Roman Neustädter

Roman Petrovich Neustädter (Russian: Рома́н Петро́вич Нойште́дтер, born 18 February 1988) is a Russian professional footballer who plays for Fenerbahçe S.K.. Ethnically Russian and German, born in the Soviet Union, Neustädter played for Germany at various youth levels, then being capped twice by the Germany national football team in 2012 and 2013. He switched allegiance to Russia in 2016.
Neustädter has often played as a defensive midfielder and centre back. While the former is his preferred position, he mostly played as the latter during his stint at Schalke.

Neustädter's mother is ethnic Russian. Neustädter's ancestors in the paternal line were ethnic Germans who lived on territories of Russian Empire and later, USSR. Following World War II, ethnic Germans were forcefully relocated by the Soviet government. Neustädter's family was relocated into Central Asia. He is the son of Peter Neustädter, a former Kyrgyz-born Kazakhstani footballer for Mainz 05 and former manager of Mainz 05 II. He was born in Dnipropetrovsk, Ukrainian SSR, while his father was playing for Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. He was raised with by his mother and grandparents in Kyrgyzstan, while his father was still an active football player. Due to his heritage and birth, he was eligible to play for Germany, Ukraine, Russia, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan in international competitions.

On 30 May 2016, Neustädter was granted Russian citizenship, having received his new Russian passport at the Russian Consulate in Bonn.

Neustädter began his career in 1. FSV Mainz 05's youth team, before being promoted to Mainz 05 II in July 2006. After playing in Mainz's first team during the 2008–09 season, he signed a three-year contract with Borussia Mönchengladbach. With die Fohlen, Neustädter enjoyed a particularly successful 2011–12 season, finishing fourth and qualifying for the 2012-13 UEFA Champions League.

At the end of the 2011–12 season, Neustädter left Mönchengladbach and joined Schalke 04 on a free transfer, signing a four-year contract running until 30 June 2016.

Neustädter played twice for Germany U-20, making his debut as a substitute against Italy U-20 on 9 April 2008. He scored a goal against Switzerland U-20 on 22 April.

The Football Federation of Ukraine has stated its interest in calling up Neustädter for its national team. Neustädter, who was born in Ukraine, has indicated that he would be likely to accept a call-up if asked. He would first require a Ukrainian passport in order to be eligible for national team duties.

On 9 November 2012, Neustädter was called up for the Germany squad to face the Netherlands in a friendly match five days later. He made his debut for Germany in this match as a late substitute for Schalke team-mate Lewis Holtby.

In January 2016, Neustädter met with members of the Russian Football Union in order to be able to possibly play in the future for the Russia national team. On 21 May, he was called up to represent Russia at UEFA Euro 2016. On 1 June, Neustädter made his debut for Russia, in a 2–1 friendly loss to Czech Republic, as a 64th-minute substitute.