Christoph Kramer (born 19 February 1991) is a German professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach. After a season in their reserve team, Kramer was promoted to Bayer Leverkusen's first team in 2011. He then spent two seasons on loan at second-tier VfL Bochum, and a further two at Borussia Mönchengladbach. Kramer made his full international debut for the Germany national team on 13 May 2014, and later that year was part of the German squad which won the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Club career Bayer Leverkusen Kramer joined local club BV Graefrath in 1995 before being snapped up by Bayer Leverkusen at age eight. But Kramer was cut from the Leverkusen youth squad at age 15 in 2006 because of his relatively small height. After two years with the Fortuna Düsseldorf youth squad, Kramer returned to Leverkusen in 2008, signed his first senior contract in 2010 and was promoted to Bayer Leverkusen II for the 2010–11 season. He gained promotion to the senior squad in 2011 and was immediately loaned out to 2. Bundesliga side VfL Bochum for the 2011–12 season. VfL Bochum (loan) Kramer made his professional debut on 18 July 2011, coming on as a second-half substitute for Andreas Johansson in a 2–0 defeat of Bochum to Fortuna Düsseldorf. His first goal for the club came on 25 February 2012, scoring a consolation goal in a 6–2 defeat to Greuther Fürth. During the 2012–13 2. Bundesliga season, Kramer was involved in 852 tackles, the most by any player in the league, and won 50% of them. In the process, he committed 73 fouls but was only given eight yellow cards. In his two seasons in the second division with Bochum, Kramer made 61 league appearances and scored four goals. Following his spell at Bochum, he became a season-ticket holder at the RewirpowerSTADION. Borussia Mönchengladbach (loan) Following his two-year spell with Bochum in the second division, Kramer joined Borussia Mönchengladbach in July 2013 on a two-year loan deal. He made his Bundesliga debut on 9 August 2013, starting in midfield for Gladbach in a 3–1 loss to defending champions Bayern Munich. He scored his first goal for Gladbach in the following round of fixtures, netting the club's second goal in a 3–0 victory over Hannover 96. Kramer scored Borussia Mönchengladbach's third goal of a 3–1 victory over Mainz 05 on 3 May