Erik Jendrišek

Erik Jendrišek is a professional Slovak football player, who at present, plays for the German club, Schalke 04. Born in 1986 in Trstena, Erik stands five feet seven inches and has played for teams like SC Freiburg, Ruzomberok, Hannover 96, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, Schalke 04 and SC Freiburg.

As a professional player, when playing with the Ruzomberok from 2003 to 2006, he scored 30 goals in 56 league games. In 2006, he was signed by Hannover 96 team on a loan basis with an option of a permanent deal at the end of the season. Making his competitive debut for this club in 2006 in the first round proved his talent with DFB Pokal in 2006-07, as a substitute in 3-2 victory at Dynamo Dresden. The same year, he made his Bundesliga debut in a 1-1 draw match at home to Bayer Leverkusen as a substitute.

In 2007, he moved to Kaiserslautern on a 3 year contract basis and during his debut, the team won against Wilhelmshaven by 4-0. During this time, he established himself professionally with 5 goals and 3 assists in 16 league appearances.

In 2008, he made his debut in international match in Slovak under 21 team and got selected in the 2010 FIFA World cup qualifier against San Marino. In 2009, he achieved his first goal in a friendly match against Cyprus with the second goal in his team’s defeat of 3-2. In 2010, it was announced that he would be playing for Schalke 04 on a 3 year contract.

On 11 February 2009, he scored his first senior international goal in a match against Cyprus, netting the second goal in his team's defeat of 3-2. On 1st April 2009, he scored his first competitive international goal at the senior level, with second goal in 2-1 away victory match against the Czech Republic match in 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup match held in South Africa, he featured in all of the three group stage matches of Slovakia.

=== Career Highlights ===

Jendrišek was the best youth player during the 2002-03 season in Slovakia team. In 2006, he won the Slovak league title and also cup double with the club, becoming the top goal scorer in the country for the 2005-06 season achieving 21 goals along Robert Rak.