Michael Rensing

Michael Rensing (born May 14 1984 in Lingen, Lower Saxony, Germany) is a football (soccer) who plays as a goalkeeper. He currently plays for Bayern Munich and the Germany U21 national team..

Player profile

Rensing joined FC Bayern München in 2000 from TuS Lingen, and went on to develop his talent in the club's youth sides.

He spent the 2002/03 season in the German third division with Bayern's reserve side, and won a place in the UEFA Champions League squad at the start of the following campaign as he moved up the Bayern pecking order to become Oliver Kahn's deputy.

He made his Bundesliga debut on 21 February 2004, playing the entire 90 minutes of the 1-0 home win against Hamburger SV. He also kept a clean sheet in his second match against Schalke 04.

In the 2004-05 season, Rensing proved he is capable of stepping into Oliver Kahn's shoes as he put in a superb performance in two Bundesliga matches, playing the whole 90 minutes, to lead eventual champions Bayern to a 4-0 win against 1. FC Kaiserslautern and a 4-2 victory at FSV Mainz 05.

Rensing saw action in six Bundesliga games in the 2005/06 season, with his best performance being a clean sheet against Arminia Bielefeld. He also got his first UEFA Champions League nod for an injured Oliver Kahn against A.C. Milan on February 21, 2006. (Ironically, Nelson de Jesus Silva was injured during the match, so both sides finished with reserve goalkeepers in net.) Rensing was beaten on a penalty shot by Andriy Shevchenko, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. Coincidentally, Rensing replaced Kahn again in Bayern's Champions League encounter with A.C. Milan on 3 April 2007, as Kahn was suspended for that match by UEFA. Rensing had a good game in spite of conceding two goals, one of which was a penalty; he made several brilliant saves in the first half.

Having been Germany's undisputed Under-19 No1, Rensing stepped up a level to join the hosts' squad at the 2004 UEFA European Under-21 Championship finals, although he did not get off the bench. However, he has since become the first choice at U21, helping his team qualify for the 2006 Euro Under-21 Championship.

Trivia

- On April 15, 2006, Rensing was involved in a strange incident prior to a match against Arminia Bielefeld. He took a warm-up shot that struck goalkeeper Oliver Kahn blackening his eye and forcing him to sit out the game. Rensing played in Kahn's place and Bayern went on to win the contest 2:0.

Honours

- Club Titles

Bundesliga: 2005, 2006

German Cup: 2005, 2006

German Super Cup: 2004, 2007

German third division south championship: 2004