Kevin Kampl (born 9 October 1990) is a former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Born in Germany, he represented Slovenia at both youth and senior level, earning 28 caps for the latter.
Early life Kampl was born in Solingen, Germany. His parents moved to Germany from Maribor, a city near the Austrian border in northeastern Slovenia. Kampl has dual citizenship and could have played for Germany, but opted for Slovenia early on.
Club career
Early career Kampl began his career with the reserve team of Bayer Leverkusen, where he played in the German fourth division.
On 30 August 2010, Kampl signed a one-season loan contract with SpVgg Greuther Fürth. He made his first team debut on 29 October 2010 as a late substitute in a 2. Bundesliga tie with Erzgebirge Aue. After only half a season for Greuther Fürth, he returned to Bayer Leverkusen during the 2010–11 winter transfer window. Kampl made his Leverkusen 2010–11 season debut as a second-half substitute in the UEFA Europa League game against Metalist Kharkiv.
In the summer of 2011, Kampl transferred to 3. Liga side VfL Osnabrück. After having played a great season for Osnabrück, he joined newly promoted 2. Bundesliga club VfR Aalen for a transfer fee of €250,000. However, he played only four matches for Aalen, scoring two goals and assisting another three.
This start drew the attention of well-financed Austrian champions Red Bull Salzburg and they acquired him just before the end of the transfer window by fulfilling his release clause in the amount of €3 million. Kampl was nominated for the best player of the Austrian Bundesliga at the beginning of the 2013–14 season, but had to eventually concede to Philipp Hosiner.
Borussia Dortmund On 22 December 2014, it was announced that he would join Borussia Dortmund on a five-year contract for a €12 million fee on 1 January 2015. He was originally going to RB Leipzig. He made his debut on 31 January 2015. On 28 April 2015, in the DFB-Pokal semi-final against Bayern Munich, Kampl came on in the 83rd minute for Jakub Błaszczykowski and was sent–off after receiving a second yellow card; Dortmund went through to the final via a penalty shoot-out.
Bayer Leverkusen
On 28 August 2015, Kampl returned to Bayer Leverkusen on a five-year deal. He made his debut on 12 September 2015 versus SV Darmstadt 98. On 26 September, Kampl scored his first goal for Leverkusen in a 3–0 away win against Werder Bremen. Later, on 20 October, he scored his first UEFA Champions League goal in a 4–4 home group stage draw against Roma.
RB Leipzig On 31 August 2017, Kampl joined RB Leipzig on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €20 million. He made his debut for the club on 8 September, setting up Timo Werner's second goal in a 2–0 win away at Hamburger SV. Five days later, he was part of the club's first ever starting eleven in the UEFA Champions League, a 1–1 draw with AS Monaco.
On 20 September 2018, Kampl captained Leipzig for the first time in a UEFA Europa League match against his former club Salzburg.
Kampl was part of the Leipzig team that made four DFB-Pokal finals in five years between 2019 and 2023, lifting the trophy in 2022 and 2023. Along with Willi Orban, Lukas Klostermann, Emil Forsberg, Konrad Laimer, Amadou Haidara and Marcel Halstenberg, he was one of seven players to have featured in all four of the club’s finals.
On 19 October 2023, Kampl extended his contract with RB Leipzig until June 2026.
On 3 January 2026, Kampl and Leipzig agreed to terminate his contract at the end of January due to personal reasons, and he subsequently retired from professional football.
International career Kampl made his senior debut for Slovenia on 12 October 2012, starting in a 2–0 away win against Cyprus. He scored his first goal on 6 September 2013 against Albania, which Slovenia won 1–0. Kampl scored his second goal in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match against San Marino, the second of their 6–0 win. In October 2016, the Slovenian squad released a statement "condemning Kampl's absence from both games." In response, Kampl stated "Firstly, I always play with pride and happiness for Slovenia and I intend to do so in the future, and secondly, I have made it clear I will be available next time, I just need some rest now."
Kampl retired from the national team in late 2018 for personal reasons. He earned 28 caps and scored 2 goals.
Career statistics
Club
+ Appearances and goals by club, season and competitionClubSeasonLeagueNational cupEuropeOtherTotalDivisionAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsBayer Leverkusen II2008–09Regionalliga West10———102009–10Regionalliga West211———2112010–11Regionalliga West144———144Total365———365Greuther Fürth2010–112. Bundesliga1000——10Greuther Fürth II2010–11Regionalliga Süd70———70Bayer Leverkusen2010–11Bundesliga00001Appearances in UEFA Europa League0—10VfL Osnabrück2011–123. Liga35210——362VfR Aalen2012–132. Bundesliga3210——42Red Bull Salzburg2012–13Austrian Bundesliga2344000—2742013–14Austrian Bundesliga3395213Two appearances in UEFA Champions League, eleven appearances and three goals in UEFA Europa League3—51142014–15Austrian Bundesliga1853210Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, six appearances and four goals in UEFA Europa League4—3111Total7418124237—10929Borussia Dortmund2014–15Bundesliga130201Appearances in UEFA Champions League0—1602015–16Bundesliga100020—30Total1402030—190Bayer Leverkusen2015–16Bundesliga2233061—3142016–17Bundesliga3012071—3922017–18Bundesliga101000—20Total53460132—726RB Leipzig2017–18Bundesliga2611010Six appearances in UEFA Champions League, four appearances in UEFA Europa League0—3712018–19Bundesliga2725081—4032019–20Bundesliga1120040—1522020–21Bundesliga2705070—3902021–22Bundesliga270508Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, five appearances in UEFA Europa League0—4002022–23Bundesliga30240501Appearance in DFL-Supercup04022023–24Bundesliga2612070003512024–25Bundesliga2613050—3412025–26Bundesliga3000——30Total20392505411028310Career total4264047494101056854
International
+ Appearances and goals by national team and yearNational teamYearAppsGoalsSlovenia201230201361201450201571201630201710201830Total282
Scores and results list Slovenia's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Kampl goal.
+ List of international goals scored by Kevin KamplNo.DateVenueCapOpponentScoreResultCompetition16 September 2013Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia61–01–02014 FIFA World Cup qualification227 March 2015Stožice Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia152–06–0UEFA Euro 2016 qualification
Honours Red Bull Salzburg Austrian Bundesliga: 2013–14 Austrian Cup: 2013–14
RB Leipzig DFB-Pokal: 2021–22, 2022–23 DFL-Supercup: 2023
Individual Slovenian Footballer of the Year: 2013, 2014 Kicker Bundesliga Team of the Season: 2015–16
See also Slovenian international players
References
External links
Kevin Kampl at the RB Leipzig website