Diego Contento

Club

_Free Agent Soccer

Position

Left-Back

Nationality

Germany

Date of birth

1990-05-01

Birthplace

München, Germany

Height

177 cm

Weight

73 kg

Shirt number

26

Signing / transfer fee

Signed

Diego Armando Valentin Contento (born 1 May 1990) is a German former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Contento's family is from the outskirts of Naples (his father from Casalnuovo di Napoli and his mother from Caivano), Italy, and he was named after former S.S.C. Napoli star Diego Armando Maradona. His older brothers Vincenzo and Domenico were previously in Bayern's youth team.

Contento played for Bayern Munich's first-team in pre-season friendlies in 2009, appearing against Austrian Bundesliga champion Red Bull Salzburg as a second-half substitute for Edson Braafheid, and was named on the substitutes' bench for a Bundesliga match against Mainz 05 in August 2009. He was called up to Bayern Munich's squad for the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League, where he was assigned the number 26. In January 2010, it was announced that Contento would train with the first-team for the rest of the 2009–10 season, along with reserve team-mates David Alaba and Mehmet Ekici.

Contento signed his first professional contract with Bayern Munich on 13 January 2010. The trio were named on the first-team substitutes' bench for the first time on 10 February 2010, for a DFB-Pokal game against Greuther Fürth, and Contento came on in the 59th minute, replacing Anatoliy Tymoshchuk. Contento made his UEFA Champions League debut a week later, coming on as a half time substitute for Daniel Van Buyten in a game against Fiorentina, and the following weekend he made his league debut in the Bavarian Derby against 1. FC Nürnberg, starting in place of the injured Van Buyten.

He was in the starting XI for the next two games against Hamburger SV and 1. FC Köln, but was injured in the latter, and replaced by fellow youth team graduate David Alaba. On 21 April 2010 he was named in the starting line-up for Bayern's UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg against Lyon. On 27 May 2010, Contento signed a contract extension keeping him at the Allianz Arena until 2013.

Contento started in the 2010 German Super Cup and played the full 90 minutes. Bayern defeated Schalke 04 2–0. Contento began the 2010–11 season as a starter for Bayern. After five games, he suffered an injury and was sidelined for three weeks. He was unable to reclaim his starting spot until the very end of the season. He was first choice to Andries Jonker, the caretaker manager of Bayern Munich until the end of the 2010–11 league season. On 1 July 2011, Jupp Heynckes was named head coach of Bayern Munich. At