-Matchwinner Kevin Behrens seine Rückkehr nach Bremen" (in German). Sportschau. 26 January 2023.
  17. ^ Kevin Behrens at Soccerway. Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  18. ^ "Kevin Behrens". dfb.de (in German). Retrieved 17 October 2023.
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