Marcel Heister

Marcel Heister (born 29 July 1992) is a German footballer who plays as a defender for Croatian First League club Istra 1961.

Marcel Heister

Heister in 2016
Personal information
Date of birth	(1992-07-29) 29 July 1992 (age 33)
Place of birth	Albstadt-Ebingen, Germany
Height	1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Left back, winger
Team information
Current team	Istra 1961
Number	26
Youth career
1999–2003	TSV Gammertingen
2003–2010	SSV Reutlingen
2010–2011	1899 Hoffenheim
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2011–2012	1899 Hoffenheim II	26	(0)
2012–2014	Zadar	31	(2)
2014–2016	Istra 1961	64	(3)
2016–2018	Beitar Jerusalem	44	(3)
2018–2021	Ferencváros	70	(2)
2021–2023	Fehérvár	49	(1)
2023	Ludogorets Razgrad	6	(0)
2024	Ludogorets Razgrad II	3	(0)
2024–	Istra 1961	29	(1)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 1 June 2025

Career

A native of Gammertingen, he played for the local side before moving to the bigger SSV Reutlingen 05, where he remained until he moved, at the age of 18, to the youth side of TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. He stayed there for two seasons, playing for the U19 and the reserve sides, before moving on to Croatia.

He joined the Prva HNL side NK Zadar in the summer of 2012, and made his debut on 1 September 2012, in the 1–1 home draw with NK Istra 1961, coming in the 80th minute for Mario Bilen.^[1] After scoring an own goal in the 4–1 home win against HNK Cibalia,^[2] he scored his first Prva HNL goal on 22 February 2013 in the 2–1 away loss to NK Zagreb, in a match where he was subsequently sent off. An offensively-oriented player at first, his position was eventually to left-back, albeit an offensively-oriented one.^[3]

In the summer of 2014, he transferred to NK Istra 1961.

In July 2016 Heister signed for Beitar Jerusalem. He departed the club at the end of the 2017–18 season.

Ferencváros

In July 2018 he signed for Ferencvárosi TC.

On 16 June 2020, he became champion with Ferencváros by beating Budapest Honvéd FC at the Hidegkuti Nándor Stadion on the 30th match day of the 2019–20 Nemzeti Bajnokság I season.^[4]

On 29 September 2020, he was member of the Ferencváros team which qualified for the 2020–21 UEFA Champions League group stage after beating Molde FK on 3-3 aggregate (away goals) at the Groupama Aréna.^[5]

Ludogorets Razgrad

In June 2023, Heister signed a contract with Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad.^[6]

Personal life

Heister is of partial Croatian and Danube Swabian descent, and his paternal grandparents Josef Heister and Danica Marić moved along with his father Lukas to Germany from Cerna, Croatia.^[7]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 September 2024^[8]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Hoffenheim II	2010-11	Regionalliga	1	0	—		—		—		1	0
	2011-12	Regionalliga	25	0	—		—		—		25	0
	Total		26	0	—		—		—		26	0
Zadar	2012-13	HNL	19	1	4	0	—		—		23	1
	2013-14	HNL	12	1	2	0	—		—		14	1
	Total		31	2	6	0	—		—		37	2
Istra	2013-14	HNL	7	0	1	0	—		—		8	0
	2014-15	HNL	34	1	3	0	—		—		37	1
	2015-16	HNL	30	2	2	1	—		1[a]	0	33	3
	Total		71	3	6	1	—		1	0	78	4
Beitar Jerusalem	2016-17	Israeli Premier League	29	0	3	0	4[b]	1	2[c]	0	38	1
	2017-18	Israeli Premier League	22	3	2	0	4[b]	0	3[c]	0	31	3
	Total		51	3	5	0	8	1	5	0	69	4
Ferencváros	2018-19	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	31	1	4	0	1[b]	0	—		36	1
	2019-20	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	16	0	—		9[d]	0	—		25	0
	2020-21	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	23	1	—		7[e]	0	—		30	1
	Total		70	2	4	0	17	0	—		91	2
Fehérvár	2021-22	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	25	1	1	0	2[f]	1	—		28	2
	2022-23	Nemzeti Bajnokság I	27	0	1	1	5[f]	0	—		33	1
	Total		52	1	2	1	7	1	—		61	3
Ludogorets	2023-24	Parva Liga	6	0	—		8[g]	0	0	0	14	0
Ludogorets II	2023-24	Vtora liga	3	0	—		—		—		3	0
Istra	2024-25	HNL	4	1	1	0	—		—		5	1
Career Total			314	12	23	2	40	2	6	0	383	16

1. Appearance(s) in Promotion/Relegation playoffs
2. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa League
3. Appearance(s) in Toto Cup
4. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, Five appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearance(s) in UEFA Champions League
6. Appearance(s) in UEFA Europa Conference League
7. Four appearances in UEFA Champions League, Four appearances in UEFA Europa League

Honours

Ferencváros

• Nemzeti Bajnokság I: 2018–19, 2019–20, 2020–21

External links

• Marcel Heister at Soccerway
• Marcel Heister at Croatian Football Statistics (archived) (in Croatian)
• Marcel Heister at Sportnet.hr (in Croatian)